PIRATE BOYS BBALL SCORES FIRST 13 POINTS, BUT LOSES BY 20 TO WARROAD

The Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team scored the first 13 points of the game, but struggled at the end of the first half and all of the second half as the Warroad Warriors pulled away and cruised to a 70-50 victory in a Section 8AA matchup at the Warroad High School gymnasium.

FIRST HALF-
Crookston used a different starting lineup and inserted Jack Everett and Rylin Lubarski, along with Hunter Nicholas, Tyler Michaelson, and Reggie Winjum. The new lineup gave the Pirates a spark as they started on a 13-0 run. Everett scored the first five points of the game in his first start of the season. Reggie Winjum followed with a steal and a layup, Michaelson and Nicholas added baskets for an 11-0 lead, forcing Warroad to call a timeout. Isaac Thomforde came off the bench, grabbed an offensive rebound, and scored to give Crookston a 13-0 lead four minutes into the game.
Warroad finally got on the board with an offensive rebound and a basket from Liam Grover. Warroad added another basket before Crookston’s Thomforde added four points for a 17-4 lead with 11:36 remaining in the half. Warroad slowly chipped away at the deficit with a 16-6 run over a seven-minute span, and Crookston’s lead was down to three points (23-20) with 4:44 left in the half.
The Pirates countered with five straight points from Michaelson to take a 28-20 lead, but Warroad ended the final four minutes of the half on a 12-2 run. Warroad made five free throws in the run and finished the half with a Kason Pietruszewski basket and he was fouled as the buzzer sounded. Pietruszewski made the free throw for the three-point play to give the Warriors a 32-30 lead going into halftime.
Crookston committed 13 fouls in the first half, and Warroad made 11 of 16 free throws in the half.

SECOND HALF-
Warroad scored the first basket of the second half before Crookston’s Winjum scored six points on a three-pointer and a three-point play to give the Pirates a 36-34 lead over three minutes into the half. The game was tied at 40-40 with 12:41 to go. Crookston’s Nicholas picked up his fourth foul of the game and went to the bench, and Warroad went on a 14-1 run over the next six minutes to take a 54-41 lead with 6:51 remaining in the game. Warroad’s Liam Grover outscored Crookston in the second half, up to this point, with 12 points compared to Crookston’s 11. Crookston stopped the run when Michaelson grabbed his own offensive rebound and scored, but Warroad answered with the next four points for a 58-43 lead with less than five minutes remaining. Crookston’s Nicholas scored in the paint, and after two Warrior free throws, the guy Hunter was guarding, Luke Billingsly, seemed to take the basket against him personally and scored the next eight points, all on free throw line jump shots for a 68-45 lead. Winjum stopped the 10-0 Warrior run with a three-point play, and after the teams exchanged baskets, Warroad won the game 70-50.
J.V. Warroad won 62-53

Crookston drops to 4-13 on the year and will host Park Rapids on Monday.  Warroad improves to 11-7 on the year.