Pelican Rapids held the Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team to one field goal the entire second half and cruised to a 70-34 victory in a Section 8AA match-up played in Pelican Rapids.
FIRST HALF
Crookston started the scoring with an Easton Tangquist three-pointer for a quick 3-0 lead. Pelican Rapids responded with two baskets to take a 4-3 lead 87 seconds into the game. Crookston answered with a nice post-move by Carter Bruggeman that led to a basket, and after a Pelican Rapids basket, Bruggeman added another basket for a 7-6 lead with 13:55 left in the half. “It wasn’t too bad a start for us,” said Crookston head coach Greg Garmen. “We missed our first six free throws right away, which would have helped.”
Pelican Rapids using their defense and height advantage while going 6’6, 6’5, 6’3, 6’3 at times, broke the game open by getting a bunch of steals while going on a 13-0 run with four different players scoring over a three-minute span for a 19-7 lead. “We are small, and it’s tough when you’re not making shots outside,” said Garmen. “When you can’t get it down low, it makes it difficult.”
Crookston settled down and handled the ball a little better while going on a 7-0 run with a Karsten Isaacson basket and five points from Jack Garmen to bring the Pirates within a 19-14 deficit with 7:33 left in the half.
The Vikings Brayden Ecker had an active first half with a three-point play, a three-pointer, and then he had a one-handed slam dunk and was fouled, but missed the free throw to give Pelican Rapids a 30-19 lead with just over three minutes left in the half. The Pirates ended the half with Easton Tangquist getting two baskets in a row to cut the Pelican Rapids lead to 39-27. “Even with the slow start, we hung in there,” said coach Garmen, “I guess we were within striking distance, and we needed to shoot better, box out better and play good defense to give them a run in the second half.”
Second Half
The two teams each scored on their first possession, with Carter Bruggeman making two free throws, and with 15 minutes left in the game, Pelican Rapids led 41-29. The Pirates didn’t score a basket until there were three minutes to go in the game, and they trailed 68-32 after a Tangquist layup, and then Tangquist had two free throws with a minute and a half left. Crookston scored five free throws and one basket in the second half, and it adds up to a 70-34 win for Pelican Rapids. “We’re struggling against big guys, and they had length,” said Coach Garmen, “We have to box out and not give them free put backs. It’s deflating, but we have to keep going, roll up our sleeves. It’s a lot better game when you are shooting well, and we certainly are not doing that.”
The Pirates were 12-27 at the free-throw line. “We have to do better than that, ” said Garmen. “We took care of the ball fairly well in the first half, but certainly not in the second half. We’ll have practice tomorrow and keep working on these things.”
Crookston was slated to host East Grand Forks Thursday, but it’s been moved to Friday night at the Crookston High School. The Pirates are 1-7 after losing their fifth game in a row. Pelican Rapids breaks a two-game losing streak and are 4-3 on the season and will host Hawley on Thursday.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| CROOKSTON | 27 | 7 | 34 |
| Pelican Rapids | 39 | 31 | 70 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Easton Tangquist | 11 | 6 | 2 assists |
| Carter Bruggeman | 9 | 6 | 2 steals |
| Jack Garmen | 8 | 4 | 2 steals |
| Brooks Butt | 2 | ||
| Karsten Isaacson | 2 | ||
| Jacob Miller | 2 | 2/3 |
| For Pelican Rapids | Points |
| Ian Fahje | 12 |
| Hunter Williams | 12 |
| Liam Sytsma | 10 |
| Jayden Rutherford | 9 |
| Brayden Ecker | 7 |
| Logan Fahje | 7 |
| McHale Korf | 5 |
| Tanner Tollerud | 5 |
| Weston Funk | 3 |
