The Fertile-Beltrami Falcons started the second half on an 11-2 run and held on the rest of the way for a 73-57 victory over the Crookston Pirate Boys basketball team in a game played in Crookston.
FIRST HALF
The game was tied at 2, 4, 6, and 8 before Fertile-Beltrami scored six straight points, with Everett Balstad hitting a jump shot, Austin Bjerk scoring in the paint, and Rylin Petry made a short jumper for a 14-8 lead with 9:59 left in the half. Three minutes later, Fertile-Beltrami took a 20-12 lead after back-to-back baskets from Petry for a 20-12 lead. Crookston trailed 22-14 when they put a run together in the half’s final three minutes. Tristan Luckow got the Pirate run started with an offensive rebound and putback, Jack Garmen followed with a three-pointer. After a Petry three-point play, Crookston responded with an Easton Tangquist basket and a Carter Bruggeman free throw to get within a 25-22 deficit. Fertile-Beltrami’s Caiden Swenby scored in the paint before Crookston’s Tangquist hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Pirates a 28-27 lead with 35 seconds left in the half. “Easton was feeling it there,” said Coach Garmen. “We know he can shoot, and it was too bad we had to go to halftime because he had the hot hand.” As they did the entire first half, Fertile-Beltrami had an answer, and Derek Sorenson scored with 20 seconds left, and the Falcons took a 29-28 lead into halftime. “We showed some signs of life there,” said Pirate Coach Greg Garmen. “We made some shots, played decent defense, and we were in a good spot.”
SECOND HALF
Fertile-Beltrami started the half on an 11- 2 run. The teams exchanged baskets in the first three minutes before Balstad scored three straight points, and Crookston caught the turnover bug and had three straight turnovers that led to three easy baskets for the Falcons, and they led 40-30 with 11:51 left in the game. “That is what kills us right now,” said Coach Garmen. “We turned the ball over, and it led to some easy baskets.” Jack Garmen stopped the run with a three-pointer, but the Falcons answered with a Swenby free throw and two baskets from Petry for a 45-33 lead almost halfway through the half. “Petry is a good player, and he did a nice job for them,” said Coach Garmen.
With seven minutes left, Fertile-Beltrami had a 54-42 lead, and they erased any thoughts of a Crookston comeback when Petry scored three straight points, and Matthew Sykes buried a three-pointer for a 60-42 lead. Fertile-Beltrami kept the double-digit lead the rest of the way and coasted to a 73-57 victory. “We can’t fault the effort, but we have to get better,” said Coach Garmen. “We can’t get by anybody, and that is our Achilles heel. We have to keep working. They are frustrated, but we have to find ways to be successful and need to be a little more disciplined and handle the ball better.”
Crookston drops to 1-11 on the year and will travel to Ada-Borup on Friday, a game you can hear on KROX Radio. Fertile-Beltrami improves to 10-2 on the year and will travel to Fosston on Thursday.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 29 | 44 | 73 |
| CROOKSTON | 28 | 29 | 57 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Easton Tangquist | 19 | 4 | 2/2 |
| Jacob Hesby | 12 | 2 steals | |
| Jack Garmen | 9 | ||
| Tristan Luckow | 8 | 5 | 3 steals |
| Carter Bruggeman | 5 | 4 | 2 assists |
| Jacob Miller | 4 |
| For Fertile-Beltrami | Points |
| Rylin Petry | 24 |
| Everett Balstad | 14 |
| Caiden Swenby | 11 |
| Austin Bjerk | 8 |
| Kadyn Olson | 6 |
| Mathew Sykes | 5 |
| Derek Sorenson | 4 |
| Justin Solie | 1 |
