NCE/UH USES STRONG SECOND HALF TO BEAT CROOKSTON BOYS BASKETBALL

The Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team trailed by four points, but it was all Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal in the second half as the Titans pulled away for a 65-45 victory in a game played in Twin Valley.

FIRST HALF-
The weather was unseasonably warm, but the offenses were cold, especially from close range, as the teams combined to score 17 points in the first nine minutes of the game. NCE/UH started the game with a basket before Crookston’s Tyler Michaelson answered with a basket and free throw after a nice drive and pass from Reggie Winjum. The Titans scored the next six points before Crookston’s Hunter Nicholas took over inside.  Hunter grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, and on the next possession, he did the same thing to bring the Pirates within an 8-7 deficit with 10:27 left in the half.
Crookston went stone cold over the next four minutes as NCE/UH went on 8-0 run behind an Ian Jacobson rebound and basket and back-to-back three-pointers from Brock Fox and Wyatt Compton for a 16-7 lead.
Crookston finally shook the lid off the basket as Reggie Winjum buried a three-pointer from the sideline, and after a Titan basket, Winjum made another three-pointer. Winjum kept it up on the defensive end as he stole a pass, brought the ball up the floor, and found Isaac Thomforde in the corner for a three-pointer. In the next offensive possession, Winjum made two free throws to tie the game at 18-18 with under four minutes remaining in the half. NCE/UH outscored Crookston 6-2 in the final four minutes and took a 24-20 lead into halftime. Crookston’s Nicholas grabbed 12 rebounds in the half, while Winjum had seven.

SECOND HALF –
Crookston’s offense continued to struggle in the second half, but NCE/UH rotated fresh players throughout the half, combined with several Pirate players coming off sickness, and that seemed to be the difference down the stretch.
The Titans scored the first basket of the half before Hunter Nicholas made a three-pointer and followed with an offensive rebound and putback to bring Crookston within a 26-25 deficit less than four minutes into the half. NCE/UH responded by going on an 11-2 run with eight points scored by Brock Fox and three free throws from Cody Nodsle for a 37-27 lead. Crookston’s Winjum broke the run with a Winjum basket. After a Titan free throw, Winjum nailed a step-back three to bring the Pirates within a 38-32 deficit with eight minutes remaining, and things were looking good for a comeback. That thought of a comeback was short-lived as the Titans brought in Aiden Flaten for the first time in the game, and he scored six straight points before Maverick Pinske scored two points, and Flaten added a three-pointer to cap an 11-0 run, and the Titans led 49-32. Crookston trailed 52-37, when it looked like the frequent Titan substitutions in the half were paying off as they started to run away from the Pirates by outscoring them 13-8 the rest of the way, with Crookston scoring the final four points of the game and the Titans won 65-45.

Crookston drops to 0-5 on the year and will host Fosston on Thursday, December 21. NCE/UH improves to 5-1 on the year.

CLICK HERE to listen to Coach Greg Garmen’s comments.