The Wadena-Deer Creek boys basketball team was hoping to gain some separation at the top of the Park Region Conference standings when they hosted the Pillager Huskies and avenge their only conference loss.
Yet, it was the Huskies who gained the upper hand on the Wolverines with a 67-64 victory over the Wolverines, creating a logjam at the top of the standings. Pillager sits in first at 9-2 overall, while Wadena-DC is now 8-2. Henning sits a game back at 6-3 in the standings.
Tanner Swenson exploded for 26 points, 19 of them in the first half. Ty Swenson did work in the second half for Pillager, scoring seven of his 11 points in the second half.
The Huskies built up a 41-30 first half lead and held off the Wolverines in the second half. Wadena-Deer Creek outscored Pillager, 34-26, in the second half but couldn’t overcome the deficit.
Noah Ross led the way for the Wolverines. The senior guard finished with a game-high of 29 points. He hit three of the team’s five 3-pointers. Jonathan Pantages finished with 10 points for the Wolverines as well.
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The Wolverines return to conference play when they take on Menahga on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Wadena. They follow with a morning contest against Hawley at the Fargo Civic Center on Saturday, Feb. 10.
PIL 41 26--67
WDC 30 34--64
PIL: Luke Woidyla 2, Carson Vanvickle 2, Ty Swenson 11, Tanner Swenson 26, Jack Bentson 4, Spencer Schaefer 10, Kaleb Smith 3, Joshua Doss 9
3-pointers: Ty Swenson 1, Tanner Swenson 7. Free Throws: 13-19. Team Fouls: 15. Fouled Out: None
WDC: Bereket Loer 4, Jonathan Pantages 10, Matt Goeden 2, Hunter Hawkins 7, Thomas Quincer 2, Noah Ross 29, Ryan Anderson 5, Copper Folkestad 5
3-pointers: Pantages 2, Ross 3. Free Throws: 13-16. Team Fouls: 16. Fouled Out: None
