WADENA – Wadena-Deer Creek tied a school record for most wins in a season after defeating Park Rapids 52-50 to open the Section 8AA boys basketball tournament on Thursday, March 9.
The No. 5-seeded Wolverines, who tied the school record of 20 wins set during the 1973-74 season, had to battle to the end in this game which was a stark contrast to the first meeting between these two teams this season.
In the first meeting, the Wolverines jumped out to a 15-1 lead in a 61-39 victory on March 2. W-DC again got off to a strong start by claiming an early 11-6 lead, but had to battle the rest of the game to avoid an upset by the No. 12-seeded Panthers.
“The guys did play hard. The effort and attitude was great,” said Park Rapids head coach Josh Meader. “The difference (between the two games) was we locked in on defense and gave our maximum effort on that end of the floor.”
Noah Larson hit a pair of jumpers and scored on two layups, Ryan Carroll scored inside and Mason Yliniemi hit a 3-pointer as the Panthers led 13-11 with 10:32 to play in the first half. Another layup by Carroll and a layup off a steal by Cory Johnson gave Park Rapids a 17-14 lead at the 7:57 mark. A 3-pointer and a layup by Peyton Church along with a pair of layups by Teshe Loer gave W-DC a 27-24 edge at the break. Carroll had a 3-pointer and a layup for the Panthers at the end of the first half.
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Park Rapids claimed its only lead of the second half at 34-33 while a 3-pointer by Larson tied the game at 46-46. A 3-pointer by Kobe Snyder put the Wolverines back in front before a free throw by Church with 18 seconds left sealed the win. Larson and Carroll scored 8 points each while Blake Morris scored all of his 5 points in the second half.
Larson (18) and Carroll (17) combined to score 35 points for the Panthers, who went 5 for 19 on 3-pointers. Larson had eight rebounds and joined Noah Morris and Yliniemi with four assists. Yliniemi and Carroll grabbed six rebounds each while Noah Morris dished out two assists and Carroll blocked three shots to lead Park Rapids.
Loer (15) and Snyder (14) combined to score 29 points to lead the Wolverines, who went 5 for 15 on 3-pointers.
Park Rapids’ season ended at 5-22 while W-DC moved on with a 20-7 record.
In the other Section 8AA playoff openers, No. 1 Thief River Falls defeated No. 16 Menahga 79-45, No. 2 Perham eliminated No. 15 Roseau 96-39, No. 3 Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton ousted No. 14 Warroad 74-48, No. 4 Hawley defeated No. 13 Crookston 76-40, No. 6 East Grand Forks topped No. 11 Frazee 77-62, No. 7 Barnesville eliminated No. No. 10 Fergus Falls 72-61 and No. 9 Pelican Rapids edged No. 8 Red Lake 64-63.
PARK RAPIDS: N. Morris 0 0-0 0, B. Morris 2 0-0 5, Johnson 2 0-0 4, Yliniemi 2 1-4 6, Larson 7 2-2 18, Carroll 8 0-1 17, Hartung 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 for 56 (FG), 3 for 7 (FT).
WADENA-DEER CREEK: Loer 15, Snyder 14, Church 9, Hamann 7, Kallevig 7. Totals: 22 for 53 (FG), 3 for 8 (FT).
Halftime: W-DC 27, Park Rapids 24. Three-pointers: B. Morris 1, Yliniemi 1, Larson 2, Carroll 1. Team fouls: Park Rapids 13, W-DC 12. Rebounds: Park Rapids 31 (Larson 8, Yliniemi 6, Carroll 6, B. Morris 3, Johnson 3, Hartung 3, N. Morris 2). Assists: Park Rapids 14 (N. Morris 4, Yliniemi 4, Larson 4, Johnson 1, Carroll 1). Steals: Park Rapids 5 (N. Morris 2, Johnson 1, Yliniemi 1, Carroll 1). Blocked shots: Park Rapids 4 (Carroll 3, Hartung 1). Turnovers: Park Rapids 10, W-DC 14.
Thief River Falls ousts Braves
THIEF RIVER FALLS – Top-seeded Thief River Falls had five players score in double figures in eliminating Menahga from the Section 8AA tournament with a 79-45 victory on Thursday, March 9.
The Braves got off to a solid start as a layup by Carder Jettmann and a 3-pointer by Brock Berttunen made it 5-0. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Bodie Berttunen tied the game at 14-14. After TRF went on a 10-0 run, a jumper by Ryan Tokkinen and a layup by Brayden Aho closed the gap to 24-18. The Prowlers closed the half with a 17-6 run as Bodie Berttunen’s 3-pointer led Menahga.
Thief River Falls capped off a 31-10 run by opening the second half with a 14-4 spurt. Brock Berttunen hit a 3-pointer for the Braves. A three-point play by Aho, a jumper by Tolkkinen, and layups by Jettmann and Knaylor Howard closed the margin to 55-37 before the Prowlers ended the game with a 24-8 run. Howard and Jettmann had layups for Menahga down the stretch.
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Bodie Berttunen’s 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals led the Braves. Brock Berttunen chipped in eight rebounds and four blocked shots while Jettmann (8) and Tolkkinen (6) combined for 14 rebounds. The Braves went 5 for 21 on 3-pointers and 12 for 30 on free throws while committing 26 turnovers.
All five of TRF’s starters scored in double figures with Jack Manning’s double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds leading the way. Jack Rosendahl (15), Jesse McDougall (14), Caleb Rosendahl (13) and Jake Friedrich (10) also scored in double figures as the Prowlers made 8 of 27 3-pointers.
The win lifted Thief River Falls’ record to 24-2 while the Braves ended the season at 7-20.
MENAHGA: Br. Berttunen 2 0-0 6, Aho 2 5-10 9, Bo. Berttunen 3 2-4 11, Jettmann 3 3-9 9, Anderson 0 1-2 1, Tolkkinen 2 0-3 4, Howard 2 1-2 5, Lusti 0 0-0 0, Usher 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 for 53 (FG), 12 for 30 (FT).
THIEF RIVER FALLS: McDougall 6 0-0 14, C. Rosendahl 5 2-2 13, J. Rosendahl 6 0-0 15, Friedrich 5 0-0 10, Manning 7 3-4 17, Wilcox 1 0-0 3, Zutz 1 1-2 4, Peterson 1 0-0 2, Grosz 0 1-2 1. Totals: 32 for 73 (FG), 7 for 10 (FT).
Halftime: TRF 41, Menahga 24. Three-pointers: Br. Berttunen 2, Bo. Berttunen 3, McDougall 2, C. Rosendahl 1, J. Rosendahl 3, Wilcox 1, Zutz 1. Team fouls: Menahga 19, TRF 23. Rebounds: Menahga 38 (Br. Berttunen 8, Jettmann 8, Bo. Berttunen 7, Tolkkinen 6, Howard 4, Aho 3, Anderson 1, Usher 1). Assists: Menahga 7 (Bo. Berttunen 3, Jettmann 1, Anderson 1, Tolkkinen 1, Howard 1). Steals: Menahga 6 (Bo. Berttunen 3, Tolkkinen 2, Howard 1). Blocked shots: Menahga 7 (Br. Berttunen 4, Jettmann 2, Aho 1). Turnovers: Menahga 26, TRF 15.
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