The Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Ponies used their size and athleticism to beat the Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team 75-37 in the season opener for both teams in a game played in Warren. “They used their size to their advantage,” said Crookston Coach Greg Garmen. “They were too much for us and they shot pretty well too. We didn’t rebound well and they killed us with a lot of second-chance baskets.”
FIRST HALF –
WAO used their defense early to force Crookston into some turnovers and hurried shots and took a quick 8-0 lead behind a three-pointer from Kaden Pierce and five points from 6’6 post Jackson Woinarowicz for the eight-point lead. “That was a good start for us,” said Pony Coach Christian Erickson. “We forced some turnovers and hit the board hard too. Jackson was a monster on the boards and we shot the ball well.” Crookston finally got on the board over three minutes into the game when Hunter Nicholas, a 63 Freshman who had his first varsity start, hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to bring Crookston within an 8-3 deficit. The Ponies answered with a basket in the paint from Woinarowicz before Nicholas buried another three-pointer to bring Crookston within a 10-6 deficit with 13:20 left in the half. “I was hoping that would get us going,” said Coach Garmen. WAO responded in a big way as they had a basket from Woinarowicz and back-to-back three-pointers from Tyson Mortimer and Nathan Sedlacek for an 18-6 lead. Crookston’s Tanner Giese, a transfer from Moorhead Park Christian School, stopped the run with a basket and after a Pony free throw, Ryan Abeld scored and Jack Garmen made a three-pointer to bring Crookston within a 22-15 deficit with 8:40 left in the game. The mini-run wasn’t enough as Warren-Alvarado-Oslo outscored the Pirates 24-8 in the final eight minutes of the half behind the stellar defense and outstanding rebounding as they took a 46-23 lead into halftime. “We were getting good shots on the perimeter and we have five guys on the floor that can shoot and made some (seven three-pointers) in the half,” said Pony Coach Erickson. “I was happy with the half and we played pretty well.”
SECOND HALF –
Crookston scored the first points of the second half with a Jacob Hesby basket, for his first points of the game, but WAO answered with eight straight points with a three-pointer from Kaden Pierce, a free throw from Tyson Mortimer, two free throws from Woinarowicz, and a three-pointer from Braylee Shroeder for a 54-25 lead. Hesby made another basket for Crookston before the Ponies went on an 11-0 run with five different players scoring for a 65-27 lead with 8:26 left in the game and with a lead of 35-plus points the rest of the half was played with running time. The Ponies cruised the rest of the way as they played all their players that dressed and came away with a season-opening 75-37 victory over Crookston. “We did some things well tonight and rebounded well. We played pretty good defense,” said Pony Coach Erickson. “But there are a lot of things we need to work on and when we see some other teams, they will be able to take advantage of some things we did/didn’t do tonight.” Crookston Coach Greg Garmen said it is a tough way to start, but he saw some good things from his team. “We saw some nice things tonight with Tanner Giese, in his first game, did some nice things. He plays hard and hustles and did a nice job for us,” said Garmen. “We have a lot of things to work on and it won’t get easier with Pelican Rapids on Monday.”
Highlights for Crookston – Hunter Nicholas, Tanner Giese, Isaac Thomforde, and Tyler Michaelson scored their first varsity points of their career.
Crookston drops to 0-1 on the year and will host Pelican Rapids on Monday. A game you can hear on KROX Radio, or watch on the KROX Live stream. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo improves to 1-0 on the year and will take on Warroad next.
J.V. – WAO won 56-20
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| CROOKSTON | 23 | 14 | 37 |
| Warren-Alvarado-Oslo | 46 | 29 | 75 |
| For CROOKSTON | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Jacob Hesby | 7 | 3 | |
| Ryan Abeld | 6 | 2 steals | |
| Hunter Nicholas | 6 | 5 | |
| Tanner Giese | 6 | 5 | 2 assists |
| Jack Garmen | 5 | 4 | 2 steals |
| Evan Christensen | 3 | ||
| Isaac Thomforde | 2 | ||
| Tyler Michaelson | 2 |
| For Warren-Alvarado-Oslo | Points |
| Jackson Wionarowicz | 20 |
| Kaden Pierce | 18 |
| Nathan Sedlacek | 8 |
| Tyson Mortimer | 7 |
| Adam McIntyre | 7 |
| Braylee Shroeder | 5 |
| Hunter Steer | 5 |
| Dustin Moehrle | 4 |
| Reed Hanson | 1 |
