February 29, 2012 CzarPI

Here is the 3rd CzarPI for the 2011-2012 season (see CzarPI Explained here).  It includes all games through Wednesday February 29th, 2012.  The value in () after the CzarPI value is the team's strength of schedule ranking within their class.

Class AAAA

1. Hopkins - 62.77 (6)
2. Eastview - 61.4 (14)
3. Lakeville North - 61.36 (15)
4. Eden Prairie - 58.63 (1)
5. Osseo - 58.32 (42)
6. Roseville - 57.11 (43)
7. Apple Valley - 55.69 (16)
8. Duluth East - 55.65 (4)
9. Wayzata - 55.3 (17)
10. Chanhassen - 55.25 (36)
11. Minnetonka - 55.11 (8)
12. Edina - 54.98 (2)
13. Woodbury - 54.39 (50)
14. Moorhead - 54.32 (9)
15. Owatonna - 53.85 (63)
16. Park Center - 53.04 (41)
17. Tartan - 52.86 (58)
18. Mahtomedi - 52.83 (56)
19. Cretin-Derham Hall - 52.68 (19)
20. St. Michael-Albertville - 52.56 (60)
21. Buffalo - 51.99 (23)
22. Rogers - 51.95 (47)
23. Champlin Park - 51.75 (32)
24. Bemidji - 51.33 (18)
25. St. Cloud Tech - 51.3 (29)
26. Brainerd - 50.98 (40)
27. Mounds View - 50.76 (51)
28. Prior Lake - 50.38 (12)
29. Maple Grove - 50.17 (35)
30. Henry Sibley - 49.66 (28)
31. Centennial - 49.5 (26)
32. Blaine - 49.23 (49)
33. Elk River - 49.02 (30)
34. Eagan - 49.02 (10)
35. White Bear Lake - 48.96 (33)
36. Rochester Century - 48.31 (62)
37. Irondale - 48.28 (39)
38. Lakeville South - 48.21 (3)
39. Stillwater Area - 46.38 (25)
40. Rosemount - 46.36 (11)
41. Anoka - 45.82 (21)
42. St. Louis Park - 45.59 (52)
43. Rochester Mayo - 44.25 (46)
44. Robbinsdale Cooper - 44.17 (20)
45. Farmington - 43.87 (45)
46. Shakopee - 43.58 (37)
47. North St. Paul - 43.49 (54)
48. Rochester John Marshall - 42.85 (44)
49. Minneapolis South - 42.15 (38)
50. East Ridge - 42.06 (27)
51. Forest Lake - 39.57 (53)
52. Coon Rapids - 39.4 (24)
53. Northfield - 38.92 (31)
54. Bloomington Kennedy - 38.82 (13)
55. Bloomington Jefferson - 38.63 (7)
56. St. Francis - 37.6 (61)
57. Robbinsdale Armstrong - 36.83 (22)
58. Minneapolis Southwest - 36.37 (55)
59. Andover - 36.08 (34)
60. Hastings - 35.03 (57)
61. Cambridge-Isanti - 28.46 (59)
62. Park of Cottage Grove - 23.28 (48)
63. Burnsville - 22.27 (5)

Class AAA

1. Benilde-St. Margaret's - 60.57 (4)
2. Grand Rapids - 58.09 (2)
3. Minneapolis Washburn - 56.52 (45)
4. Blake - 56.14 (48)
5. Kasson-Mantorville - 55.82 (33)
6. DeLaSalle - 55.82 (35)
7. Spring Lake Park - 55.66 (26)
8. Little Falls - 55.44 (34)
9. Thief River Falls - 54.96 (9)
10. Detroit Lakes - 54.71 (20)
11. Marshall - 54.66 (12)
12. Austin - 54.36 (60)
13. Mankato East - 54.06 (51)
14. Willmar - 54.06 (11)
15. Zimmerman - 53.95 (58)
16. Waconia - 53.7 (27)
17. Duluth Denfeld - 53.11 (28)
18. St. Anthony Village - 52.98 (41)
19. Fergus Falls - 52.53 (3)
20. Delano - 52.5 (42)
21. Hill-Murray - 51.29 (23)
22. Rocori - 50.79 (19)
23. St. Thomas Academy - 50.51 (36)
24. Holy Angels - 50.38 (30)
25. New Prague - 49.69 (52)
26. St. Paul Johnson - 49.62 (59)
27. Chaska - 49.53 (5)
28. Richfield - 48.96 (29)
29. Alexandria - 48.92 (7)
30. Hermantown - 48.7 (56)
31. Columbia Heights - 48.23 (13)
32. Totino-Grace - 47.7 (10)
33. East Grand Forks - 46.9 (62)
34. St. Paul Highland Park - 46.54 (64)
35. Hibbing - 45.66 (38)
36. Big Lake - 45.66 (57)
37. Sauk Rapids-Rice - 45.24 (8)
38. Sartell-St. Stephen - 44.67 (22)
39. Minneapolis Henry - 44.64 (37)
40. Fridley - 44.4 (46)
41. St. Cloud Apollo - 44.04 (15)
42. Princeton - 43.74 (61)
43. Red Wing - 42.77 (47)
44. St. Paul Central - 42.75 (63)
45. Hutchinson - 42.25 (24)
46. Orono - 42.23 (14)
47. Mound-Westonka - 41.99 (18)
48. Mankato West - 41.92 (16)
49. Winona - 41.14 (39)
50. Waseca - 40.63 (53)
51. St. Paul Harding - 40.5 (65)
52. Minneapolis Roosevelt - 38.95 (43)
53. Cloquet - 38.8 (44)
54. Albert Lea - 37.69 (21)
55. Becker - 37.1 (49)
56. Simley - 36.78 (40)
57. Chisago Lakes Area - 32.93 (31)
58. North Branch - 30.98 (54)
59. New Ulm - 29.95 (17)
60. Dassel-Cokato - 29.6 (6)
61. St. Paul Como Park - 29.57 (25)
62. Monticello - 29.17 (32)
63. Holy Family Catholic - 26.54 (1)
64. Faribault - 23.1 (55)
65. South St. Paul - 18.43 (50)

Class AA

1. Redwood Valley - 58.66 (63)
2. Perham - 58.35 (33)
3. Pelican Rapids - 57.97 (21)
4. St. Peter - 57.7 (88)
5. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle - 57.56 (83)
6. Montevideo - 56.61 (7)
7. Litchfield - 56.55 (29)
8. Watertown-Mayer - 56.48 (93)
9. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown - 56.33 (92)
10. Braham - 56.3 (110)
11. Worthington - 55.76 (3)
12. Esko - 55.54 (67)
13. Deer River - 55.27 (106)
14. Fairmont - 55.19 (40)
15. St. Cloud Cathedral - 55.15 (49)
16. Hayfield - 55.13 (28)
17. Plainview-Elgin-Millville - 54.48 (64)
18. Byron - 53.81 (60)
19. Mayer Lutheran - 53.78 (94)
20. Maple River - 53.38 (57)
21. St. Croix Lutheran - 53.17 (76)
22. Rochester Lourdes - 53.16 (30)
23. Virginia - 52.75 (102)
24. United South Central - 52.27 (104)
25. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial - 52.18 (108)
26. Cannon Falls - 51.87 (116)
27. Hawley - 51.83 (23)
28. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted - 51.55 (36)
29. Melrose - 51.34 (54)
30. Pierz - 51.31 (99)
31. Bagley - 50.94 (112)
32. Kingsland - 50.7 (84)
33. International Falls - 50.48 (113)
34. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta - 50.15 (51)
35. St. Charles - 49.92 (115)
36. Crosby-Ironton - 49.42 (27)
37. Lake City - 49.4 (117)
38. Trinity School - 49.03 (86)
39. New Life Academy - 48.97 (56)
40. Windom Area - 48.91 (11)
41. Sauk Centre - 48.82 (45)
42. Luverne - 48.81 (42)
43. Annandale - 48.55 (101)
44. Benson - 47.91 (98)
45. Southland - 47.77 (107)
46. Great River - 47.61 (127)
47. Concordia Academy-Roseville - 47.42 (65)
48. Norwood-Young America - 47.29 (82)
49. Minnehaha Academy - 47.24 (59)
50. Warroad - 47.01 (68)
51. Moose Lake-Willow River - 46.75 (78)
52. Kenyon-Wanamingo - 46.74 (47)
53. Pequot Lakes - 46.7 (15)
54. Jordan - 46.33 (62)
55. Belle Plaine - 46.03 (38)
56. Martin County West - 45.73 (87)
57. Albany - 45.4 (71)
58. Caledonia - 45.35 (75)
59. BOLD - 45.23 (105)
60. Lewiston-Altura - 45.23 (66)
61. Barnesville - 44.7 (77)
62. Crookston - 44.7 (103)
63. Hinckley-Finlayson - 44.66 (123)
64. Providence Academy - 44.55 (81)
65. Maple Lake - 43.72 (80)
66. Winona Cotter - 43.32 (19)
67. Breckenridge - 42.72 (95)
68. St. John's Prep - 42.62 (26)
69. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton - 42.56 (85)
70. Montgomery-Lonsdale - 42.14 (43)
71. Aitkin - 41.76 (89)
72. St. Agnes - 41.75 (14)
73. International School of MN - 41.38 (122)
74. Zumbrota-Mazeppa - 41.17 (73)
75. Osakis - 41.02 (2)
76. New London-Spicer - 40.93 (25)
77. Breck - 40.88 (32)
78. St. Paul Academy - 40.66 (69)
79. Frazee - 40.62 (9)
80. Rush City - 40.48 (121)
81. Duluth Marshall - 40.46 (118)
82. Wadena-Deer Creek - 40.35 (53)
83. Sibley East - 40.13 (8)
84. Mora - 40.12 (16)
85. Chatfield - 39.75 (72)
86. Kimball Area - 39.5 (91)
87. Minnewaska Area - 38.95 (35)
88. Brooklyn Center - 38.93 (5)
89. New Richland-H-E-G - 38.72 (61)
90. Staples-Motley - 38.33 (4)
91. Blue Earth Area - 38.13 (12)
92. LeSueur-Henderson - 38.06 (20)
93. Glencoe-Silver Lake - 37.84 (17)
94. Proctor - 37.46 (109)
95. Jackson County Central - 37.24 (13)
96. Pine Island - 36.98 (58)
97. Yellow Medicine East - 36.6 (120)
98. Stewartville - 35.74 (1)
99. Spectrum - 35.23 (74)
100. St. Paul Humboldt - 35.2 (100)
101. Rockford - 35.18 (41)
102. Eden Valley-Watkins - 34.92 (97)
103. Minneapolis Edison - 34.56 (119)
104. Minneapolis North - 33.86 (31)
105. Foley - 33.75 (55)
106. Park Rapids Area - 33.54 (46)
107. Eveleth-Gilbert - 32.72 (114)
108. Medford - 32.63 (111)
109. Two Harbors - 32.41 (39)
110. Paynesville Area - 32.37 (44)
111. Holdingford - 32.11 (34)
112. Pine City - 31.61 (125)
113. La Crescent - 29.79 (96)
114. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton - 29.76 (6)
115. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop - 29.56 (24)
116. Pipestone Area - 29.53 (22)
117. Roseau - 28.22 (52)
118. Milaca - 28.19 (50)
119. Dover-Eyota - 27.5 (48)
120. Lac qui Parle Valley - 27.05 (90)
121. Mounds Park Academy - 27.04 (37)
122. Greenway - 26.91 (79)
123. Triton - 26.41 (10)
124. St. James - 25.69 (18)
125. Wabasha-Kellogg - 18.8 (70)
126. Cristo Rey Jesuit - 0 (124)
127. Hmong Academy - 0 (126)

Class A

1. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa - 57.75 (65)
2. Browerville - 57.4 (51)
3. Southwest MN Christian - 57.06 (46)
4. Battle Lake - 55.36 (139)
5. Sleepy Eye Saint Mary's - 54.77 (43)
6. Cass Lake-Bena - 54.16 (92)
7. Prairie Seeds Academy - 54.13 (68)
8. FAIR School - 54.08 (109)
9. Rushford-Peterson - 53.61 (41)
10. Cook County - 53.55 (115)
11. Maranatha Christian - 53.45 (16)
12. North Woods - 53.39 (99)
13. Spring Grove - 53.3 (133)
14. Dawson-Boyd - 53.05 (137)
15. Lakeview Christian - 52.88 (57)
16. West Lutheran - 52.51 (18)
17. Kittson County Central - 52.34 (73)
18. Ada-Borup - 52.29 (91)
19. Heritage Christian - 52.28 (33)
20. Fosston - 52.27 (98)
21. Fertile-Beltrami - 52.2 (20)
22. Ulen-Hitterdal - 51.73 (76)
23. Mt. Lake/Butterfield-Odin - 51.57 (105)
24. Red Lake - 51.3 (49)
25. MACCRAY - 51.14 (54)
26. Fulda - 50.92 (44)
27. New Ulm Cathedral - 50.88 (97)
28. Upsala - 50.79 (4)
29. Ellsworth - 50.62 (28)
30. Pillager - 50.62 (101)
31. Cedar Mountain/Comfrey - 50.57 (47)
32. Bigfork - 50.41 (86)
33. Ashby - 50.36 (130)
34. Goodhue - 50.26 (17)
35. Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity - 50.2 (7)
36. Barnum - 50.19 (124)
37. Mankato Loyola - 50.17 (35)
38. Bethlehem Academy - 50.1 (89)
39. Northern Freeze - 49.81 (134)
40. Eagle Valley - 49.51 (11)
41. Stephen-Argyle - 48.89 (119)
42. Isle - 48.67 (129)
43. Houston - 48.44 (144)
44. Royalton - 48.31 (5)
45. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City - 48.18 (22)
46. Murray County Central - 47.74 (32)
47. Henning - 47.44 (114)
48. Bertha-Hewitt - 47.25 (36)
49. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton - 47.11 (85)
50. Ortonville - 46.88 (145)
51. Goodridge/Grygla - 46.7 (72)
52. South Ridge - 46.45 (83)
53. Lanesboro - 46.38 (138)
54. Springfield - 46.31 (13)
55. Granada-Huntley-East Chain - 45.83 (84)
56. Hill City - 45.74 (123)
57. Northome/Kelliher - 45.46 (111)
58. Mahnomen - 45.28 (55)
59. Silver Bay - 45.2 (70)
60. Chisholm - 44.91 (127)
61. Southwest Star Concept - 44.9 (102)
62. Ely - 44.82 (69)
63. Blackduck - 44.49 (93)
64. CHOF - 44.09 (25)
65. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy - 43.54 (90)
66. Minnesota Valley Lutheran - 43.39 (8)
67. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart - 43.35 (31)
68. Littlefork-Big Falls - 43.32 (67)
69. Mesabi East - 43.29 (6)
70. Community of Peace Academy - 43.15 (164)
71. Adrian - 42.67 (23)
72. Hills-Beaver Creek - 42.6 (82)
73. Legacy Christian - 42.39 (10)
74. St. Croix Prep - 42.37 (116)
75. Floodwood - 42.37 (96)
76. Swanville - 42.33 (3)
77. Madelia - 42.23 (153)
78. Menahga - 42.15 (103)
79. St. Clair - 42.12 (95)
80. Bethany Academy - 41.83 (53)
81. Glenville-Emmons - 41.81 (156)
82. Nevis - 41.78 (77)
83. PACT Charter - 41.49 (14)
84. Four Directions Charter - 41.48 (155)
85. Le Center - 41.47 (126)
86. Norman County East - 41.43 (60)
87. Mabel-Canton - 41.34 (125)
88. Liberty Classical Academy - 41.29 (165)
89. Minnesota Transitions Charter - 41.19 (79)
90. McGregor - 41.14 (62)
91. Pine River-Backus - 40.98 (42)
92. Red Rock Central - 40.57 (39)
93. Ogilvie - 40.57 (117)
94. Nashwauk-Keewatin - 39.85 (140)
95. Fond du Lac Ojibwe - 39.59 (58)
96. Norman County West - 39.56 (88)
97. Blooming Prairie - 39.55 (61)
98. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo - 39.54 (66)
99. Southwest Christian - 39.52 (29)
100. Lincoln HI - 39.41 (157)
101. Cromwell - 39.24 (21)
102. Canby - 39.08 (152)
103. Hope Academy - 38.97 (163)
104. Fillmore Central - 38.83 (15)
105. West Central Area - 38.78 (1)
106. Nicollet - 38.68 (148)
107. North Lakes Academy - 38.57 (159)
108. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley - 38.26 (121)
109. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River - 37.67 (50)
110. Central MN Christian - 37.57 (120)
111. Calvin Christian - 37.49 (162)
112. Wabasso - 37.27 (64)
113. Carlton - 36.9 (81)
114. Brandon/Evansville - 36.87 (94)
115. Waubun - 36.86 (56)
116. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross - 36.5 (150)
117. Hancock - 36.46 (106)
118. Win-E-Mac - 36.37 (52)
119. Onamia - 36.31 (112)
120. Lyle/Austin Pacelli - 36.04 (149)
121. Truman - 35.83 (87)
122. Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley - 35.49 (161)
123. Cleveland - 35.43 (154)
124. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg - 35.23 (104)
125. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton - 34.79 (71)
126. Lake Park-Audubon - 34.56 (78)
127. Sleepy Eye - 34.55 (12)
128. Parkers Prairie - 34.41 (9)
129. Park Christian - 34.27 (143)
130. Climax/Fisher - 34.01 (34)
131. Schaeffer Academy - 33.77 (136)
132. Red Lake County - 33.16 (122)
133. Verndale - 32.92 (110)
134. Martin Luther - 32.9 (141)
135. Mountain Iron-Buhl - 32.66 (38)
136. Minneota - 32.24 (118)
137. Underwood - 31.98 (131)
138. Northeast Range - 31.92 (100)
139. Cherry - 31.71 (48)
140. Sebeka - 31.27 (27)
141. Grand Meadow - 30.05 (147)
142. Hope Lutheran - 29.8 (132)
143. Clearbrook-Gonvick - 29.28 (80)
144. Westbrook-Walnut Grove - 28.4 (24)
145. Nova Classical Academy - 27.98 (158)
146. Randolph - 27.09 (59)
147. Lakeview - 26.27 (128)
148. Math & Science Academy - 25.84 (40)
149. Edgerton - 25.43 (19)
150. MN Academy for the Deaf - 24.61 (160)
151. East Central - 24.18 (45)
152. Sacred Heart - 22.19 (26)
153. E.C.H.O. Charter - 21.71 (166)
154. Rothsay - 21.42 (63)
155. New York Mills - 18.47 (74)
156. Wrenshall - 17.46 (30)
157. Round Lake-Brewster - 17.37 (107)
158. Renville County West - 16.12 (113)
159. Northland - 15.84 (75)
160. Learning for Leadership - 0 (2)
161. St. Paul Prep - 0 (37)
162. Lake of the Woods - 0 (108)
163. Mesabi Academy - 0 (135)
164. Laporte - 0 (142)
165. Alden-Conger - 0 (146)
166. LeRoy-Ostrander - 0 (151)
167. Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig - 0 (167)

Richfield wins city battle

Prologue
Bragging rights in Richfield on the line as the annual city battle between neighbors Holy Angels and Richfield moves to leap day instead of its annual Christmas week slot.  Section 6AAA seeds still up in the air in the 3-6 slots.  Does anybody want the 3 seed?  Usual Hot Dog and I go with Sprite as my beverage this evening in a bit of a change.  Senior night at Richfield and you have cancer survivor Marcellis Beard (senior).  Richfield staff all wearing Cancer Sucks shirts.  Then Beard doesn't start and junior Deshawn Jones does.  Jones is a top player, I get it and worthy of starting on every other night.  At minimum it was disappointing to see Beard not in the starting lineup.

Game Time
Richfield off to a 7-2 lead in 90 seconds.  Holy Angels right back on a 14-4 run with 6 in a row from Sam Keis to start the run.  2 easy layups on bad defense for Keis on those 6 points.  16-11 Holy Angels at the 13:05 mark.  22-16 Stars at the 9:32 mark when Jared Noonan picks up his 2nd for Richfield and he'll sit the rest of the half.  That actually gets Richfield going as they go on a 9-1 run to regain the lead.  Shawn Bear then becomes the offense for the rest of the half as he drains 4 triples in a 4 minute stretch.  Jordan Dembley with a 3 point play in the last minute to keep Holy Angels within 42-41 at the half.

Noonan is back on the court for Richfield to start the 2nd half and he's hot.  He nails 1 bomb, scores a bucket, then an NBA 3 to open up a 53-46 lead with 15:35 to play.  Dembley for 3 and then a 3 point play from Delshawn Strickland as the sophs lead a 7-0 run to tie the game at 53 with 13:48 left.  Beard for 3, Sullivan with a layup, Noonan to Bear for 3, Sam Keis for 3, Noonan for 2.  Danny Sullivan makes 1 of 2 free throws to give everybody a chance to take a breath.  62-61 Richfield with 12:10 left.  Soph Charlie Koontz with a nice post up and gets it back deep on the repost and goes to the reverse for 2.  Richfield counters with Beard making 2 free throws and Lorenzo Evans with a layup.  8:22 left and Holy Angels takes a timeout to slow the Spartans momentum.  70-64 Richfield with the lead.  Koontz with 2 putbacks and a layup and Seamus Black off the bench for the Stars for 3.  73-72 Stars back on top after a quick 9-2 run, 4:20 left.  Beard counters with a 3 but Dembley responds with a 3 point play.  Jones with an offensive rebound for 2 free throws and after a Stars miss, he puts back a quick miss.  79-76 Richfield with 2:48 left.

After a Dembley free throw, Richfield forces a bad shot and then compounds it by not getting back.  Sullivan runs out on it for a layup to tie the game at 79.  Jones with a layup and Noonan with a tough drive.  Richfield up 83-79 with 1:22 left.  Noonan fouls out with 57.2 left and that leads to a Dembley FT.  Sullivan grabs the miss on the 2nd but can't convert.  Bear makes 2 FTs with 42.3 left for a 85-80 Richfield lead.  Holy Angels turns it over with 36.8 to play.  Then it gets interesting.  Richfield brings in rarely used senior Wibi McDonald.  He gets fouled and misses 2 FTs and then fouls Dembley for a 3 point play with 22.3 left.  Strange move by the Richfield coaching staff as it puts the kid in a really tough spot.  85-83 Richfield leading with the ball out of bounds.

Evans takes off out of the 4 across set and gets his jersey grabbed from behind before the ball is inbounded.  Its an intentional foul and Stars coach Larry McKenzie is not at all pleased.  He gets the ill-advised but deserved T.  Richfield not putting it away as Evans makes 1 of 2 and Bear misses both technicals.  Now instead of being down 3 with the ball, Richfield will have it out of bounds thanks to the T.  Evans gets it and makes 1 of 2.  Dembley has to force a 3 and that's no good.  Evans makes 1 more for the final margin.  Richfield wins 88-83.

Post Game
For Holy Angels, another tough loss as they lost last night at Red Wing too.  Jordan Dembley leads the way with 21 points.  Soph forward Charlie Koontz came off the bench tonight (normally starts) but was very productive in the 2nd half.   The Stars are 15-10 overall and now are really fighting with Chaska and Richfield for the 4 seed.  Lose to New Prague on Friday and a Chaska win means tied in the Missota.  Would have to give the Stars #6 then.  Chaska with their high power ranking and win over Blake would really push for the 3 seed then, Blake 4, Richfield 5, Holy Angels 6.  Holy Angels wins, does Richfield make a play for the 4 and push Chaska to the 6 where they'd have a rematch with Blake.  More to the point, do the section coaches vote for that to get the new guy out (Blake).

Richfield is now 15-10 as well.  They have 2 straight wins after losing 5 of 6.  Issue for Richfield is home court, they've only won once on the road all year and that was in mid-December at Minneapolis South.  They also have Duluth Denfeld win on a neutral court.  Shawn Bear with 20 points to lead Richfield.  They finish at North St. Paul on Friday.  Jared Noonan 15 points, 9 of those in a quick spurt early in the 2nd half.

Section 3AAA Warmup Part 1

Prologue
Off to Minneapolis Henry for the annual late season battle between the Patriots and De La Salle.  These teams will get together again next Thursday at DLS in the 2 vs 7 game in section 3AAA.  I'm sure the North Suburban coaches won't be getting any Christmas cards from the DLS staff for putting Henry in the 7 seed instead of Fridley (who stole the 6 when they should have been 7).  Great case of why the coaches can't be trusted to seed properly.  The foot long all beef hot dog is well worth the trip and I haven't had Powerade in a while so that's nice variety.  Zach Lofton in the building with his own custom letter jacket (Z on the front and Lofton scrolled across the back).  Some Gnarls Barkley on the PA system gets us ready. 

Game Time
DLS off to a good start with a 12-0 run in the 1st 3:20.  Luke Scott running out for a 3 point play and banking in a jumper (rare for sniper) during the run.  Darius Hill to the basket for a pair of baskets and a putback.  16-11 DLS at the 9:49 mark.  Matt Robinson knocks down a 3 and Henry is within 24-20 at the 2:30 mark.  But DLS finishes the half on a 10-0 run thanks to a pair of Scott triples.  34-20 DLS at the half.

Tyler Moore with the basket on the screen and roll to push the lead to 44-28 DLS.  Reid Travis on the post and the lead is 21, 59-38 with 5:52 left.  Darius Hill fills it up late to keep it under 20.  That includes 12 in a row with a pair of 3 point plays.   One of those was a pretty spin move.  Henry adds a couple of angry dunks late to take out their frustration.  DLS wins 76-58.

Post Game
Henry falls to 11-11.  They finish up the regular season with rival North on Thursday.  Then a week off to prepare for the rematch.  Darius Hill finishes with 27 points, 19 in the 2nd half but a majority after it was out of hand.  No one else in double figures for the Patriots.

DeLaSalle improves to 19-5.  They finish up with a non-conference home game against Moorhead on Saturday.  Luke Scott with 4 3s and 23 points.  Reid Travis 13 points and I had him for 5 rebounds.  Lots more side screen and roll from the Islanders tonight in the half court offense.

Trojans live by the sword again

Prologue
Its a quiet Monday night on the schedule and with a looming late season snowstorm to mess up the Tuesday schedule, why not get enough travel in for both nights with a long trip to New Prague for their Missota matchup with Northfield.  Nice opportunity to see a couple of teams that aren't suburbs, exurbs or anything metro.  Nice job with parents night for the seniors.  Quality work also by the New Prague pep band with tunes like Lady Gaga's Bad Romance (blah blah..blah blah blah..).  Very good crowd of parents and students on hand for the game as well for what was essentially a meaningless school night game.  UW-La Crosse (with the coolest guy in the WIAC), Gustavus and St. Mary's all in the building watching tonight.  Perfect timing for the arrival as I followed the Dominos pizza guy in for the cheese pizza.

Game Time
Not much to write tonight as this one gets out of hand quickly.  Its thanks to Trevor O'Brien.  He nails back to back 3s and a layup for an 11-0 lead.  Lets add in another 3, a bucket on the post and a putback for good measure.  A 4th 3 would be nice so lets add that too.  He scores 18 of the 1st 23 New Prague points with 4 bombs.  23-4 Trojans at the 8:40 mark.  Eric Shepley makes 5 free throws in a row as Northfield tries to stay even after that piont.  35-16 at the half with New Prague leading.  The second half is all about the seniors playing.  Adam Bartusek knocks down a 3 in the last 10 seconds to get his name in the book with the rest of the seniors.  New Prague rolls 67-37.

Post Game
New Prague is led by Trevor O'Brien's 24 points and 4 3s.  22 of those points in the 1st half.  Joe Kneip and Sergio Najera each make 3 3s on their way to 11 points.  The Trojans bring back memories of their state upset of St. Paul Johnson as they drain 13 3s on the night.  This is with a big lineup and guys like O'Brien and Najera stepping out and combining for 7 3s, not the old dribble drive system they used to run.  The entire front line graduates but the starting guards are back along with soph star Paul Friendshuh.  Great work by their offense shredding the Northfield 2-3.  Pass and cut to the middle and quick unselfish kick outs from that.  Trojans improve to 16-9 and can jump into a 2nd place tie with a win at AHA on Friday.  A win over Holy Angels (who still has 2 huge games to battle for a 3 seed in ultra tough 6AAA) in my opinion would give them the final edge for a semifinal home game in 1AAA with Kasson-Mantorville

Northfield ends up with no one in double figures.  They fall to 5-19 and 0-13 in the Missota.  They host Chaska on Friday.

Feb 26, 2012 CzarPI

Here is the 2nd CzarPI for the 2011-2012 season (see CzarPI Explained here).  It includes games through February 25th, 2012.  The value in () after the CzarPI value is the team's strength of schedule ranking within their class.

Class AAAA

1. Hopkins - 62.81 (6)
2. Eastview - 61.54 (12)
3. Lakeville North - 61.44 (14)
4. Osseo - 58.57 (41)
5. Eden Prairie - 58.07 (1)
6. Roseville - 56.79 (47)
7. Wayzata - 56.09 (17)
8. Duluth East - 55.86 (4)
9. Apple Valley - 55.79 (13)
10. Edina - 55.57 (3)
11. Chanhassen - 55.27 (30)
12. Woodbury - 54.94 (43)
13. Minnetonka - 54.85 (7)
14. Moorhead - 54.28 (8)
15. Park Center - 53.98 (42)
16. Owatonna - 53.83 (62)
17. St. Michael-Albertville - 53.02 (63)
18. Cretin-Derham Hall - 52.74 (18)
19. Mahtomedi - 52.68 (56)
20. Champlin Park - 52.63 (29)
21. Tartan - 52.61 (58)
22. Buffalo - 52.03 (25)
23. Bemidji - 51.74 (19)
24. St. Cloud Tech - 51.11 (23)
25. Brainerd - 51.09 (40)
26. Prior Lake - 50.93 (9)
27. Rogers - 50.85 (51)
28. Mounds View - 50.48 (50)
29. Maple Grove - 50.44 (24)
30. Henry Sibley - 49.95 (20)
31. Centennial - 49.83 (32)
32. White Bear Lake - 49.52 (39)
33. Rochester Century - 48.97 (60)
34. Lakeville South - 48.76 (2)
35. Eagan - 48.75 (10)
36. Blaine - 48.19 (46)
37. Elk River - 48.11 (33)
38. Irondale - 47.65 (38)
39. Rosemount - 46.74 (16)
40. Stillwater Area - 46.11 (21)
41. St. Louis Park - 45.71 (48)
42. Robbinsdale Cooper - 44.66 (22)
43. Farmington - 44.41 (49)
44. Anoka - 44.27 (26)
45. Rochester Mayo - 44.21 (44)
46. North St. Paul - 43.89 (54)
47. Shakopee - 43.63 (37)
48. East Ridge - 42.64 (28)
49. Minneapolis South - 42.39 (36)
50. Rochester John Marshall - 40.6 (45)
51. Forest Lake - 40.11 (53)
52. Coon Rapids - 39.61 (27)
53. Bloomington Kennedy - 39.6 (15)
54. Northfield - 39.29 (34)
55. Bloomington Jefferson - 39.03 (11)
56. St. Francis - 38.04 (61)
57. Robbinsdale Armstrong - 37.4 (31)
58. Minneapolis Southwest - 36.86 (55)
59. Andover - 36.57 (35)
60. Hastings - 35.49 (59)
61. Cambridge-Isanti - 28.61 (57)
62. Park of Cottage Grove - 23.69 (52)
63. Burnsville - 22.76 (5)

Class AAA

1. Benilde-St. Margaret's - 60.55 (4)
2. Grand Rapids - 58.01 (2)
3. Minneapolis Washburn - 56.59 (43)
4. Blake - 56.05 (48)
5. Kasson-Mantorville - 55.73 (34)
6. Spring Lake Park - 55.58 (26)
7. Little Falls - 55.44 (35)
8. DeLaSalle - 55.43 (36)
9. Marshall - 54.64 (10)
10. Detroit Lakes - 54.61 (17)
11. Thief River Falls - 54.48 (11)
12. Austin - 54.3 (59)
13. Willmar - 54.07 (12)
14. Mankato East - 53.93 (54)
15. Zimmerman - 53.91 (57)
16. Waconia - 53.49 (28)
17. St. Anthony Village - 52.87 (40)
18. Fergus Falls - 52.5 (3)
19. Duluth Denfeld - 52.34 (29)
20. Delano - 52.16 (46)
21. St. Thomas Academy - 50.97 (38)
22. Rocori - 50.89 (19)
23. Holy Angels - 50.83 (30)
24. Hill-Murray - 50.61 (25)
25. New Prague - 49.9 (41)
26. Chaska - 49.47 (6)
27. St. Paul Johnson - 49.3 (60)
28. Hermantown - 48.91 (58)
29. Alexandria - 48.8 (8)
30. Totino-Grace - 48.27 (20)
31. Richfield - 47.94 (27)
32. Columbia Heights - 47.79 (9)
33. St. Paul Highland Park - 47.02 (64)
34. East Grand Forks - 46.6 (63)
35. Minneapolis Henry - 45.81 (39)
36. Big Lake - 45.78 (45)
37. Sauk Rapids-Rice - 45.61 (5)
38. Hibbing - 45.34 (37)
39. Fridley - 44.74 (56)
40. St. Cloud Apollo - 44.59 (16)
41. Sartell-St. Stephen - 44.09 (15)
42. Princeton - 43.76 (61)
43. Orono - 42.57 (18)
44. Hutchinson - 42.52 (13)
45. St. Paul Central - 42.45 (62)
46. Mankato West - 42.11 (23)
47. Mound-Westonka - 42 (24)
48. Winona - 41.64 (33)
49. Red Wing - 41.11 (53)
50. Waseca - 40.75 (52)
51. Minneapolis Roosevelt - 39.5 (42)
52. Cloquet - 38.62 (44)
53. St. Paul Harding - 38.01 (65)
54. Albert Lea - 37.59 (21)
55. Simley - 37.37 (47)
56. Becker - 37.04 (49)
57. Chisago Lakes Area - 33.38 (32)
58. North Branch - 31.22 (50)
59. New Ulm - 30.12 (22)
60. Dassel-Cokato - 29.93 (7)
61. Monticello - 29.48 (31)
62. St. Paul Como Park - 28.09 (14)
63. Holy Family Catholic - 26.84 (1)
64. Faribault - 23.61 (51)
65. South St. Paul - 18.51 (55)

Class AA

1. Redwood Valley - 58.61 (59)
2. Perham - 58.26 (37)
3. St. Peter - 58.05 (79)
4. Pelican Rapids - 57.64 (25)
5. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle - 57.57 (81)
6. Watertown-Mayer - 57.01 (77)
7. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown - 56.7 (80)
8. Braham - 56.53 (109)
9. Montevideo - 56.33 (8)
10. Litchfield - 56.06 (46)
11. St. Cloud Cathedral - 55.4 (34)
12. Worthington - 55.37 (4)
13. Esko - 55.31 (73)
14. Deer River - 55.24 (99)
15. Hayfield - 55.1 (32)
16. Fairmont - 54.73 (44)
17. Plainview-Elgin-Millville - 54.52 (60)
18. Maple River - 53.86 (69)
19. Byron - 53.73 (57)
20. Mayer Lutheran - 53.71 (95)
21. St. Croix Lutheran - 53.59 (53)
22. Rochester Lourdes - 53.17 (29)
23. Virginia - 52.79 (101)
24. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial - 52.3 (105)
25. Cannon Falls - 52.02 (115)
26. Melrose - 52.02 (58)
27. United South Central - 52.01 (100)
28. Hawley - 51.38 (22)
29. Pierz - 51.33 (94)
30. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted - 51.14 (35)
31. Bagley - 51.07 (107)
32. Kingsland - 50.74 (84)
33. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta - 50.28 (50)
34. International Falls - 50.23 (112)
35. St. Charles - 49.95 (114)
36. New Life Academy - 49.58 (64)
37. Trinity School - 49.54 (97)
38. Crosby-Ironton - 49.42 (31)
39. Windom Area - 49.4 (21)
40. Lake City - 49.34 (117)
41. Sauk Centre - 48.83 (42)
42. Luverne - 48.73 (45)
43. Annandale - 48.54 (90)
44. Great River - 48.47 (127)
45. Benson - 48.47 (108)
46. Norwood-Young America - 47.88 (87)
47. Southland - 47.66 (106)
48. Concordia Academy-Roseville - 47.63 (63)
49. Minnehaha Academy - 47.21 (56)
50. Moose Lake-Willow River - 47.18 (76)
51. Warroad - 47 (71)
52. Pequot Lakes - 46.69 (15)
53. Kenyon-Wanamingo - 46.63 (36)
54. Jordan - 46.47 (55)
55. Belle Plaine - 46.1 (40)
56. Martin County West - 45.69 (83)
57. Albany - 45.52 (67)
58. Lewiston-Altura - 45.45 (49)
59. Hinckley-Finlayson - 45.26 (125)
60. BOLD - 45.2 (102)
61. Barnesville - 45.2 (98)
62. Caledonia - 45.12 (78)
63. Crookston - 44.79 (85)
64. Providence Academy - 44.58 (96)
65. Maple Lake - 44.29 (88)
66. Winona Cotter - 43.3 (16)
67. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton - 42.98 (110)
68. Breckenridge - 42.84 (103)
69. St. John's Prep - 42.46 (27)
70. Montgomery-Lonsdale - 42.34 (43)
71. Aitkin - 42.25 (104)
72. St. Agnes - 42.25 (28)
73. International School of MN - 41.41 (123)
74. Zumbrota-Mazeppa - 41.16 (75)
75. New London-Spicer - 41.13 (20)
76. Wadena-Deer Creek - 40.88 (65)
77. Rush City - 40.52 (121)
78. Duluth Marshall - 40.31 (118)
79. Mora - 40.25 (10)
80. Osakis - 40.21 (1)
81. Sibley East - 40.18 (9)
82. Frazee - 40.11 (6)
83. Breck - 39.69 (24)
84. Chatfield - 39.68 (68)
85. Kimball Area - 39.54 (86)
86. Minnewaska Area - 39.42 (18)
87. St. Paul Academy - 38.89 (74)
88. New Richland-H-E-G - 38.67 (66)
89. Glencoe-Silver Lake - 38.49 (19)
90. Blue Earth Area - 38.47 (11)
91. LeSueur-Henderson - 38.19 (17)
92. Staples-Motley - 38.08 (5)
93. Brooklyn Center - 37.29 (3)
94. Pine Island - 36.85 (52)
95. Yellow Medicine East - 36.56 (120)
96. Spectrum - 35.92 (72)
97. Jackson County Central - 35.81 (12)
98. St. Paul Humboldt - 35.73 (82)
99. Stewartville - 35.63 (2)
100. Rockford - 35.28 (38)
101. Eden Valley-Watkins - 34.85 (93)
102. Proctor - 34.83 (111)
103. Minneapolis North - 34.7 (41)
104. Minneapolis Edison - 34.57 (119)
105. Foley - 33.35 (70)
106. Eveleth-Gilbert - 33.12 (116)
107. Medford - 32.62 (113)
108. Two Harbors - 32.54 (54)
109. Paynesville Area - 32.29 (33)
110. Holdingford - 32.1 (30)
111. Pine City - 31.45 (124)
112. Park Rapids Area - 30.42 (48)
113. La Crescent - 29.84 (92)
114. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton - 29.64 (7)
115. Pipestone Area - 29.56 (26)
116. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop - 29.49 (23)
117. Milaca - 28.49 (39)
118. Roseau - 28.47 (62)
119. Dover-Eyota - 27.8 (47)
120. Mounds Park Academy - 27.67 (51)
121. Greenway - 27.46 (91)
122. Lac qui Parle Valley - 27.05 (89)
123. Triton - 26.86 (13)
124. St. James - 26.1 (14)
125. Wabasha-Kellogg - 19 (61)
126. Cristo Rey Jesuit - 0 (122)
127. Hmong Academy - 0 (126)

Class A

1. Browerville - 57.36 (51)
2. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa - 57.24 (80)
3. Southwest MN Christian - 56.62 (55)
4. Battle Lake - 55.03 (139)
5. Sleepy Eye Saint Mary's - 54.83 (36)
6. Cass Lake-Bena - 54.21 (91)
7. Prairie Seeds Academy - 53.98 (57)
8. Cook County - 53.95 (100)
9. Rushford-Peterson - 53.71 (34)
10. FAIR School - 53.39 (124)
11. Spring Grove - 53.29 (131)
12. Dawson-Boyd - 53.18 (133)
13. North Woods - 53.11 (107)
14. Fertile-Beltrami - 52.67 (20)
15. Maranatha Christian - 52.53 (17)
16. Ada-Borup - 52.31 (92)
17. Lakeview Christian - 52.22 (73)
18. Kittson County Central - 52 (79)
19. Ulen-Hitterdal - 51.86 (75)
20. Fosston - 51.76 (105)
21. Heritage Christian - 51.44 (50)
22. Fulda - 51.34 (69)
23. MACCRAY - 51.25 (39)
24. Upsala - 51.13 (4)
25. West Lutheran - 51.08 (30)
26. New Ulm Cathedral - 50.88 (99)
27. Mt. Lake/Butterfield-Odin - 50.85 (115)
28. Ashby - 50.83 (147)
29. Pillager - 50.72 (98)
30. Cedar Mountain/Comfrey - 50.69 (38)
31. Red Lake - 50.6 (62)
32. Bigfork - 50.58 (72)
33. Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity - 50.28 (9)
34. Goodhue - 50.18 (16)
35. Northern Freeze - 50.18 (121)
36. Ellsworth - 50.04 (29)
37. Barnum - 50.02 (114)
38. Bethlehem Academy - 49.99 (95)
39. Mankato Loyola - 49.83 (32)
40. Eagle Valley - 49.54 (10)
41. Stephen-Argyle - 49.04 (112)
42. Isle - 48.71 (128)
43. Houston - 48.34 (141)
44. Murray County Central - 48.3 (40)
45. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City - 48.25 (21)
46. Royalton - 48.12 (5)
47. Bertha-Hewitt - 47.99 (52)
48. Henning - 47.72 (110)
49. Goodridge/Grygla - 47.18 (94)
50. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton - 47.04 (86)
51. Ortonville - 46.81 (145)
52. South Ridge - 46.45 (87)
53. Lanesboro - 46.29 (136)
54. Springfield - 46.19 (14)
55. Granada-Huntley-East Chain - 46.12 (63)
56. Hill City - 45.66 (117)
57. Silver Bay - 45.58 (46)
58. Northome/Kelliher - 45.56 (97)
59. Ely - 45.42 (93)
60. Southwest Star Concept - 45.21 (83)
61. Mahnomen - 44.96 (44)
62. Chisholm - 44.96 (130)
63. Blackduck - 44.89 (102)
64. CHOF - 44.45 (42)
65. Minnesota Valley Lutheran - 43.92 (12)
66. Hope Academy - 43.89 (166)
67. Mesabi East - 43.73 (7)
68. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart - 43.57 (27)
69. Littlefork-Big Falls - 43.39 (77)
70. Community of Peace Academy - 43.32 (163)
71. Floodwood - 43.02 (101)
72. Adrian - 43 (31)
73. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy - 42.91 (78)
74. Hills-Beaver Creek - 42.64 (58)
75. Madelia - 42.6 (150)
76. Menahga - 42.54 (84)
77. Four Directions Charter - 42.12 (158)
78. St. Clair - 42.11 (90)
79. Le Center - 42.02 (132)
80. Bethany Academy - 41.86 (53)
81. St. Croix Prep - 41.75 (134)
82. Liberty Classical Academy - 41.45 (164)
83. Legacy Christian - 41.39 (8)
84. Glenville-Emmons - 41.38 (156)
85. McGregor - 41.24 (65)
86. Pine River-Backus - 41.24 (35)
87. Mabel-Canton - 41.15 (126)
88. Minnesota Transitions Charter - 40.9 (18)
89. Nevis - 40.77 (74)
90. Ogilvie - 40.73 (116)
91. Red Rock Central - 40.53 (23)
92. Nashwauk-Keewatin - 40.42 (144)
93. Norman County West - 39.94 (89)
94. Swanville - 39.81 (3)
95. Lincoln HI - 39.68 (154)
96. Southwest Christian - 39.54 (22)
97. Fond du Lac Ojibwe - 39.53 (59)
98. Blooming Prairie - 39.43 (68)
99. Norman County East - 39.28 (70)
100. Cromwell - 39.13 (26)
101. PACT Charter - 39.12 (11)
102. Canby - 38.94 (153)
103. Fillmore Central - 38.89 (13)
104. North Lakes Academy - 38.54 (159)
105. West Central Area - 38.5 (2)
106. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo - 38.35 (66)
107. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River - 37.87 (60)
108. Central MN Christian - 37.72 (123)
109. Calvin Christian - 37.67 (161)
110. Nicollet - 37.57 (146)
111. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley - 37.35 (118)
112. Wabasso - 37.33 (61)
113. Carlton - 37.01 (82)
114. Waubun - 36.84 (64)
115. Hancock - 36.8 (111)
116. Brandon/Evansville - 36.61 (96)
117. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross - 36.46 (151)
118. Onamia - 36.38 (108)
119. Win-E-Mac - 36.33 (49)
120. Lyle/Austin Pacelli - 36.27 (143)
121. Truman - 35.85 (81)
122. Cleveland - 35.72 (155)
123. Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley - 35.42 (162)
124. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg - 35.32 (104)
125. Lake Park-Audubon - 34.93 (71)
126. Parkers Prairie - 34.69 (6)
127. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton - 34.61 (76)
128. Sleepy Eye - 34.52 (19)
129. Climax/Fisher - 34.13 (45)
130. Park Christian - 34 (142)
131. Red Lake County - 33.53 (109)
132. Verndale - 33.49 (103)
133. Mountain Iron-Buhl - 33.16 (43)
134. Schaeffer Academy - 32.73 (122)
135. Minneota - 32.63 (135)
136. Northeast Range - 32.07 (106)
137. Underwood - 31.98 (127)
138. Cherry - 31.6 (47)
139. Sebeka - 31.12 (24)
140. Hope Lutheran - 29.68 (125)
141. Grand Meadow - 29.6 (140)
142. Martin Luther - 29.57 (129)
143. Clearbrook-Gonvick - 29.09 (85)
144. Westbrook-Walnut Grove - 28.54 (25)
145. Nova Classical Academy - 28.18 (157)
146. Lakeview - 26.35 (138)
147. Math & Science Academy - 26.32 (41)
148. Edgerton - 25.93 (15)
149. E.C.H.O. Charter - 25.36 (165)
150. Randolph - 25.14 (48)
151. East Central - 24.7 (54)
152. MN Academy for the Deaf - 24.6 (160)
153. Sacred Heart - 22.66 (28)
154. Rothsay - 21.41 (56)
155. New York Mills - 18.6 (67)
156. Round Lake-Brewster - 17.69 (113)
157. Wrenshall - 17.54 (33)
158. Northland - 16.47 (88)
159. Renville County West - 15.23 (119)
160. Learning for Leadership - 0 (1)
161. St. Paul Prep - 0 (37)
162. Lake of the Woods - 0 (120)
163. Mesabi Academy - 0 (137)
164. Laporte - 0 (148)
165. Alden-Conger - 0 (149)
166. LeRoy-Ostrander - 0 (152)
167. Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig - 0 (167)

Late Season AAA battles

Prologue
Its a Saturday of class AAA importance.  In my opener Blake visited Richfield with major seeding impact on section 6AAA in that one.  Then a quick trip to the island for a showdown of Tri-Metro division leaders as St. Anthony visited De La Salle.

Game 1: Blake at Richfield
The first 4 points of the game go to Richfield before Blake goes on an 8-0 run to take the lead.  Richfield would bounce back to take a 4 point lead behind the play of Deshawn Jones.  23-19 Spartans at the 5:12 mark.  Blake would go on a 15-6 run for most of the rest of the half thanks to 3s from John Veil and Paul Blake.  6'6 F Blaine Crawford off the Bears bench with a pair of baskets in that stretch as well.  36-31 Blake at the half.  The Bears come out hot in the 2nd half with Kebu Johnson driving, Veil with a 3 point play, Kebu with another bucket, Paul Blake with back to back bombs, back up center Alex Smith with a pair of jumpers.  55-36 Blake with 11:34 to go.  Its a 19-3 run that forces a pair of timeouts.  Shawn Bear with a pair of free throws and a 3 as Richfield cuts the lead to 63-52 with 7:05 left.  A JR Bascom 3 on the extra pass before the teams trade baskets.  68-54 Blake with 5:39 left.  Then Bear goes off with 3 3s and a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 71-66 with 1:43 left.  Marcellis Beard for 3 before Veil misses a 3 with a minute to go that Bascom thankfully grabs for 2 free throws.  75-69 before the teams trade jump balls. . Then a Blake turnover and Beard buries another 3.  Blake makes 1 of 2 free throws and gets the ball back on the missed freebie with 25.2 left and a 76-72 lead.  Kebu Johnson makes 2 free throws before another Beard 3 with 15 seconds left. Blake misses 2 freebies and back comes Richfield with a chance to tie.  Bear gets a look at an NBA length 3 that's no good and Blake hangs on 80-75.  Shawn Bear with 4 3s and 25 points.  17 of those in the 2nd half.  Kebu Johnson 17 points to lead Blake.  This makes the case for moving Blake down much harder but don't be shocked if they still end up at 5.  If Holy Angels beats Richfield on Wednesday night then AHA has a great case for 3, Chaska would make a case for 4 thanks to their head-head win over Blake, Blake 5 and Richfield 6.

Game 2: St. Anthony at De La Salle
The DLS chemistry teacher is back with his saxophone for the national anthem and that's always a special treat.  St. Anthony begins in zone but they can't find sniper Luke Scott and he makes them pay 3 times from deep for an 11-0 run.  11-2 DLS 4 minutes before St. Anthony goes man.  That ignites a 14-2 run with Anthony Brama getting going.  Nice call by St. Anthony to go to a quick trap after a DLS timeout and Brama got a steal for a layup out of it to close the run.  18-16 Huskies at the 9:30 mark.  Jarvis Johnson with no look assists that lead to layups for Tyler Moore and Ross Barker.  Inbetween he goes up high for the pass from Reid Travis and throws it down with ease.  St. Anthony's other leader Dustin Iannazzo keeps the Huskies close with 4 free throws and a drive.  Brama scores a pair of late buckets and we're tied at 30.  Reid Travis with 3 free throws in the last 1:35 and a St. Anthony fan getting tossed finish the half.  33-30 DLS at halftime.

Travis with 3 quick buckets to start the 2nd half.  That forces a St. Anthony timeout as the DLS lead has grown to 43-36 with 13:54 left.  Travis inside again, Scott with another bomb off the BLOB and James Lawson with a layup as the buckets are coming easy and the lead is now double digits.  Huskies not going away yet as Brama gets a pair of buckets.  52-44 DLS with 10:25 left.  A turnover leads to a Travis dunk, Jarvis Johnson to the rack for 2, Travis with 1 free throw and puts back the miss of a Tyler Moore freebie on a 3 point play attempt.  Scott with back to back 3s and Travis pitches ahead and trails the break.  He's rewarded for running as he gets it back for the layup and the foul. 69-50 DLS with 4:40 left.  Brama would knock down 3 late 3s (including a 4 point play on 1 of them) as St. Anthony almost made it interesting.  DLS wins 82-69.  Reid Travis leads with 24 points, Luke Scott with 6 3s and 20 points.  Anthony Brama goes for 33 and 4 3s.  Dustin Iannazzo with 24.

Stars continue another late season run

Prologue
The Czar is trying to make up for lost time in the Missota and easiest way to do that is another game at Holy Angels.  This week Chaska comes calling and its my 1st opportunity to see the Hawks.  They've been better than I expected with a very young team.  I went back to the pizza tonight and I figured out why even I stayed away from it last week.  More grease than even I can tolerate.  Former AHA Quarterback and Wisconsin Badger John Stocco inducted into the AHA Hall of Fame at halftime.  The AHA band was on hand and definitely worth hearing again.  Great job with Don't Stop Believing and the Muppet Show theme (and we had the cranky old guy in the top row for the JV game to boot).  So they earn a spot in today's Song of the Day with their outstanding rendition of this old time classic.

Song of the Day
Roger Miller - King of the Road

Game Time
5-4 Chaska just over 3 minutes into a defensive struggle.    Stars soph point guard Jordan Dembley starts a 9-0 run with a 3 off an unselfish extra pass and then buries another 3 to bookend the run.  13-5 Stars as Chaska takes a timeout at the 10:49 mark.  The Hawks end their scoring drought after 4:30.  They claw back within 16-15 after center Eric West scores at the 6 minute mark.  20-17 Holy Angels with the lead going to the half.

Parker Bredow with a nice entry to the post and cuts to get it back for a layup.  Frosh point guard Justin Arnold (brother of Chanhassen's Brandon Arnold) scores and the AHA lead is 24-13 with 14:30 to play.  The Stars take timeout to talk it over.  Something must have worked as the Stars respond.  Jordan Dembley leaks out for a layup and a pair of free throws.  Charlie Koontz with a putback and nice cut for 2 free throws of his own against a Chaska trap.  The Hawks trap again but the Stars find Sam Keis under the basket for 1 of 2 free throws.  That's the 4th foul on Chaska's top scorer Eric West and there's 10:26 to play.  Then off a set post up (see below) Keis scores on the post and is fouled.  He misses the free throw but jumps in early to get it back.  He's fouled and makes 1 of 2.  That concludes a 12-2 Holy Angels run.  36-25 Stars with 10:12 left.  Chaska coach Dana Kallman not at all happy with the officiating in this stretch. Dembley with the spin and circus chance at a 3 point play.  Then another extra pass finds Keis for 3.  9:22 left and AHA has opened the lead to 41-27.  The run is 17-4 over 4:20.  West bulls his way to a putback.  Bredow posts on the same set we'll take about.  Then West into the lane out of control and its a charge for his 5th foul with 6:44 left.  The Chaska bench is absolutely livid with the call and there are 2 technicals on the play.    Danny Sullivan makes 3 of the 4 technical free throws to bust the game open to 17.    Matt Knowles would be flammable off the bench with 4 3s in the next 5 minutes to keep it respectable.  Holy Angels runs out the last 3 minutes for a 55-41 win.

Post Game
Chaska gets all 14 points from Matt Knowles in the 2nd half.  Eric West with 12 points.  The lefty is a bull inside but can step out and shoot it a bit too.  Frosh Justin Arnold definitely reminded me of his brother.  But I think he'll end up bigger and more of an offensive threat than Brandon.  This is a club that is solid but the firepower is a bit lacking.  Only 2 seniors in the main 9 men that played and both are replacable.  5 of those 7 coming back are now freshmen or sophomores.  Good future and some great potential battles with Chanhassen down the road.  That's regardless of whatever league they end up in as those 2 met to discuss forming a new league.  The Hawks fall to 13-12 and have now lost 3 in a row.  This also puts them 2 back in the loss column to Holy Angels in league play.  That means at best they can hope for the 4 seed.  That will be a struggle with Blake for that spot.  Blake at Richfield tomorrow afternoon with potentially big ramifications there.

For Holy Angels, once again they're heating up late in the year.  They've now won 6 out of 7 and moved into sole possession of 2nd place in the Missota.  Jordan Dembley played well again with 18 points.  Charlie Koontz with 10 points.  Danny Sullivan again quiet with 7 points.  As I said last week, he's playing much more outside with Koontz manning the post.  Good for Sullivan's development but not helping AHA now.  I'd like to see them go back to getting him some more post looks.  The Stars are now 14-8, 8-4 in the Missota.  2 huge games next week to end the year.  They're at Richfield on Wed in a game that could decide the 3 seed, then host New Prague on Friday.

Play of the Day
This is the Thumbs Up set that Holy Angels uses to post up a guard.  They start 1-4 high and enter to the wing.  The point guard then UCLA cuts to the block and then cuts away to screen for the opposite wing.  Its a slow developing play (pressure the passer for a 5 count) but they got Keis and Bredow wide open on the block for buckets with it in the last 10 minutes.

Thriller for Suburban East Supremacy

Prologue
Off to Woodbury for a huge matchup in the Suburban East.  Its the Royals taking on Roseville and the stakes are high.  Both teams come in 19-4 overall, 13-2 in the conference so the league title is at stake.  Not only that but the winner likely takes the top seed in section 4AAAA and likely avoids Tartan in the semifinals.  Very good crowd on hand considering a weeknight and Roseville girls at the state hockey tournament.

Game Time
Logan Brown starts off with a pullup and a bomb for a 5-1 Roseville lead at the 16:10 mark.  Then Woodbury explodes.  Renard Suggs with a layup and assist for another.  Rickey Suggs on the offensive glass and he gets an assist on the break.  9-0 run forces a Roseville timeout.  13:30 1st half and Woodbury leads 10-5.  But that timeout does nothing for the run.  Rickey Suggs drives for 2, Renard Suggs with back to back bombs and another Woodbury layup for 10 more in a row.  Roseville needs another timeout and then get a Brown 3 to break the run.  That's followed by Renard Suggs with a 3 and then in transition on a turnover, why not for another 3!  26-8 Woodbury leads.  The run is 25-3 over 6:40.

Roseville would make their own run.  Brown banks in another 3, Kobe Critchley for 3, Brown hot as he makes another 3.  Then a quick T on Roseville coach Ted Critchley for arguing the 2nd foul on Mack Johnson.  Its a shooting foul so Woodbury will have 4 FTs and the ball.  But they miss all 4 freebies and don't score on the possession.  Mack Johnson buries a 3 and Brown pulls up and converts a turnover.  After a Woodbury charge, Brown makes 2 FTs to cut the lead to 2 and then drives for 2 more to end a 22-4 Roseville run just before the half.  Interesting that Woodbury chose not to take a timeout during the run.  30 all with 1:35 left in the first half.

The runs don't end there.  Woodbury crosses over halftime with a 13-4 run.  Ryan Fritze with a drive for 2 and a 3 point play.  Renard Suggs with another triple during that spurt.  43-34 Woodbury with 16:15 left.  Then the 3s start flying.  Critchley for 3, Connor McKeen counters that for 3.  Then Brown nails a 3 to start an 11-0 Roseville run.  Jordan Burich cutting for a layup and then getting a steal that looks like a sure 2 for Brown but Rickey Suggs tracks it down and swats it away.   Burich very active as he converts a putback for a 3 point play and Brown nails another 3 after a Woodbury turnover.  48-46 Roseville back in front with 13:05 to play.

Woodbury responds with 7 of the next 9 as Renard Suggs goes to the reverse layup.  McKeen on the offensive glass and then post Ben Rexroth running the floor for the 3 point play.  53-50 Woodbury with 11:06 left.  Mack Johnson for 3 to tie the game.  Then a dicey jump ball call and a minor ball slam becomes a quick T on Woodbury.   Mack Johnson makes the technical free throws but then he'll sit with 8:38 left as he picks up his 4th foul.  Rickey Suggs with back to back hoops to tie the game at 57 but then he fouls Critchley on an NBA 3 and he has to sit with 4 fouls and 7:54 left.  Brown with another bomb and Critchley gives back the fouls on a 3 as he fouls Renard Suggs for 2 of 3 free throws.  62-61 Roseville leading as Woodbury uses their 1st timeout of the night with 6:29 left.  Breathe.

Mack Johnson returns at the 4:51 mark and immediately fouls on the inbounds and he's done with 5 fouls and 4:50 to play.  Fritze runs his way to a layup before Emeche Wells buries a 3 with 3:35 left for a 69-65 Roseville lead.  Down the stretch we go as Roseville gets up in the air to pass (somewhere Bill Walton is going nuts).  Rickey Suggs converts a putback after that and Woodbury is down 70-67 with 1:21 left.  Here comes the press.  Roseville has ball tipped away and it looks like a sure 10 second count but nobody can hear anything and somehow Roseville gets a timeout with 1:06 left to avoid the 10 count.  Wow.  Brown to the basket and scores with 57 seconds left countered by 2 McKeen free throws.  Roseville misses a front end with 44.5 to play

Woodbury comes back with a chance to tie but Renard Suggs has his 3 off the mark with 32 seconds left.  Wells with 1 of 2 free throws and Renard Suggs with 2 FTs with 22 seconds left.  Roseville ball up 73-71,  Brown fouled before the ball is inbounded and steps up and makes both ends of the 1 and 1, CLUTCH!  Rickey Suggs with a putback with 10.3 left but Brown no doubt about his 2 FTs with 8.2 left for a 77-73 lead.  Renard Suggs throws in another 3 at the horn but it doesn't matter. Roseville wins a thriller 77-76.

Post Game
For Woodbury, Renard Suggs with another big game against the Raiders as he finishes with 28 points and 6 3s.  Connor McKeen with 17, Rickey Suggs with 14, Ryan Fritze with 10, Ben Rexroth with 7 and that's all the scoring.  This makes the debate for the 2 seed with Tartan in 4AAAA very interesting as both are now even in the loss column (Titans had their entire staff watching tonight).  Tartan has a conference title, Woodbury doesn't but you have a fair case for saying the Suburban East is a tougher league.

For Roseville, Logan Brown comes up absolutely gigantic playing the game of his life when needed.  He finishes with 7 3s and 37 points.  He scores 6 of those in the last minute to put the game away including 4 of 4 FTs.  Mack Johnson held to 12 points and was in foul trouble all night.  Raiders come from 18 down in the 1st half and 9 down with 15:45 to play.  To lock up the league, they have to survive a tough trip to White Bear Lake on Tuesday.  They won the 1st meeting by 12 in late January.

A night of royal purple

Prologue

It a night of purple for the Wayzata at Hopkins showdown.  It Hoops For Hoops night with everybody in purple for cancer research.  Players all in purple for warmups for both teams.  Coach Novak and Coach Ward both sporting tennis shoes with their nice outfits as they support the great cause. Even I put my wallet where my mouth is and chipped in some of The Czar's vast wealth during the 75 second rush at halftime.  Walking Taco had heat but while I used to like the lettuce, its wilting now.  Too overpowering.  As to overpowering music, we have the Lean Mean Performance Machine (Hopkins band) in the house.  But purple and overpowering only means 1 artist for our

Song of the Day
Deep Purple  - Space Truckin

Game Time
Andre McDonald not listed on the Hopkins roster anymore.  Bradley Carlson sitting out for Wayzata due to illness.  An important glue guy missing.  Chad Potas scores in the post early and Wayzata has a 7-2 lead.  Zach Stahl starts a 13-0 run with 1 drive for 2 and then taking the defensive rebound coast to coast for a 3 point play.  Siyani Chambers finishes the run with a layup.  Then Potas goes down in a heap with a right knee injury and he won't return.  Stahl posting on the BLOB.  His bucket puts Hopkins up 23-11 at the 9:50 mark.  Its a 21-4 spurt in 5:45.  Demetrius Martin with 7 straight to push the lead to 14, 30-16 at the 7:45 mark.  The lead gets to 17 but Wayzata hangs around with a pair of Ryan Walstad 3s.  48-33 Hopkins at the break.  Big advantage of 15-3 in makes at the foul line for Hopkins in the half.

11-3 run for Wayzata to start the 2nd half.  Zach Robertson with a jumper to start it and soph guard Kyle Kalivoda finishes it with 2 baskets at the rim.  51-44 Hopkins with 15:15 left.  Wayzata with the momentum and Zach Stahl sitting with 4 fouls.  Hopkins responds with Martin going to the rack for a 3 point play.  Then he cuts and converts the reverse layup.  Jamal Davis takes a steal for a dunk to end a 9-0 Hopkins run and the lead is back to 16.  60-44 Royals with 12:30 left.  Robertson with a pair of hoops as Wayzata cuts the lead to 62-50 with 10:53 left.  They take time to talk it over.  A Kalivoda bucket cuts the lead to 11 but Hopkins closes it out from there.  Siyani Chambers with the push and he finds Martin for a 3 point play.  Chambers adds 2 FTs.  Nick Jorgenson scores and Martin takes a turnover for a layup.  Davis with the 3 point play and adds a 3 point bomb.  Martin with a pullup at the 6:30 mark to push the lead to 26 and the benches empty.  The 3 minute run totals 17-2 and puts this one out of reach.  Hopkins wins 98-69.

Post Game
For Wayzata, Zach Robertson leads with 18 points and 6 rebounds.  Guards Colin Nugent and Kyle Kalivoda add 10 each.  Only 3 seniors on the Wayzata roster which is rare for them.  They will all be missed but the Trojans will have plenty of talent coming back with 5 pieces coming back not to mention players like forward Nick Eid or frosh guard Grant Long from the JV squad.  The Trojans fall to 18-4 and a shocking 1-4 in the Lake Conference.  This all makes the race for the 2 seed in section 6AAAA a mess.  Wayzata has beaten Minnetonka and Edina but Minnetonka has 2 losses to Edina.  Friday will have some answers as Wayzata hosts Edina.

For Hopkins, Demetrius Martin leads with 26 points.  Quiet nights from Zach Stahl and Siyani Chambers.  Hopkins is now 23-1 and 6-0 in the Lake Conference.  Tonight's win officially clinches another conference title for the Royals and certainly the #1 seed in section 6AAAA.  They finish at Minnetonka on Friday and host Edina next Tuesday.

First CzarPI of 2011-12

So with all the discussion recently around using the computers to seed instead of coaches, I decided to bring back the CzarPI as a point of discussion and contrast (see CzarPI Explained here).  It includes games through February 18th, 2012.  The value in () after the CzarPI value is the team's strength of schedule ranking within their class.

Czar's Note: 2/20/12.  Had to repost this as there was a major data error with 1 team that I found and I had to eliminate 3 non-MSHSL teams.

Class AAAA

1. Hopkins - 62.34 (7)
2. Eastview - 61.62 (8)
3. Lakeville North - 61.49 (16)
4. Osseo - 58.05 (41)
5. Eden Prairie - 57.88 (1)
6. Wayzata - 57.2 (34)
7. Apple Valley - 57.16 (11)
8. Minnetonka - 56.13 (14)
9. Roseville - 55.95 (48)
10. Moorhead - 55.71 (9)
11. Duluth East - 55.55 (2)
12. Woodbury - 55.41 (47)
13. Edina - 55.06 (3)
14. Chanhassen - 54.83 (32)
15. Park Center - 54.43 (30)
16. Owatonna - 54.09 (59)
17. Champlin Park - 53.71 (36)
18. St. Michael-Albertville - 52.7 (60)
19. Buffalo - 52.62 (27)
20. Tartan - 52.36 (61)
21. Mahtomedi - 52.15 (54)
22. St. Cloud Tech - 52.13 (23)
23. Cretin-Derham Hall - 52.11 (17)
24. Rogers - 51.72 (49)
25. Mounds View - 51.57 (44)
26. Brainerd - 51.33 (33)
27. Prior Lake - 50.82 (12)
28. Bemidji - 50.77 (25)
29. Centennial - 50.56 (42)
30. Henry Sibley - 50.46 (19)
31. White Bear Lake - 50.38 (29)
32. Elk River - 49.46 (24)
33. Rochester Century - 49.03 (57)
34. Maple Grove - 48.95 (18)
35. Lakeville South - 48.87 (4)
36. Eagan - 48.46 (6)
37. Blaine - 48.38 (46)
38. Rosemount - 47.46 (13)
39. Robbinsdale Cooper - 45.22 (35)
40. St. Louis Park - 45.18 (45)
41. Irondale - 45.13 (40)
42. North St. Paul - 44.8 (56)
43. East Ridge - 43.61 (37)
44. Stillwater Area - 43.51 (20)
45. Shakopee - 42.54 (28)
46. Rochester Mayo - 42.36 (43)
47. Minneapolis South - 41.05 (21)
48. Anoka - 40.97 (22)
49. Farmington - 40.67 (51)
50. Coon Rapids - 40.1 (26)
51. Forest Lake - 39.9 (50)
52. Bloomington Jefferson - 39.65 (15)
53. Bloomington Kennedy - 39.59 (10)
54. Northfield - 39.58 (38)
55. St. Francis - 38.42 (63)
56. Rochester John Marshall - 37.25 (52)
57. Robbinsdale Armstrong - 36.85 (31)
58. Hastings - 36.51 (62)
59. Minneapolis Southwest - 35.96 (58)
60. Andover - 34.15 (39)
61. Cambridge-Isanti - 24.88 (55)
62. Burnsville - 23.92 (5)
63. Park of Cottage Grove - 23.87 (53)

Class AAA

1. Benilde-St. Margaret's - 60.56 (4)
2. Grand Rapids - 59.21 (3)
3. Minneapolis Washburn - 56.46 (46)
4. Spring Lake Park - 55.64 (15)
5. DeLaSalle - 55.03 (34)
6. Kasson-Mantorville - 54.97 (31)
7. Blake - 54.94 (55)
8. Willmar - 54.86 (17)
9. Zimmerman - 54.59 (43)
10. Thief River Falls - 54.45 (11)
11. Mankato East - 54.16 (44)
12. Little Falls - 54.15 (41)
13. Waconia - 53.88 (19)
14. Austin - 53.87 (59)
15. Marshall - 53.73 (13)
16. Detroit Lakes - 53.69 (28)
17. St. Anthony Village - 53.29 (47)
18. Fergus Falls - 52.5 (2)
19. Duluth Denfeld - 52.01 (27)
20. Delano - 51.42 (42)
21. Rocori - 50.58 (24)
22. Chaska - 50.47 (7)
23. New Prague - 50.43 (53)
24. St. Thomas Academy - 50.04 (35)
25. Hill-Murray - 49.87 (18)
26. Holy Angels - 49.84 (25)
27. St. Paul Johnson - 48.79 (58)
28. Richfield - 48.78 (40)
29. Totino-Grace - 48.65 (22)
30. Alexandria - 47.96 (5)
31. Columbia Heights - 47.58 (10)
32. Hermantown - 47.43 (57)
33. Minneapolis Henry - 46.42 (38)
34. Hibbing - 46.2 (32)
35. Big Lake - 46.18 (50)
36. East Grand Forks - 45.42 (61)
37. St. Paul Highland Park - 44.77 (63)
38. Princeton - 44.63 (62)
39. Sartell-St. Stephen - 44.34 (9)
40. Sauk Rapids-Rice - 44.27 (6)
41. St. Cloud Apollo - 44.11 (14)
42. Hutchinson - 43.44 (16)
43. St. Paul Central - 43.11 (64)
44. Fridley - 43.07 (52)
45. Winona - 42.86 (33)
46. Mound-Westonka - 42.61 (30)
47. Mankato West - 42.47 (37)
48. Red Wing - 42.09 (54)
49. Orono - 41.08 (12)
50. Minneapolis Roosevelt - 40.19 (60)
51. Waseca - 39.79 (49)
52. St. Paul Harding - 38.56 (65)
53. Simley - 37.69 (39)
54. Cloquet - 37.65 (36)
55. Albert Lea - 36.8 (21)
56. Becker - 35.05 (48)
57. Chisago Lakes Area - 34.11 (29)
58. North Branch - 32.11 (45)
59. Monticello - 29.01 (23)
60. St. Paul Como Park - 27.98 (20)
61. New Ulm - 27.62 (26)
62. Holy Family Catholic - 26.98 (1)
63. Dassel-Cokato - 26.53 (8)
64. Faribault - 24.57 (56)
65. South St. Paul - 19.52 (51)

Class AA

1. Redwood Valley - 59.35 (38)
2. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown - 57.91 (77)
3. Perham - 57.42 (60)
4. Pelican Rapids - 57.36 (17)
5. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle - 57.32 (85)
6. St. Peter - 56.88 (106)
7. Litchfield - 56.78 (42)
8. Watertown-Mayer - 56.69 (81)
9. Braham - 56.62 (96)
10. Montevideo - 56 (8)
11. Deer River - 55.57 (73)
12. Worthington - 55.49 (3)
13. Esko - 55.27 (65)
14. Hayfield - 55.25 (15)
15. Maple River - 54.74 (76)
16. St. Cloud Cathedral - 54.51 (41)
17. Mayer Lutheran - 54.51 (62)
18. Fairmont - 54.3 (35)
19. Plainview-Elgin-Millville - 54.09 (59)
20. Byron - 53.64 (79)
21. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial - 53.05 (101)
22. St. Croix Lutheran - 52.89 (57)
23. Cannon Falls - 52.68 (115)
24. Virginia - 52.63 (91)
25. Rochester Lourdes - 52.36 (34)
26. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted - 52.13 (70)
27. Pierz - 52 (83)
28. United South Central - 51.69 (95)
29. International Falls - 51.62 (111)
30. Melrose - 51.03 (50)
31. Bagley - 50.98 (97)
32. Windom Area - 50.78 (21)
33. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta - 50.4 (55)
34. St. Charles - 50.4 (98)
35. Kingsland - 50.23 (99)
36. Trinity School - 49.91 (107)
37. New Life Academy - 49.73 (39)
38. Luverne - 49.43 (49)
39. Crosby-Ironton - 49.19 (25)
40. Concordia Academy-Roseville - 48.73 (75)
41. Hawley - 48.58 (54)
42. Great River - 48.55 (126)
43. Lake City - 48.43 (116)
44. Sauk Centre - 48.31 (24)
45. Minnehaha Academy - 48.19 (67)
46. Moose Lake-Willow River - 47.75 (109)
47. Kenyon-Wanamingo - 47.72 (56)
48. Norwood-Young America - 47.53 (104)
49. Benson - 47.28 (94)
50. Pequot Lakes - 47.25 (33)
51. Caledonia - 46.58 (113)
52. Martin County West - 46.54 (74)
53. Annandale - 46.42 (102)
54. Albany - 46.22 (51)
55. Warroad - 46.21 (86)
56. Southland - 46.2 (100)
57. Belle Plaine - 46.12 (31)
58. Lewiston-Altura - 45.84 (46)
59. Barnesville - 45.75 (90)
60. BOLD - 45.67 (92)
61. Jordan - 45.55 (44)
62. Hinckley-Finlayson - 45.37 (125)
63. Crookston - 44.51 (89)
64. Providence Academy - 43.91 (108)
65. St. John's Prep - 43.51 (40)
66. St. Agnes - 43.37 (18)
67. Montgomery-Lonsdale - 43.32 (36)
68. Winona Cotter - 42.33 (30)
69. Zumbrota-Mazeppa - 42.29 (80)
70. Aitkin - 42.06 (88)
71. Breckenridge - 42.04 (82)
72. New London-Spicer - 41.76 (37)
73. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton - 41.73 (105)
74. Maple Lake - 41.69 (78)
75. International School of MN - 41.27 (121)
76. Sibley East - 41.25 (6)
77. Wadena-Deer Creek - 41.13 (72)
78. Osakis - 40.96 (4)
79. Kimball Area - 40.81 (61)
80. Minnewaska Area - 40.45 (20)
81. Greenway - 40.4 (123)
82. Chatfield - 40.22 (52)
83. Mora - 40.13 (13)
84. Glencoe-Silver Lake - 39.66 (26)
85. Frazee - 39.49 (9)
86. Blue Earth Area - 39.43 (27)
87. New Richland-H-E-G - 39.33 (64)
88. Staples-Motley - 39.26 (2)
89. Rush City - 38.84 (120)
90. Duluth Marshall - 38.53 (119)
91. Brooklyn Center - 38.35 (5)
92. St. Paul Academy - 37.8 (45)
93. LeSueur-Henderson - 37.51 (14)
94. Breck - 37.12 (28)
95. Pine Island - 37.01 (23)
96. St. Paul Humboldt - 36.13 (93)
97. Spectrum - 36.11 (66)
98. Eden Valley-Watkins - 35.8 (84)
99. Jackson County Central - 35.79 (11)
100. Minneapolis North - 35.39 (22)
101. Yellow Medicine East - 35.09 (118)
102. Eveleth-Gilbert - 34.9 (112)
103. Proctor - 34.69 (117)
104. Minneapolis Edison - 34.67 (114)
105. Stewartville - 33.94 (1)
106. Foley - 33.7 (32)
107. Two Harbors - 33.31 (68)
108. Medford - 33.27 (103)
109. Rockford - 33.23 (10)
110. Holdingford - 32.99 (16)
111. Paynesville Area - 32.22 (47)
112. Park Rapids Area - 31.68 (63)
113. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton - 30.78 (7)
114. Pipestone Area - 30.61 (12)
115. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop - 30.32 (69)
116. Pine City - 30.07 (122)
117. La Crescent - 29.6 (110)
118. Milaca - 29.01 (43)
119. Roseau - 28.73 (87)
120. Mounds Park Academy - 28.48 (53)
121. Dover-Eyota - 28.12 (48)
122. Triton - 27.44 (29)
123. Lac qui Parle Valley - 27.38 (71)
124. St. James - 26.48 (19)
125. Wabasha-Kellogg - 19.47 (58)
126. Cristo Rey Jesuit - 0 (124)
127. Hmong Academy - 0 (127)

Class A

1. Browerville - 57.75 (40)
2. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa - 56.91 (93)
3. Southwest MN Christian - 56.81 (48)
4. Battle Lake - 55.23 (142)
5. Cook County - 54.56 (67)
6. Sleepy Eye Saint Mary's - 54.13 (52)
7. Cass Lake-Bena - 54.09 (76)
8. Rushford-Peterson - 53.91 (58)
9. Prairie Seeds Academy - 53.5 (69)
10. FAIR School - 53.26 (123)
11. Ulen-Hitterdal - 53.17 (103)
12. Ada-Borup - 53.12 (77)
13. Dawson-Boyd - 53.02 (126)
14. Maranatha Christian - 53.02 (36)
15. North Woods - 52.94 (122)
16. Spring Grove - 52.92 (132)
17. Lakeview Christian - 52.87 (120)
18. Fertile-Beltrami - 51.76 (19)
19. MACCRAY - 51.71 (71)
20. Fulda - 51.66 (68)
21. Fosston - 51.55 (99)
22. Kittson County Central - 51.44 (81)
23. Upsala - 51.43 (3)
24. Goodhue - 51.4 (44)
25. Ashby - 51.21 (140)
26. Pillager - 50.95 (102)
27. Heritage Christian - 50.94 (45)
28. Cedar Mountain/Comfrey - 50.81 (31)
29. Bigfork - 50.77 (47)
30. West Lutheran - 50.76 (33)
31. Ellsworth - 50.75 (11)
32. New Ulm Cathedral - 50.72 (88)
33. Northern Freeze - 50.68 (90)
34. Red Lake - 50.32 (62)
35. Mt. Lake/Butterfield-Odin - 50.21 (112)
36. Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity - 50.05 (9)
37. Bethlehem Academy - 49.85 (80)
38. Stephen-Argyle - 49.57 (113)
39. Mankato Loyola - 49.18 (20)
40. Eagle Valley - 48.78 (13)
41. Barnum - 48.73 (131)
42. Royalton - 48.45 (7)
43. Houston - 48.32 (136)
44. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton - 47.94 (85)
45. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City - 47.9 (35)
46. Murray County Central - 47.16 (86)
47. Granada-Huntley-East Chain - 47.07 (51)
48. Isle - 46.93 (135)
49. Goodridge/Grygla - 46.78 (115)
50. Ely - 46.72 (89)
51. Ortonville - 46.58 (128)
52. Springfield - 46.39 (8)
53. Bertha-Hewitt - 46.3 (60)
54. Henning - 46.11 (114)
55. Lanesboro - 46.1 (148)
56. Southwest Star Concept - 46.09 (61)
57. South Ridge - 46.08 (100)
58. Hill City - 46.04 (83)
59. Northome/Kelliher - 45.59 (105)
60. Blackduck - 44.92 (117)
61. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy - 44.26 (96)
62. Littlefork-Big Falls - 44.23 (55)
63. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart - 44.04 (21)
64. Minnesota Valley Lutheran - 43.84 (16)
65. Adrian - 43.8 (39)
66. Mahnomen - 43.71 (17)
67. Chisholm - 43.49 (130)
68. Community of Peace Academy - 43.46 (163)
69. Hope Academy - 43.4 (166)
70. Le Center - 43.33 (124)
71. CHOF - 43.23 (70)
72. Menahga - 43.15 (74)
73. St. Clair - 43.1 (95)
74. Madelia - 43.02 (137)
75. Floodwood - 42.93 (101)
76. Four Directions Charter - 42.81 (158)
77. Silver Bay - 42.79 (53)
78. Ogilvie - 42.42 (87)
79. Bethany Academy - 42.02 (34)
80. St. Croix Prep - 41.85 (143)
81. Legacy Christian - 41.68 (5)
82. Mesabi East - 41.51 (10)
83. Pine River-Backus - 41.49 (66)
84. Red Rock Central - 41.3 (49)
85. Mabel-Canton - 41.24 (133)
86. McGregor - 41.17 (91)
87. Norman County West - 41.04 (94)
88. Minnesota Transitions Charter - 41.04 (18)
89. Nevis - 40.46 (65)
90. Liberty Classical Academy - 40.12 (165)
91. Fillmore Central - 39.78 (24)
92. Southwest Christian - 39.75 (29)
93. Lincoln HI - 39.73 (156)
94. Canby - 39.71 (153)
95. Fond du Lac Ojibwe - 39.7 (75)
96. Hills-Beaver Creek - 39.63 (57)
97. Nashwauk-Keewatin - 39.63 (118)
98. Blooming Prairie - 39.45 (56)
99. PACT Charter - 39.27 (12)
100. North Lakes Academy - 39.19 (161)
101. Glenville-Emmons - 39.18 (155)
102. Swanville - 39.09 (4)
103. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo - 38.97 (84)
104. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River - 38.86 (82)
105. Norman County East - 38.57 (46)
106. Hancock - 38.47 (98)
107. Waubun - 38.37 (43)
108. Nicollet - 38.19 (150)
109. Calvin Christian - 38.09 (160)
110. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley - 38.07 (146)
111. West Central Area - 37.88 (1)
112. Wabasso - 37.83 (79)
113. Wheaton/Herman-Norcross - 37.63 (152)
114. Win-E-Mac - 37.32 (41)
115. Lyle/Austin Pacelli - 37.25 (154)
116. Cromwell - 37.15 (30)
117. Central MN Christian - 37 (110)
118. Carlton - 36.54 (22)
119. Brandon/Evansville - 36.31 (104)
120. Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley - 36.17 (159)
121. Sleepy Eye - 36.04 (28)
122. Lake Park-Audubon - 35.7 (63)
123. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton - 35.56 (50)
124. Parkers Prairie - 35.33 (6)
125. Cleveland - 35.27 (147)
126. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg - 34.97 (97)
127. Red Lake County - 34.48 (138)
128. Onamia - 34.17 (119)
129. Truman - 34.13 (72)
130. Climax/Fisher - 33.74 (64)
131. Mountain Iron-Buhl - 33.19 (32)
132. Verndale - 32.78 (107)
133. Underwood - 32.44 (144)
134. Sebeka - 31.76 (37)
135. Northeast Range - 31.47 (111)
136. Cherry - 31.11 (27)
137. Park Christian - 30.5 (149)
138. Schaeffer Academy - 30.32 (116)
139. Martin Luther - 30.11 (108)
140. Grand Meadow - 29.78 (145)
141. Hope Lutheran - 29.42 (129)
142. Minneota - 29.32 (139)
143. Westbrook-Walnut Grove - 28.82 (15)
144. Clearbrook-Gonvick - 28.7 (92)
145. Nova Classical Academy - 28.64 (157)
146. Lakeview - 26.86 (141)
147. Math & Science Academy - 26.06 (14)
148. E.C.H.O. Charter - 25.82 (164)
149. Randolph - 25.77 (59)
150. Edgerton - 25.62 (38)
151. MN Academy for the Deaf - 24.82 (162)
152. East Central - 24.67 (78)
153. Wrenshall - 24.6 (25)
154. Rothsay - 22.61 (23)
155. Round Lake-Brewster - 18.68 (109)
156. New York Mills - 17.43 (42)
157. Renville County West - 15.99 (106)
158. Northland - 14.3 (73)
159. Mesabi Academy - 0 (125)
160. Laporte - 0 (134)
161. Lake of the Woods - 0 (121)
162. Alden-Conger - 0 (127)
163. Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig - 0 (167)
164. Learning for Leadership - 0 (2)
165. LeRoy-Ostrander - 0 (151)
166. Sacred Heart - 0 (54)
167. St. Paul Prep - 0 (26)

A St. Paul Saturday

Prologue
My week long tour of St. Paul concludes with a close double dip.  We'll start with Brainerd at Central and then mosey down Hamline to the nightcap of #4AAA DeLaSalle at #10AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall.  Lots of folks on hand at CDH including most of section 3 to scout the Raiders.  Pump N Run, Howard Pulley and Net Gain all represented.  U of St. Thomas on hand take a look at Taylor Montero.  Jay Pivec and Ed Cassidy from Dakota County Technical College also watching.

Game 1: Brainerd at St. Paul Central
Central coming in on a streak of 6 of 7 wins against a weak city schedule.  Brainerd came in winning 3 of  4 and in the middle of the pack in the Central Lakes.  The Warriors can move up as they still have 2nd place Rocori on the schedule.  Montrell Williams with the 1st 5 for Central before an 11-2 Brainerd run forces the Minutemen to take a timeout.  11-7 Warriors at the 12:13 mark.  Central counters with a 23-6 run as Williams knocks down back to back 3s and takes a steal for a dunk during that run.  Brainerd gets 5 in a row before a 9-2 Central spurt ends the half.  39-24 Minutemen at the break.

Brainerd starts the half on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 8.  Center Malik Durant-Haines sat out the 1st half and enters at the 14:55 mark.  He immediately scores a pair of buckets.  Darius Campbell with back to back buckets and soph Rayeon Williams with 3 in a row to push the lead to 55-36.  A Felix Taylor putback with 6:25 left keeps the lead at 57-39 and Brainerd has 5 new guys at the table.  That appears to be the waving of the white flag but hold on a minute.  A silly Central technical changes everything and Jack Sauer goes off.  He nails a 3 and scores a pair of buckets to cut the lead to 63-51 with 2:13 left.  Central turns it over and Sauer knocks down a 3 and scores a layup on another Central turnover.  Turnover by Central again and its Sauer again for 3.  63-59 Central with 1:25 left. 13 in a row for Jack Sauer and this one is interesting again.  Central misses a front end and the criminal offensive rebound chance but Brainerd turns it over with 40 seconds left and wouldn't get any closer.  Central wins 69-61.  Montrell Williams leads Central with 24 points.  Jack Sauer with 21 of his 25 in the 2nd half including 4 3s.  Central hosts Johnson on Tuesday with a chance to split the regular season St. Paul City title and then they finish the regular season on Thursday at Highland Park.

Game 2: De La Salle at Cretin-Derham Hall
Shawn Fitzgibbons comes off the DLS bench in this one, but Reid Travis gets off to a quick start.  He converts a 3 point play at the 10:51 mark to tie the game at 10.  That's 7 in a row for the star sophomore.  Travis gets a breather and Luke Scott nails a pair of 3s to keep the Islanders momentum going.  18-12 DLS at the 6:40 mark.  The run is 18-5 over 8 minutes.  That was after CDH scored the first 7 of the game in 3:20.  The rest of the half is even for a 29-25 DLS lead at halftime.

De La Salle puts this one out of reach in the 1st 9 minutes of the 2nd half.  Ross Barker with a pair of hoops around a Luke Hamel 3 point play.  Nice to see Hamel getting a start as he's been active and productive for the Raiders recently.  Scott with another 3, Travis takes a turnover for a dunk.  Timeout CDH as the lead is 38-28 with 11:57 to play.  Jarvis Johnson for 3, Jacob Svanoe fouled for 3 free throws, Tyler Moore with a putback and Jarvis Johnson with a layup.  48-31 DLS with 8:35 to play.  19-6 Islanders outscore the Raiders so far in the half.  CDH makes it interesting in the last 3 minutes with Cortez Tillman for 3 and Sam Neumann with a pair of long 3s and a basket.  Luke Scott with 4 free throws and Ross Barker with 2 more to keep the margin safe.  DLS wins 64-56.  Sam Neumann 4 3s and 22 points.  CJ Neumann 15 points.  Reid Travis with 20 points.  Luke Scott 4 3s and 4 FTs for 16 points.  Considering that CDH played zone much of the game and recent performance, I think its time for me to eat some crow.  DLS has looked much better against zone recently.

Holy Angels wins defensive battle

Troy Bell Jersey

Prologue
I take a 1 day break from my tour of St. Paul as I venture to Holy Angels to see them take on Shakopee in a Missota conference matchup.  Rare that I pass on pizza at Holy Angels but when I saw them take on Duluth East 3 weeks ago it was a bit greasy so I went with a respectable hot dog.  Interesting that the Shakopee Area Catholic Schools kids performed the national anthem and had a 6th-8th grade group do a big dance routine at the half.  That included the longest single kick line I think I've seen.  So long that they had to wrap it around on 1 end.  Then you had me there to see Shakopee but decked out in a Academy of Holy Angels Stars T-Shirt.  A strange day to say the least so that gives me an opportunity to pull out this classic.

Song of the Day
Oingo Boingo - Weird Science

Game Time
We can skip the 1st 7 minutes as the offense is non-existant and ugly.  Sam Keis for 3 for a 6-2 Holy Angels lead and it feels like an offensive outburst.  Timeout AHA at 10:50 and I'd call it a MoKiller timeout but what momentum.  Shakopee's star soph wing/post Tyler Weiss with the layup on the high-low feed and a jumper at the 9:15 mark.  That's the 1st 6 for the Sabers.  6'1 lefty forward Sam Oldsberg off the Sabers bench with back to back putbacks.  Those end an 11-2 Shakopee run over 3:55.  13-10 Sabers at the 6:55 mark.  Danny Sullivan scores a putback off a turnover to put AHA back on top 14-13 at the 3:30 mark.  That's his only bucket of the night.  Kies with a pair of buckets countered by 2 freebies and another putback by Oldsberg.  20-19 Holy Angels with the lead at the half.

Frosh point guard Evan Hagan with a runner for Shakopee to give them a 25-24 lead with 13:35 to play.  Then Jordan Dembley converts a turnover for a layup and nails a left wing step back jumper before converting another turnover into 1 of 2 free throws.  30-25 Stars at the 9:16 mark and the rest for Weiss is over.  Keis adds 2 free throws at the 8:30 mark to conclude an 8-0 Holy Angels over 4+.  32-25 Stars lead.  Weiss gets a post touch on an X look (we'll show it below) and scores.  Only 1 field goal in a 6 minute stretch for the Sabers.  Keis to the rim for a layup to push the lead to 37-28 with 6:55 left.  Brentan Carkuff inside and converts the 3 point play thru 3 Stars.  39-34 Holy Angels with 4:37 left.  That's the last field goal of the night for the Sabers.  The Stars spread with Dembley controlling.  He converts a putback and then scores on a post up with 3:10 left to push the lead to 8.  Holy Angels wins 46-35.

Post Game
An ugly game to say the least.  Tyler Weiss leads Shakopee with 12 points on 6-12 FGs.  Shot looks a little funky but its effective and he can play inside or out.  The Sabers have 0 seniors on this year's roster which means not only do they have everybody back next year, but both bigs (Weiss and 6'8" or so Jake Maiers) are back.  Starting point guard Evan Hagen is only a freshman.  Shakopee falls to 4-7 in the Missota and 8-15 overall.  They've now lost 5 out of 6.  They have a couple of winnable games against Red Wing and at Northfield before closing out the regular season at home against league leader Chanhassen.  They're probably looking at the 5 or 6 seed in section 2AAAA.  They have a win over Waconia in their favor where Kennedy beat Cooper and Jefferson has now lost 12 of 13 and still has to play at Apple Valley and host Eastview.

For Holy Angels, Sam Kies leads with 13 and they win despite only 3 points from star forward Danny Sullivan.  He's playing more outside now with the emergence of sophomore center Charlie Koontz.  The Stars have now won 4 out of 5 to improve to 12-8 (6-4) and look out as you appear to have another Larry McKenzie team peaking as they get to March.  The section is absolutely insane with 19-3 Blake having a win over DeLaSalle and still only the 6th best QRF in the section.  Holy Angels can really help themselves in the race for a 1st round home game as they have Chaska and New Prague at home and the annual rivalry game at Richfield (Blake also has that game).  Win all of those and the case for #3 is great.  But right now its hard to argue against Chaska right now for that 3 seed with head-head wins over AHA (and higher league finish right now) and Blake.  Plenty to still be determined in those 3-6 spots in that section.

Play of the Day
Not original by any means as Chaska ran this a ton for Spencer Tollackson and Armstrong has used this as well over the years.  Horns set or 1-4 low.  Weiss in this case looking for a post up on the right box.  Point guard takes the ball to left slot.  Left post X cuts to the right slot.  Reverse the ball to the wing and look inside with the floor spread for your best post player.  You'll see this type of action tons from Utah State at the college level.  They run a ton of other stuff off of it too as Stew Morrill has one of the thickest playbooks anywhere.

Big Cats battle in section 4A

Prologue
My tour of St. Paul continues with a trip to the Salvation Army to see a section 4A battle between CHOF and PACT.  These teams in a battle for home games in the section round of 16 games.  The usual Kit Kat on the menu and a orange gatorade.  Thankfully not the always amusing 500 ml (16.9 oz) size.

Game Time
CHOF off to a 12-2 start as Kendall Strandlund scores the 1st 5 for the Lions.  12-2 CHOF as PACT regroups with a timeout at the 13:51 mark.  That pays off in a 10-2 run for the Panthers with a pair of Austin Stone baskets.  Danny Mooers with a pair of straight away 3s for PACT and that ties the game at 18 with 6:20 left.  We go to halftime tied at 26.

The second half sees Darian Warneke score the 1st 5 for CHOF.  But the half belongs to PACT's Drew Zeiroth.  The lefty scores the 1st 12 of the half for PACT.  Add in a PACT putback and they lead 40-35 with 11 minutes to play.  Warneke layup, Tyler Strandlund for 2 and Kendall Strandlund for 3.  44-42 CHOF back on top with 8:52 left.  Zieroth 2 free throws countered by Tyler Strandland coast to coast for 2 FTs of his own.  Zieroth counters for 3 but 8th grader Kit Piepkorn counters with his own 3.  49 all with 5:53 left.  Tyler Strandland with a steal for 1 Kendall Strandland bucket and an assist for another.  Zieroth gets loose for another 3 at the 2 minute mark.  55-52 CHOF as PACT takes time to set the defense.  Kendall Strandland gets loose on the inbounds for a breakaway layup, then he gets the block from behind on the PACT possession.  On the other end, Tyler Strandlund to the basket and he finishes with the emphatic lefty dunk for a 3 point play.  That's a nasty finish!  1:17 to go and the lead is 8.  That's too much.  CHOF wins 65-54.

Post Game
For PACT, Drew Zieroth leads with 24 points.  Thanks to a late missed 3, the junior is 3 points short of 1000 for his career.  Think of him as another Calvin Walker type (though I won't use the Chris Mullin reference out of respect).  The Panthers fall to 6-15 and have now lost 8 out of 9 games.  They have 2 big section games coming up with the game tomorrow at Legacy and then a home game with St. Croix Prep on Tuesday (shout out to coach Liesener who was in the building tonight).

For CHOF, Junior Kendall Strandlund finishes with 21 points.  Senior star Tyler Strandlund also with 21 points.  He added 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks.  8th grade brother Anders Strandlund is one keep an eye on as well.  Not to mention the rest of their 8th graders like Kit Piepkorn, Brauc Eckman (who was huge in a big comeback in the JV game) and Kit Rohlf and they something to work with in the next 4 years.  The Lions improve to 9-9 overall.  Their schedule is brutal the rest of the way as they play at PSA and Maranatha (2 of the top teams in the section).  Four Directions and Heritage visit the Sal.  Not out of the question that they could go 0-4 in that stretch.

Off to see a legend

Prologue
Off to Cretin-Derham Hall to complete one of my must do items on my 2011-12 schedule.  That's see Mounds View and legendary coach Ziggy Kauls in his 45th and final year.  Nice pregame ceremony with CDH coach Jerry Kline Jr presenting coach Kauls with a custom game ball.  As always the hot dog gets the Czar's A+ grade.  Add in a can of Barq's Root Beer and that's my kind of concession fare.  Not a great night for a college coach to have to work.  Saw one in the building with his mistress, committed or foolish?  Only time will tell.  Fitting that its Valentine's Day for my 1st post after the death of one of my favorite's growing up, Whitney Houston.  Few better singers for songs on this day and I'll pick one with a Valentine's Day title (if not theme in the actual lyrics).  So she's a no-brainer choice for

Song of the Day
Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You

Game Time
Slow start for Mounds View's offense as they start with their version The Swing (the ugly step sister of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE).  Frosh Sam Neumann knocks down a pair of 3s, Cortez Tillman with 5 in a row and Neumann finishes it with a bucket.  14-4 Raiders at the 11:15 mark.  But that would be their last field goal of the half.  Mounds View's patience pays off as they use a 7-0 run to cut the margin to 17-14 at the 3:15 mark.  Nice cut down the lane from Mike Kerfeld for a layup and a skip to Paul Kroska for 3 in that run.  20-16 CDH at the half.

The CDH field goal drought ends after 12:45 as they get the 1st bucket of the half.  That starts a 12-0 run where Sam Neumann knocks down 1 3 and then heat checks from the volleyball line to close it out.  32-16 CDH at the 13:35 mark and Mounds View takes time.  Cortez Tillman with a 3 to push the lead to 37-20.  Then soph post Tim Hanson comes off the bench and converts a 3 point play with 8:38 to go for the 1st Mustangs field goal of the half.  Their field goal drought is 11:42.  That starts a mini 7-2 spurt and forces a CDH timeout with 6:19 left.  39-27 CDH at that point.  Tillman and CJ Neumann put it away as Tillman makes back to back 3s and CJ scores 10 in a row in 2 minutes to blow the score open.  CDH wins 57-40.

Post Game
For Mounds View, Mike Kerfeld and Andy Justin lead with 10 each.  This squad doesn't have a lot of firepower (they tried swing, power motion and a 5 out look to get their 40) so its a tribute to coach Kauls that they have 14 wins (14-7 overall).  They're 7-6 in conference and remain tied with White Bear Lake for 4th in the Suburban East.  Both are battling Mahtomedi for the 4th seed and final home game in section 4AAAA.  Though White Bear Lake just beat the Mustangs by 20 in their last meeting.  Next up a trip to East Ridge on Friday to start a stretch of 4 must win games before closing out the regular season at home vs Woodbury.

For Cretin-Derham Hall, freshman Sam Neumann finishes with 4 3s and 19 points to lead the Raiders in scoring.  Cortez Tillman 13 of his 18 in the 2nd half and all 3 of his triples.  CJ Neumann with his 10 in a row late reaches double figures with 11 and 7.  Raiders still holding off Eagan for the 3rd slot in section 3AAAA.  If they run their final 5 in league play (no Roseville or Woodbury), a loss to DeLaSalle on Saturday shouldn't hurt them there.  Raiders are 13-7 overall, 10-3 in the Suburban East.  That's 3rd in the league, 1 game behind Woodbury who hosts Roseville next Thursday.

Hopkins rolls with stars shining

Prologue
To Robbinsdale Cooper for an afternoon showing with the new likely #1 Hopkins.  Surprised that there wasn't a bigger crowd for this one.  I missed out on the pizza at the concession stand, major oversight on my part.  This was the 3rd game in 3 days for Cooper.  No Ken Novak coaching for Hopkins as he was tossed in last night's game at Edina.

Song of the Day
Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight

Game Time
Hopkins getting off to a normal good start with Zach Stahl taking over inside.  6 early points for a 13-6 lead.  Rashad Vaughn with his 2nd hoop as Cooper cuts the lead to 15-12 at the 10:15 mark.  Stahl with back to back 3 point plays as there's no answer for him.  Vaughn has to deal with him on defense but has 2 fouls.  21-13 Hopkins at the 9:19 mark.  Vaughn doesn't let it affect his offense as he scores 13 in a row and 15 of the last 17 for the Hawks in the half.  His 3 point play and jumper cut the lead to 27-23 with 5 left in the half.  Stahl 2 buckets and a tip by Andre McDonald with a mystery Cooper 2 put in there (nobody can find the points but they ended up on the board).  Add in a Jake Wright 3 and its 36-25 Hopkins at the 3:10 mark.  Vaughn ends his streak with a 3, then a Cooper layup before Vaughn scores on a turnover.  Demetrius Martin with a late 3 and Hopkins leads at half 41-32.

Siyani Chambers with a pullup, Stahl an easy bucket and then an assist to Martin for 3  to cash in a turnover.  48-34 Hopkins looking to pull away at the 16:17 mark.  Cooper takes timeout and Vaughn leads a run.  He makes 2 3s and 2 FTs in a 10-2 run.  Cooper missed 2 FTs that would have cut the lead to 4.  50-44 Hopkins with 13:30 to play.  Stahl scores on the inbounds lob and then on the post.  Nick Jorgenson with 2 and the lead is back to 12.  Vaughn with 2 free thrwos at the 10:18 mark to keep the Hawks within 10.  Vaughn and Stahl go back and forth with Vaughn for 3, Stahl scoop at the hoop and 2-3 free throws and Vaughn 2 free throws.  66-55 Hopkins inside of 7 to play.  8 of the next 10 go to Hopkins with an Andre McDonald bucket and a nice cut from Demetrius Martin for a 3 point play.  The rest is child's play.  Hopkins wins 93-61.

Post Game
For Cooper, Rashad Vaughn with 35 points and 9 rebounds.  No help as no one else ended up with more than 6.  Vaughn also had a rough matchup with Stahl trying to defend inside which isn't his game.  Cooper falls to 10-11 overall.  They are 6-5 in the N Suburba in a 3 way tie for 5th.  They have a tough one at sliding Spring Lake Park on Tuesday and they still have to go to #1AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's on Feb 24th.

For Hopkins, Zach Stahl was huge with 36 points and 8 boards.  Demetrius Martin with 17, Andre McDonald with 12.  The Royals keep rolling along as they are now 20-1 overall, 4-0 in the Lake.  They are at Maple Grove on Tuesday before they finish the season with the last rotation of Lake Conference games.

A Roseville Thriller

Welcome to Raider Country

Prologue
A late day in my real life keeps me away from my planned matchup of Lakeville North at Eastview (a thriller).  But its not all bad.  I get a showdown of the best of the Suburban East with Cretin-Derham Hall 1 game behind visiting league-leading Roseville.  We have a full student section on the baseline, the Roseville band and the Raider mascot.  Its wolf like so we'll add it to the best mange competition with the MTS Wolf and the PSA Lycan.  Full on 1 side with bleachers open behind the benches at Roseville which is very rare.  Quality pizza and pepsi on the concessions menu.

Game Time
Cortez Tillman opens the scoring with a 3 point play.  Roseville responds with an 11-0 run.  Logan Brown with a couple of jumpers off of turnovers and 5 points from under appreciated guard Collin Johnson.  The Neumanns attempt to bring CDH back with CJ on the offensive glass, Sam for 3, CJ to Sam backdoor for a 3 point play on the double clutch.  14-12 Roseville at the 11:15 mark.  Mack Johnson and Kobe Critchley with 3s as the lead stretches to 7.  Then a block party.  CJ Neumann swat on 1 end, CDH back the other way and Critchley blocks that and throws the outlet to Mack Johnson for a layup. Emeche Wells takes a steal for a layup and just went CDH was getting going they need a timeout to stall the lost momentum.  31-21 Roseville at the 5:53 mark.  Cortez Tillman banks in 1 3 and makes another one right after it to cut the lead to 8.  Taylor Montero with 2 free throws and 3 point play to cut the lead to 5.  Jacob Hall beats the halftime buzzer for a 46-39 Roseville lead.  They played the last 10+ without center Jordan Burich (2 fouls) and last 7 without Logan Brown (3 fouls).

Burich with a layup and then Brown with great hustle for a layup and then he nails a pullup jumper in the lane.  55-41 Roseville with 13:45 to play.  CDH goes 1-3-1 with Sam Neumann on top and they get a couple of shots to fall.  CJ Neumann with a layup and Tillman with another 3.  Shea Fields with a steal for 2 followed by another Tillman 3.  That's a 10-0 run in 90 seconds to cut the lead to 4.  55-51 Roseville with 11:50 to play.  Brown breaks the run with a 3 but CDH isn't done.  Tillman with 2 free throws, CJ Neumann runs down the lane and makes an awkward 2, then the great extra pass after a kickout finds Sam Neumann all alone for the right wing 3.  60-58 Roseville hanging on with 10:20 left.  17-3 CDH run in 3:25.  Teams trade buckets before Montero steals a soft pass and takes it for 2.  CJ Neumann then cuts to the rim and is wide open on a baseline out of bounds.  That results in 1 of 2 free throws and CDH has the lead 65-64 with 6:34 to play.  Brown and Luke Hamel trade putbacks.  Then Mack Johnson inside out from Burich for 3 with 5:05 left.  Tillman and Wells trade buckets before a Montero drive and lefty score with 3:25 left to tie the game at 71.  Collin Johnson drive and patient pass to Burich for a layup (and missed FT on the foul).  He then finds Mack Johnson for the 1st of back to back clutch bombs.  Those sandwich a CJ Neumann bucket on the post.  79-73 Roseville with 1:50 left. Offenses getting it done down the stretch.  Montero with 2 freebies.  Roseville holds and Burich with a nice cut for a layup with 1 minute left.  CJ Neumann puts back a miss with 47.1 to play.  CDH timeout to stop the clock down 81-77.

Roseville can't get it in and its a 5 second violation.  Tillman promptly knocks down a 3 with 40.2 left and here we go.  Roseville gets it in this time but rushing the ball up the sidelines, CDH does a great job to chase it down and get the backtap for a turnover.  35 seconds left and back comes CDH.  Tillman and CJ Neumann both miss but CDH gets it back with 18.9 to play.  We'll play on without the timeout.  CJ Neumann catches the inbound at the right elbow, fakes the handoff to the inbounder and takes it to the rack for 2 with 14 seconds left.  82-81 CDH takes the lead.  Back comes Roseville and they'll also go without a timeout.  Ball ends up in the hands of Emeche Wells in a 1-4 low set as time ticks away.  Down to 5, 4, 3 and Wells isn't going anywhere, SHOOT IT!  He just gets it off from 18 feet away at the buzzer over Montero just like last season.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!  No doubt about it as the jumper was pure.

Its pandemonium as the Roseville students flood the court and why not.  Wells beats the buzzer for the 2nd straight year at home vs CDH and Roseville gets the huge 83-82 win.

Post Game
For Cretin-Derham Hall, their big 3 all play well.  Taylor Montero and Cortez Tillman with 23 each.  Tillman with 5 3s on the night.  CJ Neumann with 21 points and 11 rebounds.  Luke Hamel with the 5 bench points and was productive pounding the offensive glass, especially later in the 1st half with Burich sitting and Roseville using the small lineup.  Once again CDH goes to the 1-3-1 in the 2nd half and almost pulls off a big win.  They used a similar tactic to beat Woodbury a couple of weeks ago.  But the zone is very different when Sam Neumann plays the top rather than Fields.  The length makes a difference and I thought Sam should have been brought back in sooner down the stretch.  CDH falls to 12-7 overall, 9-3 in the Suburban East and 3rd place.  That's 1 game behind Woodbury and now 2 behind Roseville (and Roseville won both).  They host Mounds View on Tuesday in a battle for 3rd.  In section terms I don't think this hurts them.  I messed it up in my Tartan article the other night, CDH is now in 3AAAA and fairly solid in the 3 slot which would most likely mean Apple Valley in a semifinal.

For Roseville, Mack Johnson comes up large with 24 points, 6 3s.  3 of those 3s in the last 5 minutes.  Logan Brown with 13 of his 17 in the 2nd half.  He was huge early in the half when Mack Johnson rested with foul trouble.  Emeche Wells 10 of his 14 in the 1st half but the last 2 were the most important.  Jordan Burich and Collin Johnson each with 10 to round out all 5 starters in double figures.  Collin Johnson is one of those kids who won't wow, but he's rock solid and a calming influence on them (like Montero is for CDH).  I'd really like to see him get more minutes.  Burich's foul trouble hurt in the 1st half and CDH won the battle on the glass in those 10 minutes.  Roseville is now 17-3 and 11-1 in the Suburban East to stay 1 game up on Woodbury.  They still have to visit Woodbury on February 23rd in a game that could be for the outright or split conference title.  Roseville with a win in that game would likely lock up not only the conference title but also the #1 seed in the 4AAAA playoffs.  A Woodbury win would muddy the waters quite a bit.