The Park Rapids Panthers will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Menahga Braves at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Park Rapids has six straight wins, Menahga has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Even though Park Rapids has not done well against Barnesville recently (they were 1-7 in their previous eight matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Park Rapids walked away with a 79-71 win over Barnesville. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Park Rapids got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Ryan Carroll out in front who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds. Carroll is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Noah Larson, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, Menahga pushed their score all the way to 65 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 70-65 hit to the loss column at the hands of Wadena-Deer Creek. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game on Saturday (56), Menahga still had to take the loss.
Park Rapids' victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-4. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 84.7 points per game. As for Menahga, their loss dropped their record down to 3-8.
Everything came up roses for Park Rapids against Menahga when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 83-46 victory. Does Park Rapids have another victory up their sleeve, or will Menahga turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
