OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES PLAGUE PIRATE BOY’S BASKETBALL IN LOSS TO BARNESVILLE

The Crookston Pirate Boy’s Basketball team was held to just 18 points in the second half of a 53-40 loss to the Barnesville Trojans in a Section 8AA game played at the Barnesville High School Gymnasium.

Barnesville opened the scoring with a basket from Hunter Zenzen giving the Trojans a 2-0 lead. Caden Osborn responded for the Pirates with a three-pointer giving Crookston a 3-2 lead. Following a Barnesville lay-up from Grant Inniger, Caden Osborn scored underneath the basket to give the Pirates a 5-4 lead. A Trojan’s three-pointer was answered by one from Nick Garment giving the Pirates an 8-7 lead. Following a top of the key jump shot by Barnesville’s Jason Henrickson, Crookston’s Walker Winjum made a pair of free-throws bringing the visitors within 11-10 before Barnesville used a 10-0 run to take a 21-10 lead. Nick Garmen stopped Barnesville’s run with a three-pointer which Adam Tonsfeldt answered with a three-pointer for the Trojans. Crookston used a 9-0 run with three-pointers from Jaden Lubarski, Nick Garmen, and Jack Garmen to pull within 24-22 before Jason Henrickson scored inside giving Barnesville a 26-22 halftime lead. “We got it back to within four and felt we had a chance,” said Crookston head coach Greg Garmen. “We came out and (Hunter) Zenzen got in a little foul trouble and that certainly helped us out a bit. He’s a big shot maker for them and we were able to do a little more inside, but we were just not sharp. Caden (Osborn) was taking a little bit too long with his moves and getting doubled. We didn’t move the ball well.”

Nearly four minutes into the second half, Barnesville’s Kellen Hinsz opened the scoring with a lay-up giving the Trojans a 28-22 lead. Caden Osborn found Nick Garmen on the perimeter for a three-pointer bringing Crookston back within 28-25. Nick Garmen stepped into another three-pointer on the Pirates next possession tying the game at 28-28. Nick Aadland answered with a triple for the hosts giving Barnesville a 31-28 lead. A Trojans’ lay-up put the hosts in front by five before Nick Garmen made another trey pulling the visitors within 33-31. After a Barnesville three-pointer, Caden Osborn made a lay-up pulling Crookston back within 36-33 before the Trojans scored seven unanswered points to take a 43-33 lead. Jaden Lubarski connected from deep to bring the Pirates within 43-36 with a Jack Garmen free-throw later in the game trimming Crookston’s deficit down to 45-37. The Trojans used a 6-0 run to take a 51-37 lead heading into the final minute of the game as the Pirates’ offense struggled to hit tough shots down the stretch. Walker Winjum made a three-pointer with 30-seconds remaining off a pass from Nick Garmen to cut Crookston’s deficit to 51-40, but it proved too little too late as Barnesville was able to close out a 53-40 win. “We don’t have a lot of kids who are gifted at scoring the ball,” explained Garmen. “We didn’t do a very good job defensively, we let (Adam) Tonsfeldt down the middle too often and that hurt us. Adam Tonsfeldt dictates what happens. We’ve got a busy week and we’ve just got to keep battling. Every game matters for the QRF so we’ve just got to keep trying to find a way to win. Nothing is easy for us this year, but we’ve just got to keep working at it.”

Crookston falls to 8-14 overall this season. The Pirates return to the court on Tuesday night when they host Win-E-Mac at 7:30 p.m. Barnesville improves to 14-6.