Blossoms bring down undefeated Bucs in debut

Blooming Prairie boys basketball took down previously undefeated WEM 61-57 at home last Friday in the team’s season debut.

The Buccaneers entered the game at 2-0 with wins over Minnesota Valley Lutheran and Nicollet, but were stymied by Blooming Prairie’s stingy defense and rebounding abilities.

“That was kind of on the scouting report that WEM wasn’t that big. They had just one guy that was over six feet tall that actually played. So, we kept telling our guys that we should dominate on the boards. It was just a matter of going out there and executing,” said Blooming Prairie Head Coach Cam Rutledge.

Blooming Prairie managed to win the opening tipoff, but that was the only positive the Awesome Blossoms really saw in the opening few minutes.

The Buccaneers started off blistering hot knocking down three-point shots from all angles to lead 16-9 early.

Rutledge opted to call a timeout to halt WEM’s momentum and the decision paid dividends when his team stepped back onto the court.

Some quick adjustments in tactics and a swap in personnel saw Blooming Prairie completely shift the outlook of the game just minutes later.

The team’s offense flowed through guards Brady Kittelson and Gabe Staloch, while rebounding duties rested mainly on the shoulders of big men Cooper Cooke and Lukas Loverink.

After trailing by seven points, Blooming Prairie was able to notch a 32-30 lead at the half and hit the locker room with confidence.

Blooming Prairie’s defense continued to shine after the half holding WEM to just 27 points down the stretch to hand the Buccaneers their first loss via a 61-57 scoreline.

The Awesome Blossoms duo of Kittelson (20) and Staloch (17) combined for 37 of the team’s 61 points in the win and both knocked down three, three-point shots.

Just one year removed from a trip to the section championship game, Blooming Prairie’s Rutledge believes his team has the ability to make another deep run, albeit in a different way.

“We bring back a lot of skilled players this season. Guys who have been starting for this team for 2-3 seasons now. Losing Gabe and Zach Hein hurts – they’re tremendous basketball players – but we still have our height and athleticism. I keep telling the guys, ‘This year’s team starts on defense.’ If we’re going to be a really good team, we have to be great on defense. We’re not going to score 80-90 points like we did last year, so we’re going to have to hold teams in the 40-50s range,” said Rutledge.

Blooming Prairie’s next game will be on the road against JWP on Friday, Dec. 13 at 7:15 p.m.