In Thursday's non-league outing, the Verndale Pirates (Verndale, MN) basketball squad felled the visiting Staples-Motley Cardinals (Staples, MN), by a margin of 69-59.

The Pirates (11-2) will now prepare for their outing against New York Mills (New York Mills, MN). The Eagles go into the non-league outing with a 6-6 record. In their last outing, New York Mills thwarted Bertha-Hewitt (Bertha, MN), 61-51, in a non-league outing.

The Cardinals now own a 3-8 record. They play next when they host Park Rapids for a non-league outing on Friday, January 12. Staples-Motley will clash with a Panthers squad coming off a 63-40 league win over Crookston (Crookston, MN). The Panthers record now stands at 5-8.