Off to Cretin-Derham Hall for the 9th annual Border Battle and the 5th straight for me. Quality crowds on hand all day. 3 cans of Pepsi get me thru the day. The hot dog was outstanding as always. I tried the cheese pizza for lunch. This was a custom full pizza about the size of a bagel. A different idea but not one I'm sure I'd stick with.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 147 (57 courts)
Beverage Consumption Counter: 1304.9 ounces (80 days, 114 games, 2 scrimmages added on)
- Pepsi: 640 ounces
- Coke: 192 ounces
- Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
- Sprite: 140 ounces
- Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
- Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
- A&W Root Beer: 36 ounces
- Red Powerade: 100 ounces
- 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
- Red Gatorade: 80 ounces
- Water: 500 ml
Song of the Day
Simon and Garfunkel - Homeward Bound
Game 1: Heritage vs Marshfield Columbus
Wing CJ Woda got off to a hot start for Heritage with a pair of 3s on his way to the 1st 8 Eagles points. James Vander Top would add the next 7 inside. Heritage would go on a 20-3 run as Columbus couldn't buy a bucket. They went a 10 minute stretch where they scored 1 field goal. That allowed Heritage to open a 15 point halftime lead. Columbus would come out of halftime on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 4. Hertiage would counter with a 13-0 run to put the game out of reach. Hertiage wins 68-55. CJ Woda with 15 of his 16 in the 1st half to lead Heritage. The inside duo of James Vander Top and Ben Suits combined for 19. Soph Hunter Schultz with 4 3s and 18 points to lead Columbus. 15 of those points after halftime
Game 2:Waseca vs West Salem
The guard matchup of Nick Dufault and Bailey Williams (Mankato signee) was the appeal here and it did not disappoint. Williams with a late 1st half spurt of 8 points (2 3s) and an assist in the last 3 minutes. That would allow West Salem to take a 37-34 halftime lead. Dufault would start the 2nd half with his own 8 point spurt to put Waseca back on top. Then a 17-2 Waseca run to put the Bluejays up 67-54 with 7:44 left. Williams would lead the Panthers back. That means overtime tied at 72 as Waseca was held to 1 free throw in the last 6:43. In the OT, Williams starts the scoring but Dufault scores 4 straight. Then a couple questionable shots in the last minute give Williams 1 last chance but he's called for a walk with 2.1 left. Waseca wins 77-76. Nick Dufault goes for 35 for Waseca. They ran a shuffle double for him all day for great looks. Shane Streich adds 18 for Waseca. Bailey Williams goes for 39 in the loss.
Game 3: Minnehaha vs #7 D3 Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau
Minnehaha taking on the finest name in WI, GET High (don't do drugs kids). Minnehaha without Kyle Kispert and Jalen Suggs due to injury. Nick Wagner had a cold half for GET but still scored 14 points in a very even half. JaVonni Bickham with 12 as Minnehaha took a 33-30 lead to the break. 8th grader Tyrell Terry with good bench minutes in the 2nd half. His floater and a Dawson Rademacher 3 stretch the Minnehaha lead to 58-51 with 7:30 left. Bickham for 2, a free throw and then a nice post to post assist to Jake Richardson before 2 more free throws to keep the lead at 9. That would be enough as Minnehaha gets a very good 72-65 win. Frosh JaVonni Bickham with 19 and 8 on my sheet. Dawson Rademacher 4 big 3s for 14 points. 8th grader Tyrell Terry with 12 of his 15 in the 2nd half. Jake Richardson with 12 points and was very active inside on both ends. Nick Wagner 21 points to lead GET.
Game 4: #6AAAA Hopkins vs Milwaukee Vincent
Vincent playing 4 sophomores since they lost a couple of transfers in the offseason. This one was a total mismatch from the start. Hopkins ran up and down and would get cuts for layups in the halfcourt. The balance from the Hopkins offense was impressive. The Royals get 5 in double figures with Xavier Johnson scoring 21. John Warren with 14 in another quality outing. Vincent gets 25 from soph Andrew Lewis as a bright spot. Hopkins rolls 108-81
Game 5: #1AAA De La Salle vs #4 D1 Kimberly
A 13-3 first half De La Salle run would be the 1st half difference. Sacar Anim banking in a 3 during the run along with a Jarvis Johnson steal and dunk. Austin Weyenberg with a couple of critical 3s after that to keep the Papermakers close. 37-29 De La Salle at the half. Kimberly comes out with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 2. Then its frosh Gabe Kalscheur for 3 and an inbounds 2, then the set call for another 3. Coach Thorson does that better than anybody, kid gets hot, call a set for him. Weyenberg another bomb and Ben Boots with a 3 to cut the lead to 3. Then its Kalscheur again and an Anim 3 point play. Weyenberg a 3 point play, a kickout finds Colin Tessner for 3, Jake Johnson with a putback. Don't look now but its Kimberly 57-56 with 7:10 left. Sacar Anim with 2 3s, 2nd off some nice false motion into the famous dribble at then into a flare screen. Then its Anim breaking the 1 time 1-3-1 cutting along the baseline. 66-61 DLS with 4 minutes left. They slow the offense down and hold Kimberly scoreless the rest of the way for a 73-61 win. Sacar Anim leads with 24 points. Jarvis Johnson adds 13. Samm Jones 12, Gabe Kalscheur 11 off the bench. Austin Weyenberg leads Kimberly with 22, Jake Johnson with 14. Ben Boots held to 2 3s. Kimberly ran high quality motion offense and was able to create off the bounce (a template Blue Valley NW showed last year). But their toughness is what kept them in this one. Very impressive performance
Game 6: #6AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall vs #1 D1 Stevens Point
Joe Rosga with a 7 point streak countered by a Sam Hauser 3. 14-10 CDH at 10:20. Rosga with a 4 point play off an offensive board to ignite an 11-2 run. 27-14 CDH as SPASH can't make a shot. Frosh Joey Hauser gets the dead ball bounce for 3 to cut the CDH lead to 32-24 at the half. SPASH back to back 3s to start the half. SPASH cutting the lead to 2. Then its Donnell Gresham 2 free throws, extra pass finds Rosga for 3 before a Gresham free throw and Jordan Ammons for 3. 48-39 CDH 8:50 left. Big 3 from Gresham at 6:17 to push the lead to 12 and then Sam Neumann with a putback. Sam Hauser goes for 10 points in the last 1:28 with a couple of 3s but the game is already out of reach. CDH wins 69-60. Joe Rosga goes for 24 points with 3 3s. Donnell Gresham with 16 points and outplayed Trevor Anderson. Jordan Ammons adding 14 points. Sam Hauser leads SPASH with 26. Trevor Anderson 18 points and a couple of nice moments but overall he struggled with many shots being left short.
Minnesota sweeps the Border Battle 6-0 for a 29-23 overall lead. Home state teams have won 27 of the last 28 games in the series going back to 2011 including 21 in a row. The only win in that run was a 3 OT Grand Rapids win in 2012.
All Border Battle Team
Sacar Anim - DLS
Sam Hauser - SPASH
Austin Weyenberg - Kimberly
Joe Rosga - CDH
Bailey Williams- West Salem
Nick Dufault - Waseca
Donnell Gresham - CDH
Austin Davis - Milwaukee Vincent
Xavier Johnson - Hopkins
Trevor Anderson - SPASH
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