Big night, big win for running Raptors

The gym was rocking and the fans were in a frenzy last Friday when the Carlton/Wrenshall Raptors hosted Barnum in Wrenshall. The game was part of the Wrenshall homecoming festivities, and the Raptors didn't disappoint as they cruised to an impressive 71-58 win over a good Barnum team.

"It was a great atmosphere with a student section that was really into it, and Barnum always has a lot of fans," said Raptors coach Shawn Filipiak. "It was just a fun, good, high school basketball game."

The Raptors raced out to a 40-30 halftime lead behind 13 first-half points by Luukas Korpela, who ended up scoring a game-high 35 points.

"We got off to a good start and had the right mindset from the beginning," Filipiak said. "Luke was on fire and couldn't miss from the 15- to 18-foot range."

That quick start put the Bombers in an early hole that they struggled to extricate themselves from.

"We just couldn't match their intensity," said Barnum coach Rich Newman. "We kept trying to claw back, and every time we seemed to get close they'd have another run and pull away."

Joining Korpela in double-digit scoring for the Raptors was Sam Ojibway with 16 points. Carter Woodall added eight, Jackson Korpela seven, AJ Olesen finished with three. Uriah Loucks added 2 points.

"Sam had a solid game to go along with his 16 points," Filipiak said. "He added nine assists, three steals and five rebounds. He was all over the score sheet for us. We had other guys who maybe didn't have the double-figure scoring but they did their part in distributing the ball, rebounding and just playing good, solid basketball with high energy."

Leading the Bombers in scoring were Carlos Beckstrand with 19 points and Pierce Korpela with 18. Hayden Charboneau added 11 and Bryce Feguson finished with 10 points to round out Barnum's scoring.

"I thought Pierce had one of his better games, but we should have gotten him the ball more," Newman said. "The problem was we had too many turnovers on fast breaks, and you can't do that against a good team."

The Raptors provided problems for the Bombers by quick ball movement and playing a tough zone defense.

"They moved the ball well. We knew they'd play zone, and we didn't fulfill our game plan," Newman said. "They played with a lot of passion and we couldn't match their passion."

The Raptors boosted their record to 14-7 after breezing by South Ridge Monday, 85-41. Barnum rebounded with Monday and Tuesday wins, 71-30 over Floodwood and 64-54 over Proctor. The Bombers are now 17-6.