Failing to close out close games resulted in a 14-game losing streak for the Park Rapids boys basketball team.
The Panthers snapped that streak Tuesday night by holding off a late charge by East Grand Forks at the Area High School gym.
A 9-2 run in the final 2:25 rallied East Grand Forks to a 58-58 tie before Payton Hill's free throw with :04 remaining gave the Panthers a 59-58 victory.
"The boys have always been determined to get the next win when we went through the long losing streak," said Park Rapids head coach Matt Brandt. "We really revamped our offense and added some tweaks to our defense. Since we have made those adjustments, we have been attacking the basket and averaging 15 extra points a game and our shooting percentage has increased and that has been great."
A jumper by Jason Haas, four inside baskets by Hunter Jewison and a layup by Adam Herberg gave the Panthers a 12-7 lead with 12:22 to play in the first half. Park Rapids would not trail the rest of the game.
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Jewison scored off a rebound, Jake Dickinson scored inside, and Haas scored off a steal, hit a jumper and scored on a layup as the Panthers led 22-11 at the 6:36 mark. A layup by Tristin Persons and a basket off a rebound by Jewison made it 27-14 with 1:49 to play in the first half before the Green Wave cut the gap to 29-21 at the break.
Jewison, Gabe Bagstad and Haas combined for 16 points as the Panthers maintained a 48-41 lead with 5:54 to play. A layup by Haas, a jumper by Jewison and layups by Bagstad and Persons made it 56-49 with 2:33 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Christian Dugan, layups by Edmond Jones and Steven Widman, and a jumper by Dugan tied the game at 58-58 with :17 remaining before Hill was fouled on a drive to the basket and hit a free throw for the game-winner.
Jewison finished with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds while Haas added 14 points as the Panthers improved to 3-8 against Section 8AA teams and 4-19 overall. Dickinson chipped in five rebounds and four assists, Bagstad had five rebounds and Persons had three assists as Park Rapids prevailed despite going 0-for-5 on 3-pointers and turning the ball over 18 times.
Dugan (11), Sam Votava (11), Julian Benson (11) and Aaron Havis (10) hit double figures for East Grand Forks, which fell to 3-5 against section opponents and 9-12 overall.
"We knew our defense needed to be tough and we did a nice job. At times we were slow on our rotations, but in the end we got the job done," said Brandt. "Offensively, we knew we needed to attack the basket and let things develop and they did just that. It is always fun to see us reach the 59-point mark without hitting one 3-pointer. That means the kids were efficient on offense and moved the ball and found the open player."
EAST GRAND FORKS: Havis 10, Vossler 1, Jones 7, Votava 11, Dugan 11, Widman 3, Benson 11, Stanislawski 2, Dauksavage 2.
PARK RAPIDS: Herberg 1 1-2 3, Haas 7 0-2 14, Dickinson 1 0-0 2, Persons 4 0-0 8, Jewison 11 0-0 22, Bagstad 3 3-5 9, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hill 0 1-2 1. Totals: 27 for 56 (FG), 5 for 11 (FT).
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Halftime: Park Rapids 29, EGF 21. Rebounds: Park Rapids 28 (Jewison 12, Bagstad 5, Dickinson 5, Herberg 4, Haas 1, Persons 1). Assists: Park Rapids 13 (Dickinson 4, Persons 3, Herberg 2, Haas 2, Bagstad 1). Steals: Park Rapids 5 (Bagstad 2, Haas 1, Dickinson 1, Persons 1). Blocked shots: Park Rapids 2 (Johnson 1, Jewison 1). Team fouls: Park Rapids 21. Fouled out: Jewison. Turnovers: Park Rapids 18.
Barnesville tops Panthers
Charle Aakre scored 23 points and Kellen Hinsz added 15 points in leading Barnesville to a 66-49 Section 8AA win over the Panthers at the Fargo Civic Center on Feb. 11.
Barnesville, which prevailed despite making only 2 of 18 3-pointers, improved to 4-7 against section opponents and 5-13 overall.
Persons led the Panthers with 17 points and five rebounds.
PARK RAPIDS: Herberg 2 0-0 5, Haas 2 1-3 5, Dickinson 2 2-3 6, Persons 6 2-5 17, Jewison 2 0-0 4, Reish 0 2-4 2, Kosel 1 0-0 3, Ballard 0 0-0 0, Renneberg 0 0-0 0, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Pickar 0 0-0 0, Cook 1 0-0 3, Ohm 1 0-1 2, Hill 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 for 42 (FG), 7 for 16 (FT).
BARNESVILLE: Aakre 23, Hinsz 15, Peterson 7, Roste 6, Zenzen 6, Tonsfeldt 5.
Halftime: Barnesville 35, Park Rapids 25. Three-pointers: Herberg 1, Persons 3, Kosel 1, Cook 1. Rebounds: Park Rapids 19 (Persons 5, Haas 3, Jewison 3, Dickinson 2, Cook 2, Ohm 2, Johnson 1, Pickar 1). Assists: Park Rapids 9 (Herberg 2, Haas 2, Dickinson 2, Johnson 1, Persons 1, Cook 1). Steals: Park Rapids 3 (Dickinson 2, Persons 1). Blocked shots: Park Rapids 2 (Dickinson 1, Jewison 1). Team fouls: Park Rapids 22. Turnovers: Park Rapids 20.
