by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls overcame a slow start to claim a decisive 74-60 win over Frazee Thursday night at the Lincoln High School Brickhouse.
“Frazee played very spirited but I talked to my guys that everybody is going to give us their best,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Jon Hams. “We need to be prepared to be in dog fights when things don’t go our way and react in positive ways.”
The Prowlers clawed their way to a 7-6 advantage early in the first half and they had their hands full against a scrappy Frazee Hornet squad that was seeking its second win of the season.
The Prowlers took control of the game with a 10-0 run to go in front 17-6 and they outscored the Hornets 22-16 over the final nine minutes of the half to take a 39-22 lead into the locker room.
The Hornets battled the Prowlers in the second half but they were unable to gain enough ground to get back into the game as the Prowlers claimed the 14-point win.
Jack Manning got into foul trouble early for the Prowlers but the senior post player still managed to lead the team in scoring with 24 points, with four rebounds, a pair of steals and a blocked shot before fouling out late.
When Manning went to the bench with early foul trouble, it was fellow senior Jake Friedrich who gave the Prowlers a spark with 11 points in the first 10 minutes. Friedrich would finish the game with an impressive 10-for-11 shooting performance that was good for 23 points, with four rebounds, three steals and an assist.
“Jake came out and played tough for us,” Hams said. “He made up for the 19 free throws we missed by rebounding and making some key plays.”
The Prowlers’ top rebounders were Jack Onkka and Nathan Nelson, who grabbed seven boards apiece.
Challenging week
awaits TRF
The Prowlers are 7-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season. The 03-04 Prowlers started 21-0 before dropping their first game. They went on to finish 24-2, with their second loss coming to Willmar in the Section 8AAA semifinals by a score of 68-60 in overtime.
The 2022-23 version of the Prowlers has what could be the most difficult stretch of its season this week. The week began Tuesday night (results will appear in this weekend’s Northern Watch) at home against a strong Hawley squad that gave the Prowlers their first loss in 2021-22. On Thursday, the Prowlers host defending Section 8AA runner-up Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and on Friday, the Prowlers travel to Fertile to face a strong Fertile-Beltrami squad.
Scoring
1 2 T
Frazee 22 38 60
TRF 39 35 74
Frazee – N/A.
TRF – Jesse McDougall 7, Caleb Rosendahl 9, Jack Rosendahl 8, Nathan Nelson 2, Max Peterson 1, Jake Friedrich 23, Jack Manning 24.