Park Rapids finds it difficult to keep up with the Joneses
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 7—EAST GRAND FORKS — When East Grand Forks teammates Jezrael and Rafael Jones collided at midcourt and left the game in the first half of the Green Wave's Section 8A semifinal game against Park Rapids, the turn in momentum was palpable.
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When they returned later in the half, the energy sparked by their presence was equally conspicuous.
Taking advantage of the Jones brothers' absence, Park Rapids rallied from a double-digit deficit to a 29-25 lead with 2:52 left in the first half. With both Joneses back on the court, Park Rapids' lead promptly evaporated, eventually leading to an 82-73 East Grand Forks win Saturday afternoon at East Grand Forks Senior High.
"Our role is to play defense and bring the energy," said Jezrael Jones, a senior. "And after we get the defense going, the offense just flows in. We always go on streaks, but it starts on defense. That's what my brother and I bring to the table every single night."
With both back on court after leaving the game temporarily injured, Rafael Jones scored on a short jumper with 2:52 left in the half to cut Park Rapids' lead to 29-27. He then got a steal, setting up two free throws by teammate Brody Knutson. After Park Rapids missed a shot, Rafael Jones scored a driving basket in the lane and, a minute later, he took a nifty pass from his brother to score another layup.
Just like that, EGF was ahead 33-29.
For the rest of the game, East Grand Forks took bigger leads by way of a more democratic offense, with a number of players contributing in the second half to eventually take a 74-57 lead with five minutes to play.
The absence of the Jones brothers "changed what we do" to an extent, East Grand Forks coach Michael Mahar said.
"But I don't think it was that. I think because they had to leave and go to the training room, we had a bunch of guys who were concerned about the health of their friends," Mahar said. "It was that more so than anything else. I think there was a big exhale when they got back on the floor. ... When they're on the court together, that energy level jumps up."
And, he added, "how you play defense is a lot different when those two are on the floor than when they aren't on the floor."
At least during the run late in the first half, Park Rapids found it simply was difficult to keep up with the Joneses.
"Them not being on the floor was a key piece. They are really great athletes and we made a run without the pressure that they had on defense," Park Rapids coach Jeb Sanford said. "We came back and got the ball inside without that pressure. Hats off to them — that's a really good basketball team."
With 6:25 to play, East Grand Forks led 65-57, but then had an 8-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to put the game out of reach for good. Another push shortly thereafter made it 79-61.
East Grand Forks got 18 points apiece from Chase Lindgren and Carson McDonald, 14 from Jezrael Jones and 11 from Rafael Jones. Beyond individual scoring, no other official statistics were available immediately after the game.
"The whole game felt disjointed. There wasn't a whole lot of flow to the game," Mahar said. A highlight came in the second half when "we were able to go on that four-minute run where it felt like our basketball."
Overall, he said, "we got the job done. ... We had moments where we were really good, but also moments where we were really bad. It balances out. Grading it, I'd give it a solid C-plus."
Park Rapids' Parker Hunter had 29 points before fouling out with 3:33 to play. Carter Hirt had 14 for the Panthers, Kaden Gartner had nine and Domynic Pope and Zackary Brewer both had eight.
A senior, Hunter recently surpassed 1,000 career points and broke the school's single-season scoring record.
"He just attacks the basket," Sanford said. "He's a great competitor with a unique style of play. That's what makes him good — his personality and competitiveness. It was a pleasure to coach him."
Park Rapids ends its season 11-17. East Grand Forks improves to 22-5 and plays Wednesday in the Section 8A finals, meeting either Perham or Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton at Concordia College in Moorhead.