Crimson Boys Basketball Stay Undefeated in Northwest Suburban Conference Play

The following recap of the Dec. 16 Crimson boys varsity basketball game was submitted by the Maple Grove Senior High boys basketball booster club president Darrell Olson.

In a game where the lead changed five times in the last 15 seconds, the boys basketball team escaped Park Center Senior High with a Northwest Suburban Conference win, 71-70 on Friday, Dec 16.

The game was close all the way, with neither team able to hold a lead of more than five points all night. Park Center was led by Quentin Hooker, whose 25 points included a clutch, step-back 18 foot jump shot with three seconds to play, to put the Pirates up by one. His basket was the answer to a length-of-the-court-take by Brycen Wojta, who scored in heavy traffic with seven seconds to play. 

With the clock set back to two seconds, and after a Maple Grove time out, Maple Grove needed a desperation shot, or a Park Center foul on the inbounds play.  With the help of coaches Nick Schroeder and Rob Bremseth, they got the latter.  A Park Center defender fouled Joe Eng prior to the throw in. Eng calmly stepped to the line and dropped two free throws to give the Crimson their third conference win.

Maple Grove had balanced scoring with five players in double figures, including a strong effort from Dan Butorac and Erik Olson. Butorac got the Crimson off early, and finished with a career high 15 points. Olson had 11 points and 13 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Wojta, Jake Wieneke, and James Morris had 14, 13 and 10 points respectfully.

The Crimson have their final game prior to the holiday on Tuesday, Dec. 20, when they host Champlin Park.