THIEF RIVER FALLS 鈥� The Red Lake boys basketball team would not be denied on Wednesday night in Thief River Falls.
Playing in the Section 8A East championship against fourth-seeded Mahnomen/Waubun, the third-seeded Warriors trailed by 17 points in the first half. They trailed by 16 with 8:24 remaining in the game.
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But senior guard Gerald Kingbird Jr. would not let Red Lake go home without a win. He scored 43 points, including several clutch buckets down the stretch, to power the Warriors to an 84-79 victory and a berth in the Section 8A championship.
Red Lake will play Fertile-Beltrami, the winner of the 8A West Tournament, on Friday for a trip to the state tournament.
鈥淩esiliency, that's the Warriors鈥� style," said Red Lake head coach Nolan Desjarlait. 鈥淵ou get down by a little bit or a lot, it ain't over until the fight is over.鈥�
The Warriors (22-7) were down by double digits for most of the second half but started to close the gap late in the game. Red Lake trailed 71-62 with 6:15 to go before Kingbird converted a left-handed layup and a deep wing 3-pointer to pull the Warriors within four.
After Mahnomen/Waubun missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Tyrone Beaulieu Jr. streaked down the court for a transition layup and Red Lake was down 71-69.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a next-play mindset and never giving up,鈥� said Kingbird Jr. of how the Warriors came back. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of my guys. They never gave up and fought to the last buzzer.鈥�
The Thunderbirds (11-18) converted a layup to go back up by four, but Kingbird Jr. was far from finished. He made 1 of 2 bonus free throws to bring the Warriors within 3, then tied the game 73-73 with another 3-pointer from the wing.
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鈥淭imes like that, he just takes over,鈥� said fellow senior Jack Brown, who supplemented Beaulieu with 19 key points. 鈥淐an't really do nothing about him. It's hard to stop him. He's just too shifty, the way he dribbles. He got hot, and I liked the way he (took) over like that and gave his other teammates more momentum.鈥�
Kingbird Jr. still wasn鈥檛 done. After Mahnomen/Waubun went up 75-73 on a layup with 1:51 left, he responded with a strong drive and finish of his own. Then, with Red Lake down 77-75 after the Thunderbirds converted two free throws, Kingbird Jr. gave the Warriors their first lead on an and-one layup with 1:01 remaining.
鈥淗e always goes out and does this thing,鈥� Desjarlait said. 鈥淚 give him the keys to my (Cadillac), and there he goes. He didn't want to go home. He didn鈥檛 want his season to end, so he did what he had to do.鈥�
The work wasn鈥檛 quite done for Red Lake. On the next Mahnomen/Waubun possession, Beaulieu Jr. stole a crosscourt pass and surged across half court for a fast-break layup, putting the Warriors up 80-77.
The two teams traded baskets, then Kingbird Jr. came through once again. With Red Lake leading 82-79, he was fouled after Austin Perkins stole the ball from the Thunderbirds. Kingbird Jr. sank both free throws with 4.6 seconds to go, sealing the Warriors鈥� trip to the section championship.
鈥淭his means a lot, man,鈥� Kingbird Jr. said. 鈥淎ll the hard work I put in is finally coming out, and I鈥檝e got to keep working. (We have to) keep playing as a team.鈥�
Brown reaches 1,000 career points
Late in the first half, Brown recorded a special milestone that made a historic night even more noteworthy. He drained a wing 3 to bring Red Lake within 12 points after the Warriors trailed 43-28. That shot brought him to 1,000 career points at Red Lake.
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Officials momentarily stopped the game to allow Brown to bask in the moment. He obliged, engaging in the joyous celebration and handing a commemorative ball to his family to cement the occasion. But his mind was still in the game.
鈥淚t felt good, but we were down a lot,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淪o I was really focused on that more than just scoring my 1,000th.鈥�
After substituting out of the game during the festivities, Brown reentered during the next stoppage in play. His 11 second-half points played a crucial role in powering Red Lake鈥檚 comeback and helping the Warriors secure the subsection crown.
鈥淚t feels great,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚t's my first time (going to the section championship). Being down (almost) 20, hopes are low, but you鈥檝e got to keep battling and keep fighting. That's what we did, and we came out victorious.鈥�
Red Lake 84, Mahnomen/Waubun 79
MW 45 34 鈥� 79
RL 35 49 鈥� 84
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RED LAKE 鈥� G. Kingbird Jr. 43, Brown 19, Beaulieu Jr. 8, Dudley Jr. 8, R. Kingbird 2, Perkins 2, White 2.
MAHNOMEN/WAUBUN 鈥� C. Clark 28, Lhotka 19, Thompson 11, Chilton 10, M. Weaver 5, Molina 4, K. Weaver 2.
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