Dietrich Winegarner scored 19 points and Jordan Oehrlein chipped in 17 points in leading Crosby-Ironton to a 61-51 Mid-State Conference win over the Park Rapids boys basketball team at Crosby on Thursday, Jan. 21.
Carsen Turk also scored in double figures with 16 points for the Rangers, who overcame a 1-for-12 effort from 3-point territory by making 18 of 25 free throws. C-I, which led 34-24 at the half, improved to 1-1 in conference games and 2-2 overall.
Nick Michaelson tallied a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Panthers. Isaiah Olson also hit double figures with 10 points while Logan Jackson led the way with 14 rebounds and five assists. Zach Van Batavia pulled down nine rebounds, Parker Harmon had five rebounds, James Hartig dished out three assists, and Michaelson had three steals and two blocked shots as the Panthers fell to 0-2 on the season. Park Rapids made 8 of 29 3-pointers and turned the ball over 27 times.
“We played much better against C-I than Pequot. We got more shots at the rim and did better with our ball security,” said Park Rapids head coach Josh Meader, whose team had 35 turnovers in a 74-29 loss to Pequot Lakes in the season opener. “I feel we had guys who wanted it more against C-I and we played with more energy and passion because of that. We still need to improve on ball security. We had too many turnovers. If we can get the turnovers down to 10 a game, we will be in much better shape.”
