After a rousing 31-point home win against Hastings Thursday, the Park Wolfpack didn’t have quite enough in the tank the next day to overcome rival Cretin- Derham Hall in an away game Thursday.

Cretin edged the Wolfpack 46-45 in a Suburban East Conference tilt in St. Paul.

Cretin took a 26-17 halftime lead, but Park battled back and outscored the hosts 28-20 in the second half. Park rallied and had a four-point lead but couldn’t hold off the Raiders.

The Wolfpack slipped to 0-2 in the SEC and 1-2 on the season.

Cretin evened its conference record at 1-1 and stands 2-2 overall.

The Raiders came into the contest with a deceptive 1-2 record, with a season- opening win over Minneapolis South, followed by losses to an undefeated Maple Grove team (55-37) and to No. 9 East Ridge (76-62).

OT Omot led Park with 13 points but was the only Wolfpack player to score in double figures. David Ola-Kazeem had eight points and Tayvion Stewart seven.

Park plays a non-conference contest at St. Thomas Academy (1-3) on Thursday, Dec. 22, then is off for the Christmas break until a Jan. 3 game at Mounds View.

Park 90, Hastings 49

It took one game to warm up, but Park fans were treated to the new-look Wolfpack team Thursday in a rousing 90-49 win over visiting Hastings.

Park ran and dunked and pressed and displayed a brand of basketball not seen during the power-oriented play of the Pharrel Payne years.

Asked if it was going to be a fun year, “If we keep playing like that it is,” said Park head coach Mike Weah. “We love the way we were running tonight. Getting open shots, finding teammates and everybody playing their roles. Nobody looking at somebody else to carry the team. They all played their part.

“We came into the year saying we wanted to be a running team, we want to be fast, we want to g=have our defense create our offense and that’s what we were doing tonight,” said Weah.

Park led 56-27 at the half, outscoring their output for the entire first game against Roseville Tuesday.

“As a unit we just played team ball,” said Brown, who was held to just two points in the season opener but scored basically at will Thursday against Hastings. “We moved the ball We were getting the ball up court. Coaches had a great game plan coming in. Just push the ball. They were a lot slower. They weren’t as athletic as us. And we just used that to our advantage and we just took over.”

“It was a great team effort,” Brown continued. “All of the guys were locked in, even our bench you know excited, gave us energy and that’s really at the end of the day what it came down to/ It was a big win for us.”

Park had three players in double figures offensively, led by Derrick Brown’s 19, OT Omot’s 16 and David Ola-Kazim’s 14. Ten Park players got their name in the scoreboard, however.

“You could tell the difference (between the first and second games for the Wolfpack)” said Weah. “I mean DJ Brown completely different player from what he was on Tuesday. He just came out and played his game and that’s what we needed.”

The different between the season opener and Thursday’s runaway win was mostly effort, said Park forward Henry Schluetter.

“Definitely the effort and the energy,” said Schluetter. “You hear from like the crowd and everything. I think our energy was way up compared to Tuesday where we faced Roseville. Going into that we were a little skeptical but I think we easily came out of it, now, we’re like way better.

“We’re quick,” Schluetter added. “We can get up the court. I love getting those steals and running those presses is one of my favorite things to do.”

Park’s 90-point barrage was the most points the Wolfpack had scored in a single game since a 99-98 loss to Hastings early in the 2019 season.

Hastings fell to 2-3 with the loss.

Roseville 54, Park 52

Park dropped a hardfought season-opener to visiting Roseville Tuesday, losing to the visitors 54-52.

“That first game, not a lot of experience out there, so guys were very wide-eyes out there,” said Weah.

Dominic Batts led the Wolfpack with 16 points. OT Omot scored 15 points and David Ola-Kazim added a dozen.

Park guard David Ola-Kazim goes up for two points against Hastings. Photo by John Molene

Park senior OT Omot slams one down against the Hastings Raiders in Thursday’s game. Photo by John Molene

Park’s Tayvion Stewart (10), Derrick Brown (11), OT Omot (0) and David Ola-Kazim (4) celebrate as they watch a late goal against Hastings. Photo by John Molene