Washburn outlasts Mankato West for 2009 AAA championship

Kevin Noreen watching from the front row behind the Mandato West bench. Another matchup of arguably the top 2 teams in the class, this time in AAA. I must admit there are few better nicknames than Scarlets (Awesome Blossoms, Cobras and Dragons fit into another category). They need to schedule a game against Maple Grove to fight over color.

Mike Richter gets the initial assignment guarding Ra'Shede Hageman. He gets a monster stuff block on Noah Shepherd. He also adds a jumper for the 1st points of the game for the Scarlets. Martin to the basket for 2 and the foul for his 2nd hoop of the night. 4-2 washburn at 15:53 after the missed FT. Aaron Richter to the basket blocked by Martin. Hageman picks it up goes around his world but blows the layup. Martin cleans that up for a 9-4 lead and Mankato West needs a timeout with 14:50 left in the half. Martin 3-3 early. 1 trip up the floor, tipped away. 4 seconds pass and now we get the TV timeout. I hate TV timeouts.

Martin gets a rebound and he's off to the races again and earns a pair of FTs. 11-4 Washburn with 13:49 left. Aaron Richter again strong inside and he has 2 more. 10:43 TV timeout. 12-6 Washburn as they haven't made a field goal in 4:09. Mankato West has no FGs in the last 2:56 so offense is not on display here.

Jordan Osberg airballs a 3 and Cedric Martin almost ends up in my lap going after the rebound. Dylan Hale with a steal via a trap on Mike Richter but Mike comes back and swats Hale's layup attempt. Ray Teachout breaks a FG drought of 4:17 for Mankato West to cut the lead to 4. Mankato West with an offense rebound on effort alone, love their intensity. That leads to an Aaron Richter jumper at 8:08. 14-10 Washburn. Hageman gets a nice pass but Derrick Cattryse jumps over from the helpside to knock the ball away. Hageman spins and makes a nice lefty jump hook inside. A steal for a Hale layin, 18-10 Washburn at 6:39. Aaron Richter with 1 of 2 FTs at 6:20. 18-11 Washburn, TV Timeout. Mankato West only 5-17 from the floor. Both teams with 8 turnovers.

Both Richters doing a nice job challenging Hageman on both ends. Hageman 1 of 2 FTs at 5:08 for a 21-11 Washburn lead. DeAaron Hearn grabs a rebound and outlets to Martin in 1 motion and he makes a nice conversion. 23-11 Washburn leads. TV Timeout at 3:28 with the same margin. Mankato West not generating any offense and they take time at 2:08. No FGs in the last 6 minutes.

Aaron Richter gets a very good look inside and it goes backrim. Ice cold. 2 more looks don't go in and Martin feeds Hageman for 2 FTs with 9.6 left in the half. Cattrysse over Osberg for 3 at the horn for his only make in 10 attempts. That breaks a drought over over 8 minutes. 25-14 Washburn leads going to halftime. 6-28 from the floor for the Scarlets. Washburn only 9-24 with 10 turnovers. Aaron Richter with 7 points and 5 boards. Cedric Martin with 10 and 7. Ra'Shede Hageman with 6 and 6 but he's only 1-6 shooting. Washburn's just too athletic. Nice to see Tubby Smith in the building as a VIP.

My Class AAA All-Tournament Ballot
Michael Talley from St. Paul Johnson
Shaun Jensen and Trey Scott from Spring Lake Park
Derrick Cattrysse, Aaron Richter and Mike Richter from Mankato West
DeAaron Hearn, Dylan Hale, Ra'Shede Hageman and Cedric Martin from Minneapolis Washburn

Hale and Hageman on a nice screen/roll set. Hageman misses the bunny but gets it back and powers it home. Inbounds for Mankato West and Ray Teachout buries a triple. Hageman hop and pop for 2 more. 29-17 Washburn with 16:45 left. Aaron Richter with a nice up fake and dribble to get himself a layup. The Scarlets still hanging around with a chance for a run. Preston Brunz flares and drives for a bucket high off the window and the lead is back to single digits. Mankato West misses out on 2 chances to cut the lead to 6. TV Timeout at 14:55 with Washburn leading 29-21.

Cattrysse misses a bunny and Mike Richter puts it back and the lead is cut to 6. Hageman spins left and gets the roll inside. Mike Richter with an offensive board and it gets kicked around the horn for another Teachout triple and the Mankato West crowd rises. Washburn misses and Brunz drills a 3 for the Mankato West explosion. 31-29 Washburn and they take a timeout at the 13:18 mark. In the last 2:44 its a 12-2 run for Mankato West.

Noah Shepherd inside to Hageman and he bulls his way to another layup. Aaron Richter blocks a Martin drive on the baseline but Martin puts it back to push the lead to 6. Mike Richter inside at 11:33. 35-31 Washburn leads. Nick Smith drives and his pass is off Hageman's hands. Hale now trying to contain Teachout but gives up a good corner look that goes back rim. Bruns flares, 2 guys run to him and he finds Aaron Richter for an easy layup as no one rotates. 35-33 inside of 10 minutes. After a washburn turnover, the same play goes to Cattrysse but he misses the open 3. Washburn weaves and that gets Hale a triple with 9 minutes left. 38-33 Washburn leads.
Aaron Richter with a strong move at 8:32 and he finishes over Jay Edward for the 3 point play. Hageman back in at the 7:47 mark and Washburn leading 40-36. Cattrysse off the window at 7:40 and then a carrying call. That generates a "fundamentals" chant from the Scarlets students. Aaron Richter with a bad miss over Edward and Martin converts on the other end. 42-38 with 7 minutes left. The Scarlets turn it over and Hageman cleans up a mess for FTs with 6:46 left. He makes both and we go to a TV timeout with Washburn leading 44-38. Good time for Mankato West to get the TV timeout.

Teachout gets loose on the inbounds out of the timeout but he can't convert the layup. Big miss there. Washburn takes timeout with 5:52 left and the 6 point lead. Teachout cuts the lead in half with a straight away triple. Washburn gives it away on the other end. Double down for Teachout and he gets a good look at the tying 3. No good. Aaron Richter takes a turnover and has a nice jump stop and finish to cut the lead to 1 with 4 and a half left. Washburn holding but they throw a pass over Cedric Martin and its over and back to West. But they turn it over with 4:02 to play and the chance to lead. Hageman back iron on the post over Mike Richter, he fights thru for the offensive rebound and earns 2 FTs with 3:41 to play. Once again Hageman makes 2 FTs to send us to a TV timeout. 3:41 left with Washburn leading 46-43.

Martin steals and finishes at 3:15, big play there. Washburn back to their 1-2-2 3/4 press before dropping back man. Aaron Richter drives and gets bumped by Martin at 2:26 but misses the front end. Teachout tracks down the miss. But after a miss, Aaron Richter fouls Martin. With 2:16 left, Martin gets the first to bounce high and drop in but the second just falls out. 49-43 Washburn. Mike Richter looks like he has a layup but Martin blocks that away and the ball ends up with Washburn and 2 minutes left. DeAaron Hearn drives right baseline and scores with 90 seconds left. There was a chance there to foul Hageman as he got a post touch during the possession. Cattrysse responds on the other end with 1:24 left.

Now the free throw shooting contest begins. Hale is our first contestant and he makes 1 of 2 at 1:23. Aaron Richter off with a 16 foot jumper with 1 minute left and Hale rebounds it. Next up in our contest is Martin wiht 45.4 left. No doubt about these 2. 54-45 Washburn. Washburn fans chant "Season's over" and get the great "So is yours" response. Washburn goes on to win the AAA title over Mankato West by a score of 58-45.

For Wasbhburn, Cedric Martin with 23 and 9 on 8-12 shooting. Ra'Shede Hageman with 18 and 11 but only 5-13 shooting. Aaron Richter with 16 and 8 to lead Mankato West.

Funny moment during the awards ceremony, the MSHSL had the 1st place trophy in hand for Mankato West and only when they went to hand it out did they realize the mistake. So the Scarlets captains were standing there while the MSHSL guy went to the table to get the correct trophy.

AAA All-Tourney Team
Scott and Jensen - Spring Lake Park
Talley and Dion Suggs-Young - Johnson
Cattrysse, Teachout and Aaron Richter - Mankato West
Hale, Martin and Hageman - Washburn