The Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team started the game on a 21-4 run and held on the rest of the way to beat the Park Rapids Panthers 71-60 in a Section 8AA game played in Park Rapids.
FIRST HALF-
Crookston had the hot hand early and made back-to-back three pointers to open the game from Jack Garmen and Walker Winjum. The teams exchanged baskets before Crookston went on a 13-0 run. Brady Butt started the run with a three-pointer and Carter Bruggeman followed with an old-fashioned three-point play. The continued with a Caden Osborn three-pointer before Easton Tangquist had an offensive rebound and put back and Osborn wrapped up the run with a basket to give the Pirates a 21-4 lead eight minutes into the game. “Our chemistry is so good this year and the kids are looking for each other,” said Pirate Coach Greg Garmen. “It was a good start and it always help when you can make some shots early like we did tonight. We spent a lot of time shooting last week because most of the guys need some confidence and it is a matter of being confident with their shot.” Crookston had a 31-16 lead with 4:21 left in the half when Park Rapids went on a 10-1 run with two three-pointers and two baskets to get within a 32-26 deficit. “Park Rapids had some offensive rebounds and put backs for some easy points,” said Coach Garmen. “We weren’t playing as crisp as we were at the start of the game.” The Pirates outscored Park Rapids 4-1 in the final minute to take a 36-27 lead into halftime. “It was nice to take the lead into halftime,” said Coach Garmen. “We haven’t been in that situation many times so we were feeling good.”
SECOND HALF –
The teams exchanged baskets for the first eight minutes of the half and Crookston led 52-40 with just over nine minutes left in the game. Park Rapids had a huge spark from 6’6 sophomore Nick Michaelson who had a basket in the paint and a few seconds later he followed with a steal and a one-handed dunk to cut the Panther deficit to eight points (52-44) with 9:03 left in the game. Crookston responded in a big way with a 10-2 run behind Bruggeman’s four points, a three-pointer from Caden Osborn (who sat about seven minutes of the half because of foul trouble), and a Jacob Hesby three for a 62-46 lead with five minutes remaining. “Jake came in and took a charge and then got the three for us,” said Coach Garmen. “He didn’t play a lot for us tonight, but he gave us a nice spark.” In the final three minutes of the game, Park Rapids made things more interesting than the Pirates were hoping as they went on an 11-4 run to finish the game and Crookston held on for a 71-60 victory. “It was nice to make the long trip to Park Rapids and leave with a win,” said Coach Garmen. “I thought Brady Butt gave us some great minutes filling in for Caden while he was on the bench tonight. Overall it was a nice win and a great way to start off a busy week with three games.”
Crookston improves to 5-7 on the year and will travel to Oklee on Thursday to play Red Lake County. Park Rapids drops to 1-12 on the year.
J.V. – Park Rapids won 60-25 C Squad – Park Rapids won 42-25
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| CROOKSTON | 36 | 35 | 71 |
| Park Rapids | 27 | 33 | 60 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebound | Steals/Assists |
| Jack Garmen | 17 | 4 | 2 assists |
| Carter Bruggeman | 15 | 2 assists | |
| Easton Tangquist | 14 | 4 | 2 assists |
| Caden Osborn | 12 | 5 | 3 steals |
| Walker Winjum | 7 | 4 | 2 steals/2 assists |
| Jacob Hesby | 3 | ||
| Brady Butt | 3 |
| For Park Rapids | Points |
| Nick Michaelson | 16 |
| Gabe Arola | 13 |
| James Hartig | 10 |
| Jeff Haas | 6 |
| Kaiden Walsh | 6 |
| Shawn Ohm | 5 |
| Kolby Brandt | 2 |
| Noah Morris | 2 |
