| Pirates
lose in overtime
The Prairie Pirates ended their regular season with an overtime loss to Genesee, 42-44, at Cottonwood Tuesday, Feb. 15. The Pirates trailed 12-26 at halftime but put on a furious rally in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-10, to put the game into overtime. Mat Forsmann scored 4 of his 5 3-pointers during the second half as he wound up with a career high 27 points. The Pirates outscored Genesee 14-8 in the third quarter to pull within 26-34 and then held the Bulldogs to just 2 points in the fourth quarter as they outscored them 10-2. Genesee helped the Pirates comeback by not cashing in at the free throw line as the Bulldogs connected on just 4 of 16 free throw attempts. Prairie meanwhile was 11 for 15 with most of those coming from Forsmann as he connected on 10 of 12 attempts. Unfortunately for the Pirates, Genesee righted their ship in overtime and outscored the Pirates 6-8 to take the win. In addition to Forsmann, Corey Schaeffer scored 5 points, Seth Crane 4, and Kevin Funke and Ryan Daly 3 each. Funke and Daly’s points each came from 3-point field goals. With the loss the Pirates ended their regular season with a 6-14 record. Prairie 9 3 14 10 6-42 Genesee 15 11 8 2 8-44 Prairie-Crane 2, 0-1, 4; Holthaus 0, 0-0, 0; Schaeffer 2, 1-2, 5; Funke 1, 0-0, 3; Daly 1, 0-0, 3; Wilson 0, 0-0, 0; Forsmann 6, 10-12, 27. 3-pointers-Forsmann 5, Daly, Funke. Genesee-Udy 2, 0-0, 6; Quint 1, 1-5, 3; Jensen 1, 0-2, 2; Parsons 1, 0-0, 2; Booth 7, 2-4, 16; Flodin 5, 0-1, 10; Aherin 0, 0-2, 0; Carlson 0, 0-0, 0; Stout 2, 1-2, 5. 3-pointers-Udy 2. Pirates crush Kendrick in play-in game The Prairie Pirates outscored Kendrick 15-0 in the second quarter as they pulled away to a 54-30 win in a District Play-In Game Thursday, Feb. 17 at Cottonwood. Most of Kendrick’s first half offense seemed to be limited to outside the 3-point line as 11 of their 22 first half shots were 3-point attempts. They made 2 in the first quarter which allowed them to take leads of 2-3 and 6-8 in the quarter. Corey Schaeffer scored on a short jumper to tie the game at 8-8 with 5 seconds left in the quarter. Mat Forsmann stole the ball early in the second quarter and passed down low to Seth Crane for a lay-up that put Prairie ahead to stay. A lay-up and 2 free throws by Forsmann, a lay-up by Schaeffer, a free throw by Crane, two more free throws by Forsmann, a free throw each by Kevin Funke and Schaeffer and a basket by Crane following a steal by Funke accounted for the second quarter scoring. Prairie used full-court pressure to force 9 Kendrick turnovers in the quarter, many leading to Pirates baskets. Full-court pressure early in the game by Prairie is a tactic not seen most of the season due to the shortage of players on the varsity but with the JV call-ups coach Jerry Uhling is able to give his players a breather now and then without worrying about his subs running out of available eligibility. Schaeffer was the big scorer in the third quarter as he put in 13 of his game high 20 points to help Prairie build their lead to 42-21 by the end of the period. Schaeffer was 4 for 7 from the field and 5 for 5 at the line in the quarter. Kendrick was able to trim the lead to 17 at one point in the fourth but could get no closer as the Pirates scored the game’s final 7 points for the final 24-point margin. It was Prairie’s largest margin of victory all season as the previous high was a 19-point win over Timberline. They’d beat Kendrick by 15 the first time the two teams played. In addition to Schaeffer, Crane scored 12 points, Forsmann 10, Funke 7, Ryan Daly 3 and J.D. Riener 2. Prairie held a 50-38 rebounding edge led by Schaeffer with 11. Funke added 8 rebounds and Crane and Forsmann had 7 each. Schaeffer and Funke had 4 steals each and Forsmann had 5 assists. Prairie was 17 for 45 from the field, 38%, and 18 for 30 at the line while Kendrick was 11 for 61 from the field, 18%, and 4 for 12 at the line. Prairie 8 15 19 12 -54 Kendrick 8 0 13 9 -30 Prairie-Crane 5-14, 2-5, 12; Schaeffer 7-11, 6-8, 20; Funke 2-3, 2-6, 7; Forsmann 1-12, 8-9, 10; Wilson 0-0, 0-0, 0; Daly 1-1, 1-1, 3; Riener 1-2, 0-0, 2; Holthaus 0-0, 0-0, 0; Schumacher 0-2, 0-2, 0. 3-pointers-Funke. Kendrick-Christopher 1-7, 0-2, 2; Ireland 4-15, 0-0, 11; Mortenson 3-17, 0-0, 7; Marrero 1-4, 2-2, 4; Hasenoehrl 1-3, 1-2, 3; Reimitz 0-2, 0-0, 0; Reid 0-1, 0-2, 0; Rogers 0-3, 0-2, 0; Rishling 1-4, 1-2, 3; Britton 0-3, 0-0, 0; Renfrow 0-1, 0-0, 0. 3-pointers-Ireland 3, Mortenson. Pirates lose at Troy The Prairie Pirates lost in first round bracket play in the District Tournament 32-58 at Troy Saturday, Feb. 19.  The
Pirates got off to a horrible start as the Trojans outscored them 2-19
in the first 6 minutes of action.
The bulk of the Trojans scoring came from 6’5” post player Conner Williams who scored 6 of his 8 points on putbacks, and guard Tyler Bollman who had 7 in the quarter. Prairie’s only points in the run came on a short turnaround jumper by Mat Forsmann. A 3-pointer by Ryan Daly finally broke the Trojans run and Corey Schaeffer added a pair of free throws as Prairie trailed 7-23 at the quarter break. Prairie played the second quarter close as they were outscored just 10-12 with Forsmann and Seth Crane evenly splitting the Pirates’ points. Forsmann scored the first 5 on a 3-pointer and a driving lay-up while Crane converted a 3-point play on a putback and then scored a driving lay-up after rebounding his own missed 3-point try. A pair of 3-pointers by Bollman at the end of the half kept the Pirates from cutting into the lead. Troy started the second half with a 0-6 run but Prairie answered back with a 7-2 run of their own but that was all they’d score in the quarter. In the final quarter Prairie was held to just 3 baskets but 2 of those were 3-pointers by Kevin Funke. Troy showed the Pirates why they were awarded the league championship trophy before the game. Crane wound up as Prairie’s leading scorer with 10 points with Forsmann scoring 9, Funke 6, Daly 3, and Corey Schaeffer and J.D. Riener 2 each. Prairie was dominated on the boards by the Trojan skyscrapers (3 players 6’5” or taller) 20-32. Crane led the Pirates with 6 rebounds. Forsmann had 3 steals and Funke had 2 assists. Prairie was 12 for 33 from the field, 36%, and 4 for 8 at the line while Troy was 26 for 53 from the field, 49%, and 4 for 6 at the line. Prairie 7 10 7 8 -32 Troy 23 12 10 13 -58 Prairie-Crane 4-8, 2-2, 10; Schaeffer 0-4, 2-2, 2; Funke 2-5, 0-0, 6; Forsmann 4-12, 0-4, 9; Wilson 0-0, 0-0, 0; Daly 1-3, 0-0, 3; Riener 1-1, 0-0, 2; Holthaus 0-0, 0-0, 0. 3-pointers-Funke 2, Forsmann, Daly. Troy-Bollman 5-16, 3-3, 15; Smith 8-16, 0-0, 16; Osborn 3-3, 0-0, 6; Mann 1-1, 0-1, 2; Williams 4-8, 0-0, 8; Buzga 5-7, 0-0, 10; Sutton 0-2, 0-0, 0; Acord 0-0, 0-0, 0; Illi 0-0, 0-0, 0; Nelson 0-0, 1-2, 1. 3-pointers-Bollman 2. Culdesac ends Prairie's season The Prairie Pirates kept the game close but could never take the lead as they were eliminated from District play by Culdesac 44-50 at Lewiston Monday, Feb. 21. Prairie’s only lead of the game was at 3-0 after Corey Schaeffer converted a 3-point play with 5:02 left in the first quarter. 
Up to that point both teams seemed nervous playing for the first time in the new Activity Center at Lewis-Clark State College. Once Prairie broke the scoring bubble though Culdesac came right back within 7 seconds with their own 3-point play to tie the game and then took the lead on a pair of free throws. Seth Crane tied it with a pair of free throws and after Culdesac took a 5-9 lead, Prairie was able to tie the score again at 10 at the end of the quarter when Crane got a lay-up to roll over the rim. Culdesac took the lead for good when they scored a pair of baskets to open the second quarter. The Wolves built their lead to 9 points at 12-21 only to see Prairie go on a 6-0 run to cut the lead back to 3 at 18-21. A basket and a free throw by Crane, 2 free throws by Mat Forsmann and a free throw by Kevin Funke trimmed the lead. Culdesac scored 5 quick points to pus the lead back to 8 but Prairie cut the lead to 6 by the half on a pair of free throws by Funke. In the second half Prairie pulled within 2 on a lay-up by Schaeffer and two free throws by Schaeffer following a technical foul. On the technical Culdesac’s Matt Lockley took a cheap shot at Forsmann and was ejected from the game. Forsmann meanwhile had to leave the game momentarily to recover. Through the rest of the third quarter Culdesac would extend the lead and Prairie would but it back. The Pirates pulled within 2 again at the end of the quarter when Ryan Daly scored a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to make it 32-34. Culdesac scored first in the fourth and a high arcing shot by Crane from near the free throw line cut the lead back to 2 but that was as close as Prairie was to get. Culdesac answered with a basket and a free throw to push the lead to 7. Forsmann connected on a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to 4 and Daly stole the ball but Prairie couldn’t cash in as they turned the ball back to Culdesac. The Wolves built their lead to 10 with 58 seconds left and both teams emptied the bench. A steal by Jacob Holthaus led to a pair of free throws and a steal by Forsmann led to two more free throws with 18 seconds left. Culdesac then turned the ball over again as they stepped on the sideline. With the lead down to 6 both teams got their starters back in.  Prairie
needed a quick score and a steal but Funke missed the 3-point attempt from
the corner and Culdesac got the rebound.
Prairie rebounded Culdesac’s miss at the other end but only had time left for a desperation shot. Schaeffer wound up as Prairie’s leading scorer with 14 points with Crane scoring 11. Forsmann had 9 while Funke scored 5, Daly 3 and Holthaus 2. Forsmann had an especially difficult time sighting in the rims at LCSC as he made only 1 basket in the game with the rest of his points coming at the line. Prairie held a 37-27 rebounding edge led buy Schaeffer with 13. Crane added 9 rebounds. Forsmann had 5 steals and 3 assists while Funke also had 3 assists. The Pirates were 11 for 41 from the field, 27%, and 20 for 32 at the line. They were only 7 for 15 at the line in the decisive fourth quarter. Culdesac was 17 for 38 from the field, 45%, and 12 for 18 at the line. With the loss Prairie finishes their season at 7-16, tied for 7th at District. Prairie 10 10 12 12 -44 Culdesac 10 16 8 16 -50 Prairie-Crane 4-8, 3-6, 11; Schaeffer 4-9, 6-9, 14; Funke 1-5, 3-7, 5; Forsmann 1-15, 6-6, 9; Wilson 0-1, 0-0, 0; Daly 1-3, 0-2, 3; Schumacher 0-0, 0-0, 0; Riener 0-0, 0-0, 0; Holthaus 0-0, 2-2, 2. 3-pointers-Forsmann, Daly. Culdesac-Schumaker 5-8, 1-3, 13; James 6-11, 2-3, 14; Hagle 1-2, 5-6, 7; Lockley 1-4, 1-1, 3; Layes 3-8, 2-2, 10; S. Slickpoo 1-2, 2-4, 4; Milionis 0-2, 0-0, 0; King 0-2, 0-0, 0; E. Slickpoo 0-0, 0-0, 0; Reisdorph 0-0, 0-0, 0. 3-pointers-Layes 2, Schumaker 2. |
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