Blossoms rock Panthers 88-39 at Target Center
Blooming Prairie guard Gabe Staloch goes up for a jump shot between three NRHEG defenders. Staloch had 23 points in Blooming Prairie’s win. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Blooming Prairie and NRHEG had the rare opportunity to bring their talents to Target Center on Monday for a conference game played on the same hardwood as the Timberwolves.
The entire 36-minute game was chock-full of big plays, but in the end, it was Blooming Prairie’s Brady Kittelson who stole the show in an 88-39 win for the Awesome Blossoms.
Kittelson found himself alone in the NRHEG backcourt multiple times and unleashed a plethora of highlight-reel quality dunks that included a two-hand slam, reversal, windmill and even a full 360-degree spinning dunk.
“Some of the fans and some of the guys on the bench were telling me what to do. I didn’t want to be boring when I’m at the Target Center,” said Kittelson.
While NRHEG showed some fight in the early stages, some suffocating defense and sharp shooting from the opposition quickly built a lead for the Awesome Blossoms.
By halftime, Blooming Prairie had NRHEG on the ropes at 45-23.
The second half was more of the same for the Awesome Blossoms, meanwhile, the Panthers struggled to find their rhythm.
Blooming Prairie outscored NRHEG 43-16 in the second half to close out the 49-point win.
Kittelson led all Awesome Blossoms with 31 points while teammate Gabe Staloch dropped 23.
However, the score was hardly the biggest win of the day for the Awesome Blossoms.
“It’s fun for these guys to come out here, have this experience and play some good basketball. They dedicate themselves to this game, so it’s great to see them have these kinds of experiences,” said Blooming Prairie Head Coach Cam Rutledge.
With sections around the corner, Rutledge said his team finding their stride at the right time.
“Offensively, I think we’re playing pretty good right now. Defensively, we’ll clean some things up down the stretch here. If we keep sharing the basketball, moving the ball around and playing solid defense as a team we’ll be tough to beat,” said Rutledge.
Blooming Prairie’s next game will be at home against Hayfield on Friday, Feb. 14 at 7:15 p.m.
Team 1st 2nd Final
Blooming Prairie 45 43 88
NRHEG 23 16 39
Player Stats
Blooming Prairie
Kittelson 31
Staloch 23
Pauly 10
Cooke 8
Boyd 7
Bishop 6
Bruns 3
Video credit to Anna Kittelson
