Sports & Recreation

Contributing Writer

The tough season for the Cromwell Cardinal boys basketball team continued last week with a couple of defeats at the hands of Barnum and Floodwood.

Last Tuesday, 13 different players scored for Barnum as they dominated Cromwell in a 91-47 win on the road.

Jacob Naslund’s 33 points led the Bombers. That was followed up by an 11-point performance by Bobby Minkkinen. Brandon Newman added 10 for Barnum.

The Bombers raced out to a 20-point halftime lead and outscored Cromwell 46-22 in the second half. Barnum scored 17 more field goals in the victory and was at the foul line eight more times than the Cardinals.

Jake Ramberg was the leading scorer for Cromwell with 18 points. Austin Johnson had 11.

On Friday night, a back and forth first half ended with a 13-0 run for Floodwood in a 56-41 win over Cromwell. The Cardinals pulled to within 27-23 down the stretch in the first half, but couldn’t pull any closer and went to the locker room at halftime down by 17. Cromwell outscored Floodwood (8-8) in the second half 18-16, but couldn’t close the early gap created by the Polar Bears.

Floodwood’s Ross Schminski led all scorers with 22 points. Jared Hutar (13) and Jake Ramberg (10) scored in double figures for Cromwell (3-11). Floodwood is now 5-3 in the Polar League, while Cromwell slipped to...

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Contributing Writer

McGregor gained a little payback from an earlier loss to Floodwood by edging the visiting Polar Bears 54-51. It wasn’t always neatly played, but it was exciting throughout. The Mercs raised their conference record to 4-3 (6-5 overall) at the halfway point of their season, while the Polar Bears slipped to 4-2 (7-5 overall).

The game was a contrast in styles, as Floodwood matched their ability to get to the basket, resulting in a 50% field goal percentage, against the Mercs hustle that offset a 35% effort from the floor via forcing turnovers and holding an edge in rebounding. McGregor also held a 6-1 advantage from 3-point range in the game.

The Mercs were led by Alex Carlstrom’s 14 points, and had good balance via 12 points from Dylan Wilkie, and 11 points each by Ben Belz and Dan Gelhar. Wilkie delivered some of his points at particularly key moments in the game. Floodwood was led by 16 points from Ross Schminski, with 12 from Jason Myrvold and 10 from Jared Heggedahl.

After a turnover-plagued start by both teams, the Polar Bears led most of the first half, as they used an 8-0 run to grab a 13-7 lead, with Schminski contributing 4 of the 8 points. The Mercs chipped away at the lead, with a Wilkie free throw tying the game at 20. Floodwood regained the lead and held it as the teams exchanged baskets until Wilkie’s 3-pointer at the buzzer sent the Mercs in with a 26-25 halftime advantage.

Wilkie, Carlstrom, and Gelhar each had 7 first-half points to pace McGregor; while Myrvold’s 10 points led Floodwood, followed by 6 from Schminski. Floodwood shot an unofficial 61% from the field in the first half, compared with 31% by McGregor.

The second half was a battle throughout. Schminski led Floodwood to a 5-point lead early. The Mercs came back to tie and take a 2-point lead at the halfway mark via a Gelhar bucket off a steal, and then another Gelhar put back as the Mercs kept the ball alive on the offensive board. A couple 3-point plays by Justin Hall put the Polar Bears back on top by 4, 42-38, with six...

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Contributing Writer

Two extra sessions were needed for the McGregor Mercs to outlast the Cromwell Cardinals 62-56 last Tuesday night in a Polar League boys basketball contest between the two rival schools.

McGregor senior guard Alex Carlstrom led all scorers with 28 points, while Cromwell senior forward Jake Ramberg finished the game with 26 points. Those two were the only players to score in double figures.

Cromwell held a 28-27 lead at halftime, and led by 13 points with about four minutes to go in regulation time, but the Mercs mounted a road rally and forced overtime, where both teams scored just two points apiece in the first overtime.

In the second overtime, McGregor shut down Cromwell 8-2 to win by the final six-point margin.

In addition to Carlstrom’s game-leading 28 points, Ben Belz paced the Mercs with nine points. Dylan Wilkie scored eight and Trevor Honstrom picked up seven points.

For Cromwell, Josh Oliver scored eight points, while Jared Hutar and Austin Johnson each added seven points.

Both teams combined for 10 three-pointers in the contest.

The Mercs picked up another victory on Friday over Wrenshall, 78-63, to improve to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Polar League. McGregor has won three of its last four games. Meanwhile, Cromwell lost later in the week at home against Carlton and now sits at 3-8 overall and 2-5 in the conference. The Cardinals have lost six of seven...

For the rest of this story, scores, schedules and more, pick up this week's Voyageur Press.