Thief River Falls boys basketball coach Chris McLean has been with the Prowlers for 11 years and has found a common thread in games against East Grand Forks Senior High.
"I've never been a part of a Thief River Falls-East Grand Forks game that's been a thing of beauty," McLean said.
That about summed up the final moments of the Prowlers' 52-47 Minnesota Section 8AAA win over the Green Wave on Friday night in the East Grand Forks gym.
Senior High center Jim Warmack's lay-in with 90 seconds to go cut Thief River Falls' lead to 48-47, but then the Green Wave comeback bid hit the skids.
Senior High fumbled three opportunities to tie or take the lead from the Prowlers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Trailing by one with 42 seconds left, Senior High was whistled for a travel. Trailing by three points with 27 seconds to go, the Wave dribbled the ball out of bounds. Then with 25 seconds remaining, the Prowlers missed the front end of a bonus free throw but two Senior High rebounders collided and the ball went back to Thief River Falls.
"Some of that can be chalked up as inexperience," Senior High coach Travis Lindgren said. "We have lots of guys that were playing JV at this time last year. They're still understanding the speed of the game and certain situations. Hopefully we can learn from it."
The Prowlers improved to 4-1, while the Green Wave dropped to 1-3.
Thief River Falls, sparked by a Jaylon Gunderson alley-oop to start the game, jumped out to an 11-3 lead over the first seven minutes.
Gunderson, a 6-foot-7 senior center who averages more than 20 points per game, finished with 12 points -- all coming in the first half.
Gunderson had eight of Thief River Falls' first 11 points.
But the Wave countered with their 6-7 post. Warmack, who finished with a game-high 20 points, carried Senior High to take a pair of late leads in the first half. The Prowlers led 25-24 at halftime when guard Ralph Williams scored on a drive at the buzzer.
Senior High never led in the second half, but Thief River Falls' lead was never more than seven.
ADVERTISEMENT
With Gunderson held scoreless in the second half, the Prowlers turned to senior Micah Schneider.
The 6-3 forward scored 12 of his 14 points in the game's final 14 minutes.
"Micah is very versatile," McLean said. "He can put it on the floor and be a tough matchup. He's been sick, but he's coming back slowly. He's a strong kid, who can finish with both hands."
Warmack was also a tough matchup.
"He did a much better job utilizing his outside game," Lindgren said. "Going up against another 6-7 player (Gunderson), he was forced to do some different things. I thought he was very good without the basketball, as well. That's a really good sign for him."
Warmack was aided by Michael Kinzler's 12 points and Kyle Cummings' nine.
