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Boys Basketball: Pelican Rapids 79, Crookston 57
Published 6:51am Tuesday, January 19, 2010CROOKSTON— The Pelican Rapids boys basketball team continues to shock everyone with its strong start the 2009-2010 season.
The Vikings’ win streak reached three with Monday night’s 79-57 non-conference blow-out of Crookston on the road.
After losing all but one from last season’s state championship team, the Vikings have begun to jell into as a solid varsity squad despite not having the presence of a single senior on their roster.
“The kids are staying together and playing as a team,” Pelican Rapids coach Brad Strand said. “They’re really starting to trust each other.”
In what Strand called the best offensive performance of the season thus far, the Vikings shot a remarkable 64 percent from the field.
Sophomore Luke Halbakken led the way with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Lone 2008-2009 holdover Dan Wood finished 8 of 8 from the floor, netting 16 points.
Ryan Huseby and Taylor Budke also finished with double-figures in points with 14 and 12 respectively.
Friday night’s game-winning hero Casey Bruggeman put together a solid performance scoring eight points and dishing out five assists.
Pelican Rapids dominated on the inside with only one of its shots coming from beyond the perimeter.
The Vikings (7-4) will face a serious test on the road Thursday night against Heart O’Lakes Conference rival and No. 10 ranked (2-A) Perham.
