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Mark Lindberg put up a shot while surrounded by four Minnewaska players. The Lakers had the edge in height and experience in the non-conference skirmish.

	’Waska’s Justin Pederson had the advantage in this fight for a rebound against Perham’s Ryan Borowitz (23). The Lakers had an edge in sweeping the boards during the contest.
“Mom, what’s Dad doing? Why aren’t the ‘Jackets running a zone defense against the Lakers?” Well, maybe Carter Cresap, 2, wasn’t really second-guessing the Yellowjackets’ coach but he seemed to be enjoying himself as his mother, Teri, watched the action.	Coach Dave Cresap, Assistant Brian Schwantz and ’Jacket reserves watched second quarter action during the game Friday at Minnewaska.
	Score by Quarters:   Perham         16        7          13        9          --          45 Minnewaska            15        13        15        25        --          68
Perham fans discussed the game during intermission Friday. A good contingent of Yellowjacket followers made the trip to the Glenwood-Starbuck area.
A half-time portrait: Perham basketball cheerleaders at rest. They expend as much energy as the athletes on the basketball court.

Perham Yellowjackets

fall to Minnewaska, 68-45 

The Yellowjackets played a fairly strong ballgame Friday at Minnewaska, but a small defensive lapse in the second period and a larger collapse in the final quarter allowed the Lakers to pull away for what appeared to be an easy 68-45 victory. 

It was NOT that simple. 

Perham gave the bigger, more experienced team all it could handle for almost 30 minutes of action. However, the home squad’s bench depth paid off with a big spurt in the final few minutes to make the margin larger than it should have been. 

Perham Coach Dave Cresap cited the contest as a positive experience for the ‘Jackets, although he had hoped for a tighter game at the end. 

Going into Thursday’s home game against the West Central Area Knights, Cresap said the 5-1 ‘Jackets “were okay until the fourth quarter.” The Lakers got some deflections…they had 15 for the evening…that led to some easy buckets. 

Perham got off slowly Friday, and some fans may have wondered if the home squad would run away with a “laugher” in what originally was to be a game in the opening round of a four-team tourney. But one team apparently decided not to be part of the event. 

The Blue-and-Green ran up a lead of 8-zip before the Yellowjackets got back on track. Just past the midpoint, Perham caught the opponent on the scoreboard and later gained a 16-12 advantage. The quarter ended 16-15, then a quick score allowed the ‘Jackets to post a 19-15 margin. 

But the Lakers caught fire and slowly took control as the visiting five neglected to take care of the ball properly…and it cost the ‘Jackets. Minnewaska led at halftime, 28-23. 

 It was nip and tuck in the third frame, with the PHS quintet rallying to stay on the Lakers’ heels. In fact, the visitors tied the battle at 36. The ‘Waska five broke the game open, leading 40-36, when a buzzer-beater added a trey. After 24 minutes, it was 43-36.

A big final period found the West Central-South crew outscoring Perham 25-9, so what was really a relatively well-played game for most of the evening looked like the Yellowjackets were never in the contest. 

Wrong! 

As Cresap pointed out, Minnewaska is one of the favorites in its section. In fact, the Lakers hosted a tough Alexandria team the following night…and the Cardinals went back to Alex a 64-51 loser. 

Perham will host Alexandria in January at the Prairie Wind Middle School gym. 

Kyle Gunderson led the Perham scoring with a dozen tallies, while Travis Hemmelgarn and Brady Winter each had 11 points. Mark Lindberg chipped in 7. 

Justin Pederson, the Lakers’ “post” in the middle, led the home squad with 24. Lance Wesen chalked up 18, Vance Walker had 12 and John Shirkey put 11 points through the hoop. 

Cresap said fans will see a tough West Central team Thursday, January 2, as the ‘Jackets get back to work in the new year on the Prairie Wind Middle School hardcourt.  

“They are very physical and they have a good point guard,” the coach added. He said it is going to be a dog-fight in the Heart O’Lakes Conference with other contenders being Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Barnesville, Hawley and Pelican Rapids, in addition to West Central, Thursday’s foe.

Kyle Gustafson (5) had ’Waska’s Justin Pederson guessing: Would he dish off the ball to a teammate near the bucket, or pull-up quickly for a jumper?	The Lakers’ Vance Walker (32) played tight “D” as he tried to prevent a Perham player from making a pass.
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