by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls senior Bridger Wilcox joined an elite group of basketball players when he scored his 1,000th career point during the second half of Thursday night’s home game between the Prowlers and the Northern Freeze.
Wilcox’s 1,000th career point came during a 1-1 week for the Prowlers, who dropped a 65-44 decision on the road at second-ranked Red Lake County on Tuesday, before bouncing back with a 74-69 win over the Freeze Thursday night in the Lincoln High School Brickhouse.
“Bridger’s 1,000 is a great individual accomplishment for him,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Jon Hams. “It is indicative of how much time as an individual he puts into his game and how hard he has worked at it. For the three years he has been starting, he has led the team both on and off the floor, showing what a great individual he is, and is a model for younger players to emulate. As his coach and as a team we couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishment.”
Wilcox’s milestone came one game after the Prowlers couldn’t get much of anything going on the road in Oklee against second-ranked Red Lake County.
The Prowlers got off to a slow start and trailed 34-16 at the break, before falling 65-44.
“For us the slow night from the field against Red Lake County hurt us,” Hams said. “We missed way too many shots in the paints and to beat them you have to match their scoring.”
The loss to the Rebels snapped a five-game winning streak for the Prowlers.
The Prowlers were back in action two nights later against the Freeze. The Prowlers started fast, with a 39-24 lead through one half of play and held on for a 74-69 win.
“The Freeze started the opposite for us,” Hams said. “We started hot and stayed hot through the first half, being led by Bridger and Tucker. They dared Tucker to shoot threes and he hit two of them in the first half. Bridger was also very efficient in the first half.”
“In the second half, they made it their mission to stop Bridger from getting his 1000th and tried to deny him the ball as much as they could,” Hams said. “Despite this, Bridger made them pay going eight of 10 in the second half from the line and 13 of 17 overall.”
The Freeze worked the 15-point halftime deficit down to two scores late, but they were unable to get any closer due to the Prowlers hitting 22 of 28 free throws as a team
The extra attention drawn by Wilcox opened things up for Wyatt Nelson, who scored eight of his 13 points in the second half.
When he did get the ball, Wilcox made the most of his chances, hitting on 10 of 22 field goals, including a two-for-four effort from beyond the arc for a game-high 35 points.
Also reaching double figures for the Prowlers was Tucker Grindeland with 13 points.
Thief River Falls improved to 7-2 with the win.
Scoring
1 2 T
Thief River Falls 16 28 44
Red Lake County 34 32 65
TRF – Bridger Wilcox 14, Wyatt Nelson 6, Jett Cornelius 2, Carsten Westerman 2, Casey Nelson 3, Connor Bruce 6, Adrian Nelson 3, Spencer Skaar 8.
RLC – Ethan Johnson 2, Will Gieseke 16, Ben Gullingsrud 8, Nate Powers 10, Atly Vettleson 5, Logan Vettleson 4, Nick Suchy 3, Connor Duden 15, Benji Brammer 2.
Scoring
1 2 T
Northern Freeze 24 45 69
Thief River Falls 39 35 74
Northern Freeze – Sawyer Torgerson 7, Blair Moen 4, Trig Anderson 2, Kelby Augustine 5, Alex Bray 22, Cale Pearson 9, Brekken Bring 4, Avynn Ryba 10, Wyatt Klopp 4, Unknown 2.
TRF – Tucker Grindeland 13, Bridger Wilcox 35, Wyatt Nelson 13, Jett Cornelius 5, Connor Bruce 4, Lane Waldal 1, Dylan Osowski 3.
Section 8AA
Overall QRF
W L
Thief River Falls 7 2 60.5
Osakis 6 3 54.3
DGF 7 4 52.7
Perham 6 4 52.3
Staples-Motley 5 4 50.1
East Grand Forks 7 4 49.1
Barnesville 5 6 46.9
Warroad 8 6 43.9
Hawley 3 8 33.1
Menahga 4 6 26.6
Wadena-Deer Creek 2 6 25.9
Roseau 2 9 23.6
Park Rapids Area 1 6 17.4
Crookston 0 7 11.2