The Pine River-Backus Tigers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their ninth straight loss. They were dealt a 80-42 defeat at the hands of Upsala. While losing is never fun, Pine River-Backus can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 368th, while the Cardinals are ranked 154th).
Upsala was led to victory by Noah Boeckermann and Jack Primus. Boeckermann almost dropped a triple-double on 22 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, while Primus dropped a double-double on 26 points and 12 rebounds. Primus is crushing the steal category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Aden Warga, who scored nine points along with eight rebounds.
Pine River-Backus has not been sharp recently as the team's lost 12 of their last 13 games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-15 record this season. As for Upsala, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Pine River-Backus will take on the Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Laporte is on a five-game streak of home losses, the Tigers a six-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck is about to change. As for Upsala, they will head out on the road to square off against the Bulldogs at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
