Basketball Recap: Parkers Prairie Comes Up Short

It was a proper cat-fight when Parkers Prairie challenged Upsala on Thursday. The Parkers Prairie Panthers took a blow against the Upsala Cardinals, falling 86-55. The game was over by the end of the first half, with no points scored by either team from that point forward.

Upsala's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Samuel Laliberte led the charge by shooting 75% from beyond the arc en route to 23 points and six assists. The dominant performance also gave Laliberte a new career-high in field goal percentage (78%). Jack Primus was another key player, putting up 16 points in addition to eight rebounds and seven assists.

This is the second loss in a row for Parkers Prairie and nudges their season record down to 9-14. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points over those games. As for Upsala, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-6 record this season.

Parkers Prairie has already played their next game, a 71-36 victory against Bertha-Hewitt on the 28th. As for Upsala, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 71-38 win against Verndale on the 28th.