Rosemount 1/20

Jan 20

Lakers Stay Hot: Prior Lake Pushes Streak to Nine with Road Win at Rosemount

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. — January 20, 2026
If there was ever a night for a trap game, this was it. A surging Rosemount squad—winners of nine of their last ten—waiting on their home floor. A raucous Tuesday-night crowd. A Lakers team riding an eight‑game heater but well aware that the Irish have climbed back into the SSC title picture.

Prior Lake didn’t blink.
They showed up. They punched early. And they never trailed on their way to a gritty, chaotic, and ultimately convincing 72–64 road win to move to 7–0 in the SSC and extend the winning streak to nine.

Fast Start, Familiar Faces

The starting five—Kolby Thompson, Max Dubore, Cole Brinkman, Kobby Sam‑Brew, and Colten Gunderson—wasted no time picking up where they left off.

First possession?
Gunderson, doing Gunderson things: a strong inside move, fouled, two points at the stripe.

Next possession?
Thompson. Three. 5–0 Lakers.

The Laker zone defense, a quietly devastating weapon developed for this matchup, immediately compromised Rosemount’s rhythm. The Irish finally cracked the scoreboard with a drive‑and‑kick triple, but the Lakers answered with more crisp offense: a Thompson bomb and a beautiful Brinkman‑to‑Gunderson connection made it 10–3.

And when Rosemount scored again, Thompson shrugged and drilled his third three of the half.
Then later…his fourth.

At one point this man was on pace to outscore Rosemount by himself.

Jenpa Spark, Dubore Fire, and a 12‑Point Halftime Lead

With the Irish big man picking up his second foul and heading to the bench at the 10:30 mark, Prior Lake pounced.

Woeser Jenpa entered with microwave offense—a pair of buckets that pushed the lead to double digits. A moment later, he picked the pocket of an Irish guard, sprinted the other direction, and fed Dubore, who splashed a three to make it a 14‑point Laker lead.

Rosemount got a couple of miracle bounces—one ball through Jenpa’s hands, another rebound slipping through Gunderson’s fingers—but Trey Theis answered with a wing three that made it 28–13 Lakers.

The Irish wouldn’t disappear, though. Their star guard hit a contested deep three and a twisting scoop layup to cut it to ten, then another flurry trimmed it to five. But Prior Lake closed the half with a 7–0 run, fueled by defensive pressure and more Thompson magic, taking a 35–23 lead into the break.

Second Half: Lakers Surge, Irish Swing Back

If Rosemount needed to show second‑half adjustments, they didn’t.
If Prior Lake needed a quick second-half surge, they had one ready.

Three straight layups—pure ball movement, sharp cuts, clean reads—stretched the lead to 16. Then Thompson buried his fifth three of the night, blowing the doors open at 19 points just two minutes into the half.

The Irish were rattled enough to pick up a technical, and Thompson calmly added two more free points. 20‑point lead. UCLA‑style dominance. The home crowd stunned.

But Rosemount didn’t win nine of ten by accident.

They sliced inside for a layup…
Hit a transition three…
Drained a crisp ball‑rotation three…

Suddenly the lead was down to 12.

The teams traded blows. Rosemount hit another three, then a crafty floater, cutting it to 56–47 with under eight minutes left. Every time the Lakers padded the cushion to double digits, the Irish hit a dagger to stay alive.

When Rosemount drilled a three with just over four minutes remaining to cut it to eight, the gym started to buzz.

Thompson—who else?—quieted it with a feathery floater to restore order and force an Irish timeout.

Chaos, Comedy, and Closing Time

What followed was…well…basketball chaos.

Both teams missed free throws.
Both fouled each other on rebounds.
Both gifted each other extra trips to the line.

Eventually, Rosemount grabbed a rebound, sprinted out, and splashed a transition three to cut the lead to five with 52 seconds remaining.

This is where nine‑straight‑wins maturity matters.

The Lakers hit their free throws.
The defense locked in.
The Irish got nothing clean in the final minute.

Ballgame: Prior Lake 72, Rosemount 64.
Nine straight. Conference perfection continues.

The Numbers Behind the Night

Top Scorers

Kolby Thompson – 29 (five threes, massive early run, late dagger floater)
Colten Gunderson – 17
Woeser Jenpa – 10

Rebounding

Gunderson – 8
Trey Theis – 8
Jenpa – 4

Assists

Cole Brinkman – 6
Dubore – 3

Yes, it was again more turnovers than assists—an ongoing puzzle for a team that otherwise plays so cleanly in the half court. Yes, missed free throws and sloppy second‑half possessions made this one tighter than it needed to be.

But the bottom line?
Prior Lake controlled the game. Wire to wire.
Against one of the hottest teams in Minnesota.
On the road.

This win wasn’t luck. It was identity.

Around the Program

9A: 70–34 win
9B: 60–42 win
B Squad: 63–66 loss
JV: 60–55 win

Final Word

The Lakers are now the class of the SSC, full stop.
They score inside, they score outside, they defend with purpose, and they rebound like every possession matters. The path forward is simple: keep tightening the defense, keep valuing possessions, and keep riding this chemistry into the heart of conference play.

Next up: a road test at Eastview, with the streak—and momentum heading into the weekend—on the line.

If Tuesday night was any indication, the Lakers aren’t slowing down anytime soon.

Logan Wang