A furious late comeback held the Detroit Lakes boys' basketball team in the game, but ultimately it didn't hold as the Lakers fell in Thief River Falls 63-59 in overtime Thursday.
A sizable margin in free throws was also a key in the defeat, as the Prowlers sunk 24 and DL went 4-7 in the game. The Lakers didn't get into the bonus opportunity in the second half.
DL lost two key players with foul trouble in junior post Brian Labat and senior guard Connor McLeod.
"The guys played extremely hard, Thief River Falls played extremely hard and it was just a good, physical game," said DL head coach Robb Flint. "Thief River Falls played very well and this is the first time a team came out and beat us, otherwise, we've beaten ourselves mostly in our other losses."
The loss also was the first time DL lost in back-to-back games and drop to 11-4 on the season.
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The Prowlers (11-4) focused on stifling junior guard Joe Mollberg in the second half, after playing zone for much of the first half. TRF went to a box-and-one defense to focus on Mollberg, but couldn't account for senior post Josh Stalberger who scored 23 points.
"They played their box and one, making us settle for jump shots, in which we didn't hit," Flint said. "Our shots will start falling, though."
The Lakers held a 32-27 lead at halftime, but fell behind by eight points after the Prowlers switched defenses.
But DL pulled themselves to a tie, after coming back from an eight-point hole with two minutes left in the game to force overtime.
The Prowlers ultimately outscored the Lakers 7-3 in the extra period, but DL had a chance to tie or take the lead by having the ball with just seven seconds left and down two.
But the shot didn't go in and TRF closed the game out on the free throw line.
"Rick Hutchinson (15 points) had a good game and was knocking his shots down in the first half," Flint said. "Josh played well, too, obviously with his 23 points."
Mollberg was limited to seven points in the game.
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The Lakers played in Grand Rapids (10-6) Friday and will play at Mid-State Conference foe Wadena-Deer Creek (5-7) Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. start.
DL and Pequot Lakes are in a tie for the lead in the Mid-State, with the Lakers having four more conference games remaining on the schedule.
Flint also added his team is probably sitting as the No. 3 seed for the section playoffs, with Bemidji and St. Cloud Apollo in front.
Laker results
Detroit Lakes at Thief River Falls, Thursday, Jan. 27.
Lakers 32 24 3 - 59
Prowlers 27 29 7 - 63
Scoring (2-3-ftm-fta-pts) -- DL: Josh Stalberger 11-0-1-3-23; Rick Hutchinson 6-1-0-0-15; Joe Mollberg 2-1-0-0-7; Brian Labat 2-0-1-2-5; Connor Hedstrom 1-0-2-2-4; Kirk McLeod 0-1-0-0-3; Connor McLeod 1-0-0-0-2. TEAM: 23-3-4-7-59.
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Stats (rbd-steals-assists) -- DL: Stalberger 7-1-0; Hutchinson 8-1-3; Mollberg 7-1-0; Labat 5-1-0; Hedstrom 1-0-0; C. McLeod 1-1-3. TEAM: 33-6-13.
