Red Lake at Clearbrook-Gonvick

Recap

Red Lake at Clearbrook-Gonvick

Clearbrook, MN — The Clearbrook-Gonvick Bears edged the Red Lake Warriors 88-86 in a season-opening thriller Tuesday night, capping a wild back-and-forth battle with a last-second finish.

Clearbrook-Gonvick came out flying defensively, forcing Red Lake into several errant passes and rushed possessions. On the offensive end, the Bears attacked the rim relentlessly, refusing to settle for jumpers. That aggressiveness sparked a 14-0 run and helped them build a lead as large as 17 points midway through the first half. Red Lake, however, found life over the final 4:46 before halftime, stringing together a crucial 16-5 surge to cut the margin to 45-39 at the break.

The second half opened with more trading of punches as the Warriors grabbed one of their first leads of the night and then built on it, eventually stretching their advantage to 15 points with 10 minutes remaining. The situation looked bleak for the Bears, who trailed by double digits while their top two scorers, Grant Engen and Ryan Gerlofs, sat with four fouls each. What had carried them early, defensive pressure and downhill attacking, needed to return in a hurry.

Down 80-65, Clearbrook-Gonvick delivered their answer. The Bears erupted for a 15-0 run, clawing back to tie the game with two minutes left. From that point on, the final stretch turned into chaos: four lead changes and four ties in the closing moments. With 30 seconds remaining, the Bears held for the final shot. Engen, who finished with 30 points, sliced through traffic and rolled in a tough layup with three seconds on the clock to give Clearbrook-Gonvick the lead. Red Lake, out of timeouts, pushed the ball up the floor for a last-second, underhanded heave from the opposite volleyball line, but it fell short, sealing the Bears’ dramatic 88-86 victory.

Clearbrook-Gonvick opens the season 1-0 and heads to the Fosston Holiday Tournament on Thursday and Friday. Red Lake falls to 0-1 and will host Goodridge/Grygla on December 9th.

Clearbrook-Gonvick Bears Stats

Grant Engen 30 pts 7 rebs
Trey Goudge 16 pts 6 rebs
Avery Ostenaa 13 pts 5 rebs
Ryan Gerlofs 11 pts 8 rebs
Carver Kroulik 8 pts
Drayden Cobanais-Neadeau 5 pts 3 rebs
Gavin Solberg 3 pts 6 rebs
Wyatt Westrum 2 pts 6 rebs

17/29 FT’s – 58%
14 Turnovers

Red Lake Warriors Stats

Austin Perkins 32 pts 4 rebs
Dimitrius Harris 14 pts 8 rebs
Arius Curry 14 pts 5 rebs
John Henry Barrett 10 pts 3 rebs
Isiah Oakgrove 9 pts 9 rebs
Isaac Jourdain 4 pts
Zander Papageorgiou 3 pts 3 rebs

21/36 FT’s – 58%
19 Turnovers