Park Christian vs. Pelican Rapids

Recap

Park Christian vs. Pelican Rapids

Trailing by a point with 5.5 seconds remaining the Park Christian Falcons beat the buzzer to beat the Pelican Rapids Vikings 59-58 in the section 6A semifinal round. After both teams had an early feeling out process (6 lead changes, 4 ties in the first half) Pelican Rapids would clamp down on defense and build a double digit lead at 27-16. Park Christian would respond with a scoring run in the final three minutes of the half to cut the margin to a 31-27 halftime score. The Falcons continued their momentum after halftime and the teams trading leads four times in the opening minutes. Again the Vikings would clamp down on defense and build an 11-point lead and held a 55-45 advantage with roughly six minutes left in the game. Again, Park Christian would get hot on offense as the half wore on. A pair of free throws capped a 12-0 run that put the Falcons ahead 57-55 with 2:35 remaining. Pelican Rapids retook the lead on the next possession with a layup and free throw three-point play putting them ahead 58-57 with 2:07 left. Park Christian would have the opportunity to take the lead back from the free throw line but their only two missed attempts from the line kept the Vikings ahead with 29 seconds left. Needing the ball back and with the shot clock turned off the Falcons made the defensive play they required to keep their season alive. The Vikings were able to inbound the ball and dribble up court before Logan Giese snuck in from behind and knocked the ball away for the steal to grant them a final possession. After a timeout the Falcons inbounded the ball on the right sideline with 5.5 seconds left and got the ball to Tyler Loeb on the elbow. Three dribbles to his left later Loeb would pull up for a short fadeaway in the paint and drop the shot through the net as time ran out for the 59-58 buzzer beater to advance to play for a section championship versus the Henning Hornets on Friday night. the Falcons, now 24-6 on the year, lost their previous matchup this season against Henning 75-56 on January 10th.

Pelican Rapids ends their year with a 23-6 overall record and will graduate five Seniors.

Park Christian Falcons:

24 rebounds, 15 turnovers, 8/10 free throws, 7 made 3-pt.

Gavin Giese: 8 points

Nathan Peterson: 6 points, 2 rebounds

Tyler Loeb: 13 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists

Logan Giese: 11 points, 3 rebounds

Isaac Jacobson: 15 points, 8 rebounds

Ben Beske: 6 points

Pelican Rapids Vikings:

22 rebounds, 11 turnovers, 5/9 free throws, 5 made 3-pt.

Ethan Isaman: 10 points, 3 rebounds

Miguel Torres: 24 points, 3 rebounds

CJ Fahje: 2 rebounds

Maclain Hovland: 3 points

Treyd Dokken: 3 points

Grady Larson: 9 points, 9 rebounds

Jack Welch: 9 points, 4 rebounds