Prologue
Off to St. Paul Johnson where the Governors were looking yet another St. Paul City title and berth in the Twin Cities game. Highland Park looking to not only ruin that but also claim the title and the top seed in section 4AAA for themselves with a win. An upgraded walking taco from the plain chips and meat variety during my last visit. 12 oz of 7-Up to add to the beverage tally. A fair but late arriving crowd on hand. Plenty of coaches looking on as assistants from UW-Platteville, Dakota County, and NDSCS were there along with an assistant and head man from Central Lakes.
Game Time
Johnson off to a quick start thanks to a pair of 3s and a bucket from soph star Jalen Mobley. 11-1 Govs at 13:55. Dion Bradley gets his offense going with a 3. Johnson extends the lead to 17-4 at the 11:40 mark. Then with nothing working, coach Jon DePerry just tells everybody to get out of the way and let Bradley work. That works and with the Scots able to get out in transition they go on a 20-5 run to take a 24-22 lead at 3:40. Bradley with 11 of the points in the run. Johnson comes back and goes on a 9-1 run to end the half. 31-25 Govs at the break. Bradley with 15 of the 25 for the Scots. Mobley 12 for the Govs.
Highland Park gets a little momentum right away to keep Johnson from a quick run to blow it open. Aaron Moore 7 points in the 1st 4:20. Then a Scots steal for 2 and a runout for a 2 on 1 that leads to a layup. 42-40 Highland Park inside of 13 minutes to play. Johnson reclaims the lead with 5 in a row. Then a kick to the weakside corner for 3, Bradley kicks out for another 3 and then drives for 2 of his own. 8-0 run and Johnson needs a timeout with 10:11 remaining. 50-45 Highland Park in the lead.
Johnson ties it at 50 and we go back and forth. The Govs doubling Bradley now on each touch. Its a Scots 3 and then Moore goes coast to coast for a tough finish. Biggest Scots lead of the night 62-55 with 5:40 left. Johnson quickly back with 7 in a row. Mobley gets the kick out and knocks down a big 3 from the top during that run. Another Highland 3 but Quashingm Smith-Pugh with a steal and pull for 2 after a Peirre Conwell putback. 66 all with 3:25 left. Highland Park gets a pair of good looks at 3s but no good, Johnson a pair of turnovers. We get down to 1:10 left still tied. Johnson will hold against the Scots 2-3 zone. Smith-Pugh gets it and drives. Its no good with about 6 seconds left. Highland Park will push it back and Bradley gets a rushed shot from the left elbow at the buzzer and its no good. 66 all and we'll play over time.
Johnson gets a 3 point play to start the overtime. That's all the offense they need as 1 Bradley free throw is all of the Scots offense for the OT. Johnson up 4 with about a minute left when they put up a bad layup attempt, miss the putback but Smith-Pugh grabs the offensive board. Better than that, he pulls the ball out to kill clock. The Govs add a free throw and a layup to end it. 74-67 Johnson wins the St. Paul City.
Post Game
For Highland Park, Dion Bradley leads with 25 points. After Johnson decided to get the ball out of his hands, he had no field goals in the last 7:30 of regulation and overtime. Isaiah Brower 3 triples for 11. Aaron Moore with 11 of his 13 in the 2nd half. Highland Park much tougher inside on the defensive glass than in the 1st meeting. They also did a great job of pushing the ball back hard at Johnson and it was very successful. Highland Park finishes the regular season 16-10 overall, 10-2 (2nd) in the St. Paul City. They're looking at the #2 seed in section 4AAA. That most likely means a 3rd meeting with Harding. Highland Park won both meetings by 17 and 24 respectively.
Johnson clinches the St. Paul City at 11-1, 17-7 overall. Its the 10th straight year that Johnson has won or shared the city title. They'll play Saturday in the Twin Cities Game. That will be hosted by Minneapolis Southwest who beat Roosevelt tonight and because of their 30 year absence from the game, they will get the nod out of the tiebreaker on the Minneapolis side. Jalen Mobley 26 points to lead the Governors. Quashingm Smith-Pugh with 15 points and 12 boards. That was after a struggle in the 1st half. But in the 2nd half, he came up big. Johnson locks up the top seed in 4AAA. That means a home game next Friday with South St. Paul.
Play of the Day
An interesting zone set today courtesy of Vern Simmons and Johnson. Double stack a pair of guards on the left elbow. Stack 2 bigs on the right block. Point guard comes off the double high to the left wing. Those guys then pop to the top and the right wing. In this case it was Quashingm Smith-Pugh cutting opposite to that right wing. With the top 2 guys occupied, if the bottom guy in the 2-3 zone doesn't come get it, knock it down. If the low guy does come out, now 1 guy in the bottom stack pins the middle guy in the zone and you have a wide open post on the strong side block.
Sabers slowdown to share
Prologue
Off to Holy Angels where Shakopee comes to town for a critical Missota Conference game. Holy Angels could clinch outright with a win while Shakopee would tie for 1st with a win. A respectable hot dog and a rare Dr Pepper (12 oz) on tonight's concessions menu. U of St. Thomas looking on with a good Shakopee crowd and not the greatest AHA crowd. No Charlie Koontz for Holy Angels due to injury which could be a factor against the big Shakopee lineup
Game Time
Delshon Strickland with a steal and throwdown to open the scoring for Holy Angels. Forward Tyler Weiss with the 1st 6 of Shakopee's points. His putback of his own miss puts the Sabers up 6-5 at the 13:20 mark. But we won't see much more of him in the half as a flop gets the call and that's a charge for the 2nd on Weiss. That sits him down for the last 11:20 of the half. John Burlager with a 3 point play to conclude a 10-1 Shakopee run. Holy Angels goes scoreless for 6:40 and without a field goal for almost 9 and a half minutes. 10-5 Shakopee at the 9:04 mark. Shakopee then switches to a 2-3 zone. That really slows the pace of play to their favor. The scoring is basically even the rest of the half. John Burlager with the last basket of the half to put Shakopee up 20-18 at the break.
The Sabers stay with that 2-3 but Holy Angels has early answers with Strickland for 3 and then over the top of the zone for the lob dunk. 25-23 Shakopee at the 14:10 mark. Then a critical moment. Its the same lob play for Strickland who fumbles it. He comes down and grabs it, up and no good and we have a scrum. 2 more AHA chances and those are swatted away. AHA still has it and misses and it becomes a jump ball to Shakopee at the 13:23 mark. A patient possession is converted by Burlager inside for the Sabers lead. The run is underway. Weiss with a jumper, Frosh Steffon Mitchell with a putback. 34-25 Shakopee with 11:30 left. Its an 11-2 run over 2:40. Holy Angels gets the next 4 but Weiss with back to back buckets to start 6 in a row the other way. 40-29 Shakopee with 9:25 left. Burlager strong play inside down the stretch to offset some offense from Jordan Dembley. Holy Angels doesn't get any closer than 6 the rest of the way. Shakopee goes on to win 56-48
Post Game
For Holy Angels, Delshon Strickland with 17 and Jordan Dembley with 16 points. Only 15 points from the rest of the starters and nothing from the bench. Besides the 2 lob plays and some drives, no good offensive looks for the Stars against the zone. The Stars fall to 18-7 overall, 10-3 in the Missota. To keep their share of the league crown they need to win at Chanhassen on Friday. I still see Holy Angels getting the top seed in 6AAA especially after Blake's loss at Minnehaha tonight. That close head-head win at Blake without John Veil looming larger everyday. But a possible second round game against Chaska or Holy Family is an attention getter.
For Shakopee, John Burlager with 12 of his 18 in the 2nd half. Tyler Weiss adds 10 of his 16 in the 2nd half. Without Koontz, the size of the Sabers was definitely a factor inside. Shakopee was bothered by some of the Holy Angels aggressive defense but managed not to hurt themselves too badly. The Sabers are now 15-10 and also 10-3 in the Missota. They close with Farmington at home on Friday. As to their place in section 2AAAA, they looked locked into the 3 seed. That could mean the sleeper game of the year in the 1st round against Jefferson (I give Kennedy 5 for being 1 game ahead and then Jefferson beat Lakeville South twice to earn 6). First one to 25 wins that game which could be the slowest paced metro game of the year. Then a rivalry game against Prior Lake could be on deck in the section semis.
Off to Holy Angels where Shakopee comes to town for a critical Missota Conference game. Holy Angels could clinch outright with a win while Shakopee would tie for 1st with a win. A respectable hot dog and a rare Dr Pepper (12 oz) on tonight's concessions menu. U of St. Thomas looking on with a good Shakopee crowd and not the greatest AHA crowd. No Charlie Koontz for Holy Angels due to injury which could be a factor against the big Shakopee lineup
Game Time
Delshon Strickland with a steal and throwdown to open the scoring for Holy Angels. Forward Tyler Weiss with the 1st 6 of Shakopee's points. His putback of his own miss puts the Sabers up 6-5 at the 13:20 mark. But we won't see much more of him in the half as a flop gets the call and that's a charge for the 2nd on Weiss. That sits him down for the last 11:20 of the half. John Burlager with a 3 point play to conclude a 10-1 Shakopee run. Holy Angels goes scoreless for 6:40 and without a field goal for almost 9 and a half minutes. 10-5 Shakopee at the 9:04 mark. Shakopee then switches to a 2-3 zone. That really slows the pace of play to their favor. The scoring is basically even the rest of the half. John Burlager with the last basket of the half to put Shakopee up 20-18 at the break.
The Sabers stay with that 2-3 but Holy Angels has early answers with Strickland for 3 and then over the top of the zone for the lob dunk. 25-23 Shakopee at the 14:10 mark. Then a critical moment. Its the same lob play for Strickland who fumbles it. He comes down and grabs it, up and no good and we have a scrum. 2 more AHA chances and those are swatted away. AHA still has it and misses and it becomes a jump ball to Shakopee at the 13:23 mark. A patient possession is converted by Burlager inside for the Sabers lead. The run is underway. Weiss with a jumper, Frosh Steffon Mitchell with a putback. 34-25 Shakopee with 11:30 left. Its an 11-2 run over 2:40. Holy Angels gets the next 4 but Weiss with back to back buckets to start 6 in a row the other way. 40-29 Shakopee with 9:25 left. Burlager strong play inside down the stretch to offset some offense from Jordan Dembley. Holy Angels doesn't get any closer than 6 the rest of the way. Shakopee goes on to win 56-48
Post Game
For Holy Angels, Delshon Strickland with 17 and Jordan Dembley with 16 points. Only 15 points from the rest of the starters and nothing from the bench. Besides the 2 lob plays and some drives, no good offensive looks for the Stars against the zone. The Stars fall to 18-7 overall, 10-3 in the Missota. To keep their share of the league crown they need to win at Chanhassen on Friday. I still see Holy Angels getting the top seed in 6AAA especially after Blake's loss at Minnehaha tonight. That close head-head win at Blake without John Veil looming larger everyday. But a possible second round game against Chaska or Holy Family is an attention getter.
For Shakopee, John Burlager with 12 of his 18 in the 2nd half. Tyler Weiss adds 10 of his 16 in the 2nd half. Without Koontz, the size of the Sabers was definitely a factor inside. Shakopee was bothered by some of the Holy Angels aggressive defense but managed not to hurt themselves too badly. The Sabers are now 15-10 and also 10-3 in the Missota. They close with Farmington at home on Friday. As to their place in section 2AAAA, they looked locked into the 3 seed. That could mean the sleeper game of the year in the 1st round against Jefferson (I give Kennedy 5 for being 1 game ahead and then Jefferson beat Lakeville South twice to earn 6). First one to 25 wins that game which could be the slowest paced metro game of the year. Then a rivalry game against Prior Lake could be on deck in the section semis.
An old rivalry kept alive
Prologue
A rare trip to the far west edge of the metro as I take in Mayer Lutheran at Holy Family. These teams are old rivals from the Minnesota River Conference. Holy Family now in the Wright County but we still have this private school rivalry. A much bigger crowd than usual on hand for this one. Section 6AAA teams Blake, Richfield and Chaska all looking on at Holy Family since the Fire could face any one of them in the 1st round. That also explains much of my interest in this one. Also a chance to see soph post Justin Dahl. Don't discount freshmen Sam Schlueter and Rhett Kovar who saw meaningful minutes tonight for Mayer Lutheran.
Game Time
8-7 Holy Family outside of 12:30 left in an even start. Mayer Lutheran goes cold for 5 minutes. Joe Hanel adds the 1st 4 in a mini-spurt for the Fire. 14-9 Fire at 8:25. Anthony Gruenhagen with 4 points in a 10-3 Crusaders run to break that drought. 19-17 Mayer Lutheran at the 5 minute mark. Big soph Justin Dahl with back to back buckets as the Fire regain the lead. That lead stays at 4 before the last bucket of the half for Holy Family beats the buzzer. 34-28 Fire at the break.
That bucket is momentum that carries over. Hanel backdoor for 2, Joe Speer for 3, Dahl back to back inside, Brent Hentges with a 3 point play. Soph Jack Mugford with back to back 3, the first to beat his defender who left him to double. Hentges with a 3 and Hanel tops it off with a rebound and touch pass to Dahl for a 2 handed dunk. 57-34 Holy Family with 7:35 to play. The total run starting with the last bucket before half is 25-6. Holy Family cruises from there to a 61-44 win.
Post Game
For Holy Family, Joe Hanel leads the way with 18 points and 14 boards on my sheet. Productive sophomores with post Justin Dahl scoring 12 and guard Jack Mugford scoring 11. Dahl playing with a facemask due to a broken nose. Just makes him look more imposing inside. Lots of old North Carolina T-Game look from the Fire. But they'll throw in a slip of a side ball screen out of that type of look too. Holy Family likely looking at the 6 seed against the likely 3 seed Richfield. That would be a rematch of a game in December at Holy Family where the Fire won huge 75-47. Why? Richfield is a team that needs to slash to the rim and with Dahl there, the Spartans got absolutely nothing inside. Somehow I think this game will appear again on my list of games to see when I preview sections this weekend. But you never know, Washburn only has a win over Hill-Murray on their resume while Holy Family has wins over ranked teams Delano and Holy Angels on their resume. A 4 vs 5 rematch with Chaska could be dynamite too as the Fire lost 67-65 at Chaska in their season opener.
A rare trip to the far west edge of the metro as I take in Mayer Lutheran at Holy Family. These teams are old rivals from the Minnesota River Conference. Holy Family now in the Wright County but we still have this private school rivalry. A much bigger crowd than usual on hand for this one. Section 6AAA teams Blake, Richfield and Chaska all looking on at Holy Family since the Fire could face any one of them in the 1st round. That also explains much of my interest in this one. Also a chance to see soph post Justin Dahl. Don't discount freshmen Sam Schlueter and Rhett Kovar who saw meaningful minutes tonight for Mayer Lutheran.
Game Time
8-7 Holy Family outside of 12:30 left in an even start. Mayer Lutheran goes cold for 5 minutes. Joe Hanel adds the 1st 4 in a mini-spurt for the Fire. 14-9 Fire at 8:25. Anthony Gruenhagen with 4 points in a 10-3 Crusaders run to break that drought. 19-17 Mayer Lutheran at the 5 minute mark. Big soph Justin Dahl with back to back buckets as the Fire regain the lead. That lead stays at 4 before the last bucket of the half for Holy Family beats the buzzer. 34-28 Fire at the break.
That bucket is momentum that carries over. Hanel backdoor for 2, Joe Speer for 3, Dahl back to back inside, Brent Hentges with a 3 point play. Soph Jack Mugford with back to back 3, the first to beat his defender who left him to double. Hentges with a 3 and Hanel tops it off with a rebound and touch pass to Dahl for a 2 handed dunk. 57-34 Holy Family with 7:35 to play. The total run starting with the last bucket before half is 25-6. Holy Family cruises from there to a 61-44 win.
Post Game
For Holy Family, Joe Hanel leads the way with 18 points and 14 boards on my sheet. Productive sophomores with post Justin Dahl scoring 12 and guard Jack Mugford scoring 11. Dahl playing with a facemask due to a broken nose. Just makes him look more imposing inside. Lots of old North Carolina T-Game look from the Fire. But they'll throw in a slip of a side ball screen out of that type of look too. Holy Family likely looking at the 6 seed against the likely 3 seed Richfield. That would be a rematch of a game in December at Holy Family where the Fire won huge 75-47. Why? Richfield is a team that needs to slash to the rim and with Dahl there, the Spartans got absolutely nothing inside. Somehow I think this game will appear again on my list of games to see when I preview sections this weekend. But you never know, Washburn only has a win over Hill-Murray on their resume while Holy Family has wins over ranked teams Delano and Holy Angels on their resume. A 4 vs 5 rematch with Chaska could be dynamite too as the Fire lost 67-65 at Chaska in their season opener.
Feb 24, 2013 CzarPI
Down to the final week of the 2012-13 regular season. Where do teams stand? Here's the 6th CzarPI of the 2012-13 season (see CzarPI Explained here). It includes games through February 23rd, 2013. The value in () after the CzarPI value is the team's strength of schedule ranking within their class
Class AAAA
Class AAAA
- Apple Valley - 61.14 (22)
- Osseo - 60.03 (17)
- Park Center - 59.54 (23)
- Brainerd - 58.83 (53)
- Edina - 58.04 (2)
- Woodbury - 57.23 (34)
- Eden Prairie - 57.21 (1)
- Minnetonka - 56.94 (21)
- Roseville - 56.85 (40)
- Hopkins - 56.78 (30)
- St. Louis Park - 56.09 (49)
- Stillwater Area - 55.23 (36)
- Lakeville North - 54.94 (38)
- Prior Lake - 54.64 (29)
- Robbinsdale Cooper - 54.47 (42)
- Tartan - 54.24 (61)
- Champlin Park - 54.1 (33)
- Moorhead - 54.05 (3)
- Robbinsdale Armstrong - 53.1 (20)
- East Ridge - 52.91 (47)
- Buffalo - 52.33 (48)
- Shakopee - 52.16 (25)
- Rochester John Marshall - 52.08 (58)
- Duluth East - 51.53 (26)
- Mahtomedi - 51.47 (62)
- Eastview - 51.44 (4)
- Chanhassen - 51.33 (14)
- Maple Grove - 51.19 (11)
- Elk River - 51.09 (27)
- Wayzata - 50.24 (6)
- Owatonna - 50.13 (51)
- White Bear Lake - 50.13 (41)
- Eagan - 50 (31)
- Henry Sibley - 49.12 (57)
- St. Michael-Albertville - 48.85 (50)
- Farmington - 47.39 (54)
- Minneapolis Southwest - 47.14 (60)
- Minneapolis South - 47.1 (59)
- St. Francis - 46.53 (63)
- Cretin-Derham Hall - 46.46 (24)
- Mounds View - 46.41 (43)
- Centennial - 45.82 (8)
- Irondale - 45.6 (55)
- Bloomington Jefferson - 44.78 (16)
- Rogers - 44.18 (37)
- Bloomington Kennedy - 43.7 (19)
- Forest Lake - 42.72 (35)
- Rochester Century - 41.98 (44)
- Lakeville South - 41.7 (39)
- Rosemount - 41.06 (18)
- Northfield - 40.85 (45)
- St. Cloud Tech - 39.73 (7)
- Blaine - 38.26 (13)
- Cambridge-Isanti - 35.24 (56)
- Andover - 33.63 (10)
- Rochester Mayo - 33.13 (28)
- Burnsville - 30.21 (15)
- Bemidji - 28.56 (5)
- Anoka - 25.27 (9)
- Park of Cottage Grove - 22.22 (52)
- Hastings - 21.5 (32)
- North St. Paul - 21.27 (46)
- Coon Rapids - 0 (12)
- DeLaSalle - 59.73 (28)
- Marshall - 59.52 (12)
- Austin - 58.64 (55)
- Delano - 56.96 (44)
- Hermantown - 56.61 (43)
- Waconia - 56.13 (19)
- Holy Angels - 56.1 (21)
- Little Falls - 54.84 (9)
- Blake - 54.82 (5)
- East Grand Forks - 53.74 (46)
- New Prague - 53.41 (14)
- Fergus Falls - 53.3 (3)
- Thief River Falls - 51.93 (38)
- Grand Rapids - 51.77 (58)
- Columbia Heights - 51.52 (49)
- St. Cloud Apollo - 50.88 (8)
- Sartell-St. Stephen - 50.41 (2)
- Rocori - 50.19 (27)
- St. Paul Johnson - 50.12 (48)
- Richfield - 49.66 (41)
- St. Paul Central - 49.66 (34)
- Mankato West - 49.29 (29)
- St. Paul Highland Park - 48.87 (57)
- Willmar - 48.13 (17)
- Alexandria - 47.37 (15)
- Mound-Westonka - 47.34 (16)
- Minneapolis Roosevelt - 47.22 (52)
- Big Lake - 47.22 (62)
- Spring Lake Park - 47.2 (51)
- Minneapolis Washburn - 47.08 (39)
- Detroit Lakes - 46.99 (20)
- Holy Family Catholic - 46.75 (4)
- Winona - 46.7 (23)
- Hill-Murray - 46.55 (47)
- Cloquet - 46.5 (63)
- Chaska - 46.5 (11)
- Red Wing - 46.48 (42)
- Hutchinson - 46.47 (25)
- Orono - 46.16 (6)
- Albert Lea - 45.12 (56)
- Minneapolis Henry - 44.15 (37)
- Fridley - 43.71 (54)
- Chisago Lakes Area - 43.2 (45)
- St. Thomas Academy - 43.18 (7)
- Simley - 42.83 (64)
- Totino-Grace - 42.29 (22)
- St. Anthony Village - 42.16 (59)
- Becker - 41.9 (33)
- Benilde-St. Margaret's - 40.36 (1)
- Zimmerman - 39.95 (53)
- Waseca - 39.94 (40)
- Mankato East - 38.33 (10)
- St. Paul Harding - 38.2 (65)
- Hibbing - 38 (50)
- St. Paul Como Park - 37.89 (31)
- Princeton - 34.73 (60)
- Monticello - 34.73 (32)
- Kasson-Mantorville - 34.25 (13)
- Faribault - 34.05 (26)
- Duluth Denfeld - 33.89 (36)
- North Branch - 32.17 (35)
- Sauk Rapids-Rice - 30.5 (18)
- New Ulm - 29.89 (30)
- South St. Paul - 25.81 (61)
- Dassel-Cokato - 0 (24)
- Melrose - 59.9 (25)
- Hawley - 59.08 (36)
- Litchfield - 57.28 (10)
- Fairmont - 56.7 (56)
- Maple River - 56.29 (59)
- Jordan - 56.26 (43)
- Minnehaha Academy - 56.18 (17)
- Esko - 56.12 (47)
- St. Peter - 55.93 (76)
- Mora - 55.72 (57)
- Redwood Valley - 55.71 (21)
- St. Cloud Cathedral - 55.21 (30)
- Worthington - 54.86 (1)
- Braham - 54.84 (117)
- Perham - 54.8 (23)
- Byron - 54.58 (90)
- International Falls - 54.24 (83)
- Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted - 53.73 (48)
- Crosby-Ironton - 53.27 (113)
- Rochester Lourdes - 53.19 (66)
- Hayfield - 52.98 (77)
- Pelican Rapids - 52.91 (51)
- Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta - 52.69 (34)
- Martin County West - 52.49 (108)
- Sauk Centre - 52.26 (64)
- Annandale - 52.26 (15)
- Mayer Lutheran - 52.12 (69)
- Lake City - 51.97 (119)
- Norwood-Young America - 51.83 (75)
- Plainview-Elgin-Millville - 51.8 (87)
- Virginia - 51.78 (85)
- Southland - 51.46 (94)
- Deer River - 51.07 (91)
- Long Prairie-Grey Eagle - 51.05 (31)
- Waterville-Elysian-Morristown - 50.45 (106)
- Luverne - 50.24 (18)
- United South Central - 49.91 (84)
- Jackson County Central - 49.9 (9)
- Stewartville - 49.6 (32)
- Pierz - 49.5 (7)
- Breck - 49.4 (111)
- Lewiston-Altura - 49.12 (79)
- Chatfield - 48.87 (81)
- Winona Cotter - 48.55 (70)
- Albany - 48.53 (26)
- Hinckley-Finlayson - 48.44 (112)
- Watertown-Mayer - 48.19 (44)
- Brooklyn Center - 48.17 (73)
- Rockford - 48.1 (12)
- Sibley East - 47.64 (53)
- Moose Lake-Willow River - 47.63 (61)
- Concordia Academy-Roseville - 47.62 (29)
- Glencoe-Silver Lake - 47.56 (68)
- Providence Academy - 47.52 (42)
- Cannon Falls - 47.51 (102)
- Belle Plaine - 47.28 (40)
- Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial - 47 (78)
- Barnesville - 46.9 (107)
- Caledonia - 46.89 (97)
- Windom Area - 46.86 (14)
- Warroad - 46.77 (38)
- Rush City - 46.63 (116)
- St. Charles - 46.4 (98)
- Eveleth-Gilbert - 46.28 (110)
- Zumbrota-Mazeppa - 46.27 (103)
- New London-Spicer - 46 (19)
- Crookston - 45.21 (16)
- Kimball Area - 45.18 (104)
- St. John's Prep - 45.1 (50)
- Eden Valley-Watkins - 44.77 (60)
- New Life Academy - 44.08 (54)
- International School of MN - 44.01 (125)
- Pequot Lakes - 44.01 (20)
- Foley - 43.87 (100)
- Staples-Motley - 43.7 (39)
- St. Croix Lutheran - 43.64 (22)
- St. Paul Humboldt - 42.67 (122)
- Medford - 42.47 (121)
- Tri-City United - 42.45 (24)
- Blue Earth Area - 41.92 (58)
- Montevideo - 41.39 (67)
- Breckenridge - 41.34 (4)
- Lac qui Parle Valley - 41.27 (74)
- Milaca - 41.01 (82)
- Minnewaska Area - 40.9 (28)
- St. Paul Academy - 40.76 (63)
- Kenyon-Wanamingo - 40.51 (88)
- Holdingford - 40.48 (11)
- Aitkin - 40.16 (27)
- Bagley - 39.77 (86)
- BOLD - 39.59 (96)
- Maple Lake - 39.39 (46)
- Benson - 39.22 (99)
- Roseau - 38.69 (55)
- Pine Island - 38.66 (95)
- Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop - 38.34 (41)
- St. Agnes - 38.17 (62)
- Tracy-Milroy-Balaton - 37.84 (45)
- Cristo Rey Jesuit - 37.79 (124)
- Trinity School - 37.79 (109)
- La Crescent - 37.58 (8)
- Kingsland - 37.22 (49)
- Minneapolis Edison - 36.83 (114)
- Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton - 36.04 (5)
- Park Rapids Area - 35.91 (80)
- Pipestone Area - 34.83 (2)
- Mounds Park Academy - 34.42 (123)
- Frazee - 32.96 (6)
- Great River - 32.93 (126)
- Dover-Eyota - 32.21 (52)
- Wadena-Deer Creek - 31.94 (101)
- New Richland-H-E-G - 31.67 (89)
- Paynesville Area - 31.63 (33)
- Wabasha-Kellogg - 31.15 (35)
- Pine City - 30.83 (105)
- Osakis - 30.66 (3)
- Proctor - 30.39 (93)
- Two Harbors - 30.01 (65)
- Triton - 29 (72)
- LeSueur-Henderson - 28.39 (37)
- St. James Area - 28.36 (13)
- St. Paul Washington - 27.17 (120)
- Greenway - 25.74 (92)
- Spectrum - 25.05 (115)
- Hmong Academy - 19.41 (127)
- Yellow Medicine East - 19.27 (118)
- Duluth Marshall - 18.29 (71)
- Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa - 59.5 (5)
- Upsala - 58.4 (54)
- Maranatha Christian - 58 (42)
- Southwest MN Christian - 56.94 (77)
- Browerville - 55.87 (31)
- Russell-Tyler-Ruthton - 55.85 (97)
- Walker-Hackensack-Akeley - 55.66 (73)
- Rushford-Peterson - 54.22 (103)
- Sleepy Eye Saint Mary's - 54.21 (109)
- Win-E-Mac - 53.98 (85)
- West Lutheran - 53.95 (34)
- Ada-Borup - 53.6 (112)
- Dawson-Boyd - 53.4 (20)
- Ely - 52.99 (115)
- Bigfork - 52.95 (39)
- Heritage Christian - 52.67 (36)
- Warren-Alvarado-Oslo - 52.64 (96)
- Floodwood - 52.54 (104)
- Northern Freeze - 52.37 (98)
- Henning - 52.12 (123)
- Cedar Mountain/Comfrey - 51.79 (57)
- Mountain Lake Area - 51.37 (118)
- Barnum - 51.27 (132)
- Springfield - 51.26 (49)
- Mahnomen - 50.83 (120)
- Pillager - 50.79 (51)
- Ashby - 50.44 (111)
- Swanville - 50.05 (28)
- MACCRAY - 49.93 (94)
- Battle Lake - 49.88 (126)
- Ulen-Hitterdal - 49.67 (81)
- Canby - 49.64 (100)
- Nevis - 49.63 (72)
- South Ridge - 49.61 (37)
- Fertile-Beltrami - 49.52 (12)
- Red Lake - 49.49 (21)
- Wheaton/Herman-Norcross - 49.24 (107)
- Lakeview Christian - 48.87 (4)
- Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity - 48.76 (9)
- Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City - 48.46 (46)
- Hillcrest Lutheran Academy - 48.3 (78)
- Fond du Lac Ojibwe - 47.76 (133)
- Spring Grove - 47.4 (147)
- Blooming Prairie - 47.24 (95)
- St. Clair - 47.03 (136)
- Ortonville - 46.91 (86)
- Red Rock Central - 46.81 (69)
- Cherry - 46.66 (91)
- Northome/Kelliher - 46.59 (128)
- Bethlehem Academy - 46.57 (135)
- Southwest Christian - 46.51 (17)
- Lanesboro - 46.42 (145)
- Cook County - 46.25 (84)
- Nashwauk-Keewatin - 45.99 (74)
- Mesabi Academy - 45.58 (125)
- Park Christian - 45.42 (108)
- Minneota - 45.18 (117)
- Hills-Beaver Creek - 45.13 (71)
- Fosston - 44.98 (38)
- Blackduck - 44.79 (110)
- West Central Area - 44.74 (2)
- Goodridge/Grygla - 44.69 (116)
- Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart - 44.57 (122)
- St. Croix Prep - 44.55 (155)
- Onamia - 43.39 (92)
- Southwest United - 43.39 (50)
- Mountain Iron-Buhl - 43.38 (19)
- Verndale - 43.34 (119)
- Mankato Loyola - 43.3 (15)
- Kittson County Central - 43.06 (32)
- Grand Meadow - 42.71 (152)
- Menahga - 42.6 (105)
- Isle - 41.95 (140)
- Hill City - 41.6 (43)
- Brandon/Evansville - 41.46 (47)
- Goodhue - 41.39 (76)
- Community of Peace Academy - 41.15 (157)
- North Woods - 40.99 (30)
- Legacy Christian - 40.76 (7)
- Edgerton - 40.7 (58)
- Lyle/Austin Pacelli - 40.61 (149)
- Cass Lake-Bena - 40.51 (8)
- Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley - 40.5 (61)
- Stephen-Argyle - 40.34 (79)
- Littlefork-Big Falls - 40.18 (63)
- Ellsworth - 40.14 (10)
- Badger/Greenbush-Middle River - 39.72 (83)
- Westbrook-Walnut Grove - 39.64 (82)
- Carlton - 39.49 (102)
- PACT Charter - 39.45 (6)
- MetroTech Career Academy - 39.21 (66)
- Royalton - 39.17 (16)
- Wrenshall - 39.04 (114)
- Central MN Christian - 38.92 (93)
- Fulda - 38.87 (24)
- Schaeffer Academy - 38.87 (151)
- Underwood - 38.77 (44)
- Truman/Martin Luther - 38.76 (144)
- Wabasso - 38.62 (67)
- Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton - 38.59 (124)
- Northland - 38.58 (106)
- Calvin Christian - 38.42 (159)
- Lakeview - 38.35 (90)
- CHOF - 38.22 (64)
- North Lakes Academy - 38.2 (156)
- Sleepy Eye - 37.94 (113)
- Red Lake County - 37.82 (59)
- Parkers Prairie - 37.51 (26)
- Bethany Academy - 37.41 (99)
- Bertha-Hewitt - 37.26 (33)
- Minneapolis North - 36.41 (101)
- Granada-Huntley-East Chain - 36.37 (29)
- New Ulm Cathedral - 35.85 (60)
- Lincoln HI - 35.39 (14)
- Minnesota Transitions Charter - 35.33 (127)
- Cromwell - 34.95 (80)
- Chisholm - 34.91 (55)
- Cleveland - 34.6 (129)
- New York Mills - 33.29 (25)
- Minnesota Valley Lutheran - 33.09 (13)
- Norman County East - 32.89 (48)
- Climax/Fisher - 32.8 (40)
- Randolph - 32.51 (131)
- Mesabi East - 32.4 (27)
- Fillmore Central - 32.2 (41)
- Adrian - 32.15 (18)
- Hope Lutheran - 32.12 (148)
- Mabel-Canton - 30.5 (142)
- Eagle Valley - 29.9 (3)
- MN Academy for the Deaf - 29.06 (154)
- Nova Classical Academy - 28.68 (153)
- Murray County Central - 28.32 (23)
- Norman County West - 27.45 (75)
- Rothsay - 26.83 (35)
- Glenville-Emmons - 26.79 (146)
- Lake Park-Audubon - 26.65 (88)
- Waubun - 26.19 (62)
- LeRoy-Ostrander - 25.77 (150)
- Houston - 24.79 (138)
- Alden-Conger - 23.8 (143)
- Ogilvie - 23.76 (68)
- Clearbrook-Gonvick - 23.03 (52)
- Nicollet - 22.89 (121)
- Sacred Heart - 22.75 (141)
- Laporte - 22.05 (89)
- Northeast Range - 21.52 (56)
- Sebeka - 21.24 (22)
- Pine River-Backus - 20.27 (1)
- Madelia - 19.95 (130)
- Liberty Classical Academy - 19.12 (158)
- Silver Bay - 0 (11)
- East Central - 0 (45)
- Hancock - 0 (53)
- Renville County West - 0 (65)
- Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg - 0 (70)
- McGregor - 0 (87)
- FAIR School - 0 (134)
- Lake of the Woods - 0 (137)
- E.C.H.O. Charter - 0 (139)
- Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig - 0 (160)
Birds of flight doubleheader
Prologue
A Minneapolis doubleheader with Minnehaha visiting South and then river neighbors Hastings and Red Wing getting after it at Target Center. 20 oz of Pepsi and 20 of Coke to balance my day. A poorly mixed Walking Taco (that's all me) for food. Major embarrassment with the TWolves public address giving me a shoutout during a timeout. Blake JV coach Tyler Biwan on hand to scout Minnehaha for the their Tri-Metro tourney meeting and he was there during Michael Jackson's Thriller. Significant interruption to my plans to pull out the Zombie moves.
Game 1: Minnehaha at South
Its my 1st Parent's Night (day) of the season. Coach Joe Hyser getting his 4 seniors in the starting lineup to see some minutes. Alejandro Richardson all of the offensive glass in the early going for South. Kaharri Carter generating most of the Minnehaha offense. 16-14 South at the 10:30 mark. Then the Tigers would go on a field goal drought of 7:15. The Redhawks use that to go on a 12-2 run but South hangs around. Frosh Payton Bowdry finally breaks that drought. Minnehaha 32-28 at the half.
South would close the gap to 1 after a Richardson putback with 15:25 to play. Then a 9-0 Minnehaha run with John Pryor scoring a pair of buckets. After a Bowdry 3, Jessie Johnson back to back 3s and a Evan Taddonio to make the run 17-3 in about 4:40. 51-37 Minnehaha with 8:45 left. Minnehaha would slam the door with 7 in a row from Marcellous Hazzard and a Thomas Gedion 3 point play. Minnehaha goes on to win 69-50. Kaharri Carter with 15 of his 18 in the 1st half (10 of the 1st 14 of the game) to lead all scorers. Jesse Johnson 4 3s on his way to 14 points. Payton Bowdry with 12 to lead South.
Game 2: Hastings vs Red Wing (Target Center)
Hastings going to the youth program with all 5 starters back next year and the 1st guy off the bench back as well. That was 6'5" soph Jay Sorg who showed some flashes. Even for the 1st 3 and a half then a 18-4 Red Wing run opens up a 26-10 lead with 9:05 left in the half. Ty Buck with 6 at that point and he adds back to back 3s. 7 of the last 8 to Hastings to stay within 35-23 at half.
Luke Bryant with the 1st 10 of the half for Red Wing. Drew Pottinger steps into a pair of 3s for the 1st 6 for Hastings. 45-31 Red Wing at the 14:15 mark. Hastings would close the gap to 49-43 thanks to soph Sam Skoyen's reverse layup at the 10:45 mark. The 12-4 run cuts the Wingers lead to 49-43. While the Raiders would hang around the 10 point mark, they would never get any closer. Red Wing wins 79-66. Soph Ty Buck (once known for his goggles when I watched him as an 8th grader but no more, he's really developed into a nice player) with 24 on my sheet to lead the Wingers. Luke Bryant 14 of his 17 in the 2nd half for Red Wing. Sam Skoyen 20 for Hastings.
A Minneapolis doubleheader with Minnehaha visiting South and then river neighbors Hastings and Red Wing getting after it at Target Center. 20 oz of Pepsi and 20 of Coke to balance my day. A poorly mixed Walking Taco (that's all me) for food. Major embarrassment with the TWolves public address giving me a shoutout during a timeout. Blake JV coach Tyler Biwan on hand to scout Minnehaha for the their Tri-Metro tourney meeting and he was there during Michael Jackson's Thriller. Significant interruption to my plans to pull out the Zombie moves.
Game 1: Minnehaha at South
Its my 1st Parent's Night (day) of the season. Coach Joe Hyser getting his 4 seniors in the starting lineup to see some minutes. Alejandro Richardson all of the offensive glass in the early going for South. Kaharri Carter generating most of the Minnehaha offense. 16-14 South at the 10:30 mark. Then the Tigers would go on a field goal drought of 7:15. The Redhawks use that to go on a 12-2 run but South hangs around. Frosh Payton Bowdry finally breaks that drought. Minnehaha 32-28 at the half.
South would close the gap to 1 after a Richardson putback with 15:25 to play. Then a 9-0 Minnehaha run with John Pryor scoring a pair of buckets. After a Bowdry 3, Jessie Johnson back to back 3s and a Evan Taddonio to make the run 17-3 in about 4:40. 51-37 Minnehaha with 8:45 left. Minnehaha would slam the door with 7 in a row from Marcellous Hazzard and a Thomas Gedion 3 point play. Minnehaha goes on to win 69-50. Kaharri Carter with 15 of his 18 in the 1st half (10 of the 1st 14 of the game) to lead all scorers. Jesse Johnson 4 3s on his way to 14 points. Payton Bowdry with 12 to lead South.
Game 2: Hastings vs Red Wing (Target Center)
Hastings going to the youth program with all 5 starters back next year and the 1st guy off the bench back as well. That was 6'5" soph Jay Sorg who showed some flashes. Even for the 1st 3 and a half then a 18-4 Red Wing run opens up a 26-10 lead with 9:05 left in the half. Ty Buck with 6 at that point and he adds back to back 3s. 7 of the last 8 to Hastings to stay within 35-23 at half.
Luke Bryant with the 1st 10 of the half for Red Wing. Drew Pottinger steps into a pair of 3s for the 1st 6 for Hastings. 45-31 Red Wing at the 14:15 mark. Hastings would close the gap to 49-43 thanks to soph Sam Skoyen's reverse layup at the 10:45 mark. The 12-4 run cuts the Wingers lead to 49-43. While the Raiders would hang around the 10 point mark, they would never get any closer. Red Wing wins 79-66. Soph Ty Buck (once known for his goggles when I watched him as an 8th grader but no more, he's really developed into a nice player) with 24 on my sheet to lead the Wingers. Luke Bryant 14 of his 17 in the 2nd half for Red Wing. Sam Skoyen 20 for Hastings.
Raiding the race for the top spot
.JPG) |
| Healthy Heart Mascot |
Off to Roseville where the Raiders had a full house on hand for their Suburban East showdown with Woodbury. Its Healthy Heart awareness night from the American Heart Association so both teams decked out in red warmup t-shirts and the fans getting into it as well. No food tonight as I ate on the way but a game always requires a beverage. 20 ounces of Czar's favorite beverage Pepsi goes on the tally. Woodbury Point Guard Robert Claypool not on the court tonight.
Game Time
Lucky 7s to start the game as Roseville goes 7-0, then Woodbury 7-0 then Roseville again 7-0. 14-7 Raiders at the 8:39 mark. Then 3s start flying. Mack Johnson for 3, Mario Franco and Kobe Critchley trade a pair of 3s. 23-18 Roseville at the 6:15 mark. That's the start of a 17-6 run to end the half. 37-24 Roseville at the half but the fouls really starting to mount.
The fouls continue to add up as the start of the 2nd half a bunch of free throws. First bucket is a Johnson jumper over 4 minutes into the half. Jordan Burich was a defensive presence in the 1st half and what looked like an awfully good block gets him his 4th foul with 12:18 left. He's the 2nd starter down with 4. Then Woodbury's Diallo Powell gets his 4th and Logan Brown becomes the 3rd Roseville starter with 4 and we still have 11 something to play. Mack Johnson for 3 and the lead balloons to 53-35 with 10:25 left. Woodbury would keep within range thanks to a 12-4 run. Mario Franco starts it with 4 in a row and Matt Ambriz gets 5 in a row. Brown, Farmer and Powell all back in with 4 fouls with 8:38 left. 57-47 Roseville with 7:38 left as Brown fouls out trying to block a shot. Roseville would close it out from there as they go on an 8-0 run. That expands the lead to 18. The Swing Offense kills the clock. Roseville wins 74-52.
Post Game
In a rare road occurence for any team, Woodbury wins the foul battle 23-10. Some of that due to the DDM system they run. That didn't translate to much at the foul line. Ultimately Woodbury just didn't make shots. Mario Franco leads with 11 of his 15 in the 1st half. Matt Ambriz with all 12 of his points in the 2nd half with 3 triples. Star Renard Suggs 1-13 from the floor for 5 points. His only field goal was less than 4 minutes into the game. Woodbury did make 8 3s but their percentage wasn't there. Only 2 field goals in the last 8 minutes. Woodbury came in hot on a 13 game winning streak and were looking to seal the top seed. The Royals fall to 20-4 overall and into a 1st place tie with Roseville at 13-3 in the Suburban East. They finish up at home with Park and Mounds View next week.
Roseville gets 25 points on 4 3s and 12 rebounds from their leader Mack Johnson. Kobe Critchley with 13 of his 17 in the 1st half to open up the lead with 3 3s. Jordan Burich almost had a double double and with 3 blocks influenced the lane. I liked the use of the Swing Offense (not because I'm a Badger fan) to make Woodbury defend for longer stretches. The Royals are a team that wants to get up and down and they don't want to guard much. The Raiders are now 19-5 overall and 13-3 in the Suburban East. They have a sneaky home game with White Bear Lake on Tuesday before finishing up at Hastings. Roseville with a loss could have been looking at the 3 seed. Now thanks to the win and getting a Tartan loss to possible 7AAAA top seed Duluth East they could be looking at the top seed.
How do you seed it?
Woodbury vs Roseville, how do you vote if you're sitting in the 4AAAA seeding meeting? Both teams have very similar CzarPI and QRF values. Even the strength of schedule in the CzarPI is close (42nd vs 44th before tonight). The teams split their head-head games with home wins. Both teams were hammered on their own home floor by Stillwater. For the other conference loss, Roseville has a bad loss at CDH, Woodbury gave up a 25 point lead and lost to East Ridge.
In Non-Conference games of note, Woodbury lost to Buffalo but they have quality wins over Edina, Shakopee, Rochester Lourdes and Rochester John Marshall. Roseville has 2 blowout losses to teams with kids going to the Big 10 (West Des Moines Valley and La Crosse Aquinas). No real shame there. They have quality wins over Holy Angels, St. Paul Johnson and Moorhead who have been or are currently ranked. Definitely not the easiest of choices. How would I seed it? I'll answer that next week in my section previews.
Rebels battle the vortex
Prologue
Who needs a pending blizzard when you can go see Tornadoes? Its Champlin Park at Anoka in a Northwest Suburban matchup. 20 ounces of Sprite and a slighty greasy slice of fresh sausage pizza on tonight's concessions menu. But who would have thought we'd see Pump N Run and Net Gain both represented at a game like this. Remember folks, there are players everywhere. Champlin Park head coach Mark Tuchscherer not on the bench tonight.
Game Time
Brennan Witt with a couple reverse layups and a 3 early for Champlin Park. Anoka star Malcolm Seals with a drive and 3 of his own. 10-7 Anoka at the 13:47 mark. Matt Juneau off the bench with 6 in a row inside for the Rebels. That's part of a 20-6 run for Champlin Park with turnovers being a major part of generating the offense. 27-13 Rebels at the 5:35 mark. Anoka would come back with a 9-2 run to force a Champlin Park timeout. Stephen Barthold back to back buckets to continue a strong first half. 29-22 at the 3:50 mark. 8 of the last 9 to Champlin Park with Trevor Garrison taking a turnover for a dunk. JT Gibson with a nice pullup. 37-23 Champlin Park at half.
They continue that run strong into the 2nd half. Garrison with a block on 1 end and Gibson rewards him on the other. Witt 4 free throws and a bucket for 6 in a row. Ian Smith caps the 14-0 spurt with a jumper. 51-23 Champlin Park and the blowout continues. We get a full set of running time. Champlin Park wins 78-37 outscoring Anoka 41-14 in the 2nd half.
Post Game
Stephen Barthold with 10 of his 14 in the 1st half to lead Anoka. Malcolm Seals with 7 and nobody else with more than 4. Anoka has lost 19 of 21 with the only 2 wins coming over winless Coon Rapids during that time. But they still have a tight race with Cambridge-Isanti to stay out of the cellar in lowly section 7AAAA. Best chance is a non-conference game tomorrow at Irondale. They finish up with Centennial and a trip to Armstrong next week.
For Champlin Park, they get 12 guys in the scoring column. Forward Brennan Witt leads the way with 17 points. Andrew Aakre with a pair of 3s off the bench on his way to 10 points. Solid floor game from JT Gibson with 7 points and a few rebounds and assists. Trevor Garrison and Ian Smith with 8 each. The Rebels still fighting with Maple Grove and Cooper to figure out who gets the 3-5 seeds in 5AAAA. They visit Park Center next Tuesday before finishing up with Andover.
Who needs a pending blizzard when you can go see Tornadoes? Its Champlin Park at Anoka in a Northwest Suburban matchup. 20 ounces of Sprite and a slighty greasy slice of fresh sausage pizza on tonight's concessions menu. But who would have thought we'd see Pump N Run and Net Gain both represented at a game like this. Remember folks, there are players everywhere. Champlin Park head coach Mark Tuchscherer not on the bench tonight.
Game Time
Brennan Witt with a couple reverse layups and a 3 early for Champlin Park. Anoka star Malcolm Seals with a drive and 3 of his own. 10-7 Anoka at the 13:47 mark. Matt Juneau off the bench with 6 in a row inside for the Rebels. That's part of a 20-6 run for Champlin Park with turnovers being a major part of generating the offense. 27-13 Rebels at the 5:35 mark. Anoka would come back with a 9-2 run to force a Champlin Park timeout. Stephen Barthold back to back buckets to continue a strong first half. 29-22 at the 3:50 mark. 8 of the last 9 to Champlin Park with Trevor Garrison taking a turnover for a dunk. JT Gibson with a nice pullup. 37-23 Champlin Park at half.
They continue that run strong into the 2nd half. Garrison with a block on 1 end and Gibson rewards him on the other. Witt 4 free throws and a bucket for 6 in a row. Ian Smith caps the 14-0 spurt with a jumper. 51-23 Champlin Park and the blowout continues. We get a full set of running time. Champlin Park wins 78-37 outscoring Anoka 41-14 in the 2nd half.
Post Game
Stephen Barthold with 10 of his 14 in the 1st half to lead Anoka. Malcolm Seals with 7 and nobody else with more than 4. Anoka has lost 19 of 21 with the only 2 wins coming over winless Coon Rapids during that time. But they still have a tight race with Cambridge-Isanti to stay out of the cellar in lowly section 7AAAA. Best chance is a non-conference game tomorrow at Irondale. They finish up with Centennial and a trip to Armstrong next week.
For Champlin Park, they get 12 guys in the scoring column. Forward Brennan Witt leads the way with 17 points. Andrew Aakre with a pair of 3s off the bench on his way to 10 points. Solid floor game from JT Gibson with 7 points and a few rebounds and assists. Trevor Garrison and Ian Smith with 8 each. The Rebels still fighting with Maple Grove and Cooper to figure out who gets the 3-5 seeds in 5AAAA. They visit Park Center next Tuesday before finishing up with Andover.
Feb 20, 2013 CzarPI
With the 1st seedings for the 2012-13 tournament released, its only fitting that I release the 5th CzarPI of the 2012-13 season (see CzarPI Explained here). It includes games through February 19th, 2013. The value in () after the CzarPI value is the team's strength of schedule ranking within their class
Class AAAA
Class AAAA
- Apple Valley - 61.47 (16)
- Osseo - 60.12 (15)
- Park Center - 59.82 (22)
- Brainerd - 58.65 (53)
- Eden Prairie - 57.91 (1)
- Woodbury - 57.76 (42)
- Edina - 57.56 (2)
- Hopkins - 56.91 (30)
- Minnetonka - 56.72 (19)
- Roseville - 56.18 (44)
- St. Louis Park - 55.87 (50)
- Lakeville North - 55.35 (43)
- Tartan - 55.06 (61)
- Moorhead - 54.61 (5)
- Champlin Park - 54.6 (24)
- Robbinsdale Cooper - 54.54 (39)
- Stillwater Area - 54.5 (38)
- Robbinsdale Armstrong - 53.78 (6)
- Prior Lake - 53.67 (40)
- East Ridge - 53.52 (46)
- Buffalo - 53.23 (33)
- Rochester John Marshall - 52.52 (59)
- Chanhassen - 52.08 (11)
- Shakopee - 52.04 (23)
- Mahtomedi - 52.02 (62)
- Maple Grove - 51.98 (14)
- Eastview - 51.14 (4)
- Wayzata - 50.84 (10)
- Duluth East - 50.3 (34)
- Elk River - 50.27 (36)
- Owatonna - 50.25 (54)
- White Bear Lake - 50.19 (35)
- Henry Sibley - 50.14 (56)
- Eagan - 49.74 (28)
- St. Michael-Albertville - 48.94 (45)
- Minneapolis Southwest - 47.65 (60)
- Minneapolis South - 47.49 (58)
- Mounds View - 46.82 (47)
- Farmington - 46.66 (52)
- Centennial - 46.41 (13)
- St. Francis - 46.01 (63)
- Irondale - 45.59 (51)
- Bloomington Jefferson - 45.12 (18)
- Cretin-Derham Hall - 44.79 (31)
- Bloomington Kennedy - 44.59 (21)
- Rogers - 44.27 (41)
- Forest Lake - 42.67 (25)
- Rochester Century - 41.79 (37)
- Lakeville South - 41.79 (32)
- Northfield - 41.4 (48)
- Rosemount - 41.34 (26)
- St. Cloud Tech - 39.83 (3)
- Blaine - 38.76 (20)
- Cambridge-Isanti - 36.04 (57)
- Andover - 34.54 (12)
- Rochester Mayo - 33.19 (27)
- Burnsville - 30.98 (9)
- Bemidji - 28.87 (7)
- Anoka - 26.11 (8)
- Park of Cottage Grove - 22.76 (55)
- Hastings - 22.27 (29)
- North St. Paul - 21.77 (49)
- Coon Rapids - 0 (17)
- DeLaSalle - 59.97 (23)
- Marshall - 59.12 (17)
- Austin - 58.02 (59)
- Delano - 56.74 (47)
- Waconia - 56.56 (8)
- Hermantown - 56.31 (44)
- Holy Angels - 56.03 (18)
- Blake - 54.85 (6)
- Little Falls - 53.45 (14)
- East Grand Forks - 53.34 (48)
- New Prague - 53.02 (13)
- Fergus Falls - 52.78 (2)
- Thief River Falls - 52.69 (41)
- Grand Rapids - 52.6 (51)
- Columbia Heights - 51.2 (46)
- St. Cloud Apollo - 51.15 (21)
- Rocori - 51.03 (38)
- Sartell-St. Stephen - 50.3 (4)
- St. Paul Johnson - 49.93 (37)
- St. Paul Central - 49.39 (39)
- Richfield - 48.91 (43)
- St. Paul Highland Park - 48.7 (52)
- Alexandria - 48.09 (15)
- Mankato West - 48.02 (28)
- Willmar - 47.89 (12)
- Minneapolis Roosevelt - 47.62 (49)
- Spring Lake Park - 47.61 (45)
- Red Wing - 47.34 (34)
- Big Lake - 47.14 (63)
- Winona - 46.95 (22)
- Chaska - 46.93 (16)
- Orono - 46.91 (10)
- Cloquet - 46.71 (62)
- Holy Family Catholic - 46.48 (7)
- Minneapolis Washburn - 46.45 (53)
- Mound-Westonka - 46.11 (20)
- Hill-Murray - 46.09 (42)
- Detroit Lakes - 45.88 (31)
- Hutchinson - 45.42 (24)
- Albert Lea - 44.58 (55)
- Fridley - 44.09 (60)
- Minneapolis Henry - 43.79 (29)
- Chisago Lakes Area - 43.68 (50)
- St. Thomas Academy - 43.41 (1)
- Simley - 43.24 (64)
- Totino-Grace - 42.44 (25)
- St. Anthony Village - 42.22 (56)
- Zimmerman - 40.03 (57)
- Waseca - 39.75 (32)
- Hibbing - 38.61 (54)
- Mankato East - 38.41 (5)
- Benilde-St. Margaret's - 38.37 (3)
- St. Paul Harding - 38.31 (65)
- Becker - 38.29 (33)
- St. Paul Como Park - 38.18 (30)
- Monticello - 34.97 (35)
- Kasson-Mantorville - 34.62 (9)
- Duluth Denfeld - 34.54 (40)
- Princeton - 34.02 (58)
- Faribault - 32.92 (19)
- North Branch - 31.28 (36)
- Sauk Rapids-Rice - 30.45 (11)
- New Ulm - 30.28 (27)
- South St. Paul - 26.41 (61)
- Dassel-Cokato - 0 (26)
- Melrose - 60.15 (19)
- Hawley - 58.91 (47)
- Litchfield - 57.17 (4)
- Mora - 56.82 (54)
- Fairmont - 56.72 (52)
- Jordan - 56.29 (46)
- Esko - 56.19 (44)
- St. Peter - 55.94 (93)
- Redwood Valley - 55.87 (16)
- Minnehaha Academy - 55.6 (17)
- Maple River - 55.34 (83)
- St. Cloud Cathedral - 55.16 (26)
- Braham - 54.88 (117)
- International Falls - 54.76 (69)
- Perham - 54.35 (30)
- Worthington - 54.35 (1)
- Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted - 53.84 (38)
- Byron - 53.79 (97)
- Crosby-Ironton - 53.69 (105)
- Hayfield - 53.57 (78)
- Rochester Lourdes - 53.27 (48)
- Annandale - 52.89 (12)
- Lake City - 52.69 (120)
- Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta - 52.44 (33)
- Martin County West - 51.95 (111)
- Sauk Centre - 51.9 (41)
- Pelican Rapids - 51.82 (55)
- Virginia - 51.65 (76)
- Mayer Lutheran - 51.53 (66)
- Norwood-Young America - 51.15 (70)
- Plainview-Elgin-Millville - 51.13 (91)
- Southland - 51.1 (103)
- Long Prairie-Grey Eagle - 50.91 (29)
- Deer River - 50.86 (87)
- Luverne - 50.33 (18)
- United South Central - 50.29 (58)
- Waterville-Elysian-Morristown - 49.9 (102)
- Stewartville - 49.49 (36)
- Lewiston-Altura - 49.19 (59)
- Pierz - 49.16 (14)
- Jackson County Central - 49.13 (8)
- Watertown-Mayer - 48.95 (67)
- Breck - 48.82 (115)
- Moose Lake-Willow River - 48.8 (79)
- Albany - 48.79 (25)
- Rockford - 48.73 (11)
- Glencoe-Silver Lake - 48.23 (80)
- Providence Academy - 48.22 (62)
- Winona Cotter - 48.06 (57)
- Concordia Academy-Roseville - 48.02 (42)
- Sibley East - 47.96 (60)
- Windom Area - 47.87 (35)
- Warroad - 47.75 (28)
- Chatfield - 47.74 (88)
- Cannon Falls - 47.67 (96)
- Hinckley-Finlayson - 47.47 (114)
- Caledonia - 47.39 (100)
- Belle Plaine - 47.21 (40)
- Brooklyn Center - 47.02 (56)
- New London-Spicer - 46.55 (15)
- Eveleth-Gilbert - 46.44 (109)
- St. Charles - 46.39 (92)
- Rush City - 46.38 (116)
- Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial - 46.26 (71)
- Crookston - 46.19 (27)
- Barnesville - 46.11 (95)
- Zumbrota-Mazeppa - 45.83 (94)
- Eden Valley-Watkins - 44.97 (53)
- New Life Academy - 44.56 (72)
- St. John's Prep - 44.44 (31)
- International School of MN - 44.34 (126)
- Kimball Area - 44.22 (101)
- Staples-Motley - 44.22 (32)
- St. Croix Lutheran - 43.71 (21)
- Foley - 43.15 (81)
- St. Paul Humboldt - 42.52 (122)
- Pequot Lakes - 42.38 (20)
- Medford - 42.23 (119)
- Tri-City United - 42.09 (22)
- Milaca - 42.03 (77)
- Montevideo - 41.96 (64)
- Blue Earth Area - 41.91 (65)
- Minnewaska Area - 41.59 (37)
- Lac qui Parle Valley - 41.53 (68)
- Holdingford - 40.78 (9)
- St. Paul Academy - 40.63 (82)
- Kenyon-Wanamingo - 40.62 (85)
- Aitkin - 40.39 (34)
- Maple Lake - 40.28 (63)
- Benson - 40.04 (110)
- BOLD - 39.98 (104)
- Pine Island - 39.07 (90)
- Roseau - 39.06 (45)
- Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop - 38.89 (51)
- Bagley - 38.73 (84)
- St. Agnes - 38.52 (74)
- Cristo Rey Jesuit - 38.5 (124)
- Tracy-Milroy-Balaton - 38.5 (39)
- La Crescent - 38.14 (6)
- Kingsland - 37.31 (49)
- Minneapolis Edison - 36.89 (113)
- Trinity School - 36.7 (106)
- Park Rapids Area - 36.4 (86)
- Breckenridge - 36.29 (7)
- Pipestone Area - 34.93 (2)
- Mounds Park Academy - 34.71 (123)
- Frazee - 33.65 (10)
- Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton - 33.56 (5)
- Great River - 32.81 (125)
- Dover-Eyota - 32.78 (50)
- Wadena-Deer Creek - 32.59 (112)
- New Richland-H-E-G - 31.95 (89)
- Osakis - 31.52 (3)
- Proctor - 31.4 (108)
- Pine City - 30.99 (98)
- Wabasha-Kellogg - 30.89 (43)
- Paynesville Area - 30.66 (24)
- Two Harbors - 29.49 (73)
- Triton - 29.2 (61)
- St. James Area - 28.45 (13)
- St. Paul Washington - 27.64 (121)
- LeSueur-Henderson - 26.4 (23)
- Greenway - 25.7 (99)
- Spectrum - 25.28 (118)
- Yellow Medicine East - 19.73 (107)
- Hmong Academy - 19.34 (127)
- Duluth Marshall - 18.73 (75)
- Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa - 59.51 (4)
- Upsala - 57.96 (69)
- Maranatha Christian - 57.88 (45)
- Southwest MN Christian - 56.88 (81)
- Browerville - 55.89 (21)
- Walker-Hackensack-Akeley - 55.48 (75)
- Russell-Tyler-Ruthton - 55.45 (108)
- Sleepy Eye Saint Mary's - 54.43 (89)
- Dawson-Boyd - 54.36 (18)
- Rushford-Peterson - 54.3 (101)
- West Lutheran - 53.95 (31)
- Heritage Christian - 53.27 (36)
- Northern Freeze - 53.19 (96)
- Ada-Borup - 53.08 (113)
- Bigfork - 53.04 (32)
- Floodwood - 52.98 (115)
- Cedar Mountain/Comfrey - 52.98 (46)
- Win-E-Mac - 52.95 (112)
- Henning - 52.82 (93)
- Ely - 52.69 (120)
- Warren-Alvarado-Oslo - 51.88 (94)
- Mountain Lake Area - 51.61 (109)
- Springfield - 51.36 (37)
- Barnum - 51.04 (131)
- Mahnomen - 51.04 (97)
- Fertile-Beltrami - 50.53 (39)
- Nevis - 50.26 (73)
- Canby - 50.09 (107)
- MACCRAY - 50.06 (86)
- Ashby - 50.05 (114)
- Swanville - 50.03 (19)
- Pillager - 49.97 (65)
- Ulen-Hitterdal - 49.93 (111)
- Lakeview Christian - 49.68 (7)
- Battle Lake - 49.43 (127)
- Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity - 48.97 (16)
- Red Lake - 48.88 (14)
- Wheaton/Herman-Norcross - 48.84 (117)
- South Ridge - 48.18 (58)
- Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City - 48.17 (38)
- Spring Grove - 47.79 (146)
- St. Clair - 47.54 (140)
- Fond du Lac Ojibwe - 47.47 (133)
- Blooming Prairie - 47.3 (91)
- Bethlehem Academy - 47 (134)
- Lanesboro - 46.82 (145)
- Red Rock Central - 46.54 (60)
- Park Christian - 46.52 (119)
- Northome/Kelliher - 46.12 (123)
- Hillcrest Lutheran Academy - 46.07 (95)
- Cook County - 45.87 (71)
- West Central Area - 45.83 (10)
- Mesabi Academy - 45.76 (138)
- Nashwauk-Keewatin - 45.61 (52)
- Cherry - 45.57 (99)
- Ortonville - 45.3 (106)
- Southwest Christian - 45.03 (11)
- Blackduck - 44.99 (92)
- Hills-Beaver Creek - 44.98 (56)
- Goodridge/Grygla - 44.98 (121)
- Minneota - 44.97 (110)
- Fosston - 44.87 (34)
- Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart - 44.79 (118)
- Verndale - 43.93 (128)
- Onamia - 43.91 (104)
- St. Croix Prep - 43.85 (156)
- Mountain Iron-Buhl - 43.75 (23)
- Southwest United - 43.75 (50)
- Menahga - 43.36 (116)
- Mankato Loyola - 42.86 (12)
- Kittson County Central - 42.48 (26)
- Grand Meadow - 42.4 (150)
- Isle - 42.39 (135)
- Brandon/Evansville - 42.05 (62)
- Goodhue - 41.87 (79)
- Hill City - 41.86 (47)
- Cass Lake-Bena - 41.62 (22)
- Legacy Christian - 41.49 (6)
- Littlefork-Big Falls - 41.4 (54)
- Edgerton - 40.95 (88)
- North Woods - 40.71 (17)
- Ellsworth - 40.54 (8)
- Badger/Greenbush-Middle River - 40.46 (100)
- Royalton - 39.81 (29)
- Carlton - 39.78 (98)
- Community of Peace Academy - 39.68 (157)
- Wabasso - 39.44 (76)
- PACT Charter - 39.32 (5)
- Truman/Martin Luther - 39.26 (142)
- Fulda - 39.23 (27)
- Stephen-Argyle - 38.96 (66)
- Underwood - 38.93 (48)
- Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley - 38.92 (49)
- Lyle/Austin Pacelli - 38.78 (152)
- Lakeview - 38.55 (85)
- MetroTech Career Academy - 38.41 (72)
- Sleepy Eye - 38.36 (84)
- Schaeffer Academy - 38.36 (149)
- Calvin Christian - 38.29 (159)
- CHOF - 38.26 (63)
- Red Lake County - 38.24 (67)
- Westbrook-Walnut Grove - 38.03 (83)
- North Lakes Academy - 38 (155)
- Bertha-Hewitt - 37.78 (40)
- Parkers Prairie - 37.7 (13)
- Bethany Academy - 37.56 (90)
- Central MN Christian - 37.52 (80)
- Wrenshall - 37.14 (105)
- Northland - 36.96 (102)
- Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton - 36.24 (125)
- New Ulm Cathedral - 35.93 (53)
- Minnesota Transitions Charter - 35.77 (124)
- Chisholm - 35.65 (78)
- Lincoln HI - 35.54 (20)
- Cromwell - 35.31 (103)
- Cleveland - 34.89 (129)
- Minneapolis North - 34.86 (82)
- Granada-Huntley-East Chain - 34.33 (41)
- New York Mills - 33.75 (24)
- Minnesota Valley Lutheran - 33.63 (9)
- Norman County East - 33.62 (51)
- Climax/Fisher - 32.96 (43)
- Adrian - 32.77 (30)
- Mesabi East - 32.75 (28)
- Randolph - 32.64 (130)
- Fillmore Central - 32.26 (44)
- Hope Lutheran - 32.22 (148)
- Mabel-Canton - 30.48 (139)
- Eagle Valley - 29.59 (3)
- MN Academy for the Deaf - 29.25 (154)
- Murray County Central - 28.58 (25)
- Nova Classical Academy - 28.55 (153)
- Rothsay - 27.96 (15)
- Norman County West - 27.21 (57)
- Glenville-Emmons - 26.86 (144)
- Waubun - 26.02 (74)
- Lake Park-Audubon - 25.82 (87)
- LeRoy-Ostrander - 25.77 (151)
- Houston - 25.18 (137)
- Ogilvie - 24.08 (59)
- Alden-Conger - 23.97 (143)
- Clearbrook-Gonvick - 23.09 (35)
- Nicollet - 23.01 (122)
- Northeast Range - 21.97 (68)
- Sebeka - 21.67 (33)
- Sacred Heart - 21.35 (147)
- Laporte - 20.2 (77)
- Madelia - 20.1 (132)
- Pine River-Backus - 19.81 (1)
- Liberty Classical Academy - 19.07 (158)
- Silver Bay - 0 (2)
- East Central - 0 (42)
- Hancock - 0 (55)
- McGregor - 0 (61)
- Renville County West - 0 (64)
- Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg - 0 (70)
- Lake of the Woods - 0 (126)
- FAIR School - 0 (136)
- E.C.H.O. Charter - 0 (141)
- Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig - 0 (160)
Hornets sting Skippers again
Prologue
Its the rematch between Minnetonka and Edina. This time its at the Edina Community Center. An even worse crowd than the 1st meeting at Minnetonka. An absolutely dead atmosphere for a very important game for both sides. A very good hot dog at the concession stand with 12 more ounces of beverage. The Mr Basketball folks represented to see Dearring and Woodward. Valley City State also looking on.
Game Time
Minnetonka comes out triangle and 2 on Graham Woodward and Ben Boone. That keeps the pace slow Woodward finally on the board at the 10:45 mark for a 10-7 Edina lead. A Mark Handberg jumper opens the lead to 14-8 at the 8:37 mark. Reggie Lynch, Graham Woodward and Riley Dearring all playing with 2 fouls. Woodward since the 14:39 mark and not getting a breather. 16-15 Edina when Lynch stops a 3 on 1 by himself to the point where Minnetonka didn't even get a shot as nobody wanted to challenge him. Its a turnover on the Skippers. Edina will go on a 9-0 run with Woodward knocking down a pair of freebies and a 3 around a nice slip of a ball screen from Dane Tueteberg for 2. That allows Edina to open a 27-18 lead at the half.
Dearring held down in the 1st half but he knocks down 3 of 4 threes to start the half and is fouled on a 5th from NBA range and makes all 3 free throws. He scores the 1st 12 Tonka points of the half. A turnover for a Malcolm Moore layup and that concludes a 17-4 Tonka run in 6 minutes across halftime. 32-29 Skippers as Edina takes a timeout with 13:54 to play. Moore again with 11:13 to play and we're tied at 34. Then the shooting takes over for Edina. 8th grader Walt McGrory knocks down a 3 off a 2nd pass from a Woodward drive, Woodward for 3 and Ben Boone for 3. Its part of a 16-4 Edina run and Minnetonka needs a timeout. 45-36 Edina with 7:46 to play. Dearring for 3 and a drive for a free throw. He's guarding Woodward now but on a full court play not against Woodward he picks up his 4th with 6:24 left. Woodward gets back to back fouls for his 4th 16 seconds later. Then a critical moment as Carleno Gurley has Woodward on the right elbow. Its a classic NBA flop as Woodward takes 1 bump and then the second one sends him flying like he was shot. The official buys it for a bogus charge call. After an Edina timeout, Lynch with a nice feed out of a double team for a layup and Woodward adds a pair of free throws to push the lead to 12. Woodward would pick up a charge with 1:40 left to foul out but Edina is never in any real danger. Their free throws put away a 68-54 win.
Post Game
Minnetonka gets 6 3s and 24 points from Riley Dearring. 20 of those points in the 2nd half on some tough shots but he also had some heat check moments in that. The rest of the offense besides Malcolm Moore (more known for his defense) was invisible. Moore with 15 but the rest of the team only had 15. No real flow in their Euro ball screen offense and nothing inside at all and no real paint touches even. Can't settle for jumpers. Minnetonka falls to 17-6 overall, 3-3 in the Lake. They host Wayzata on Friday as they try to recover from a 3 game losing streak. Next week isn't any easier with a trip to Hopkins and a home game to end the regular season against Park Center. It also eliminates any valid chance of Minnetonka gaining the top seed in 6AAAA. Unless the coaches have decided to throw the whole thing to the whims of the computer.
Edina improves to 16-7 and they stay in 1st place all alone at 4-1 in the Lake. Its their 8th straight win over Minnetonka, 7th in the Dasovich era. Graham Woodward 21 points and 9 turnovers on my sheet. Minnetonka did a much better job and was much more focused on slowing him down in this one after he put up 41 in the 1st meeting. One area that was still successful was the ball screen so keep an eye out for that if there's a 3rd meeting in the tournament. Reggie Lynch with 11 points, 12 boards on the official sheet where I had 9 and I had 6 blocks. A quiet offensive night but his defense totally showed up as Minnetonka wanted no part of the lane. Ben Boone, Mark Handberg and Walt McGrory combine for 30 to provide much needed support.
Its the rematch between Minnetonka and Edina. This time its at the Edina Community Center. An even worse crowd than the 1st meeting at Minnetonka. An absolutely dead atmosphere for a very important game for both sides. A very good hot dog at the concession stand with 12 more ounces of beverage. The Mr Basketball folks represented to see Dearring and Woodward. Valley City State also looking on.
Game Time
Minnetonka comes out triangle and 2 on Graham Woodward and Ben Boone. That keeps the pace slow Woodward finally on the board at the 10:45 mark for a 10-7 Edina lead. A Mark Handberg jumper opens the lead to 14-8 at the 8:37 mark. Reggie Lynch, Graham Woodward and Riley Dearring all playing with 2 fouls. Woodward since the 14:39 mark and not getting a breather. 16-15 Edina when Lynch stops a 3 on 1 by himself to the point where Minnetonka didn't even get a shot as nobody wanted to challenge him. Its a turnover on the Skippers. Edina will go on a 9-0 run with Woodward knocking down a pair of freebies and a 3 around a nice slip of a ball screen from Dane Tueteberg for 2. That allows Edina to open a 27-18 lead at the half.
Dearring held down in the 1st half but he knocks down 3 of 4 threes to start the half and is fouled on a 5th from NBA range and makes all 3 free throws. He scores the 1st 12 Tonka points of the half. A turnover for a Malcolm Moore layup and that concludes a 17-4 Tonka run in 6 minutes across halftime. 32-29 Skippers as Edina takes a timeout with 13:54 to play. Moore again with 11:13 to play and we're tied at 34. Then the shooting takes over for Edina. 8th grader Walt McGrory knocks down a 3 off a 2nd pass from a Woodward drive, Woodward for 3 and Ben Boone for 3. Its part of a 16-4 Edina run and Minnetonka needs a timeout. 45-36 Edina with 7:46 to play. Dearring for 3 and a drive for a free throw. He's guarding Woodward now but on a full court play not against Woodward he picks up his 4th with 6:24 left. Woodward gets back to back fouls for his 4th 16 seconds later. Then a critical moment as Carleno Gurley has Woodward on the right elbow. Its a classic NBA flop as Woodward takes 1 bump and then the second one sends him flying like he was shot. The official buys it for a bogus charge call. After an Edina timeout, Lynch with a nice feed out of a double team for a layup and Woodward adds a pair of free throws to push the lead to 12. Woodward would pick up a charge with 1:40 left to foul out but Edina is never in any real danger. Their free throws put away a 68-54 win.
Post Game
Minnetonka gets 6 3s and 24 points from Riley Dearring. 20 of those points in the 2nd half on some tough shots but he also had some heat check moments in that. The rest of the offense besides Malcolm Moore (more known for his defense) was invisible. Moore with 15 but the rest of the team only had 15. No real flow in their Euro ball screen offense and nothing inside at all and no real paint touches even. Can't settle for jumpers. Minnetonka falls to 17-6 overall, 3-3 in the Lake. They host Wayzata on Friday as they try to recover from a 3 game losing streak. Next week isn't any easier with a trip to Hopkins and a home game to end the regular season against Park Center. It also eliminates any valid chance of Minnetonka gaining the top seed in 6AAAA. Unless the coaches have decided to throw the whole thing to the whims of the computer.
Edina improves to 16-7 and they stay in 1st place all alone at 4-1 in the Lake. Its their 8th straight win over Minnetonka, 7th in the Dasovich era. Graham Woodward 21 points and 9 turnovers on my sheet. Minnetonka did a much better job and was much more focused on slowing him down in this one after he put up 41 in the 1st meeting. One area that was still successful was the ball screen so keep an eye out for that if there's a 3rd meeting in the tournament. Reggie Lynch with 11 points, 12 boards on the official sheet where I had 9 and I had 6 blocks. A quiet offensive night but his defense totally showed up as Minnetonka wanted no part of the lane. Ben Boone, Mark Handberg and Walt McGrory combine for 30 to provide much needed support.
Rout around weekend
Prologue
Its a triple header with a pair of top ranked teams on the slate for a Friday night, Saturday afternoon trio of games. Friday night with Czar's good pal The Caveman and oldest son at Heritage. (Insert Captain Caveman and Son call here). Then to Edison for a walking taco with meat and salsa only. Interesting mix. Finally to the island for a catholic battle. Mr. Basketball represented at that one.
Game 1: Heritage at Maranatha (Fri)
Christian Pieper with 5 early points as Heritage opens a 9-7 lead at 13:35. Pieper with another bucket before a 9-0 MCA run allows the Mustangs to open a 19-13 lead at the 9:05 mark. After a Heritage bucket its a 17-4 MCA run. Heritage would knock down a 3 and get a 3 point play for the last 6 of the half. 36-25 MCA at the half. Heritage keeps that within 55-42 with 8 left. MCA would run away from there for a 80-52 win.
Game 2: Mounds Park Academy at Edison
Mounds Park Academy would score the 1st 5 but Edison would counter with a 16-2 run. The Panthers would cut that to a 20-14 margin at the 9 minute mark. Isaiah Blackwell for 2 and then steps into a 3 from the top against the zone. That expands the Edison lead to 14. Joe Anderson with 2 off a turnover to push the lead to 17. Edison goes to halftime up 39-24.
The lead is 19 when MPA makes a run of 6 in a row. 49-36 Edison with 11 to play. Brian Lichtor with a jumper in that run and then a 3 to cut the lead to 12 just inside of 9 to play. Jonah Togbah too strong inside for Edison in the 2nd half. He scores inside and adds a free throw. The Panthers get a last chance as they're within 12 with 6 left and Lichtor can't get a great look at a 3 to fall. Edison gets a 3 point play from Brian Givens on the other end. Togbah inside then a bad intentional foul call leads to a 5 point Edison possession and the lead is back to 20. Tommies go on to beat Mounds Park Academy 69-49. Edison post Jonah Togbah with 15 points to lead all scorers.
Game 3: Cretin-Derham Hall at De La Salle
Sam Neumann for 3 and then a 4 point play as CDH opens a 13-9 lead. Joe Rosga then fouled on a 3 and makes all 3 for a 20-16 CDH lead at the 10:54 mark. Then off a Luke Scott miss off the glass, James Lawson flies in with the nasty 1 hand tip dunk and CDH takes an immediate timeout. 20 all at 9:49. That sparks the Islanders. Lawson almost tip dunks the next miss as well but its just a plain old tap in. Reid Travis with 4 free throws sandwiched around a putback. Luke Scott for 3. Then with the defensive intensity at a crazy level, Travis jumps a passing lane. He takes it the other way and gets absolutely clobbered on the breakaway. That's the 3rd foul on Jashon Cornell and Frank Delaney already has 3 as Travis is drawing all kinds of fouls inside. But that results in no points. Scott runs for a layup to conclude the 18-2 DLS run. They take that to halftime for a 47-31 lead.
A couple of quick 3s to pull CDH within 51-37 2 minutes into the 2nd half. Its all De La Salle from there. Travis with 7 in a row. Geno Crandall on the run with a no look to Sacar Anim for a layup and then a layup of his own off a turnover. Now the lead is 25, 62-37 with 12:45 left. Then the St. Anthony SLOB play (look it up on YouTube) executed to perfect with Jarvis Johnson (not a big guy like the vid) getting the lob for a dunk. A technical on CDH for 2 more free throws from Luke Scott and he buries a simple pin screen on a BLOB for a left wing 3. That sends us to running time 75-39 with 8:40 left. De La Salle wins 85-49.
Reid Travis with 22 and 9 on my sheet for De La Salle. Luke Scott 19 points with 3 triples. Sacar Anim getting more sets run for him all the time. He ends with 15 and coach Thorson has dug out an old set he used to run for Jalen Jaspers to get him a top of key iso and rip to score (or hit Luke Scott for 3). Sam Neumann 16 points and Joe Rosga with 14 for CDH. Neumann got more looks against the Islanders defense than I expected. But ultimately, the intensity of the defense from the Islanders was as off the charts as I've seen in a long time. The ability to have interchangable parts and switch screens like they do allows great pressure. Middle drives were an issue which allowed some good looks for CDH.
Its a triple header with a pair of top ranked teams on the slate for a Friday night, Saturday afternoon trio of games. Friday night with Czar's good pal The Caveman and oldest son at Heritage. (Insert Captain Caveman and Son call here). Then to Edison for a walking taco with meat and salsa only. Interesting mix. Finally to the island for a catholic battle. Mr. Basketball represented at that one.
Game 1: Heritage at Maranatha (Fri)
Christian Pieper with 5 early points as Heritage opens a 9-7 lead at 13:35. Pieper with another bucket before a 9-0 MCA run allows the Mustangs to open a 19-13 lead at the 9:05 mark. After a Heritage bucket its a 17-4 MCA run. Heritage would knock down a 3 and get a 3 point play for the last 6 of the half. 36-25 MCA at the half. Heritage keeps that within 55-42 with 8 left. MCA would run away from there for a 80-52 win.
Game 2: Mounds Park Academy at Edison
Mounds Park Academy would score the 1st 5 but Edison would counter with a 16-2 run. The Panthers would cut that to a 20-14 margin at the 9 minute mark. Isaiah Blackwell for 2 and then steps into a 3 from the top against the zone. That expands the Edison lead to 14. Joe Anderson with 2 off a turnover to push the lead to 17. Edison goes to halftime up 39-24.
The lead is 19 when MPA makes a run of 6 in a row. 49-36 Edison with 11 to play. Brian Lichtor with a jumper in that run and then a 3 to cut the lead to 12 just inside of 9 to play. Jonah Togbah too strong inside for Edison in the 2nd half. He scores inside and adds a free throw. The Panthers get a last chance as they're within 12 with 6 left and Lichtor can't get a great look at a 3 to fall. Edison gets a 3 point play from Brian Givens on the other end. Togbah inside then a bad intentional foul call leads to a 5 point Edison possession and the lead is back to 20. Tommies go on to beat Mounds Park Academy 69-49. Edison post Jonah Togbah with 15 points to lead all scorers.
Game 3: Cretin-Derham Hall at De La Salle
Sam Neumann for 3 and then a 4 point play as CDH opens a 13-9 lead. Joe Rosga then fouled on a 3 and makes all 3 for a 20-16 CDH lead at the 10:54 mark. Then off a Luke Scott miss off the glass, James Lawson flies in with the nasty 1 hand tip dunk and CDH takes an immediate timeout. 20 all at 9:49. That sparks the Islanders. Lawson almost tip dunks the next miss as well but its just a plain old tap in. Reid Travis with 4 free throws sandwiched around a putback. Luke Scott for 3. Then with the defensive intensity at a crazy level, Travis jumps a passing lane. He takes it the other way and gets absolutely clobbered on the breakaway. That's the 3rd foul on Jashon Cornell and Frank Delaney already has 3 as Travis is drawing all kinds of fouls inside. But that results in no points. Scott runs for a layup to conclude the 18-2 DLS run. They take that to halftime for a 47-31 lead.
A couple of quick 3s to pull CDH within 51-37 2 minutes into the 2nd half. Its all De La Salle from there. Travis with 7 in a row. Geno Crandall on the run with a no look to Sacar Anim for a layup and then a layup of his own off a turnover. Now the lead is 25, 62-37 with 12:45 left. Then the St. Anthony SLOB play (look it up on YouTube) executed to perfect with Jarvis Johnson (not a big guy like the vid) getting the lob for a dunk. A technical on CDH for 2 more free throws from Luke Scott and he buries a simple pin screen on a BLOB for a left wing 3. That sends us to running time 75-39 with 8:40 left. De La Salle wins 85-49.
Reid Travis with 22 and 9 on my sheet for De La Salle. Luke Scott 19 points with 3 triples. Sacar Anim getting more sets run for him all the time. He ends with 15 and coach Thorson has dug out an old set he used to run for Jalen Jaspers to get him a top of key iso and rip to score (or hit Luke Scott for 3). Sam Neumann 16 points and Joe Rosga with 14 for CDH. Neumann got more looks against the Islanders defense than I expected. But ultimately, the intensity of the defense from the Islanders was as off the charts as I've seen in a long time. The ability to have interchangable parts and switch screens like they do allows great pressure. Middle drives were an issue which allowed some good looks for CDH.
Johnson keeps city hopes alive
Prologue
To St. Paul Johnson for the big rematch with Central. No love lost on this Valentine's Day between these 2 league powers. Remember that in the last meeting, Central won to break Johnson's 55 game conference winning streak. 12 ounces of 7-Up and another restaurant quality walking taco on the menu. Johnson with a very underrated concession stand. Central JVs get another win over Johnson to defacto wrap up their 2nd straight JV title.
Game Time
An ugly start for Central as they miss a bunch of layups. After a 4 point play by Rayeon Williams for Central, the Govs go on an 8-2 run to take the lead. Jalen Mobley with a drive off a high screen for a tough finish and 1. 12-8 Johnson as Central takes a much needed timeout at the 9:42 mark. A Central bucket at 8:05 and then a minute later its Quashingm Smith-Pugh to the bench with his 3rd foul for Johnson. Central can't take advantage as they only get 1 field goal the rest of the half. 12-4 Johnson run over that stretch. 26-18 Governors at the half.
Peirre Conwell scores the 1st 6 points of the second half and Johnson is out to a 32-18 lead. Central counters with 6 in a row of their own as Williams goes to the difficult scoop for 2 at the 13:20 mark. That breaks a stretch of 1 Minutemen field goal over 12:45 crossing halftime. Minutemen cut the lead to 8 but a pair of turnovers push the lead back to 40-28 just inside of 10 left. Center Malik Durant-Haines had a difficult start but 3 straight field goals for him keeps the Central offense going. 44-34 Johnson under 8 to play. Central would have 1 last good chance. Williams with a pure 3, Johnson misses a layup. Central down 50-43 with the ball and 3:40 left. But the Minutemen would turn it over on the next 3 possessions. Johnson not great at the line to close it out but Central couldn't score. Johnson goes on to win 63-49.
Post Game
Central had won 5 in a row coming into the game. Rayeon Williams leads with 12. The front-court duo of Markus Taylor-Knighten and Malik Durant-Haines combined for 15. Taylor-Knighten had 19 and 18 by himself in the last meeting. That was the area of advantage and Central got nothing out of it. Overall, a very flat and disappointing game for the Minutemen. They were just not up for the Johnson intensity. Central falls to 15-8 overall and 7-2 in the league. They will need to beat Highland Park on Tuesday just to hope that the Scots knock off Johnson and force a 3 way tie.
Johnson improves to 12-7 and they stay tied with Highland Park at 7-1 in the conference. 2 weeks from tonight is the final game of the regular season between these 2 with everything likely on the line. Conference title, trip to the Twin Cities Game and the top seed in section 4AAA. Peirre Conwell with 11 of his 15 in the 2nd half, the opening 6 expanding the margin to double digits. Despite first half foul trouble, Quashingm Smith-Pugh finished with 10 points on 8-8 FTs. He added a minimum of 4 assists and a couple of steals. Soph Jalen Mobley with 9 of his 11 in the 1st half. Johnson starting to show signs of the old waves of defense and intensity that has been their trademark over their big conference run. Since the loss to Central, the Govs are 6-2 with close losses to quality AAAA opponents Edina and Stillwater. Even more than last year, this could be another Johnson group that is peaking at the right time and that you just don't want to have to play in the tournament.
To St. Paul Johnson for the big rematch with Central. No love lost on this Valentine's Day between these 2 league powers. Remember that in the last meeting, Central won to break Johnson's 55 game conference winning streak. 12 ounces of 7-Up and another restaurant quality walking taco on the menu. Johnson with a very underrated concession stand. Central JVs get another win over Johnson to defacto wrap up their 2nd straight JV title.
Game Time
An ugly start for Central as they miss a bunch of layups. After a 4 point play by Rayeon Williams for Central, the Govs go on an 8-2 run to take the lead. Jalen Mobley with a drive off a high screen for a tough finish and 1. 12-8 Johnson as Central takes a much needed timeout at the 9:42 mark. A Central bucket at 8:05 and then a minute later its Quashingm Smith-Pugh to the bench with his 3rd foul for Johnson. Central can't take advantage as they only get 1 field goal the rest of the half. 12-4 Johnson run over that stretch. 26-18 Governors at the half.
Peirre Conwell scores the 1st 6 points of the second half and Johnson is out to a 32-18 lead. Central counters with 6 in a row of their own as Williams goes to the difficult scoop for 2 at the 13:20 mark. That breaks a stretch of 1 Minutemen field goal over 12:45 crossing halftime. Minutemen cut the lead to 8 but a pair of turnovers push the lead back to 40-28 just inside of 10 left. Center Malik Durant-Haines had a difficult start but 3 straight field goals for him keeps the Central offense going. 44-34 Johnson under 8 to play. Central would have 1 last good chance. Williams with a pure 3, Johnson misses a layup. Central down 50-43 with the ball and 3:40 left. But the Minutemen would turn it over on the next 3 possessions. Johnson not great at the line to close it out but Central couldn't score. Johnson goes on to win 63-49.
Post Game
Central had won 5 in a row coming into the game. Rayeon Williams leads with 12. The front-court duo of Markus Taylor-Knighten and Malik Durant-Haines combined for 15. Taylor-Knighten had 19 and 18 by himself in the last meeting. That was the area of advantage and Central got nothing out of it. Overall, a very flat and disappointing game for the Minutemen. They were just not up for the Johnson intensity. Central falls to 15-8 overall and 7-2 in the league. They will need to beat Highland Park on Tuesday just to hope that the Scots knock off Johnson and force a 3 way tie.
Johnson improves to 12-7 and they stay tied with Highland Park at 7-1 in the conference. 2 weeks from tonight is the final game of the regular season between these 2 with everything likely on the line. Conference title, trip to the Twin Cities Game and the top seed in section 4AAA. Peirre Conwell with 11 of his 15 in the 2nd half, the opening 6 expanding the margin to double digits. Despite first half foul trouble, Quashingm Smith-Pugh finished with 10 points on 8-8 FTs. He added a minimum of 4 assists and a couple of steals. Soph Jalen Mobley with 9 of his 11 in the 1st half. Johnson starting to show signs of the old waves of defense and intensity that has been their trademark over their big conference run. Since the loss to Central, the Govs are 6-2 with close losses to quality AAAA opponents Edina and Stillwater. Even more than last year, this could be another Johnson group that is peaking at the right time and that you just don't want to have to play in the tournament.
Islanders dominate Tri-Metro Showdown
Prologue
Its a 1st place showdown in the Tri-Metro as #1AAA De La Salle visits #6AAA Blake. Blake pulled the 50-44 upset here last year. Could the Bears do it again? Full house on hand. I skip the Subway at the concession stand but still get in a 20 oz Powerade to support the program. St. John's looking on. Net Gain, Pump N Run and Minnesota Heat also in the building to represent the AAU side of things.
Game Time
John Veil just back from injury so he's not in the starting lineup. But he enters after the 1st timeout at 14:28. This one gets out of hand in a hurry. James Lawson layup, Reid Travis 3 putbacks, 1 of which was a tip dunk, and a breakaway dunk off of a turnover. Luke Scott 5 in a row with a 3 included. Trey Shepherd 2 buckets off of 2 more Bears turnovers. 23-4 De La Salle at the 9:52 mark after a 23-2 run in 7 minutes. Blake already with 2 timeouts gone trying to stop the bleeding. JR Bascom starts to pick it up with a 3, a jumper and a pair of free throw. Kebu Johnson adds an inbounds layup. Blake within 31-18. Then Geno Crandall with a pair of layups off turnovers that sandwiches a missed front end by Blake. Luke Scott on the drive for 2, Crandall with a putback after yet another Bears turnover. Travis with a steal and hard fouled for 2 free throws and the lead is back to 21. Luke Scott with the set play flare 3 that dead falls in at the buzzer. 46-26 Islanders at the half. They come out strong with the 1st 10 of the second half. Lawson with a couple of layups, Scott with a layup and Travis driving for 2. 56-26 De La Salle with 15:25 left. Travis with 2 free throws and Jarvis Johnson to Sacar Anim for 3 for the biggest lead of the night, 61-28 with 14 minutes left. The rest is meaningless. De La Salle goes on to win 79-54 as Blake does avoid running time.
Post Game
Blake with no answers for the De La Salle pressure as turnovers were an absolute killer. JR Bascom 15 points. Kebu Johnson 14 points but struggled against the pressure. John Veil with 1 3 ball for 3 in the game coming off of the injury. Blake still 1 game ahead of Minnehaha for 2nd with the head-head tiebreaker with 2 winnable road games at St. Anthony and Brooklyn Center remaining. Blake falls to 14-6. A big home game in section 6AAA for the Bears against Richfield on Saturday.
De La Salle puts up too much defense and converted the turnovers into a truckload of easy points. 16 points directly off of turnovers in the 1st half alone Reid Travis with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Luke Scott 15 of his 17 in the 1st half with 3 triples. DLS 17-1 now with a perfect 9-0 record in the Tri-Metro. They clinch the top seed in the conference tournament that starts next week. But in a bit of goofy scheduling, the games will be played at the site of the team that did not host the regular season head to head meeting. So for example, if Concordia, who plays at DLS on Thursday. happens to be the 8 seed then the Beacons would host De La Salle in the 1st round 1 vs 8 game. Then they would have to play at 4th seed Breck in the 2nd round if seeds hold. Then they would get to host Blake (the likely 2 seed) in the championship game.
Its a 1st place showdown in the Tri-Metro as #1AAA De La Salle visits #6AAA Blake. Blake pulled the 50-44 upset here last year. Could the Bears do it again? Full house on hand. I skip the Subway at the concession stand but still get in a 20 oz Powerade to support the program. St. John's looking on. Net Gain, Pump N Run and Minnesota Heat also in the building to represent the AAU side of things.
Game Time
John Veil just back from injury so he's not in the starting lineup. But he enters after the 1st timeout at 14:28. This one gets out of hand in a hurry. James Lawson layup, Reid Travis 3 putbacks, 1 of which was a tip dunk, and a breakaway dunk off of a turnover. Luke Scott 5 in a row with a 3 included. Trey Shepherd 2 buckets off of 2 more Bears turnovers. 23-4 De La Salle at the 9:52 mark after a 23-2 run in 7 minutes. Blake already with 2 timeouts gone trying to stop the bleeding. JR Bascom starts to pick it up with a 3, a jumper and a pair of free throw. Kebu Johnson adds an inbounds layup. Blake within 31-18. Then Geno Crandall with a pair of layups off turnovers that sandwiches a missed front end by Blake. Luke Scott on the drive for 2, Crandall with a putback after yet another Bears turnover. Travis with a steal and hard fouled for 2 free throws and the lead is back to 21. Luke Scott with the set play flare 3 that dead falls in at the buzzer. 46-26 Islanders at the half. They come out strong with the 1st 10 of the second half. Lawson with a couple of layups, Scott with a layup and Travis driving for 2. 56-26 De La Salle with 15:25 left. Travis with 2 free throws and Jarvis Johnson to Sacar Anim for 3 for the biggest lead of the night, 61-28 with 14 minutes left. The rest is meaningless. De La Salle goes on to win 79-54 as Blake does avoid running time.
Post Game
Blake with no answers for the De La Salle pressure as turnovers were an absolute killer. JR Bascom 15 points. Kebu Johnson 14 points but struggled against the pressure. John Veil with 1 3 ball for 3 in the game coming off of the injury. Blake still 1 game ahead of Minnehaha for 2nd with the head-head tiebreaker with 2 winnable road games at St. Anthony and Brooklyn Center remaining. Blake falls to 14-6. A big home game in section 6AAA for the Bears against Richfield on Saturday.
De La Salle puts up too much defense and converted the turnovers into a truckload of easy points. 16 points directly off of turnovers in the 1st half alone Reid Travis with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Luke Scott 15 of his 17 in the 1st half with 3 triples. DLS 17-1 now with a perfect 9-0 record in the Tri-Metro. They clinch the top seed in the conference tournament that starts next week. But in a bit of goofy scheduling, the games will be played at the site of the team that did not host the regular season head to head meeting. So for example, if Concordia, who plays at DLS on Thursday. happens to be the 8 seed then the Beacons would host De La Salle in the 1st round 1 vs 8 game. Then they would have to play at 4th seed Breck in the 2nd round if seeds hold. Then they would get to host Blake (the likely 2 seed) in the championship game.
Feb 10, 2013 CzarPI
Its the 4th CzarPI of the 2012-13 season (see CzarPI Explained here). It includes games through February 9th, 2013. The value in () after the CzarPI value is the team's strength of schedule ranking within their class
Class AAAA
Class AAAA
- Apple Valley - 61.69 (11)
- Park Center - 60.14 (16)
- Osseo - 59.2 (23)
- Brainerd - 58.92 (48)
- Minnetonka - 58.86 (26)
- Eden Prairie - 58.61 (2)
- Woodbury - 58.31 (31)
- Roseville - 56.58 (43)
- Hopkins - 56.46 (38)
- Edina - 56.05 (1)
- St. Louis Park - 55.8 (44)
- Lakeville North - 55.66 (46)
- Moorhead - 55.42 (18)
- East Ridge - 54.53 (50)
- Tartan - 54.49 (58)
- Champlin Park - 54.49 (15)
- Robbinsdale Cooper - 54.45 (25)
- Prior Lake - 54.2 (34)
- Buffalo - 54.09 (21)
- Stillwater Area - 53.94 (28)
- Robbinsdale Armstrong - 53.57 (17)
- Maple Grove - 53.35 (8)
- Shakopee - 53.26 (22)
- Rochester John Marshall - 52.82 (57)
- Elk River - 51.63 (51)
- Owatonna - 51.1 (54)
- Mahtomedi - 51.05 (62)
- Wayzata - 50.51 (35)
- White Bear Lake - 50.25 (30)
- Chanhassen - 50.22 (7)
- Eagan - 49.69 (24)
- Duluth East - 49.56 (37)
- Eastview - 49.39 (3)
- Henry Sibley - 49.29 (61)
- Farmington - 47.52 (52)
- Minneapolis South - 46.91 (59)
- St. Michael-Albertville - 46.61 (42)
- Irondale - 46.53 (53)
- St. Francis - 46.38 (63)
- Bloomington Jefferson - 46.37 (33)
- Mounds View - 45.8 (40)
- Bloomington Kennedy - 45.74 (12)
- Minneapolis Southwest - 45.58 (60)
- Cretin-Derham Hall - 45.3 (32)
- Forest Lake - 44.28 (39)
- Rogers - 44.25 (36)
- Centennial - 42.75 (9)
- Rosemount - 42.54 (27)
- Northfield - 42.46 (47)
- Lakeville South - 41.41 (29)
- Blaine - 40.09 (20)
- Rochester Century - 39.06 (45)
- Cambridge-Isanti - 36.69 (56)
- St. Cloud Tech - 36.58 (5)
- Andover - 32.61 (6)
- Rochester Mayo - 31.68 (10)
- Burnsville - 29.74 (13)
- Bemidji - 29.44 (4)
- Anoka - 27.05 (14)
- Park of Cottage Grove - 24.35 (55)
- Hastings - 23.73 (41)
- North St. Paul - 23.12 (49)
- Coon Rapids - 0 (19)
- DeLaSalle - 59.74 (20)
- Marshall - 59.05 (17)
- Austin - 58.24 (55)
- Waconia - 56.87 (8)
- Delano - 56.02 (58)
- Hermantown - 55.19 (47)
- Holy Angels - 54.9 (16)
- Little Falls - 54.66 (18)
- Grand Rapids - 54.45 (43)
- Blake - 54.15 (15)
- East Grand Forks - 52.58 (41)
- Thief River Falls - 52.47 (39)
- New Prague - 51.87 (23)
- Fergus Falls - 51.52 (13)
- Richfield - 50.6 (44)
- St. Paul Central - 50.08 (42)
- St. Cloud Apollo - 49.81 (22)
- Columbia Heights - 49.08 (54)
- Sartell-St. Stephen - 49.01 (7)
- Willmar - 48.54 (26)
- Red Wing - 48.46 (33)
- Spring Lake Park - 48.42 (50)
- Rocori - 48.17 (59)
- Detroit Lakes - 48.11 (34)
- St. Paul Johnson - 47.86 (29)
- Big Lake - 47.6 (61)
- Mound-Westonka - 47.58 (19)
- Mankato West - 47.52 (11)
- Chaska - 47.27 (9)
- St. Paul Highland Park - 47.23 (57)
- Hill-Murray - 46.58 (36)
- Orono - 45.27 (6)
- Alexandria - 44.67 (5)
- Hutchinson - 44.54 (12)
- Cloquet - 44.41 (63)
- Holy Family Catholic - 43.97 (14)
- Minneapolis Roosevelt - 43.97 (52)
- Minneapolis Washburn - 43.78 (48)
- Simley - 43.41 (56)
- Minneapolis Henry - 43.27 (32)
- Winona - 43.04 (35)
- Fridley - 42.83 (53)
- Chisago Lakes Area - 42.77 (60)
- Albert Lea - 42.5 (51)
- Totino-Grace - 42.21 (24)
- St. Anthony Village - 41.77 (62)
- St. Thomas Academy - 40.76 (2)
- Waseca - 40.35 (40)
- Zimmerman - 40.2 (49)
- Benilde-St. Margaret's - 39.66 (4)
- St. Paul Harding - 38.85 (65)
- Hibbing - 38.48 (46)
- Becker - 37.69 (30)
- St. Paul Como Park - 36.48 (25)
- Mankato East - 36.18 (1)
- Monticello - 36.09 (37)
- Princeton - 35.66 (45)
- Faribault - 33.25 (10)
- Kasson-Mantorville - 32.39 (3)
- New Ulm - 31.39 (31)
- Sauk Rapids-Rice - 31.15 (28)
- North Branch - 28.43 (38)
- South St. Paul - 26.9 (64)
- Dassel-Cokato - 0 (21)
- Duluth Denfeld - 0 (27)
- Melrose - 59.84 (26)
- Hawley - 58.88 (47)
- Litchfield - 57.52 (1)
- Jordan - 56.7 (56)
- Redwood Valley - 56.52 (14)
- St. Cloud Cathedral - 56.26 (37)
- Mora - 56.21 (57)
- Esko - 56.16 (53)
- Fairmont - 55.81 (68)
- St. Peter - 55.74 (88)
- Braham - 55.5 (99)
- Worthington - 55.19 (2)
- Perham - 55.13 (9)
- Minnehaha Academy - 54.57 (21)
- Maple River - 54.45 (93)
- Hayfield - 54.45 (66)
- Crosby-Ironton - 54.25 (90)
- International Falls - 54.05 (52)
- Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta - 53.9 (45)
- Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted - 53.74 (36)
- Annandale - 53.37 (23)
- Mayer Lutheran - 53.29 (15)
- Sauk Centre - 53.06 (33)
- Byron - 53.05 (114)
- Rochester Lourdes - 52.61 (80)
- Deer River - 52.51 (82)
- Pelican Rapids - 52.29 (64)
- Martin County West - 52.24 (117)
- Norwood-Young America - 52.16 (74)
- Plainview-Elgin-Millville - 51.79 (81)
- Luverne - 51.13 (12)
- Lake City - 50.74 (122)
- Jackson County Central - 50.59 (7)
- Virginia - 50.4 (79)
- Waterville-Elysian-Morristown - 49.7 (94)
- Albany - 49.61 (28)
- Southland - 49.51 (105)
- Providence Academy - 49.37 (73)
- United South Central - 49.35 (55)
- Moose Lake-Willow River - 49.31 (70)
- Sibley East - 49.2 (51)
- Long Prairie-Grey Eagle - 49.1 (20)
- Hinckley-Finlayson - 48.91 (113)
- Lewiston-Altura - 48.65 (67)
- New London-Spicer - 48.61 (5)
- Pierz - 48.5 (8)
- Caledonia - 48.2 (112)
- St. Charles - 48.12 (84)
- Cannon Falls - 47.66 (92)
- Eveleth-Gilbert - 47.62 (102)
- Belle Plaine - 47.46 (62)
- Crookston - 47.35 (24)
- Breck - 47.24 (110)
- Chatfield - 47.22 (71)
- Stewartville - 47.22 (31)
- Zumbrota-Mazeppa - 47.1 (116)
- Windom Area - 47.01 (29)
- Glencoe-Silver Lake - 46.98 (96)
- Rockford - 46.79 (11)
- Warroad - 46.67 (25)
- Concordia Academy-Roseville - 46.55 (65)
- Staples-Motley - 46.33 (43)
- Brooklyn Center - 46.32 (72)
- Watertown-Mayer - 46.24 (78)
- Winona Cotter - 45.97 (60)
- New Life Academy - 45.1 (75)
- St. John's Prep - 45.02 (63)
- Kimball Area - 44.87 (118)
- Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial - 44.67 (86)
- Pequot Lakes - 44.52 (42)
- St. Croix Lutheran - 44.26 (16)
- Rush City - 44.24 (106)
- Barnesville - 44.15 (97)
- Montevideo - 43.77 (77)
- Medford - 43.01 (120)
- St. Paul Humboldt - 42.83 (121)
- Aitkin - 42.7 (48)
- Foley - 42.65 (27)
- Blue Earth Area - 42.61 (83)
- International School of MN - 42.06 (125)
- Holdingford - 40.99 (4)
- Lac qui Parle Valley - 40.94 (76)
- Maple Lake - 40.89 (58)
- Minnewaska Area - 40.86 (30)
- St. Paul Academy - 40.61 (87)
- Tri-City United - 40.33 (35)
- Eden Valley-Watkins - 40.29 (41)
- Milaca - 40.21 (38)
- Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop - 40.12 (59)
- Roseau - 39.7 (49)
- Cristo Rey Jesuit - 39.53 (124)
- Pine Island - 39.47 (89)
- Bagley - 39.16 (61)
- Benson - 38.85 (103)
- Kenyon-Wanamingo - 38.5 (107)
- St. Agnes - 38.44 (91)
- Kingsland - 38.23 (39)
- La Crescent - 38.18 (22)
- Breckenridge - 37.83 (19)
- BOLD - 37.78 (100)
- Tracy-Milroy-Balaton - 35.93 (40)
- Pipestone Area - 35.86 (3)
- Park Rapids Area - 35.72 (95)
- Mounds Park Academy - 35.68 (123)
- Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton - 35.11 (10)
- Minneapolis Edison - 34.61 (108)
- New Richland-H-E-G - 33.94 (101)
- Trinity School - 33.93 (104)
- Great River - 33.27 (126)
- Proctor - 32.76 (109)
- Frazee - 32.71 (18)
- Pine City - 32.27 (111)
- Two Harbors - 31.64 (50)
- Dover-Eyota - 31.39 (46)
- Wadena-Deer Creek - 31.34 (85)
- Triton - 30.29 (54)
- St. Paul Washington - 29.67 (119)
- Osakis - 29.02 (6)
- Greenway - 28.57 (98)
- St. James Area - 28.56 (17)
- Wabasha-Kellogg - 26.46 (34)
- Spectrum - 25.72 (115)
- LeSueur-Henderson - 25.27 (32)
- Paynesville Area - 17.6 (13)
- Hmong Academy - 17.56 (127)
- Yellow Medicine East - 16.88 (69)
- Duluth Marshall - 0 (44)
- Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa - 59.53 (6)
- Upsala - 59.15 (35)
- Maranatha Christian - 57.86 (53)
- Southwest MN Christian - 56.51 (94)
- Russell-Tyler-Ruthton - 55.82 (96)
- Walker-Hackensack-Akeley - 55.61 (67)
- Sleepy Eye Saint Mary's - 55.35 (61)
- Heritage Christian - 54.93 (75)
- Browerville - 54.76 (38)
- Dawson-Boyd - 54.31 (15)
- West Lutheran - 54.22 (16)
- Rushford-Peterson - 53.7 (112)
- Northern Freeze - 53.69 (118)
- Floodwood - 53.53 (78)
- Cedar Mountain/Comfrey - 53.44 (26)
- Bigfork - 53.31 (59)
- Ely - 53.3 (86)
- Win-E-Mac - 53.25 (124)
- Barnum - 52.08 (133)
- Springfield - 51.89 (43)
- Ada-Borup - 51.83 (122)
- Warren-Alvarado-Oslo - 51.63 (97)
- Swanville - 51.18 (58)
- Henning - 51.11 (128)
- Canby - 51.1 (82)
- Ashby - 50.98 (109)
- Mountain Lake Area - 50.88 (131)
- Fertile-Beltrami - 50.44 (37)
- MACCRAY - 50.15 (60)
- Ulen-Hitterdal - 50.03 (123)
- Mahnomen - 49.87 (99)
- Red Lake - 49.44 (25)
- Nevis - 49.29 (65)
- Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City - 49.24 (30)
- Spring Grove - 49.22 (141)
- Wheaton/Herman-Norcross - 49.14 (125)
- Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity - 48.83 (12)
- Pillager - 47.8 (54)
- Battle Lake - 47.58 (135)
- Park Christian - 47.25 (127)
- Mesabi Academy - 47.24 (147)
- South Ridge - 47.21 (102)
- Lanesboro - 47.15 (151)
- Red Rock Central - 46.89 (55)
- Blooming Prairie - 46.88 (106)
- West Central Area - 46.58 (18)
- Bethlehem Academy - 46.39 (137)
- Cook County - 46.28 (68)
- Lakeview Christian - 46.26 (10)
- Fond du Lac Ojibwe - 46.17 (140)
- Ortonville - 46.11 (85)
- Hillcrest Lutheran Academy - 45.72 (77)
- Northome/Kelliher - 45.6 (121)
- St. Clair - 45.47 (145)
- Minneota - 44.96 (104)
- Blackduck - 44.95 (98)
- Onamia - 44.78 (111)
- Fosston - 44.76 (39)
- Mankato Loyola - 44.5 (57)
- Goodridge/Grygla - 44.46 (113)
- Hills-Beaver Creek - 44.43 (70)
- Southwest United - 44.2 (69)
- Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart - 44.19 (115)
- Verndale - 44.18 (89)
- Menahga - 44.17 (132)
- Cherry - 43.55 (114)
- St. Croix Prep - 43.37 (156)
- Mountain Iron-Buhl - 43.23 (52)
- Southwest Christian - 42.96 (3)
- Isle - 42.73 (142)
- Hill City - 42.05 (23)
- Nashwauk-Keewatin - 41.99 (33)
- Kittson County Central - 41.98 (41)
- Legacy Christian - 41.85 (4)
- Goodhue - 41.25 (84)
- North Woods - 41.09 (14)
- Grand Meadow - 40.87 (152)
- Brandon/Evansville - 40.55 (51)
- Badger/Greenbush-Middle River - 40.43 (116)
- Littlefork-Big Falls - 40.41 (73)
- Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley - 40.15 (24)
- PACT Charter - 40.09 (27)
- Bertha-Hewitt - 40.01 (83)
- CHOF - 39.88 (42)
- Ellsworth - 39.72 (2)
- Lyle/Austin Pacelli - 39.47 (153)
- Red Lake County - 39.26 (71)
- Wabasso - 39.14 (117)
- Cass Lake-Bena - 39.1 (34)
- Stephen-Argyle - 39.06 (101)
- Edgerton - 39.03 (66)
- Wrenshall - 38.99 (92)
- Truman/Martin Luther - 38.96 (139)
- Underwood - 38.92 (44)
- Westbrook-Walnut Grove - 38.79 (48)
- Northland - 38.72 (108)
- North Lakes Academy - 38.62 (155)
- Schaeffer Academy - 38.48 (150)
- Royalton - 38.44 (74)
- Central MN Christian - 38.27 (91)
- Fulda - 38.14 (11)
- Carlton - 38.07 (107)
- Minnesota Transitions Charter - 37.55 (103)
- Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton - 37.51 (136)
- Sleepy Eye - 37.45 (88)
- Cromwell - 37.41 (79)
- Community of Peace Academy - 37.16 (158)
- Calvin Christian - 37.15 (160)
- MetroTech Career Academy - 36.92 (7)
- Bethany Academy - 36.89 (93)
- Lincoln HI - 36.66 (40)
- Lakeview - 36.28 (110)
- Parkers Prairie - 35.57 (36)
- New Ulm Cathedral - 35.4 (46)
- Cleveland - 34.66 (126)
- Minnesota Valley Lutheran - 34.61 (8)
- Minneapolis North - 34.23 (90)
- Mesabi East - 34.17 (64)
- New York Mills - 33.95 (9)
- Randolph - 33.56 (138)
- Chisholm - 33.33 (32)
- Fillmore Central - 33.1 (100)
- Norman County East - 32.44 (63)
- Hope Lutheran - 31.97 (148)
- Climax/Fisher - 31.58 (31)
- Eagle Valley - 30.53 (22)
- Mabel-Canton - 28.88 (130)
- MN Academy for the Deaf - 28.82 (159)
- Rothsay - 28.59 (29)
- Adrian - 28.41 (13)
- Norman County West - 27.61 (80)
- Murray County Central - 26.87 (49)
- Lake Park-Audubon - 26.41 (120)
- Nova Classical Academy - 26.4 (154)
- Glenville-Emmons - 26.26 (134)
- Waubun - 24.75 (62)
- Clearbrook-Gonvick - 24.71 (28)
- Granada-Huntley-East Chain - 24.07 (50)
- Houston - 23.73 (119)
- Northeast Range - 23.56 (56)
- Sebeka - 22.96 (47)
- Sacred Heart - 22.55 (149)
- Alden-Conger - 22.48 (129)
- LeRoy-Ostrander - 21.56 (146)
- Pine River-Backus - 20.92 (5)
- Madelia - 18.99 (105)
- Laporte - 18.78 (87)
- Liberty Classical Academy - 17.57 (157)
- Ogilvie - 17.22 (17)
- Nicollet - 17.18 (76)
- Silver Bay - 0 (1)
- Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg - 0 (19)
- Renville County West - 0 (20)
- McGregor - 0 (21)
- Hancock - 0 (45)
- East Central - 0 (72)
- Lake of the Woods - 0 (81)
- E.C.H.O. Charter - 0 (95)
- Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig - 0 (143)
- FAIR School - 0 (144)
Saturday Small School Showcase
Prologue
Its a pair of standout small school games on a late season Saturday. Seems like I just did the Washburn and Target Center swing but we'll do it again.
Game 1: #1A Maranatha at Washburn
A late start as we don't get JV officials for 30 minutes, but that means more time to enjoy the outstanding hot dog and 12 oz of Coke. The most right former Reverend Al Sharpton joins the JV guys for the varsity game. As usual, The Reverend gets his money's worth with a pair of late And 1 calls from behind the play when the guy right in front under the rim had a great view. Jeremiah Hanson with 6 in a row during an early 11-2 run. 17-11 Maranatha at the 11:15 mark. Washburn right back on a 12-3 run of their own. That run ends with Nick Anderson coming off the high screen and kicking out for a pair of corner 3s. 25-22 Washburn at the 6:32 mark. But Washburn doesn't go back to that high ball screen. Strange considering you have the best pick and roll PG in the state outside of some kid named Tyus Jones. Back to back turnovers for MCA lead to Washburn layups. 36-32 Washburn at the half.
Washburn tries to pull away with an 8-0 run. 49-40 Washburn with 13:05 left. Isaiah Hanson counters with a 8 in a row for MCA. A triple, the kind roll on a pullup and let's add another line drive bomb to pull MCA back within 49-48 with 10:20 left. We stay close then Evan Shepherd on the drive for 2. Then finally back to the high screen and Anderson finds Quinton Garvis for a big 3. Garvis with a layup and Anderson making both ends of the bonus with 1:20 left. 66-58 Washburn in control.
Garrison Gillard a tough 2, Washburn misses a front end. Nobody finds Jeremiah Hanson as he comes up court so he pulls up and buries the 3. Washburn takes timeout trapped in the corner with 35 seconds left. On the inbounds, Anderson gets it and Garrison Gillard mugs him but no call and Gillard makes the layup with 35 seconds left. 66-65 Washburn hanging on. Anderson fouled and again clutch at the charity stripe making both ends of the bonus with 28 ticks left. Maranatha comes back and good Washburn D. Nothing at 25, nothing at 20, nothing at 15, we need a bucket, nothing at 10. Trap on the side ball screen and Jeremiah Hanson throws back to a WIDE open Isaiah Hanson for the right wing 3 with 6 seconds left. That forces overtime tied at 68.
Tied at 71 as we get under 2 minutes left in OT. MCA with a long possession of many chances but they get nothing. Washburn comes back, Anderson a slick cross over and finds Noah Scarver who looks to go up and flush it but Garrison Gillard smacks that away. Josh Goldschmidt the other way for a layup. 73-71 MCA 1:10 left. Nick Anderson counters with a pair of free throws at 1:02. Goldschmidt a great look from the right corner for 3 and that's no good. But Jeremiah Hanson snares the misses. Grantham Gillard makes 2 freebies with 25 seconds left, 75-73 MCA. No high screen for Anderson (why?) but he drives and is fouled with 9 seconds left. He misses both, gets his own rebound and leaves that short with 4 seconds left. MCA makes 4 free throws to seal it. 79-73 Maranatha survives in overtime. Isaiah Hanson 16 of his 24 in the 2nd half and overtime. Soph guard Grantham Gillard 21 points and clutch 6-6 FTs in the overtime. Garrison Gillard 18, Jeremiah Hanson 11. Jeff Jones leads Washburn with 14, Nick Anderson and Evan Shepherd 13.
Game 2: #5AA Fairmont vs #2AA Byron (at Target Center)
A quick start for Fairmont with their star guard Mitch Pfingsten banking in a 3 in an opening 10-0 run. Byron's size would allow them to make a comeback as Fairmont went cold. A 17-6 run sees a nice set play out of a elbow double stack for a lob dunk to Jack Nelson. Pfingsten sitting during that most of that with 2 fouls. 17-16 Byron at the 5 minute mark. Byron gets 1 more field goal, an inside out 3. Fairmont leads 23-21 at half. Only 1 player on either side with more than 1 FG in the 1st half and that was Fairmont's Bryce Holm with 2 FGs.
The 2nd half is all Fairmont. Pfingsten jumper and a pair of freebies to end a quick 11-2 Fairmont run to start the 2nd half. Brandon Schubert 4 free throws and bucket to keep Byron within striking distance. 41-29 Fairmont 11:32 left. Byron comes out of the timeout with a 1-3-1 zone. When you have their kind of length against a perimeter oriented team, I could see that being a problem. But not in this game. Pfingsten buries a 3 and is fouled on another 3 for all 3 free throws. That extends the Cardinals lead to 18. Out of that timeout at 11:32, Byron would not make another field goal for the next 7 minutes. Pfingsten closes his scoring night with a 3 point play. That pushes the lead to 27. Fairmont goes on to a 63-42 win. Mitch Pfingsten with 15 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Byron had won 18 in a row until yesterday. Then a loss to Hayfield and a loss to Fairmont. With those teams being potential state qualifiers, that could really hurt the Bears for a chance at a seed if they advance to state.
Its a pair of standout small school games on a late season Saturday. Seems like I just did the Washburn and Target Center swing but we'll do it again.
Game 1: #1A Maranatha at Washburn
A late start as we don't get JV officials for 30 minutes, but that means more time to enjoy the outstanding hot dog and 12 oz of Coke. The most right former Reverend Al Sharpton joins the JV guys for the varsity game. As usual, The Reverend gets his money's worth with a pair of late And 1 calls from behind the play when the guy right in front under the rim had a great view. Jeremiah Hanson with 6 in a row during an early 11-2 run. 17-11 Maranatha at the 11:15 mark. Washburn right back on a 12-3 run of their own. That run ends with Nick Anderson coming off the high screen and kicking out for a pair of corner 3s. 25-22 Washburn at the 6:32 mark. But Washburn doesn't go back to that high ball screen. Strange considering you have the best pick and roll PG in the state outside of some kid named Tyus Jones. Back to back turnovers for MCA lead to Washburn layups. 36-32 Washburn at the half.
Washburn tries to pull away with an 8-0 run. 49-40 Washburn with 13:05 left. Isaiah Hanson counters with a 8 in a row for MCA. A triple, the kind roll on a pullup and let's add another line drive bomb to pull MCA back within 49-48 with 10:20 left. We stay close then Evan Shepherd on the drive for 2. Then finally back to the high screen and Anderson finds Quinton Garvis for a big 3. Garvis with a layup and Anderson making both ends of the bonus with 1:20 left. 66-58 Washburn in control.
Garrison Gillard a tough 2, Washburn misses a front end. Nobody finds Jeremiah Hanson as he comes up court so he pulls up and buries the 3. Washburn takes timeout trapped in the corner with 35 seconds left. On the inbounds, Anderson gets it and Garrison Gillard mugs him but no call and Gillard makes the layup with 35 seconds left. 66-65 Washburn hanging on. Anderson fouled and again clutch at the charity stripe making both ends of the bonus with 28 ticks left. Maranatha comes back and good Washburn D. Nothing at 25, nothing at 20, nothing at 15, we need a bucket, nothing at 10. Trap on the side ball screen and Jeremiah Hanson throws back to a WIDE open Isaiah Hanson for the right wing 3 with 6 seconds left. That forces overtime tied at 68.
Tied at 71 as we get under 2 minutes left in OT. MCA with a long possession of many chances but they get nothing. Washburn comes back, Anderson a slick cross over and finds Noah Scarver who looks to go up and flush it but Garrison Gillard smacks that away. Josh Goldschmidt the other way for a layup. 73-71 MCA 1:10 left. Nick Anderson counters with a pair of free throws at 1:02. Goldschmidt a great look from the right corner for 3 and that's no good. But Jeremiah Hanson snares the misses. Grantham Gillard makes 2 freebies with 25 seconds left, 75-73 MCA. No high screen for Anderson (why?) but he drives and is fouled with 9 seconds left. He misses both, gets his own rebound and leaves that short with 4 seconds left. MCA makes 4 free throws to seal it. 79-73 Maranatha survives in overtime. Isaiah Hanson 16 of his 24 in the 2nd half and overtime. Soph guard Grantham Gillard 21 points and clutch 6-6 FTs in the overtime. Garrison Gillard 18, Jeremiah Hanson 11. Jeff Jones leads Washburn with 14, Nick Anderson and Evan Shepherd 13.
Game 2: #5AA Fairmont vs #2AA Byron (at Target Center)
A quick start for Fairmont with their star guard Mitch Pfingsten banking in a 3 in an opening 10-0 run. Byron's size would allow them to make a comeback as Fairmont went cold. A 17-6 run sees a nice set play out of a elbow double stack for a lob dunk to Jack Nelson. Pfingsten sitting during that most of that with 2 fouls. 17-16 Byron at the 5 minute mark. Byron gets 1 more field goal, an inside out 3. Fairmont leads 23-21 at half. Only 1 player on either side with more than 1 FG in the 1st half and that was Fairmont's Bryce Holm with 2 FGs.
The 2nd half is all Fairmont. Pfingsten jumper and a pair of freebies to end a quick 11-2 Fairmont run to start the 2nd half. Brandon Schubert 4 free throws and bucket to keep Byron within striking distance. 41-29 Fairmont 11:32 left. Byron comes out of the timeout with a 1-3-1 zone. When you have their kind of length against a perimeter oriented team, I could see that being a problem. But not in this game. Pfingsten buries a 3 and is fouled on another 3 for all 3 free throws. That extends the Cardinals lead to 18. Out of that timeout at 11:32, Byron would not make another field goal for the next 7 minutes. Pfingsten closes his scoring night with a 3 point play. That pushes the lead to 27. Fairmont goes on to a 63-42 win. Mitch Pfingsten with 15 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Byron had won 18 in a row until yesterday. Then a loss to Hayfield and a loss to Fairmont. With those teams being potential state qualifiers, that could really hurt the Bears for a chance at a seed if they advance to state.
Anchors aweigh in 1st place
Its a first place battle in the Minneapolis City as South visits Southwest. Both teams 6-2 and a game ahead of Henry and Washburn in the loss column for 1st place. South won the 1st meeting by 18 at home. Trivia question that we'll answer at the end of the article. Name the last time that these teams were in the Twin Cities Game? A late day in the real world means I show up during warmups. That means only 20 oz of beverage from the concession stand. Interesting night of music. We get 50 Cent's In Da Club followed by some very of the theme from Mr Rogers Neighborhood. Continuing the PBS theme, we get a modern version of the Sesame Street theme for South's introductions. Then at halftime a dance contest to the Cha Cha Slide. That's great and all but it can't match me with today's Song of the Day
Song of the Day
Moves like Jagger - Maroon 5 (featuring Christina Aguilera)
Game Time
South frosh Payton Bowdry doing it inside and out early. He scores inside and knocks down a pair of 3s as he scores 12 of the 1st 16 for South. 5 in a row for him to end that spurt. 16-15 South at the 10:18 mark. Akeem Smith floater and a 3 in transition and AJ Ray 4 in a row for Southwest. 24-19 Southwest at the 6:56 mark. Then 5'6" Cam Knuckles (not to be confused with former DLS star Cam Rundles) off the Southwest bench and he gives them great minutes the rest of the half. He helps lead the Lakers on a 7-0 run for a 10 point lead. South gets 5 in a row from guard Kenley Farrow as the Tigers score the last 7 of the half. 35-32 Southwest leading at the half.
Alejandro Richardson with a putback and drive. South ties it up at 38 just over 2 minutes into the half. Then 6 in a row from Southwest with a pair of layups and a Smith floater. Timeout South down 44-38 with 12:07 left. Coach Joe Hyser gets his guys to respond. Bowdry off the bounce right out of the timeout and a tough 2 with a pair of Tigers triples. Its a 13-2 Tigers run and Southwest needs a timeout. 51-46 South leading with 8:43 left. Southwest PG Demetrius Cady for 3 to break the run. Bowdry with a layup countered by another Cady bucket. Back and forth we go as South leads 55-54 with 4:50 left. Southwest getting a layup out of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE to stay within 1. Then Bowdry for 2 and he'll grab and rebound and lead the break. He gives it up and gets it back for a layup and the foul with 2:58 left. The free throw is off the mark but South opens up a 61-56 lead.
Southwest counters with a bucket and they get South to throw up a couple of bad shots but the Tigers manage to keep possession by getting on the offensive board. They'll spread the floor but a 5 second call turns it over with 1:30 left. A nice cut by Ray for a layup to cut the South lead to 1 just inside of a minute to play. South almost turns it over after breaking the press but they'll get a timeout to save possession. But the inbounds is underneath and they throw it right to the corner and get it back. Southwest smartly traps that and in an attempt to split the double team, South turns it over. Cady back the other way for the Lakers and its a charge with 22 seconds to play. 61-60 South still leading.
Now Southwest has to foul and Farrow steps up and makes 2 with 18.5 to play. Southwest takes a timeout and with 2 fouls to give South decides to give them. They get 1 at the 9.7 mark but the 2nd one is a shooting foul as Cady puts up a 3. Oh my! Cady steps up and makes the 1st 2 with 7.7 left. 63-62 South leading and they'll take timeout to ice Cady and setup a play before the 3rd free throw. Cady's 3rd freebie is around and falls off the rim. Bowdry grabs board and he'll shoot 2 with 6.5 left. The 1st is no good and Southwest has life. The 2nd is good. No timeout either way and back comes Southwest right out of the net. A kick ahead to AJ Ray on the right wing, 1 dribble, 2 dribbles, pull up from the 3 point line. It banks in, holy cow!!! The crowd erupts and rushes the floor as Southwest gets a buzzer beater 3 to beat South 65-64. One of the most dramatic endings I'll see all season.
Post Game
Minneapolis South to 11-9 overall, 6-3 in the Minneapolis City. Freshman forward Payton Bowdry leads the Tigers with 25 points and 8 rebounds on my sheet. Alejandro Richardson 12 points and Kenley Farrow 11 points for the double figure scoring. Interesting mix of high/low and euro ball screen offense from the Tigers. Next week is all non-conference play for the Tigers as they host Benilde-St. Margaret's and Robbinsdale Armstrong.
Minneapolis Southwest improves to 12-9 overall. They move to 7-2 and take sole possession of 1st place in the Minneapolis City. They have 1 major conference test remaining and that's at Washburn in 2 weeks. Akeem Smith 17 points, Demetrius Cady 16, Cam Ross and AJ Ray with 12 each. Really liked the activity of Cam Knuckles off the bench and was surprised that he didn't get more time considering the spark he gave the Lakers.
Trivia Answer
Southwest has played in the Twin Cities Game only once in their history, that was 30 years ago in 1983 when they defeated Johnson 56-37. South last played in the game in 1989 losing in overtime to Central 87-80. The longest drought in the Minneapolis City is Edison who last played in the game in 1965.
Mustangs clinch share of another MCAA title
Prologue
Back to the Northwest Metro and one of the finer concession stands and environments around. Its #8A West Lutheran visiting #1A Maranatha. The West Lutheran fans up and out in force early on. They were arguably more vocal all night which says something considering the home court advantage that you usually see at MCA. Unfortunately we also saw 2 new officials who were over matched for a game of this caliber. Poor job by whomever did the assigning for this game. Fury and GetShook in the stands taking in the action.
Game Time
Maranatha getting absolutely nothing to fall. Isaiah Arbogast effective early for West Lutheran while Garrison Gillard had a putback and assist for MCA. 8-7 West Lutheran at the 12:30 mark as Maranatha wants a timeout. They'd turn it over for a Morgan Barth bucket at the 10:55 and West Lutheran took a 10-7 lead. Then West Lutheran couldn't find the basket with MCA picking up the defense. Only 1 more Warriors FG the rest of the half, Dustin Barth at the 9:30 mark. But he sat the last 4:47 after a bad call 3rd foul. Garrison Gillard for 3 and then 2 more assists to his younger brother Grantham. Grantham then taking it baseline for a 3 point play. That's all in a 14-3 run over the last 10:30. 21-13 Maranatha at the half.
The lead extends to 11 but West Lutheran gets a 3 from Morgan Barth and another bucket. 29-23 Maranatha with 11:45 left and its a ballgame. Then the 3s rain in. Garrison Gillard already with 4 FTs in the half. Some slick dribble and an assist to Josh Goldschmidt for a layup. Then he splits a double team and gets another assist for a layup. He counters another Morgan Barth 3 with one of his own. Then Jeremiah Hanson pulls up on the break and buries a 3. Another Mustangs 3 (I think by Garrison Gillard). Hanson with 2 free throws, Garrison Gillard with yet another 3 and 4 more in a row. He goes off for 22 in the 2nd half plus the passing. Add in the hot shooting in the 2nd half and forget about it. An 18-0 run breaks it wide open as West Lutheran goes 5:20 without a field goal. Maranatha goes on to win 68-36.
Post Game
West Lutheran falls to 8-3 in the MCAA North and 17-4 overall. Isaiah Arbogast 13 points to lead the Warriors. Morgan Barth 3 bombs in the 2nd half on his way to 11 points. They were tough enough to keep MCA off the offensive glass in that 1st half. Then no good answer for Garrison Gillard in the 2nd half. The regular season schedule has 4 cupcakes left plus either the 2nd or 3rd seed from the South division in the MCAA tournament in 2 weeks. Not sure how the tiebreaker works since Heritage and West Lutheran split their regular season meetings.
Maranatha improves to 18-1 overall, 11-0 in the MCAA and they clinch no worse than a tie for the MCAA North Division title. They can settle it directly with a win at #6A Heritage next Friday. UMD commit Garrison Gillard outstanding with 27 points and a handful of assists. Grantham Gillard the recipient on many of those (how nice). He finishes with 12 points. Jeremiah Hanson with 13 on my sheet, but officially listed with 10. The Mustangs play 5 of 6 on the road, not counting the likely home game with Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity for the MCAA Tournament championship.
Back to the Northwest Metro and one of the finer concession stands and environments around. Its #8A West Lutheran visiting #1A Maranatha. The West Lutheran fans up and out in force early on. They were arguably more vocal all night which says something considering the home court advantage that you usually see at MCA. Unfortunately we also saw 2 new officials who were over matched for a game of this caliber. Poor job by whomever did the assigning for this game. Fury and GetShook in the stands taking in the action.
Game Time
Maranatha getting absolutely nothing to fall. Isaiah Arbogast effective early for West Lutheran while Garrison Gillard had a putback and assist for MCA. 8-7 West Lutheran at the 12:30 mark as Maranatha wants a timeout. They'd turn it over for a Morgan Barth bucket at the 10:55 and West Lutheran took a 10-7 lead. Then West Lutheran couldn't find the basket with MCA picking up the defense. Only 1 more Warriors FG the rest of the half, Dustin Barth at the 9:30 mark. But he sat the last 4:47 after a bad call 3rd foul. Garrison Gillard for 3 and then 2 more assists to his younger brother Grantham. Grantham then taking it baseline for a 3 point play. That's all in a 14-3 run over the last 10:30. 21-13 Maranatha at the half.
The lead extends to 11 but West Lutheran gets a 3 from Morgan Barth and another bucket. 29-23 Maranatha with 11:45 left and its a ballgame. Then the 3s rain in. Garrison Gillard already with 4 FTs in the half. Some slick dribble and an assist to Josh Goldschmidt for a layup. Then he splits a double team and gets another assist for a layup. He counters another Morgan Barth 3 with one of his own. Then Jeremiah Hanson pulls up on the break and buries a 3. Another Mustangs 3 (I think by Garrison Gillard). Hanson with 2 free throws, Garrison Gillard with yet another 3 and 4 more in a row. He goes off for 22 in the 2nd half plus the passing. Add in the hot shooting in the 2nd half and forget about it. An 18-0 run breaks it wide open as West Lutheran goes 5:20 without a field goal. Maranatha goes on to win 68-36.
Post Game
West Lutheran falls to 8-3 in the MCAA North and 17-4 overall. Isaiah Arbogast 13 points to lead the Warriors. Morgan Barth 3 bombs in the 2nd half on his way to 11 points. They were tough enough to keep MCA off the offensive glass in that 1st half. Then no good answer for Garrison Gillard in the 2nd half. The regular season schedule has 4 cupcakes left plus either the 2nd or 3rd seed from the South division in the MCAA tournament in 2 weeks. Not sure how the tiebreaker works since Heritage and West Lutheran split their regular season meetings.
Maranatha improves to 18-1 overall, 11-0 in the MCAA and they clinch no worse than a tie for the MCAA North Division title. They can settle it directly with a win at #6A Heritage next Friday. UMD commit Garrison Gillard outstanding with 27 points and a handful of assists. Grantham Gillard the recipient on many of those (how nice). He finishes with 12 points. Jeremiah Hanson with 13 on my sheet, but officially listed with 10. The Mustangs play 5 of 6 on the road, not counting the likely home game with Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity for the MCAA Tournament championship.