Trio triggers Grovers’ win over Moorhead Park Christian

FARGO – Fargo Oak Grove’s Christian Adams, Carter Kretchman and Isaac Olson took it to the Moorhead Park Christian boys basketball team on Saturday.
The Grovers defeated the Falcons 81-67, and the trio combined for 67 of their team’s 81 points.
“We did a good job getting up and down the court,” said Kretchman, who scored 21 points. “A lot of people stepped up. Christian and Isaac really played a great game, and when that happens, you’re going to do well.”
The three offensive leaders were supported by a couple of timely 3-pointers from Jimmy Slagle.
“We feed off of those three, but we have a lot of guys that can step up and score if we need them to,” Grovers head coach Kyle Card said. “We got contributions from everyone, which is what we’re about. It was a good team effort.”
The Grovers controlled most of the game, however, Mark Schwandt and Zach Kvalvog kept the Falcons alive, scoring 21 and 16 points, respectively.
“I think our pressure just wore them down and that’s what we wanted to do,” Card said. “We chased Zach Kvalvog around. He’s a good player. We tried to pressure him a lot and wear him down.”
The Falcons trailed 40-31 at the half.
Schwandt tried to breathe some life back into the Falcons, scoring 11 points in the third quarter.
He hit a jumper early in the quarter to cut the Falcons’ deficit to seven, but that’s as close as they would get.
“They stayed with us the first half,” said Adams, who scored a game-high 28 points. “But we always think if we can keep the tempo going, we can outlast the other opponent, and I thought we did that really well today.”
Olson tipped a rebound to Adams, who swung the ball over to Kretchman, who hit a 3 to make the game 60-46 late in the third quarter and solidify the Grovers’ lead.
“I think that was just one of those hustle plays and kind of the turning point of the game,” said Adams.
Even with the lead, the Grovers’ high-powered offense never let up.
“We play for each other,” Adams said. “We don’t want to let the other man down we know how hard everybody works and at the end of the day we’re playing for each other, we don’t give up.”
Card said the game is becoming a bit of a rivalry for the teams across the river.
“It’s fun for both teams,” Card said, “we get a big crowd here, so it’s fun but maybe a little rivalry in there, too.”
PC: Schwandt 21, Kvalvog 16, Militzer 10, Moberg 7, Huseby 6, Senske 5, Kerr 2.
OG: Adams 28, Kretchman 21, Olson 18, Slagle 6, Dangerfield 4, Teigen 2, Richards 2.