Howie's Prep Sports Notebook, Friday

SECTIONS: St. Louis County . City of Duluth . Sports . Lake Superior College . DECC

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QUOTE ME

Duluth Denfeld boys basketball coach Phil Homere on his team's 61-55 home victory over rival Cloquet on Thursday night:

"Tonight was a good chance for us to win a close game. We got off to a good start (a shocking, 10-0 lead), but they fought back and made it a good game to the very end. A game like this helps us a lot, because we haven't had too many close games all season. I think our last close games were probably against them (a 71-68 loss in the Wood City on Dec. 12) and Blake (a 72-66 home loss on Jan. 4). It was good to be able to be in this situation, so we know how to handle it moving forward.

I thought our guys played well to finish it off and made our free throws down the stretch. That's our biggest struggle, at times, knocking down free throws. So it was good to see some of them go down and see guys get the job done.

Carter Brown wanted the ball towards the end. So did Marnaries (Ferguson), until he fouled out. Lee (Brooks) did a good job quarterbacking us offensively, making the right plays, and guiding us to complete the job.

Our bigs also stepped up tonight. Our size has helped us all year, and that's a team strength that we'll continue to ride the rest of the season.

Overall, how big a victory was this for us? It certainly helps our individual and team confidence because it lets us know we can get the job done against a quality opponent like Cloquet. In December when we lost to them by three, I told our guys that we could play them twice more this season. So, it was a good win tonight."

PREP SPORTS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Duluth Denfeld power forward Carter Brown scored a game-high 22 points in a 61-55 boys basketball home victory over Cloquet on Thursday night. A 6-foot-4 junior and rising college prospect, Brown dominated at both ends of the floor. He jumps out of the gym, shoots over defenders with excellent rotation and touch, and wants the ball in his hands during crunch time. Brown is already a strong candidate for Mr. Basketball in Minnesota next season, a major sleeper quietly growing hoops whiskers in West Duluth.

QUOTE ME

Legendary Twin Ports sports guru Fred Friedman on Super Bowl LIX on Sunday afternoon:

"The Eagles have more talent but the most offensive sports fans this side of the Atlantic. Visiting players’ families are openly advised not to attend the games in south Philly. KC has the best coach in the sport and (Patrick) Mahomes. I think the Eagles are more likely to prevail because of superior line play. Don’t gamble."