After flying high against the Crookston Pirates last Monday, the Park Rapids Panthers came back down to earth. Park Rapids suffered a rough 79-56 loss at the hands of West Central Area on Thursday. While losing is never fun, Park Rapids can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 106th, while West Central Area is ranked 30th).
Noah Larson and Ryan Carroll certainly did their best on Thursday to avoid the loss. Larson scored 24 points along with seven rebounds, while Carroll dropped a double-double on 13 points and 12 rebounds. Carroll hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Blake Morris, who scored 11 points along with three steals.
Park Rapids' loss dropped their record down to 13-7. As for West Central Area, their win was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-3.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Park Rapids will take on Staples-Motley at 7:15 p.m. on Monday. Park Rapids has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 227 points over their last three games. As for West Central Area, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Ashby at 7:15 p.m. on February 9th. West Central Area has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 421 points over their last six games.
