Too Many Second Chances Give the Cougars the Edge Over the Wolfpack

Bemidji, MN – Another tough loss for the Wolfpack last night. The visiting University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars revealed themselves to be a force on the boards during the game as their high offensive rebound numbers might have been the key to their success.

The game started with limited baskets as neither team was able to get their shots to fall. The first points came from the Cougars after almost 2 minutes had gone by. Morris jumped out to a 27-13 lead after 8 minutes of play, when they were able to capitalize on a couple of turnovers from the Wolfpack.

A huge sequence spearheaded by freshman, Caleb Smoot (McDonough, GA) gave Oak Hills 5 points in under twenty seconds to cut the lead to under 10 for the first time in five minutes. This sequence included a made layup with a called foul, a converted free-throw, a quick steal, and fast break layup all from Smoot.

The Wolfpack went scoreless for another three minutes while the Cougars pushed their score up. With the score at 26-37, Oak Hills had some ground to cover if they didn't want to go into the half too far down into a hole.

A jump shot from freshman, Noah Larson (Park Rapids, MN) with just under three minutes to go sparked a 12-3 run that got the Wolfpack within 2 points going into the locker rooms for the half-time break.

Larson led the team at half with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Just behind him were Senior Captain, Alexander Gonzalez (Miami, FL) with 8 points, 2 assists & Smoot with 7 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

The second half was a rough start that saw the Cougars score 17 points before a jump shot from Smoot after seven minutes had gone by in the half. The score was now 40-57, and the Wolfpack had a large deficit to overcome.

Morris capitalized on the second chance opportunities, with over half of their teams offensive rebounds came during the second half. The Cougars pulled down 28 boards in the second half compared to the Wolfpack's 18.

The final buzzer sounded with the final score being 63-84. Larson finished with a team and tie for game high 17 points, 8 rebounds, & 3 assists. Smoot ended with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals & 2 assists. Rounding out the double-digit scorers for the Woflpack was Gonzalez with 10 points and 3 assists.

Senior, Deacon Bock (Blaine, MN0 worked as hard as he could on the rebounding end and was able to grab 7 boards to go with his 3 assists and 2 points on the night.

The Wolfpack are back in action this weekend as they travel down to Plymouth, MN to play back-to-back games hosted at Free Lutheran Bible College on Friday and Saturday. They will play Calvary Bible on Friday night and will take on the Emmaus Eagles Saturday morning.