The Park Rapids Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Pillager Huskies at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Park Rapids is hoping to put an end to a seven-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Park Rapids pushed their score all the way to 68 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 74-68 hit to the loss column at the hands of Bemidji. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Park Rapids came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 128th, while Bemidji is ranked 301st).
Park Rapids' loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Ryan Carroll, who scored 21 points along with nine rebounds, and Noah Larson who scored 22 points along with five rebounds. The game was Larson's sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Morris, who scored nine points along with ten assists.
Even though they lost, Park Rapids were working as a unit and finished the game with 25 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Pillager scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Verndale 90-55 at home. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Park Rapids' loss dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Pillager, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Park Rapids strolled past Pillager in their previous meeting back in December of 2022 by a score of 76-57. Does Park Rapids have another victory up their sleeve, or will Pillager turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
