HL-W-W Lakers boys basketball falls 78-50 to Pelican Rapids in state semi-finals

The Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers lost their state semi-final berth to top-ranked Pelican Rapids 78-50 on Friday night.

The Lakers led 8-4 in the early minutes of the game before the Vikings went on a run to go ahead 29-21 at halftime.

Right into the second half, the Lakers scored first to close the gap to six points. That was all she wrote for HL-W-W, however, as the Vikings build on their lead through the entire second half.

In the end, the Lakers (23-9 finish) gave a great effort that the CMC should be proud of, advancing to the Class AA Final Four round. They lost 70-52 in the third-place game to Plainview-Elgin-Millville.

This was the first time since 2005 that a CMC boys basketball team has advanced to the Final Four round at state. That year, Rockford had a "dream team" that took 4th place at state, finishing 28-5 overall.