The Crookston Pirate Boys’ Basketball team ended the first half on a 17-3 run, but held off two big second-half rallies by the Badger/Greenbush-Middle River Gators in a 62-54 victory in a game played in the Crookston High School gymnasium.
FIRST HALF –
BGMR had a good start to the game when they scored the first five points with a three-pointer from Will Foss and a basket from Taylor Davy. Crookston got on the board with a Matthew Contreras three-pointer. The teams exchanged baskets, and the Gators led 9-5 before Crookston’s Hunter Nicholas made a three-pointer, and Reggie Winjum made a basket for a 10-9 Pirate lead with 11:15 left in the half.
BGMR responded with five straight points for a 14-10 lead. Crookston answered with a Zacharaiah Ali three-pointer and a Winjum three-point play for a 16-14 lead with 8:31 remaining in the half. The teams exchanged leads with 4:37 left in the half. The Gators led 22-20. It was at this point in the game Crookston took over as they ended the half on a 17-3 run. The Pirate run was led by Hunter Nicholas’ 11 points, and Crookston took a 37-24 lead into halftime.
SECOND HALF –
Crookston had a 42-31 lead a few minutes into the half before BGMR went on a 10-2 run with five points from Davy, a three-point play from Mason Swenson, and a basket by Adrian Nelson to get the Gators within a 44-41 deficit with 11 minutes left in the game. Crookston stopped the run in a big way as they went on 6-0 run with four points by Nicholas and two points from Winjum for a 50-41 lead. Crookston led 51-47 when Rylan Lubarski, Nicholas, and Jack Everett added two points apiece for a 57-47 lead, and it looked like the Pirates would pull away. BGMR had other ideas as they 7-0 run with four points from Davy and an Adrian Nelson with a three-pointer to bring the Gators within a 57-54 score with 1:58 remaining in the game. Crookston’s Winjum stopped the run with a free throw, Everett added a basket, and Winjum made two more free throws with 16.7 seconds remaining, and Crookston won the game 62-54.
Crookston improves to 1-2 on the year and will travel to Frazee on Tuesday, December 16 at 6:30 p.m. BGMR drops to 0-4 on the year.
J.V. – BGMR won 45-37
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| BGMR | 24 | 30 | 54 |
| Crookston | 37 | 25 | 62 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Hunter Nicholas | 24 | 10 | 2 blocks/2 charges taken |
| Reggie Winjum | 14 | 11 | 5 assists/2 steals |
| Matt Contreras | 9 | 4 | 2 assists |
| Rylan Lubarski | 5 | 2 | |
| Jack Everett | 4 | 4 | 2 assists/2 steals/1 block |
| Zach Ali | 3 | 6 | |
| Tyler Michaelson | 3 | 4 |
| For BGMR | Points |
| Taylor Davy | 14 |
| Adrian Nelson | 14 |
| Mason Nelson | 10 |
| Chase Lorenson | 7 |
| Will Foss | 5 |
| Bennett Bertilrud | 4 |
Hunter Nicholas grabs a pass
Reggie Winjum with a runner through the lane
