Park boys basketball: Wolfpack fall to 0-5 in conference

The youthful Park boys basketball team went up against a pair of perennially strong Suburban East Conference opponents last week and came away empty handed.

Park (2-10; 0-5 SEC) fell 69-47 to third-ranked Roseville on Tuesday in Cottage Grove before losing 56-34 to Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday at Park.

Against Roseville, which entered the game undefeated, Park hung around in the first half, trailing just 34-19 at the break. The second half was even closer as the Wolfpack played Roseville (9-1; 5-0 SEC) to a 35-28 second half. Park shot 39 percent from the floor in the game and was 3-for-11 from behind the 3-point line. The Wolfpack was hurt by its free-throw shooting, connecting on just four of 14 attempts (28 percent).

Sophomore forward Connor Kvendru led the way for Park in the game with a team-high 10 points and six rebounds. Kvendru was 5-of-6 shooting in the game. In addition, junior guard Ryan Klika scored eight points, hauled down six rebounds and had two assists, junior guard Jordan Pinnix had seven points and three assists and junior guard Kyler Heard chipped in six points. Ten different players scored for Roseville in the game. Sophomore guard Kobe Critchley led the way for Roseville with 16 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.

Following the loss to Roseville, Park fell to another Raiders team on Friday. This time, it was Cretin-Derham Hall, which left Cottage Grove with a win.

Despite a sturdy defensive effort, Park struggled to get its offense going in the first and fell behind 26-11. The Wolfpack played the Raiders to a 30-23 second half, but Park couldn’t dig out of the hole.

No single player hit double figures in scoring for Park in the loss. Sophomore forward Kaleb Fischer led the way for the Wolfpack with seven points and junior guard Sully Brenke chipped in six points. Eleven different players scored for Cretin-Derham Hall in the victory. Junior guard Stevie Moman had a game-high 15 points to lead the Raiders.

Park played Mounds View on the road on Tuesday after the Bulletin went to press. Next, the Wolfpack travels to White Bear Lake on Friday, Jan. 18, to take on the Bears.

Tags: sports, basketball, park, wolfpack, prep, updates