by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls played its first game in 14 days Friday night and didn’t show much rust in a dominant 72-52 win over Section 8AA rival Hawley.
The Prowlers and Nuggets have traded wins in recent years. Both teams were in the hunt for a section championship when the Nuggets claimed a 79-55 win in January of 2022 in Hawley. That was the case again in 2023, when the Prowlers swept the season series. Thief River Falls defeated Hawley 82-62 in the Brickhouse in January 2023 and 66-65 in a Section 8AA semifinal nail biter March 2023.
Both teams went into a rebuilding phase in 2024, with the Nuggets claiming a 51-47 win in Hawley.
The Prowlers entered Friday night’s game as heavy favorites against a relatively young Nuggets squad that was winless in its first seven games. They were also seeking improvement on defense and at the foul line after surrendering a late lead in a 77-67 loss to Warroad on Dec. 20.
The Prowlers started fast, but the Nuggets matched the pace early. The Prowlers led 27-21 with just under five minutes remaining in the opening half, but they finished the half on a 16-3 run to take a 43-24 lead into the halftime break.
The Nuggets closed the gap a couple times in the second half, but the Prowlers answered each rally to close out the 20-point win.
Thief River Falls Head Coach Jon Hams had multiple goals for his team following the Dec. 20 loss to Warroad. One was to get better at rebounding, especially on the defensive end to limit second- and third-chance points. He also wanted to see his team do a better job at the foul line and take a charge defensively.
“Finally got the charge,” Hams said. “They had a little run on us and Brad Peters finally stepped up and took one in a key moment. We won the battle of the boards, it looked like guys were making an extra effort to get guys on their back before chasing the ball. Defensively we played better especially the first half.”
At 4-2 after Friday night’s win, the Prowlers are still a work in progress.
“We need to do a better job going forward understanding time and situation on offense,” Hams said. “We had a 20-point lead and became impatient – need to think the game sometimes not just play it.”
Milestone night for TRF senior
Thief River Falls senior Everett Nelson is in his first year playing for the Prowlers after spending the majority of his career playing for the Northern Freeze. On Friday night, Nelson joined an elite club when he scored his 1,000th point.
“Great accomplishment by Everett,” Hams said. “I wish the [first] 900 would have came here. He played a great all around game dominant on the boards and D.”
Nelson entered Friday night’s game with 984 career points. He scored 13 points in the first half and finished the night with a double-double, scoring 21 points and 16 rebounds. Thirteen of the 16 rebounds came on defense.
Also reaching double figures for the Prowlers were senior Gannon Zutz, with 15 points and a team-high seven assists; junior Bridger Wilcox with 13 points and five assists; and senior Caden Rose with 12 points.
Scoring
1 2 T
Hawley 24 28 52
Thief River Falls 43 29 72
Hawley – Mathew Crompton 14, Levi Helm 8 Elliot Lee 3, Evan Schenck 3, Noah Nelson 13, Jaxon Schenck 11.
TRF – Bridger Wilcox 13, Wyatt Nelson 9, Everett Nelson 21, Gannon Zutz 17, Lucas Rantanen 2, Caden Rose 10. (Everett Nelson reaches 1,000 points.)
Section 8AA Boys Basketball
Overall QRF
W L
Pelican Rapids 8 1 63.5
Warroad 12 0 62.8
Perham 6 2 62.7
East Grand Forks 5 2 62.1
DGF 5 3 50.9
Barnesville 6 4 47.2
Thief River Falls 4 2 41.1
Park Rapids Area 3 3 36.3
Wadena-Deer Creek 3 3 32.9
Crookston 2 3 32.1
Roseau 2 6 22.2
Menahga 1 8 16.1
Hawley 0 8 13.2