BP stumbles after 11-0 start

Blooming Prairie boys basketball found itself in an unusual predicament last week after its 11-0 start was spoiled by back-to-back losses to Triton and St. Clair at home.

The team kicked off the week by falling 72-44 to the Cobras before the Cyclones came to town and manhandled the Awesome Blossoms 76-50.

“I thought when we had [Triton] in the half-court we did a really good job. Our guys did exactly what we asked of them, but the difference tonight was points in transition. They scored a lot of points in transition and we just couldn’t match it. When we played in the half-court we could control the game a bit more, but they didn’t allow us to play to our strengths,” said Blooming Prairie Head Coach Cam Rutledge.

The game started off with both sides trading blows and keeping the score close in the opening minutes, but Triton eventually built a 27-17 halfway through the first half.

The Cobras led by as much as 15 points in the first, but Blooming Prairie fought hard to close the gap and cut the deficit to just seven points at 34-27 by halftime.

The Awesome Blossoms stayed within a 10-point difference for the beginning of the second half, but once again let the game open up halfway through.

Triton ended up going on multiple scoring runs before closing the game out with a 28-point win.

Triton’s Pierce Petersohn was on fire for most of the game and dropped 25 points while teammate William Thiemann added 21 as well.

Blooming Prairie’s offense ran through Gabe Staloch once again, but he was held to just 13 points as the team’s top scorer.

The Awesome Blossoms faced a similar fate against St. Clair in another blowout loss at home.

Another lackluster offensive performance by Blooming Prairie was the culprit.

The Cyclones came to play and led from start to finish by leading 38-28 at halftime and finishing out the game with a 26-point win at 76-50.

However, despite the two blemishes on the team’s record, there was still reason for the team to celebrate last week.

In the team’s first game of the week against Hayfield on Tuesday, Staloch scored his 1,000^th varsity point as an Awesome Blossoms in just his junior season.

His 37 points was more than enough to reach the milestone and also helped lead Blooming Prairie to an 88-84 overtime win against the Vikings that moved the team’s record to 11-0 at the time.

“I needed 21 and I could’ve had it in the first half. I already had 19, but I got it in the second. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t want to let it affect my game. I wanted to play like I know how and not let it get to me. We played a really great game as a team and it was really cool to edge that one out,” said Staloch.

Blooming Prairie will hit the court next for a road game against Medford on Friday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.