OSSEO-FAIRCHILD

Temperature is supposed to affect a cricket’s chirping speed, but that wasn’t the case in the warm Stanley-Boyd High School gym. Bussed in from outside, the Fall Creek Crickets came to Stanley Thursday January 7, meeting the Oriole’s varsity boys basketball team on school grounds, for a showdown.

With a relatively strong start at 7:30 p.m., game play got off to a less than in-your-face start with a pass in from the sidelines by Fall Creek’s number 34 Luke Olson to number 2 Nathan Sorenson. All told, the Crickets went on to defeat the Orioles 54-64. With more time it might have been different, as the Orioles nearly overcame Fall Creek with a late game rally, stopped by the timeclock.

But while the Crickets missed their first basket, Stanley-Boyd got off to a good start with number 5 Carsen Hause sinking a three-pointer. Also of note in the early game play was the way that Oriole player’s ball passes soared above the Cricket’s heads, in an arched fashion. Following shortly on the three-pointer by Hause, the whistle got blown on Fall Creek’s Sorenson, who went on to bounce a free throw but sink the follow-up shot, bringing things 3-1 in Stanley-Boyd’s favor. A two-point shot by Fall Creek’s Olson brought the score even 3-3 in the Thursday night matchup, followed with another two-pointer from Fall Creek that brought the official score to a 3-5 split in Fall Creek’s favor.

“Take it out! Take it out!” the call came as Stanley-Boyd and Fall Creek scuffled over the ball’s custody briefly, while the recovery and rebound followed by the whistle saw Fall Creek gain two free throw points to bring the score 3-7 in Fall Creek’s favor. A score by Stanley-Boyd brought the tally to 5-7, with the Orioles tipping the scale 13-12, before coming out at the end of first period with the score tally at 25-33, in the Crickets favor.

Coming out of their respective locker rooms to resume game play, the Crickets stole the ball away, only to have it repossessed by the Orioles, who then passed it to number 2 Lucas Smith for an unsuccessful three-point try, the ball turning over to Fall Creek. While the S-B defense heard at least one protest—”hands up, white!”—from the stands, the game play went on, from 5 to 10 to 5 to 12 to 5 and on to 14, taken in jersey numbers. “Let’s go white!” the Oriole fans cried in reference to team jersey colors, with a steal by the Orioles returned to Fall Creek to bring the score 34 -45 near the middle of second period, with Fall Creek in the lead. With missed baskets on both sides, the march to turn the tables began from the Orioles side, but it was too little, too late. With relative symmetrical passing between Oriole team members—4 to 14 to 20 to 14 to 4—and a two-pointer for Stanley-Boyd at the four minute forty second mark, a follow-up play by Stanley-Boyd sank a three pointer to bring the score to 49-56, and closing. That said, the Crickets fought hard to maintain their lead, with the score tallied at 52-60 in Fall Creek’s favor as there remained just one minute and fifty- three seconds in the second period. Before it was done Stanley-Boyd would add two points while Fall Creek made four, for a final score of 54-64 in Fall Creek’s favor.

Stanley Boyd’s Brady Potaczek (right) makes for the basket as Oriole teammate Cooper Nichols looks on. Photo by Avery Vait.