Dower dominates again

A special (and last minute) trip to Andover tonight for the Huskies home game against NW Suburban front runner Osseo. Surprisingly small Osseo crowd. I don't recommend top row on the visitor side as the backboard and the American Flag keep you from having a clear view of the scoreboards. The PA guy is trying way too hard as well.

6'2 Kyle Mulrooney gets the unenviable task of guarding Dower on this night. But its Mulrooney who's off to the quick start as he makes back to back triples for a 13-5 Andover lead at 12:20. A couple of nice box outs and he's using his bulk nicely on Dower. Dalton Graff off the Osseo bench with a double-dose of 3s. But Jason Schneider gets a 3 point play and sophomore Tyler Finnes with a 3, 19-13 Andover at 9:35. Dower then picks up his 2nd foul, but with Osseo down, Coach Theisen keeps him in the game. Dower starting to get it going on offense. He makes his patented jump hook and then finds Nick Djerf for 3. Osseo takes time at 6:24 still down 27-20. Then Andover starts turning the ball over and Osseo makes the Huskies pay. Dower with a 3 point play and then finds Djerf going backdoor. John Rowland for 3 after the ball went thru Dower in the post. Dower 2 FTs and then Graff back to back triples again. All off of Andover turnovers. Osseo with the lead 36-29 at 4:04 and Andover needs a timeout after a 16-2 Osseo run in just 2:20. A minimum of 3 turnovers in that run for the Huskies. Dower now can rest with the 2 fouls. 4 more Andover turnovers but Osseo goes 0-5 (0-6 if you want to count a missed front end) at the charity stripe. Dower comes back at 1:48 with Osseo leading 36-33. He puts back a miss at 1:25 and another offensive board with 4 seconds left in the half for a free throw. 39-33 Osseo at the half. Dower 14 pts, 4 boards and 3 assists for another 8 points. Dalton Graff with 4 big triples off the bench for 12 points.

Dower comes out on a mission in the 2nd half as he gets the 1st 8 Orioles points of the half. During that stretch, Andover star Brett Tester with a 3 point play to cut the lead to 43-40. Out of a new set (see Osseo section), Andover mysteriously doubles Jayvin Reynolds at the foul line and he finds Bobby Fischer for 3. 50-40 Osseo with 13:30 left and the Orioles take off. John Rowland with a couple of threes and Dower puts back a couple of misses. 64-42 Osseo with 9:10 left. That's a 21-2 Osseo run over 7:30. A chunk of that run was against the Andover bench. The score is even the rest of the way, but the game feels like 40. Osseo's starters leave with 1:31 left after leading by as much as 27. Osseo wins 84-63.

For Andover, Jason Schneider leads the way with 12 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet. He's next year's only returning starter. Sophomores Ben Mei and Tyler Finnes also see significant minutes for the Huskies. They tried to double Dower, especially from Phillips but they allowed Dower too many easy catches on the post. The loss drops the Huskies to 5-12 and they've now lost 7 in a row after a 5-5 start.

For Osseo, Dower with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 3 after being held to 18 in the first meeting. I had him for around 14-18 shooting, but all of his attempts were inside of 6 feet. Dalton Graff and John Rowland come off the bench with 7 triples and 24 points total. No Aaron Anderson tonight for Osseo. Bobby Fischer and Nick Djerf getting the starts tonight for the Orioles. No full court run and jump from Osseo tonight in a bit of a surprise. They also unveiled a 2-3 high offense late in the 1st half and for a period in the 2nd half. The win allows the Orioles to keep pace with Champlin Park in the NW Suburban. Centennial 1 game back after the 18 point loss at Osseo on Tuesday.