PIRATE BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES 82 POINTS, BUT FALL TO WIN-E-MAC

The high-scoring Win-E-Mac Patriots are led by two outstanding athletes with Justin Courneya (6’1 Sr going to play basketball at Concordia College in Moorhead next year) and Ryan Kangas (6’4 Sr going to play football at Bemidji State next year). They combined for 60 points on their way to a 94-82 victory over the Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball at the Win-E-Mac High School gymnasium.

FIRST HALF
Crookston’s Hunter Nicholas scored the first two points of the game on a pair of free throws before Win-E-Mac responded with a 12-1 run for a 12-3 lead three minutes into the game. Crookston’s Jack Everett stopped the run with a three-pointer, but Win-E-Mac continued to build on their lead and took a 20-8 lead five minutes into the game. Crookston stopped the run and got right back into the game with three straight three-pointers, with Tyler Michaelson, Everett, and Nicholas hitting the long-range shots to get within a 20-17 deficit with 11:15 left.
Win-E-Mac, as they would all game long, had an answer with a Justin Courtney three-pointer. A few minutes later, Win-E-Mac led 26-21 when Crookston’s Winjum scored on a nice drive, and Isaac Thomforde followed with a three-pointer to tie the game at 26 with seven minutes left in the half. Win-E-Mac took advantage of Crookston taking Nicholas out of the game after he picked up his second foul, and the Patriots finished the half with a 49-42 lead.

SECOND HALF
Win-E-Mac started the second half with a Braylon Hamre three-pointer and a Ryan Kangas two-hand dunk for a 54-42 lead. Crookston answered with a Michaelson free throw and Winjum three-pointer to get within a 54-46 deficit. Win-E-Mac built a 62-52 lead before Crookston’s Michaelson made a three-pointer to get within a 62-55 deficit five minutes into the half. The Courneya brothers took over with Joe scoring a basket, and Justin added five straight points for a 69-55 lead. Win-E-Mac continued to add to their lead and took an 84-64 lead. Crookston’s Nicholas scored five straight points to bring the Pirates within an 84-69 deficit, only to have Kangas score four points for an 88-69 lead with four minutes remaining. Crookston chipped away at the deficit in the final four minutes, but the deficit was too much, and both teams went to the bench in the final two minutes as the Patriots won 94-82.

Crookston drops to 5-18 on the year and will host Roseau in a big Section 8AA matchup on Thursday. Win-E-Mac improves to 18-6 on the year.

CLICK HERE to hear Coach Greg Garmen’s post-game comments.