Park unveiled its version of a Friday Night Smackdown as the Wolfpack body slammed visiting Roseville 69-47 Friday.

Senior forward Pharrel Payne led the way with 20 points for the Wolfpack, but he had plenty of help, not the least of whom was freshman forward Dominic Batts who scored 12 points.

“Dom Batts came out here and he – as a freshman to come out here we kind of just threw him in the fire this year – just to see what he could be like, to play with a team that we feel is a pretty decent team – to have a freshman out here playing and not be afraid to let the ball go, that’s huge.”

Evan Bearth added 11 points and OT Omot 10 as the Wolfpack romped offensively with another strong inside-outside game.

Park improved to 7-3 in the Suburban East Conference and 11-5 on the season. The Wolfpack remained in second place in the SEC, 2 ½ games behind leader East Ridge.

Defensively, it was an other gem for the Wolfpack. Park has held 11 opponents to 52 points or less this season, including eight straight foes. Park is 9-2 in those 11 games.

“We just came out and played hard, got after it on defenses, set the tone that we wanted to capitalize on ” said Mike Weah.

Payne scored the first nine points for Park to jump-start the Wolfpack to an early 15-6 lead. Park led 38-20 at the half and never let Roseville back into the game. Park coaches went deep into the bench as the second half wore on as the Wolfpack maintained about a 20-point lead. Eight players scored for Park.

“What we did well tonight was stopping them from scoring,” said Payne. “We were able to keep them under 50 so that’s a win on our side.”

Roseville played hard the entire game – especially standout Keyon Broussard who had 23 points – but slipped to 1-9 in the conference and 3-14 overall.

“Really good, I think we did people stepping up and hitting shots in the clutch when we really needed it,” said Park’s Brady Perryman.

Park has a week of big games up next. The Wolfpack hosts rival Cretin-Derham Hall (8-7, 5-4) Tuesday, then plays at Mounds View (10-7, 4-6) on Friday, both games starting at 7 p.m. The Raiders will be looking to avenge a 55-46 home loss to the Wolfpack earlier this season. On the flip side, Park will look to turn the tables on Mounds View, which defeated the Wolfpack at Cottage Grove 67-57 in the team’s first meeting this winter.

Park 56, White Bear Lake 49 Pharrel Payne scored 28 points to lead Park to a 5649 win over visiting White Bear Lake at Park Wednesday.

Evan Bearth had seven points, OT Omot six and Josh Hatano five for the Wolfpack.

Park veterans Evan Bearth, Josh Hatano, Jamari Walker, Pharrel Payne, Brayden Fick and Brady Perryman cheer on teammates from the bench during the final minutes vs. Roseville Friday night.Photo by John Molene