Its the 2013 Timberwolves Shootout. I've been very critical of the scheduling but let's give some credit where credit is due. A quality job done by Jeff Munneke and his staff putting together the best set of games we've had to look forward to in many years. No food but 64 oz of Pepsi to keep me awake and refreshed for the early games. Here's are some of the sights and sounds.
Game 1: #5A Lakeview Christian vs Onalaska (WI)
Iowa State in the building early to take in their recruit Matt Thomas from Onalaska. Onalaska goes with the expected diamond and 1 on Anders Broman. Bjorn Broman knocks down a pair of NBA 3s for an 8-4 Lakeview Christian lead. Matt Thomas gets it going with a stretch where he scores 10 of 12 Hilltoppers points. 23-13 lead for Onalaska at the 7:50 mark. LCA goes on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 25-22 at the 5:50 mark. Thomas with 9 more (11 per the book on a tip that he probably didn't get) as Onalaska goes up 43-32 at the half.
Thomas 3 of 4 free throws as the lead stays 51-39 with 12:16 left. Anders Broman to Bjorn Broman for 3 and a Bjorn runner. Thomas right back with 4 in a row. Anders with 2 more buckets. Thomas scores and the lead is 64-48 with 6:55 left. Anders with a 3 point play as LCA hangs within 11. Thomas slams the door with a pair of free throws and then gets undercut in a dangerous looking play but its a 3 point play. That helps push the lead to 18 and Lakeview Christian never threatens again. Onalaska wins 77-62. Matt Thomas officially listed with 43 and 14 coming up 1 point short of Rick Rickert's Shootout record. Anders Broman 10-19 for 26 points. Bjorn Broman 21 points and 9 rebounds. LCA goes 5-21 from behind the arc while Onalaska only shot 4-22 from there. Give an undermanned LCA squad credit for hanging in on the glass and keeping the game from becoming from a blowout early.
Game 2: #1 3A De La Salle vs Blue Valley Northwest (KS)
Hoiberg hanging around to see another Cyclones recruit Clayton Custer. Reid Travis starts out 1-4 but he does get it going for the 1st Islanders points of the game. 7-2 Islanders at the 13:55 mark. Travis adds 2 free throws at the 8:36 mark for a 13-6 lead. A critical adjustment by the Huskies in a timeout sees them go to a 5 out look. Interestingly they call it False Motion. Clayton Custer with a 3 point play and a Kyle Harrison 3 cut the lead to 1. Then Custer on the drive for 2 and a pair of bonus free throws for a 12-2 run. Only Islander offense is 2 more Travis buckets inside. The Huskies run down the clock for a Custer pullup at the buzzer. 24-19 Huskies at the half.
Back and forth we go to start the half. Travis on a high/low feed, Custer 4 in a row and Travis 2 more. 32-29 Blue Valley at the 13:10 mark. Then a David Salach tip dunk for his only 2 of the day and Custer with a steal for 2 more. 38-31 Blue Valley with all the momentum and Dave Thorson needs a timeout. The Huskies get a T in the celebration (questionable but head of refs loves the call). Jarvis Johnson with a pair of free throws and a drive for 2 more. 42-39 Blue Valley with 8:15 left. Custer on the drive countered by Travis with 2 free throws and another inside bucket. Then a great set call for a Scott 3 and De La Salle is back on top 46-44 with 5 minutes left. Back and forth until a Travis free throw off a Luke Scott missed free throw ties the game at 50 with 1:43 left. Blue Valley gets a bucket, followed by an impatient miss looking for Travis inside. De La Salle has to foul and the bonus free throws from Vince Fritz are good. De La Salle misses a 3 and Clayton Custer makes 3 of 4 free throws to put the game away. Blue Valley Northwest defeats De La Salle 57-52 to give head coach Ed Fritz his 500th career win. Clayton Custer 26 points and 8 rebounds. Reid Travis 29 and 15. 3 point shooting crazy cold in this one too. Blue Valley 1-15 and De La Salle 2-11 from deep. 15 offensive rebounds for De La Salle for a 37-20 overall advantage on the glass. That helped keep DLS in it but 18 turnovers to 8 hurt their cause.
Game 3: #3AAAA Roseville vs West Des Moines Valley (IA)
Mack Johnson out of the Roseville lineup with a bum ankle. That's a big loss. Iowa commit Peter Jok off to a quick start for Valley with 14 points in the 1st 7:16. Roseville has lots of pieces but they don't really have a good piece to defend an athletic high caliber wing like Jok. Jok picks up his 2nd foul with 10:30 left and has to sit with Valley leading 22-11. Jordan Burich very active and effective for Roseville in the half. His putback starts a 7-0 run after Jok sits. Burich inside for 2 free throws after Jok returns late in the half. Jok with a putback before he sits for the last minute to avoid the 3rd foul. 30-26 Valley at the half. Jok 16 points and only played 9 minutes. Burich almost a double double in the half with 9 points, 9 boards and 3 blocks thanks to 7-10 FTs.
Logan Brown 4 quick points to tie the game in the 1st 40 seconds of the half. Jok off an inbounds lob and a dunk for a 42-38 Valley lead with 11:32 left. Roseville staying close with Burich in the post at the 9 minute mark to cut the Valley lead to 44-41. Jok with a 3 point play off a turnover and the lead expands to 55-46 with 5:43 left. Brown with back to back 3s and a Burich free throw with 3:53 left. 55-53 Valley holding on. Then head coach and former Iowa star Jeff Horner decides to face guard Brown. That strategy is huge as Valley finishes the game from there on a 14-0 run to win 69-53. Peter Jok 34 and 8 on 13-20 shooting for Valley. Logan Brown 20 and 5 for Roseville. Jordan Burich ends up with Andrei Kirilenko type numbers of 15 points, 14 boards, 4 steals, 5 blocks. 9-16 at the line held his point total down but 8 offensive boards were big. Valley 1-13 from 3 in a recurring theme of the day. Roseville 6-16 from 3 but only 15-52 overall (28.8%) as the loss of Johnson really stunted their offense.
Game 4: #2AAAA Apple Valley vs Robbinsdale Cooper
Roy Williams and Hubert Davis from North Carolina along with Tubby Smith join Fred Hoiberg at courtside for this one. Rashad Vaughn with a drive for 2 and then a dunk 3 minutes in for a 10-5 Cooper lead. Dennis Austin 4 in a row to tie the game at 12. Then Tyus Jones for 2 and a 3 point play. Vaughn picks up his 2nd foul but no way he sits. Austin still effective as his layup at 8:15 extends the Apple Valley lead to 26-19. Then Vaughn with 2 buckets in an 8-2 run to cut the Eagles lead to 28-27 at the 6:15 mark. Vaughn with a fade away in the post and a Billy Kellogg 3 and the Cooper lead is 36-30. Dustin Fronk for 3 and then Vaughn turns it over and Tyus Jones takes it the other way just in time to beat the buzzer. 36-35 Cooper at the half. Vaughn 15 points, Jones 9 and 5 assists.
Vaughn fading in the post and going glass on a very slick move. Cooper countering the option of Harry Sonie on defense by posting Vaughn. That caused big James Horton to get some minutes guarding Vaughn. Vaughn makes 2 free throws for a 5 point lead with 15:38 left. Austin has his own matchup advantage and Apple Valley makes the adjustment by finding him inside. Back to back hoops for him down low. Vaughn with 2 huge 3s and another bucket for 8 straight Cooper points. What do we have here, its Cooper leading 54-43 with 11:40 left.
But the rest of the game is all Apple Valley. Fronk with a layup and a 3 in a 10-0 to cut the lead to 54-53 with 9:22 left. After Vaughn swats Tyus in transition and a Cooper timeout. Fronk with a bomb to tie the game at 56. Vaughn right back with a nasty 3. Austin killing inside as he's fouled and misses 2 free throws. Back to him for the hoop and harm but another missed freebie and another post bucket. A Cooper layup keeps them within 1, 61-60 with 5:05 left. Sonie for 3, Tyus with a 3 point play. Austin with 2 free throws, Tyus with a bucket and 2 free throws and Cooper is down 9. Vaughn blocked on 1 end and Tyus converts it with an assist to Austin running for 2. Timeout Cooper with 2:33 left but its out of reach down 74-63. Apple Valley wins 80-70. Rashad Vaughn leads all scorers with 35 points and 7 boards. He shot 14-33, 4-11 from 3. Tyus Jones 18 points, 4 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals on 7-10 shooting. Dennis Austin came up large with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Dustin Fronk added another fine performance of 21 points and 5 rebounds. The rest of the Cooper roster shoots a blistering 16-29. But their lack of defense reared its ugly head again as Apple Valley shot 57.7% for the game and 62.5% for 2nd half. They held Cooper to 38.9% in the 2nd half.
All Timberwolves Shootout Team
Matt Thomas - Onalaska
Peter Jok - West Des Moines Valley
Clayton Custer - Blue Valley Northwest
Reid Travis - De La Salle
Dennis Austin - Apple Valley
2nd Team
Tyus Jones - Apple Valley
Anders Broman - Lakeview Christian
Rashad Vaughn - Cooper
Dustin Fronk - Apple Valley
Jordan Burich - Roseville
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