Panthers run to pair of key wins

     An impressive win on the road and an impressive win at home kept the Park Rapids boys basketball team undefeated on the season.

     Remington Hagan’s triple-double sparked the Panthers to a 90-74 win at Staples-Motley in the Mid-State Conference opener Thursday night while Jordan McCollum’s 27 points sparked the Panthers to an 83-64 victory over Bagley in a battle of Section 8AA rivals Saturday night at the Area High School gym as Park Rapids improved to 3-0 on the season.

     “The kids are playing good team ball right now,” said Park Rapids head coach Matt Brandt. “We need to continue to get everyone involved and continue to be determined to be the best team on the floor every night. Defensively we still need to be stronger, but that will continue to come and get better as we continue to play.”

Hagan’s triple-double keys win

     Hagan’s 23 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds led the Panthers past Staples-Motley.

     Three other players had double-doubles as Derek Porozinski had 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while McCollum added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Lopez chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds while Damion Hanke had 11 points and four steals.

     Gavin Smith and Andrew Israelson scored 17 points apiece for the Cardinals, who fell to 0-2 in the conference and 1-3 overall.

PARK RAPIDS: Lopez 6 3-4 15, Hanke 5 1-3 11, McCollum 7 1-2 16, Porozinski 9 4-6 22, Hagan 6 10-12 23, Herberg 1 0-2 2, Kosel 0 0-0 0, Byer 0 0-0 0, Jewison 0 1-2 1. Totals: 34 for 68 (FG), 20 for 31 (FT).

STAPLES-MOTLEY: Smith 17, Israelson 17, Connell 11, Lund 11, Hofmann 11, Schimpp 3, Schmitz 2, Paskewitz 2.

Halftime: Park Rapids 41, S-M 32. Three-pointers: McCollum 1, Hagan 1. Rebounds: Park Rapids 50 (Porozinski 11, Hagan 11, Lopez 10, McCollum 10, Hanke 4, Jewison 4). Assists: Park Rapids 26 (Hagan 11, Porozinski 6, Lopez 3, Hanke 3, McCollum 2, Jewison 1). Steals: Park Rapids 13 (Hanke 4, Lopez 3, Hagan 3, McCollum 2, Porozinski 1). Blocked shots: Park Rapids 2 (Porozinski 1, Hagan 1). Team fouls:  Park Rapids 21. Turnovers:  Park Rapids 21.

Panthers fly past Flyers

     The Panthers relied on another balanced scoring attack to fly past Bagley.

     Three-pointers by McCollum and Hagan and inside baskets by Porozinski and Lopez gave the Panthers a 12-2 advantage with 11:56 to play in the first half. A layup by Hunter Jewison, a three-point play by McCollum, jumpers by Hanke and Lopez, and a layup off a steal by Lopez pushed the lead to 33-17 at the 3:03 mark. Lopez hit a 3-pointer and two jumpers as the Panthers led 41-26 at the half.

     A layup by Hagan and two 3-pointers by McCollum extended the lead to 51-33 with 14:59 to play. After the Flyers cut the gap to 55-43 with 11:34 to play, the Panthers responded with a 3-pointer and two layups by McCollum and a three-point play by Porozinski for a 68-43 advantage with 8:22 remaining.

     Bagley made another run as a pair of 3-pointers by Hunter Syverson and 3-pointers by Lucas Culkins and Justin Olson cut the gap to 76-64 with 2:09 left before the Panthers closed the game with a 7-0 run.

     Lopez finished with 18 points, Porozinski scored 17 points and had five rebounds, and Hagan had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists while adding seven steals for the Panthers, who capitalized on 28 Bagley fouls to make 29 of 43 free throws.

     Jordan Loiland scored 13 points to lead the Flyers, who fell to 1-3 on the season.

BAGLEY: Cage 2 0-0 4, Larson 4 0-3 8, Olson 3 0-0 8, Loiland 5 2-2 13, M. Lundsten 2 5-5 9, Laudon 1 0-0 3, Syverson 4 0-0 10, S. Lundsten 1 0-0 2, Culkins 2 2-2 7. Totals: 24 (FG), 9 for 12 (FT).

PARK RAPIDS: Lopez 7 3-4 18, Hanke 2 3-5 7, McCollum 9 5-7 27, Porozinski 3 11-15 17, Hagan 2 5-6 10, Herberg 0 0-0 0, Kosel 0 0-0 0, Byer 0 0-2 0, Jewison 1 2-4 4. Totals: 24 for 57 (FG), 29 for 43 (FT).

Halftime: Park Rapids 41, Bagley 26. Three-pointers: Olson 2, Loiland 1, Laudon 1, Syverson 2, Culkins 1, Lopez 1, McCollum 4, Hagan 1. Team fouls: Bagley 28, Park Rapids 16. Rebounds: Park Rapids 24 (Porozinski 5, Jewison 5, Hanke 4, McCollum 4, Lopez 3, Hagan 3). Assists: Park Rapids 17 (Hagan 10, McCollum 3, Porozinski 3, Herberg 1). Steals: Park Rapids 21 (Hagan 7, Lopez 4, Hanke 4, McCollum 3, Porozinski 3). Blocked shots: Park Rapids 2 (Hanke 1, Hagan 1). Turnovers: Park Rapids 8.