by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor

The Thief River Falls boys basketball team is headed to the Section 8AA semifinals for the second consecutive season after defeating Pelican Rapids 78-63 Monday night at the Lincoln High School Brickhouse.

The top-seeded Prowlers were tested early by the ninth-seeded Vikings. The lead changed hands several times in the opening half with the Vikings holding a 19-18 lead around the 8-minute mark. The Prowlers got hot from there.

Fed by a capacity crowd that was a sea of royal blue and gold in the Brickhouse, the Prowlers went on a 12-1 run that put them in front for good.

The Vikings never completely went away. They made a few small runs to stay within single digits, but each time, the Prowlers would answer with a timely three-pointer.

The Prowlers went 8-for-9 from the foul line in the first half and 17-for-22 overall in the game to help seal the win.

“We finished well,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Jon Hams. “We gave a few away, but we played well hitting free throws. It was a great team win.”

Jack Manning, the Prowlers’ regular season scoring leader, got into foul trouble Monday night, with three fouls in the first 14 minutes. Manning eventually fouled out after scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

Most teams would struggle without their top scorer for long stretches of the game, but this Prowler squad is a bit different than most. Senior forward Jake Friedrich stepped up, much like he did at times during the regular season, and played bigger than his 6-foot frame to lead all scorers with 18 points. He also added eight rebounds and eight assists.

Also reaching double figures for the Prowlers were junior Caleb Rosendahl with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, and senior Jack Rosendahl with 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Prowlers face
Hawley in semifinal
Thief River Falls will face Hawley in the first of two semifinal games at Detroit Lakes tonight (Wednesday). The Prowlers (25-2) defeated the Nuggets (19-9) 82-62 when the teams met for their only regular season game Jan. 3 at the Brickhouse. Four of the Nuggets’ nine losses are to Perham and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.

Perham, last year’s section champion, appeared to be on a collision course to face last year’s runner-up DGF in the semifinals. Third-seeded DGF (22-6) did its part with a 75-62 win over sixth-seeded East Grand Forks (14-12) Monday night, but second-seeded Perham (22-6) did not. The returning second champs were eliminated from the tournament with a 48-42 loss to seventh-seeded Barnesville (18-8).

Thief River Falls faces Hawley in the first semifinal at 6 p.m., with DGF vs. Barnesville to follow with a scheduled start time of 7:45 p.m.

Scoring
1 2 T
Pelican Rapids 26 37 63
Thief River Falls 38 40 78
Pelican Rapids – N/A.
TRF – Jesse McDougall 7, Caleb Rosendahl 17, Jack Rosendahl 15, Maxton Peterson 2, Jake Friedrich 18, Lucas Rantanen 2, Jack Manning 17.

Section 8AA Playoffs
• First round, Thursday, March 9 at high seed – Thief River Falls 79, Menahga 45; Pelican Rapids 64, Red Lake 63; Hawley 76, Crookston 40; Wadena-Deer Creek 52, Park Rapids Area 50; Perham 92, Roseau 39; Barnesville 72, Fergus Falls 61; Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 74, Warroad 48; East Grand Forks 77, Frazee 62.
• Quarterfinals, Monday, March 13 at high seeds – Thief River Falls 78, Pelican Rapids 63; Hawley 74, Wadena-Deer Creek 54; Barnesville 48, Perham 42; Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 75, East Grand Forks 62.
• Semifinals, Wednesday, March 15 at Detroit Lakes – Thief River Falls vs. Hawley 6 p.m., Barnesville vs. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 7:45 p.m.
• Championship, Friday, March 17, 7 p.m. at Detroit Lakes.