When Elk River senior and leading scorer Matt Keller fouled out of Thursday's game with 1:17 left in the second half, the Elks were ready.

Seniors Zekiel Delain and Trent Pink picked up the slack in Keller's absence, with Delain notching a game-high 19 points and Pink adding 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to lead Elk River in a 79-68 overtime victory against Robbinsdale Armstrong.

"That's happened a couple of times this year," Elks coach Randy Klasen said. "I think it just shows the character of our kids."

Keller, a Wisconsin-River Falls commit who averages 23.4 points per game, exited the Northwest Suburban Conference battle as his team trailed the Falcons 62-60 and finished with 13 points.

"A lot of teams could panic in that situation, but these guys really don't miss a beat," Klasen said. 

After Keller took a seat on the bench, Delain kept Elk River (21-5, 12-5) in the game, sinking a pair of free throws to knot things up at 64-64 to force overtime, where the Elks outscored Armstrong 15-4.

The Falcons (14-12, 11-7 West) were without leading scorer and sophomore Race Thompson, who was recovering from an illness.

Delain said that Thompson's absence didn't alter the gameplan, and that even with a league title out of reach and the Class 4A, Section 8 seeding all but locked up, Elk River's upperclassmen aren't tempering the intensity.

"Especially for us seniors, every game counts," Delain said. "You don't know how many you have left, so you want to win them all."

Keller, Delain and Pink are the Elks' co-captains, a role that carries a responsibility not lost on Pink, a St. Cloud State football commit who nabbed his 200th career rebound in the win.

"I knew Matt fouled out, so me and (Zekiel), the second-leading scorers, kind of had to step it up and take control of the team," Pink said. "We just got to step up to the occasion and finish the game out."

Senior guard Zekiel Delain scored a game-high 19 points to lead Elk River in a 79-68 overtime road win over Robbinsdale Armstrong on Thursday.

Senior center Trent Pink scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Elks (21-5, 12-5 North), who outscored the Falcons 15-4 in the overtime session. Fellow senior Matt Keller added 13 points in the Northwest Suburban Conference, cross-division matchup.

Senior wing Collis Barber led Armstrong (14-12, 11-7 West) with 13 points. Sophomore Race Thompson did not play due to an illness. 

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