Red Lake County controls game from jump, beats Fosston to advance in Section 8A tournament

The #9 Red Lake County boy’s basketball team once again were granted an opportunity to showcase their dominance, and they did just that by beating the Fosston Greyhounds 75-47 at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls in the Section 8A Quarterfinals.

FIRST HALF –
As the first half started, both teams seemed to just be trying to get a rhythm and flow within the game, as nobody scored for the first two minutes of the contest. However, it’s impossible to hold the Rebels down forever, and that was put on display by Connor Duden, as he scored the first 8 points for the Rebels, leading them to an 8-1 start. That lead would balloon very quickly, as the Fosston offense could not get anything going. The Rebels turned defense into offense, and a 3-point barrage began from Duden, Will Gieseke and Ben Gullingsrud, and that all mounted into a 25-6 lead for the Rebels, which forced 2 quick Greyhound timeouts. The Fisston offense started to make something happen towards the end of the first half, as Mitchell Mulry hit shots and Kolten Gray made some fantastic passes, but the lead ended up growing to 22, as the Rebels took a 41-19 lead into the halftime break.

SECOND HALF –
The second half saw more of the same as the first, where Red Lake County continued to push the narrative throughout the half. After Fosston opened the second half off on a 6-2 run, Will Gieseke became the face of the offense for the Rebels in the second half. Gieseke was scoring from everywhere; 3-pointers, baseline jumpers, layups in all forms and free throws. Once Fosston began to double team Gieseke, the drive-and-kick offense came in full force, kicking the ball out to Duden and Peterson for open 3-pointers. Overall, Fosston did not have an answer for the Rebel offense. Running time struck with just over 7:30 remaining in the contest, and the Rebels were able to cruise to a 75-47 victory to move on in the tournament.

Red Lake County