Basketball: Larson sprints past 1,000 career points

Ever since, the Littlefork-Big Falls gym rat has been climbing the ladder in the basketball world.

“We knew we had something special,” Vikings head coach Jeff Maish said when he first saw Larson play in seventh grade.

Larson became the 14th player in school history Tuesday to reach 1,000 career points in the Vikings’ 59-46 win at Lake of the Woods.

Larson, who finished with a game-high 25 points, needed seven points to reach the mark, and his 3-pointer with 1:55 to play in the first half put him at 1,001 for his career.

“That’s one of the worst first halves I’ve had in a long time,” Larson said with a grin after the game. “Solely on those 1,000 points.”

The Vikings (6-7) came out nervous and distracted by the milestone. They trailed 20-10 with under four minutes to play in the first half before Larson hit his first 3-pointer. His second from long range, which got him to 1,001, cut the deficit to 22-16. The Vikings trailed 24-20 at half, but looked like a different team after the short ceremony.

“We had four guys looking for one,” Maish said.

When Larson finally reached 1,000, he was congratulated by his coach and teammates and shook the hands of every Lake of the Woods player and coach. The quick ceremony ended with a hug from mom.

“It was a lot of stress off me right there,” Larson admitted.

Larson becomes the first Vikings player to reach 1,000 points since John Larson did it in 2002. John was in attendance.

Aaron McGuire also finished in double figures for L-BF with 11 points, while Tyler Lehman added seven points. Taylor DeLack and Tyler Vork chipped in with six points apiece. The two seniors — McGuire and Lehman — didn’t step off the court.

Nick Schoper led the Bears (4-14) with 17 points, Joe Kraft had 11 points and Chris Novak had seven points.

The rejuvenated Vikings held Lake of the Woods to 22 second-half points. A 10-1 run late made it 49-40 and brought chants of “L-BF!” “L-BF” from the visiting fans.

“I’m pretty convinced it was the 1,000-point thing,” Larson said about the first-half struggles. “We got that out of the way and started playing our game again.”

Bears head coach Bob Laine can’t wait for the rematch in Littlefork on Feb. 24. Laine worked at L-BF for seven years and was an assistant girls basketball coach when John Larson reached 1,000.

“We beat ourselves. They didn’t beat us,” he said, noting his team missed way too many layups. “We left 18 points at the rim.”

Laine and the Bears frustrated the Vikings early, but couldn’t find a rhythm in the second half.

“I’m not disrespecting them at all,” Laine said. “We beat ourselves and we’ve been doing that all year. That’s the difference between good teams and mediocre teams.”

It’s hard to find anything mediocre about Garrett Larson, who is averaging 27.5 points per game and came in averaging 19 rebounds a contest. He made the Associated Press All-State honorable mention team last year and was named one of the “Top 50 Ballers” in the state of Minnesota in a November issue of ESPN Rise. He has a shot to top Andrea Millerbernd’s school-record of 1,801 points.

“What I like to see is the development I’ve seen over the last couple years,” Maish said, noting Larson is in the gym most mornings and whenever it’s open.

“That’s what it’s all about,” the coach added.

Littlefork-Big Falls 1,000 Club

Andrea Millerbernd (2004) 1,801

Kelly Hams (2007) 1,569

Ryan Paul (1992) 1,393

Kim Spoden (1988) 1,318

John Larson (2002) 1,296

Don Parmeter (1964) 1,217

Dan Burmeister (2000) 1,169

Duane Klemetsen (2001) 1,144

Lisa Klemetsen (1995) 1,129

Tom Morris (1972) 1,121

Marci Williams (1988) 1,061

Lora Klemetsen (1995) 1,051

Bobby Paul (1965) 1,019

Garrett Larson (2011) 1,018*

*Active