Fall League Schedules for Nov 15/16, 2008

Fall league play winding down as the Breakdown has their final week of play this week. 1 more week to go at Washburn and Minnetonka. Here's this week's schedule for Washburn and Minnetonka. The Breakdown schedule can be found on their site which is linked to on the Fall Leagues page.

Washburn (Saturday)
9 AM: North vs Columbia Heights, Washburn vs Roosevelt
10 AM: Brooklyn Center vs Columbia Heights, Harding vs Fridley
11 AM: Orono vs Arlington, North vs Concordia
12 PM: Roosevelt vs Arlington, Washburn vs Fridley
1 PM: Brooklyn Center vs Orono, Concordia vs Harding

Minnetonka (Sunday)
11:30 AM
Wayzata vs Waconia - Tonka Ct 1
Stillwater vs Hopkins White - Tonka Ct 2
Kennedy vs Sibley - Tonka Ct 3
Osseo vs Minnetonka - 43 Hoops Ct 1
Benilde-St Margaret's vs Duluth East - 43 Hoops Ct 2

1 PM
Orono vs Edina - Tonka Ct 1
Hopkins Blue vs Tartan - Tonka Ct 2
Park Center vs Mounds View - Tonka Ct 3
Maple Grove vs Armstrong - 43 Hoops Ct 1
Minnetonka vs Benilde-St. Margaret's 43 Hoops Ct 2

2:30 PM
Sibley vs Waconia - Tonka Ct 1
Edina vs Hopkins Blue - Tonka Ct 2
Osseo vs Hopkins White - Tonka Ct 3
Armstrong vs Duluth East - 43 Hoops Ct 1
Wayzata vs Stillwater - 43 Hoops Ct 2

4 PM
Kennedy vs Park Center - Tonka Ct 1
Mounds View vs Orono - Tonka Ct 2
Maple Grove vs Tartan - Tonka Ct 3

Fall League Schedules for Nov 8/9, 2008

Fall League Schedules for this weekend.

Saturday has the Breakdown and Washburn fall leagues. You can access the Breakdown website via the Fall Leagues page. Here's the Washburn schedule.

Saturday
9 AM: North vs Fridley, Orono vs Columbia Heights.
10 AM: Concordia vs Arlington, Washburn vs Harding
11 AM: Brooklyn Center vs Roosevelt, Orono vs Fridley
12 PM: Concordia vs Columbia Heights, Roosevelt vs North
1 PM: Brooklyn Center vs Harding, Washburn vs Arlington

Sunday has Concordia and Minnetonka with action in their leagues.

Concordia (final week)
11 AM
Mahtomedi vs Minnehaha - Ct 1
Roseville vs Owatonna - Ct 2
Woodbury - White vs Andover - Ct 3
Woodbury -Blue vs Park - Ct 4

11:50 AM
St. Bernard's vs Centennial - Ct 1
SW vs Hill-Murray - Ct 2
Holy Angels vs Concordia - Ct 3
Mahtomedi vs Owatonna - Ct 4

12:40 PM
Woodbury - Blue vs Andover - Ct 1
Minnehaha vs Centennial - Ct 2
Roseville vs Woodbury White - Ct 3
Holy Angels vs Hill- Murray - Ct 4

1:30 PM
Park vs Concordia - Ct 1
SW vs St. Bernard's - Ct 2

Minnetonka
11:30 AM
Armstrong vs Edina - Tonka Ct 1
Maple Grove vs Park Center - Tonka Ct 2
Duluth East vs Mounds View - Tonka Ct 3
Osseo vs Kennedy - 43 Hoops Ct 1
Tartan vs Hopkins White - 43 Hoops Ct 2

1:00 PM
Minnetonka vs Wayzata - Tonka Ct 1
Edina vs Maple Grove - Tonka Ct 2
BSM vs Sibley - Tonka Ct 3
Hopkins Blue vs Orono - 43 Hoops Ct 1
Stillwater vs Waconia - 43 Hoops Ct 2

2:30 PM
Wayzata vs Osseo - Tonka Ct 1
Armstrong vs Park Center - Tonka Ct 2
Mounds View vs Sibley - Tonka Ct 3
Orono vs Tartan - 43 Hoops Ct 1
Duluth East vs Hopkins Blue - 43 Hoops Ct 2

4:00 PM
Minnetonka vs Kennedy - Tonka Ct 1
BSM vs Stillwater - Tonka Ct 2
Hopkins White vs Waconia - Tonka Ct 3

Fall League Schedules for Nov 1/2 2008

The Washburn Fall League kicks off on Saturday with this schedule. 10 teams total in the league.

Saturday November 1st, 2008
9 AM: Washburn vs Columbia Heights, Brooklyn Center vs Arlington
10 AM: Mpls North vs Harding, Orono vs Roosevelt
11 AM: Concordia vs Fridley, Mpls North vs Harding
Noon: Fridley vs Brooklyn Center, Orono vs Harding
1 PM: Concordia vs Roosevelt, (No 2nd game)

Sunday marks the beginning of the top shelf Minnetonka Fall League. 18 teams participating there. Here's the opening week schedule there.

Sunday November 2nd, 2008

11:30 AM
Kennedy vs BSM - Tonka Court 1
Wayzata vs Hopkins White - Tonka Court 2
Osseo vs Sibley - Tonka Court 3
Minnetonka vs Stillwater - 43 Hoops Court 1
Orono vs Waconia - 43 Hoops Court 2

1:00 PM
Park Center vs Duluth East - Tonka Court 1
Edina vs Tartan - Tonka Court 2
Maple Grove vs Mounds View - Tonka Court 3
Armstrong vs Hopkins Blue - 43 Hoops Court 1
Minnetonka vs Waconia - 43 Hoops Court 2

2:30 PM
Wayzata vs Sibley - Tonka Court 1
BSM vs Osseo - Tonka Court 2
Kennedy vs Hopkins White - Tonka Court 3
Hopkins Blue vs Stillwater - 43 Hoops Court 1
Armstrong vs Orono - 43 Hoops Court 2

4:00 PM
Edina vs Mounds View - Tonka Court 1
Maple Grove vs Duluth East - Tonka Court 2
Park Center vs Tartan - Tonka Court 3

The Concordia Fall League also continues on Sunday with this schedule

11:00 AM
Woodbury Blue vs Roseville - Ct 1
Woodbury White vs Mahtomedi - Ct 2
Owatonna vs Park - Ct 3
Minnehaha vs Andover - Ct 4

11:50 AM
Holy Angels vs Southwest - Ct 1
Hill-Murray vs St. Bernard's - Ct 2
Centennial vs Concordia - Ct 3
Woodbury Blue vs Mahtomedi - Ct 4

12:40 PM
Woodbury White vs Park - Ct 1
Owatonna vs Andover - Ct 2
Roseville vs Minnehaha - Ct 3
Holy Angels vs St. Bernard's - Ct 4

1:30 PM
Hill-Murray vs Concordia - Ct 1
Southwest vs Centennial - Ct 2

Week 2 Concordia Fall League schedule

11:00 AM:

• Mahtomedi vs Centennial - Ct 1
• Woodbury-White (#2 squad) vs Andover - Ct 2
• Roseville vs Holy Angels - Ct 3
  
• Woodbury-Blue (#1 squad) vs Mpls SW - Ct 4
  

11:50 AM:

• Minnehaha vs Mpls SW - Ct 1
• Woodbury-Blue vs Holy Angels - Ct 2
• Owatonna vs St. Bernard's - Ct 3
  
• Park vs Hill-Murray - Ct 4
  

12:40 PM:

• Roseville vs Andover - Ct 1
• Mahtomedi vs St. Bernard's - Ct 2
• Woodbury-White vs Minnehaha - Ct 3
  
• Park vs Centennial - Ct 4

1:30 PM: Owatonna vs Hill-Murray - Ct 1

Week 5 Schedule for 2008 Magic Fall League

Here is the schedule for the games in the Magic Fall League this weekend. All games at Bloomington Jefferson. As always check the table for schedule changes.

Saturday (All games on Court 2)
3 PM: BSM vs Watertown
4 PM: BSM vs Raiders
5 PM: Watertown vs Raiders

Sunday
12 PM: Raiders vs Prior Lake - Ct 3
1 PM: Raiders vs Eagan - Ct 3
1 PM: Prior Lake vs Eden Prairie - Ct 4
2 PM: Belle Plaine vs Eagan - Ct 3
2 PM: PL Hoops vs TBA - Ct 4
3 PM: Como Park vs Chaska - Ct 3
3 PM: Belle Plaine vs PL Hoops - Ct 4
3 PM: Eden Prairie vs TBA - Ct 5
4 PM: Como Park vs Transitions I - Ct 3
5 PM: Chaska vs Transitions I - Ct 3

Games to watch are the 4 PM Raiders vs BSM game and both Raiders games on Sunday. In the later sessions on Sunday, watch #21 Jordan Jackson for Como Park. He's played well in this event. Also watch #24 Reggie Ray, the junior lefty could be a nice player for them this year. He was impressive in the Twin Cities JV game in March (read about it here).

Week 1 of the Concordia Fall League

A very interesting day at Concordia. Former Como Park head coach Dan Brink in the building.

Opening session had Woodbury taking on Centennial. Woodbury turned into a MASH unit very quickly as they lost 1 player to a cut and shortly after another player rolled an ankle. The lack of bench hurt as Woodbury was dragging in the last 2 periods. Nick Quicksell with 24 points on the day. When he was going, Woodbury was in it. When he wasn't, Centennial ran away with things. Woodbury won the opening period with a putback at the horn, got blown out in the 2nd period and lost the 3rd session after Quicksell tried to bring them back from an 11 point deficit.

Owatonna played a very entertaining game vs Holy Angels. Owatonna knocked down a 3 at the horn to win the 1st period. In the 2nd period, Sahr Ngekia got the 1st 5 points for AHA but Owatonna used a 10-2 to get back in the period. They finish the period with a layup with 30 seconds remaining to win that period 21-19. AHA runs away with the 3rd period 21-12. Vaughn Thada who played with Magic 15 Elites this summer with 13 points on the day and a nice job on the defensive end.

Minnehaha Academy got down 9-0 in the 1st period of their game with Owatonna, but came back with a run to tie the 1st period 21 all. Greg Meyer with 2 dunks in an 11-0 run to start the 2nd period. Owatonna got with 13-12 but the Redhawks put the period away with the next 7 points. 22-16 Minnehaha wins the 2nd and they win the 3rd 22-15.

Week 1 of the Breakdown Fall League

Wow, what a zoo out at Kennedy for the Breakdown fall league. 8 courts going for 6 consecutive sessions. 26 varsity teams so the early games had all 8 courts with varsity games, then middle games were all JV and 9th grade. Finally back to the final 10 games of varsity in the late session. Here's what I saw from the busy day.

Disappointing day for Tartan as they start 0-2. Granted no Marc Sonnen and I don't think they had Manani Beavers either, but they did have the Preiner twins and Troy Klingsporn amongst others so they had plenty of talent. Youth hurt them as they didn't have that experienced leadership to help out. But the games vs Lakeville South and a shorthanded Champlin Park squad were games that were very winnable.

TNL lost a tough one to Spring Lake Park (sans Shawn Jensen). After sprinting out to a 15-5 lead, SLP was able to get out to a 36-31 lead with 11:40 left. TNL stayed close the rest of the way, but ultimately couldn't get over the hill. Tough for TNL as most of their squad had already played back to back games in the early session (with Champlin Park and Devon Knopke with Burnsville) before their games in the late session.

(Czar's Note 10/19/08: I failed to note that TNL played without Jasper Duberry, Jay Sewer and Kyle Zimmerman. Zimmerman was out due to injury and Sewer was playing at the same time with Richfield.)

Chad Calcaterra joined the Columbia Heights squad for their games. Overall a quiet day for him. Jacob Thomas productive for CH. He had a nice drive for a dunk and a triple + a triple to end the 1st half to push CH to a 12 point halftime lead. The ending 8-2 run continues with a 24-5 spurt to start the 2nd half. CH rolls to a 66-36 win.

While that CH game was going on, Emmanuel Addo was putting on a show for Northfield vs New Prague. He triggered a 1st half 14-0 run with a free throw and a couple of nice outlet passes for layups. In the 2nd half, they start by giving him a full blown iso on the right wing which he converted. He gets an assist for a 3 and then went left and missed in and out. New Prague doesn't go away though. After being down 14 with 9 minutes left, they cut the lead all the way to 5 with under 4 minutes remaining. But Addo puts the game away by making consecutive straight away triples around a New Prague bucket. He even played point guard late in the game. 24 points and a dominating (and entertaining) performance. Northfield wins 63-51.

Its rare for me to comment on JV action, but in this case I couldn't help but notice the Forest Lake JVs during the middle session. Its fairly rare to see a JV squad execute their offense well for any length of time during the regular season. It was a pleasure to watch how precise the FL JVs were executing their 5 man open-post motion. While I'd like to see them execute their cuts harder on every possession, you can tell they're very well schooled in what they do.

Week 1 Concordia Fall League schedule

11 AM

• Woodbury-Blue vs Centennial - Ct 1
• Roseville vs St. Bernard's - Ct 2
• Woodbury-White vs Hill-Murray - Ct 3
• Mahtomedi vs Mpls SW - Ct 4

11:50 AM

• Owatonna vs Holy Angels - Ct 1
• Park (Cottage Grove) vs Minnehaha - Ct 2
• Andover vs Centennial - Ct 3
• Woodbury-Blue vs Hill-Murray - Ct 4

12:40 PM

• Roseville vs Mpls SW - Ct 1
• Woodbury-White vs Holy Angels - Ct 2
• Mahtomedi vs Andover - Ct 3
• Owatonna vs Minnehaha Academy - Ct 4
  

1:30 PM

• Park (Cottage Grove) vs St. Bernard's - Ct 1

Concordia has the 1st 2 weeks off.

The JV portion of the league plays after the Varsity games.

Week 4 of the Magic Fall League

Scores from week 4 of the Magic Fall League.

Session 1:
Titans def Prior Lake 53-42
94 Ft of Game def Transitions II 53-46

Session 2:
BSM def Prior Lake 73-59. Darren Glover 16 points for BSM.
Transitions I def Chaska 51-46

Session 3:
Como Park def Titans 60-43
94 Ft of Game def Belle Plaine 51-48. Philip Freeman (Richfield) with a triple with 1 minute left to break a 46 all tie.
BSM magically lost a player after their 1st game. They lost to Eagan 89-67 in a 4 on 4 game.

Session 4:
Edina def PL Hoops 64-30. Edina went on a 18-2 run after giving up the 1st 5 points of the game. Ben Biewen with 11 1st half points in that game. Will Deberg also playing for Edina in the game.
Eagan def Chaska 62-53
Eden Prairie def Bethany 86-31

Session 5:
Raiders def Titans 86-54
Como Park def Belle Plaine 66-45

Prior Lake played shorthanded as did BSM (no Peter Crawford). No Evan Anderson for the Titans either. Keegan Meier of the Titans (Eau Claire Memorial) played well during the fall league as he displayed solid 3 point shooting. Today's Raiders squad, how loaded. Both Noreens, Caleb Palkert, Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Thompson (who played well), Siyani Chambers, Milos Ristanovic and more, YIKES.

Week 3 of the MBA Fall League

Scores from the 3rd week of action at the MBA Fall League.

Session 1:
St. Paul Central def Edison 53-52
Coon Rapids def Park Center 59-50
Mpls Demons vs Dunwoody 55-31 behind a nice performance from Jonah Travis.

Session 2:
TNL def Edison 71-40
Mpls Demons def Park Center 44-36

Session 3:
Henry Sibley def Maple Grove 40-17
St. Paul Central def NYA 66-35
Minnehaha def Armstrong 91-35 (that is not a typo)

Session 4:
Maple Grove def TNL 84-57

Session 5:
Henry Sibley def Hoops Training 61-34

Session 6:
Minnehaha def Hoops Training 75-45
Armstrong def Park Center 80-59

Hoops Training came in 3-1 but lost 2 blowouts to the top of the league today. Trevor Gruis (Ellsworth) really struggled vs the size of the Sibley frontline and the combination of Taylor Sparkman and Taylor Hanson of Minnehaha. On my highly unofficial stat sheet, I had 2-12 FG vs Sibley and 3-11 FG vs Minnehaha with a combined 11 points in the 2 games for him.

Schedule for 4th week of 2008 fall leagues

The MBA league has posted their week 3 schedule (use the link for the MBA league on the Fall Leagues page to view it). 3 very nice games on the schedule include Armstrong vs Redhawks, Sibley vs Hoops Training and Redhawks vs Hoops Training. Hoops Training features Ellsworth's Trevor Gruis . They're 3-1 in this league and should be 4-0 after losing a 25-8 lead vs Armstrong in their last game. The competition ramps up this week with those 2 tough games. Those MBA games are Saturday at Minnehaha Academy.

On Sunday, the Magic league has this schedule (note: the schedule I used last week was changed at the door, so if you attend, check at the entry table for updates). All games at Jefferson.

Noon: Titans vs Prior Lake - Ct 2
Noon: Transitions I vs Transitions II - Ct 3
1 PM: Prior Lake vs BSM - Ct 2
1 PM: Transitions I vs Chaska - Ct 3
2 PM: Titans vs Como Park - Ct 2
2 PM: Transitions II vs Belle Plaine - Ct 3
2 PM: Eagan vs BSM - Ct 4
3 PM: Bethany vs Eden Prairie - Ct 2
3 PM: PL Hoops vs Watertown - Ct 3
3 PM: Eagan vs Chaska - Ct 4
4 PM: Titans vs Raiders - Ct 2
4 PM: Como Park vs Belle Plaine - Ct 3
4 PM: Transitions II vs TBA - Ct 5
5 PM: Bethany vs PL Hoops - Ct 2
5 PM: Eden Prairie vs Watertown - Ct 3
5 PM: Transitions II vs TBA - Ct 5

But the game of the day is in the MYAS Minnetonka league. Mustangs (Noreens and Caleb Palkert) taking on Mpls Gamblers (Rodney Williams and company). That game is at 10:50 AM Sunday morning on Minnetonka court 2.

Week 3 of the Magic Fall League

A light schedule today with only 3 games on my plate for week 3 of the Magic Fall League. A quick correction from last week's notes. I noted that Freddie Burton was playing for the Transitions II squad. He's actually playing for the 94 Ft of Game squad as we'll find out later.

Session 1: Transitions I vs Eagan. No Noreens for MTS, only Antonio Wigfall. Charlie Baker is present for Eagan. He doesn't disappoint either. 7 quick points + a pretty behind the back dropoff for a layup give Eagan a 13-2 lead after 7 minutes. They extend the lead to 25-6 inside of 5 minutes to play in the half. 13 points on 5-7 shooting for Baker in the 1st half. 29-12 Eagan at the break. Eagan goes to their bench to start the 2nd half and MTS cuts the lead to 11. Baker quickly back into the game at the 14 minute mark. He restores order and its 39-26 Eagan with 8 minutes left when he goes back to the bench. MTS makes another run and Baker's return doesn't really help. Eagan misses a layup which leads to an MTS runout for a layup to cut the lead to 43-37 with 2 minutes left. 11-4 MTS run. Eagan doesn't score but Wigfall misses a wide open layup at 1:45 and MTS won't get any closer. 48-42 Eagan wins. Baker with a quiet 2nd half as he finishes with 15 points. I had him for 2 assists. I counted 3 missed layups and 3 missed wide open stand-still triples that could have given him a half dozen more assists.

In the other session 1 game, PL Hoops hangs on to def 94 Ft of Game 41-39. Joey King (Eagan) with a putback of a missed FT and a big defensive rebound late to seal the win. Nice win for PL Hoops as they're a group of freshman playing against Freddie Burton, Phillip Freeman and the rest of 94 Ft of Game.

Session 2: Eagan vs Prior Lake. Deryck Ludwig back for Prior Lake to provide an interior presence. Tor Anderson with 2 quick layins to give Prior Lake a 10-7 lead with 11 minutes left in the 1st half. Charlie Baker gets a late assist for a 3 and then drains a triple of his own at the halftime buzzer to give Eagan a 26-19 halftime lead. Baker with 10 late points in the half and Anderson really cooled off after the quick start. Prior Lake gets the 1st 5 of the 2nd half with Baker on the bench to cut the lead to 2. Baker comes back in and gets 2 triples and 2 assists in a 14-2 run to push the Eagan lead to 40-26 with 10:30 to play. But Tor Anderson won't let Prior Lake go away quietly. He gets a 3 point play with 2:45 left, a bucket off of a Baker turnover and then a triple with 42 seconds left to cut the Eagan lead to 44-42 (16-4 Prior Lake run). Baker misses the front end of the bonus with 16 seconds left but Eagan gets the rebound and makes both free throws. That makes Anderson's 3 at the buzzer irrelevant as Eagan hangs on for the 46-45 win. Baker with 16 points. Tor Anderson leads the way for Prior Lake with 21 points via a hot start and finish.

PL Hoops def Transitions I in the other session 2 game. Clutch FT shooting for PL Hoops as they made 8 of 10 FTs down the stretch to seal the victory.

Session 3: Prior Lake vs 94 Ft of Game. Tor Anderson guarding Freddie Burton after spending a large amount of time guarding Charlie Baker in the last game. 94 Ft gets out to a 14-4 lead with 11:15 left in the 1st half. Andrew Dale with 2 putbacks for Prior Lake to try and keep them close but 94 Ft goes on a 9-0 run (Burton jumper included) to lead 23-10 with 5:30 left in the half. 27-18 94 Ft at the break. Dale with a nice cut for a layup and 2 Anderson FTs cut the 94 Ft lead to 36-31 with 12:15 left. Phillip Freeman knocks down a 3 to give 94 Ft a 45-37 lead with 5:30 to play. Anderson once again takes over. Nice set play out of a timeout to get him a layup, he then gets a backside postup on an inbounds play and 2 more. Prior Lake then puts back an offensive rebound to tie the game at 45 to 1:08 to play. 94 Ft then holds the ball for the final shot and Burton buries a 17 footer over Anderson from the right wing with 2.5 left to win it 47-45.

Some good games next week as the Prior Lake plays the Titans and BSM. We'll see if Marshall Bjorklund plays for the Titans. He's currently nursing an injured shoulder. Evan Anderson's teammate Tyler Brown may join the Titans in his place. Brown recently committed to Central Michigan. In other games, Eagan will play BSM and Chaska.

Week 3 Schedules for 2008 Fall Leagues

Here are schedules for the 3rd week of basketball fall leagues in the metro.

SATURDAY

Magic Fall League (all games on Ct 5)
3 PM: Raiders vs BSM
4 PM: Raiders vs Belle Plaine
5 PM: BSM vs Belle Plaine

The MBA league has the week off.

SUNDAY

MYAS Blue at Minnetonka
8:30 AM: Southwest vs Wizards - Ct 1
8:30 AM: Mpls Gamblers vs MDB HS Boys Fall - Ct 2
8:30 AM: Shakopee White vs Minnetonka - Ct 3
9:40 AM: Southwest vs Mustangs - Ct 1
9:40 AM: Mpls Gamblers vs Heat - Ct 2
9:40 AM: Mound-Westonka vs Minnetonka - Ct 3
10:50 AM: Wizards vs Mustangs - Ct 1
10:50 AM: MDB HS Boys Fall vs Heat - Ct 2
10:50 AM: Mound-Westonka vs Shakopee White - Ct 3

MYAS Black at Shakopee
11:20 AM: Owatonna vs Waconia - Ct 1
11:20 AM: Shakopee Black vs New Prague - Ct 2
11:20 AM: Burnsville vs Rochester Rockets - Ct 3
11:20 AM: Mayo vs Century - Ct 4
12:30 PM: Owatonna vs Century - Ct 1
1:40 PM: Shakopee Black vs Rochester Rockets - Ct 1
1:40 PM: Burnsville vs New Prague - Ct 2
1:40 PM: Mayo vs New Prague - Ct 3

MYAS Gold at Forest Lake
9:00 AM: White Bear Fall League vs Polars 1 - Ct 1
9:00 AM: Wildcats vs Bulldogs St. Paul - Ct 2
10:10 AM: Eastside Hoops vs Polars 1 - Ct 1
10:10 AM: 53 Hoops vs Centennial - Ct 2
11:20 AM: Eastside Hoops vs Bulldogs St. Paul - Ct 1
11:20 AM: 53 Hoops vs Wildcats - Ct 2
11:20 AM: White Bear Fall League vs Centennial - Ct 3

Magic Fall League at Bloomington Jefferson

Noon: Transitions I vs Eagan - Ct 2
Noon: Transitions II vs PL Hoops - Ct 3
1 PM: Transtions I vs PL Hoops - ct 2
1 PM: Eagan vs Prior Lake - Ct 3
2 PM: Transitions II vs Prior Lake - Ct 2
3 PM: Watertown vs TBA - Ct 2
3 PM: Chaska vs Eden Prairie - Ct 3
4 PM: Como Park vs TBA - Ct 2
4 PM: Bethany vs TBA - Ct 5
5 PM: Bethany vs TBA - Ct 4
5 PM: Eden Prairie vs Como Park - Ct 2

The Mpls Gamblers are tearing apart that Minnetonka MYAS league putting up almost 90 a game with Rodney Williams (thanks to the Basketblogger for that info). The Mustangs team in that same group has Kevin and Kyle Noreen on it along with Caleb Palkert (SW Christian). That group is 3-1 and will take on the Gamblers next week in the top matchup of that league.

Week 2 of the Magic Fall League

Week 2 of the Magic Fall League was today at Bloomington Jefferson. Here's what I saw.

Session 1: Titans vs Eagan. No Marshall Bjorklund for the Titans but Jordan Reetz and Evan Anderson were on hand. No Jameson Parsons for Eagan. Eagan does a nice job early of swarming Anderson on every touch. Anderson responded by smartly pivoting and hitting the open man opposite. Anderson does get an offensive rebound which he turns into a dunk to give the Titans a 16-12 lead with 8 minutes left in the half. Eagan comes back thanks to Charlie Baker to take a 25-20 halftime lead. They extend the lead to 32-20 before Reetz breaks the run at 16:10 of the 2nd half. Anderson gets a dunk and Reetz then makes a nice spin move for 2 to pull the Titans within 4. 39-35 Eagan with 10:15 to play. Baker to the bench for a rest. He returns with 5:30 to play and promptly drains a 3 to put Eagan up 52-42 and they don't look back. Eagan makes their free throws down the stretch for a surprising 60-49 win. Evan Anderson with 11 pts and 9 rbs, Jordan Reetz with 11 points for the Titans. But this game was about Charlie Baker of Eagan. 17 points and at least a half dozen assists for him. He hit triples in the 1st half and then in the 2nd half he drew help and picked apart the Titans defense for layups. A terrific performance to lead Eagan to the win.

Session 2: Freddie Burton (Cooper) lead Transitions II to a 91-37 win over Bethany.

Session 3: Titans vs Belle Plaine. Belle Plaine goes 1-2-2 zone the entire game to try and combat Anderson's size. 1st half is back and forth with the Titans leading 22-18 at the break. 43-34 Titans with 8 minutes to play before they go on a 14-4 run to put the game away. Titans win 57-41. Anderson with 7 pts, 7 rbs and 4 blks. Reetz with 11.

In the other session 3 game, Eagan came back from a 10 point deficit vs Como Park. Charlie Baker made a layup and got fouled with 10 seconds left. But he missed the free throw which would have tied it. Como Park missed 3 front ends of 1 and 1 at the end to make it possible but they hang on for the 61-60 win.

Session 4: Prior Lake vs Belle Plaine. Prior Lake gets the 1st 25 points of the game over 15:45 and they roll to a 67-31 win. Tor Anderson with 22 points and Andrew Dale with 17 despite playing out of position at center due to no Deryck Ludwig. Ludwig was with Shakopee's Matt Zager touring SW MN State. Congrats to both as they received full ride offers. Ludwig returns next week.

In the other session 4 game, Transitions II def PL Hoops 76-59 after having a 3 point halftime lead.

Session 5: Titans vs BSM. Best game of the day here. BSM used a 2-3 zone to try and slow down Evan Anderson. Darren Glover with 7 quick points for BSM countered by 15 early Jordan Reetz points for the Titans. 24-20 Titans with 8:09 left in the 1st half. 35-34 Titans at the break. Peter Crawford with 13 and 5 for BSM at the break. Reetz with 18 for the Titans. Titans get out to a 48-42 lead with 12 minutes left but Justin Segal gets a layup for BSM off of a blocked shot. 60-58 BSM leads with 5 minutes left. Crawford hits 2 clutch free throws with 1:52 left to push the lead to 65-62. Reetz misses and Justin Segal gets 2 assists to put the game away. BSM wins 70-66. Peter Crawford huge with 25 and 12 for BSM. Darren Glover with 15 but a major cool down after making his 1st 3 shots. Evan Anderson with 14 and 11 for the Titans. Jordan Reetz lead the way with 27.

PL Hoops def Bethany 63-48 in the other session 5 game.

Some fun games next week as here are some matchups that caught my eye.

• MTS vs Eagan
• Eagan vs Prior Lake
• Chaska vs Eden Prairie

Week 2 of the MBA Fall League

Action from week 2 of the MBA fall league at Minnehaha Academy.

Session 1 Scores: NYA def Blake 74-29, Maple Grove JV def North Branch JV 35-20 and Edison def Dunwoody Academy 56-28.

Session 2 Scores: Blake def North Branch JV 44-43, Maple Grove JV def NYA 44-37 and Maple Grove blew out Edison 63-35 in an ugly game.

Session 3: A couple of real good ones here to start my day. Armstrong vs Sibley in the one of the biggest games of the league in my featured game. Regular season rosters mostly intact for this game which adds to the excitement. The game is even early as Damarius Cruz goes over Jake Kreuser for an early bucket to pull Armstrong within 11-9 4 minutes into the action. Sibley uses 5 Mike Bruesewitz points and alley-oop to Chris Halvorsen to lead 27-18. 37-28 Sibley at the break behind 16 points and 5 rebounds from Bruesewitz.

Sibley opens the 2nd half on a 10-2 run over the 1st 3:50 of the 2nd half to blow the game open 47-30 with 16:10 to play. Maurice Hernandez with a couple of buckets in that run. They go on to win 68-55. Bruesewitz finishes with 25 and 11, Hernandez with 21 for Sibley. Damarius Cruz with 21 for Armstrong. Interesting to see Halvorsen spend some time guarding Cruz in this game. Armstrong with no answer for the Sibley size.

In other session 3 action, Dunwoody Academy def NYA 47-35. In the other game, Minnehaha got 7 straight points in the last 2 minutes to go from 1 down to 6 up on TNL. Taylor Sparkman with the 1st 5 of those points to lead the Redhawks to the 76-70 win.

Session 4: Coon Rapids vs St. Peter. Ben Baker with a quick start for Coon Rapids with 10 of the first 13 Cardinal points. They lead 25-18 at the break. They start the 2nd half on a 15-4 spurt over the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half to break the game open. Coon Rapids wins 48-27. Baker with 20 points and 7 rebounds.

In other session 4 action, Hoops Training def Park Center 44-36. Maple Grove def St. Paul Central 52-44.

Session 5: Minnehaha vs Sibley in another premier league matchup. Parker Hines gets a steal and layup to give Minnehaha an early 10-6 lead. Sibley then goes on a 13-0 run over the next 8 minutes to take control. Chris Halvorsen with a nice drive and dunk within that run. A Mike Rostampour putback at the buzzer gives Sibley a 33-23 lead at the break. Nice balance on both sides as Rostampour and Bruesewitz each have 8 and Hernandez with 7 for Sibley. Greg Meyer, David Burnham and Hines all with 5 for Minnehaha.

Hernandez comes out and hits 2 quick threes and Halvorsen gets a dunk off of the nice Sibley inbounds package to push the lead to 17. Hernandez finishes the spurt with a 3 point play to make it 54-30 with 11 minutes to play. Taylor Sparkman with 8 late points for Minnehaha to try and make it interesting but the game is long over. Sibley wins 64-51. Mike Rostampour with 16 and 10. Hernandez with 18 for Sibley. Taylor Sparkman with 12 points all in the 2nd half. Greg Meyer also with 12 for Minnehaha. Sparkman was playing center and often guarded by Jake Kreuser. I thought Sparkman could exploit Kreuser by stepping outside, but that didn't happen until late in the game after the outcome was already determined.

In other session 5 action, Coon Rapids blew out Mankato 78-41. TNL blew out Mpls Demons 53-35.

Session 6: Hoops Training vs Armstrong. Armstrong ice cold early and in a major shock its 25-8 Hoops Training with 7:45 left in the 1st half. Then Damarius Cruz blows the roof off as he goes down the lane with a thunderous 1 handed dunk to put some life back in the Falcons. 29-15 Hoops Training with 5 minutes left in the half after the dunk. 33-21 Hoops Training at the break. Cruz the only offense for the Falcons as he had 15 points.

Trevor Gruis (Ellsworth) gets a couple of buckets for Hoops Training to keep the lead at 12, 39-27 after 3 minutes of the 2nd half. Its a 10 point lead with 13 minutes to play before Armstrong comes to life. Marquel Curtis with back to back blocks on the same possession leads to an Andy Seidlitz triple. Cruz finds Seidlitz for a layup and then gets another dunk plus a layin and Armstrong is all the way back to lead 52-49. That concluded a 19-6 Armstrong run over an 8 minute stretch. Gruis doing it all for Hoops Training down the stretch. He gets 2 buckets and then after an Armstrong turnover, gets the assist to give them the lead back 55-54. After a Curtis miss, Gruis dunks with 31 seconds left to give Hoops Training a 57-54 lead. Cruz with a clutch triple from straight away to tie it with 18 seconds left. Gruis doesn't touch it on the last possession and we go to overtime. Ted Vogt with an early bucket and Curtis with a free throw for the final 60-57 margin as Hoops Training doesn't score in the 2 minute OT. Cruz with at least 24 for the Falcons in the win.

Park Center def St. Paul Central 55-53 in the other game. PC missed a FT to give Central a shot at the buzzer to win it, but the 3 was off.

Session 7: Sibley vs Mpls Demons. A rout all the way. The Demons with only 3 1st half field goals. Sibley leads 27-11 at the break. More ugliness in the 2nd half as the Demons needs 7 minutes to get their 1st field goal of the half. So that's 4 field goals in 27 minutes. Yikes, nice job by Sibley on the defensive end. 45-21 Sibley wins. Bruesewitz with 12 and Halvorsen 11 for Sibley.

St. Peter def Mankato 60-47 in the other game.

Random thoughts from the days action:

• You can really tell the teams that use this for the regular season and those who don't. The dead giveaway is the teams that are running all of their regular season stuff (Armstrong, Sibley) and those who are just running around (Edison, Mpls Demons). Its one thing to build the system for the regular season. Its entirely another to build bad habits that have to be broken once the regular season comes along.
  
• This was my 1st chance to see Sibley's Mike Rostampour play. He didn't play varsity last year, but he's grown 5 inches in the last year and he's got the same motor that Mike Bruesewitz has. He was very active on the glass and around the basket all day. He'll be fun to watch this season.
  
• Chris Halvorsen's cold shooting continues to surprise me. He didn't shoot well when I saw him at the Twin Cities Summer Classic and today he was 5-16 shooting free throws. I'm not sure I saw him hit an outside shot all day.
• Sibley's biggest question this year in my mind will be point guard play. They really struggled with that today. Granted they had a kid missing there, but they used Maurice Hernandez and Mike Bruesewitz (especially vs pressure) to do some of the ball handling. Shows the skills that Bruesewitz has and how he'll be a nice fit for Bo Ryan. But it also shows that this is an area that the Warriors will continue to look at.
  

2008 Magic Fall League Info

I've added the MN Magic Fall League to the schedule on the Fall Leagues page. Here's the full schedule for this week. I'll be adding each week as it approaches as its too long to post it all here. Note the Titans team that is playing in this league. They have Marshall Bjorklund (Sibley East) and Jordan Reetz (Fall Creek, WI) from the MN Magic 16 Elites along with 2010 star Evan Anderson of Eau Claire North (committed to Wisconsin).

Saturday 9/27/08 at Bloomington Kennedy:
1 PM: Raiders vs Chaska - Ct 1
2 PM: Raiders vs Watertown - Ct 1
2 PM: Chaska vs Bethany - Ct 2
3 PM: Eden Prairie vs Bethany - Ct 1
4 PM: Transitions I vs Watertown - Ct 1
5 PM: Transitions I vs Eden Prairie - Ct 1

Sunday 9/28/08 at Bloomington Jefferson:
12 PM: Titans vs Eagan - Ct 2
1 PM: Prior Lake vs Como Park - Ct 2
1 PM: Transitions II vs Bethany - Ct 3
2 PM: Titans vs Belle Plaine - Ct 2
2 PM: Eagan vs Como Park - Ct 3
3 PM: Prior Lake vs Belle Plaine - Ct 2
3 PM: Transitions II vs PL Hoops - Ct 3
4 PM: Titans vs BSM - Ct 2
4 PM: Bethany vs PL Hoops - Ct 3
5 PM: Transitions II vs BSM -Ct 2

Week 1 of the MBA Fall League

Fall leagues opened today with a full day of action at Minnehaha Academy as part of the Minnesota Basketball Assocation fall league. I attended the 1st half of the day (4 boys sessions) and here's what I saw.

Session 1: Coon Rapids vs TNL Express (Champlin Park based)
A battle of NW Suburban foes in the opening session. 28-24 TNL at the half and then a couple of Jay Sewer 3s in the 2nd half breaks the game open. TNL goes on to a 62-48 win. Sewer with 5 triples and a total of 22 pts in the win. Jasper Duberry with 20 points for TNL. Ben Baker with 10 pts and 7 rebs for Coon Rapids in the loss.

Session 2: Maple Grove vs Redhawks (Minnehaha Academy)
We continue the NW Suburban theme here as Maple Grove takes on the home team. No Taylor Sparkman for the Redhawks. I believe it was David Burnham on the bench watching and Greg Meyer playing but I may have them reversed. I'm going with Meyer and an apology if I mixed them up. 23-22 Maple Grove at halftime. Nothing for Meyer in the 1st half. MG comes out in a 2-3 zone in the 2nd half after playing man in the 1st half. This gets them out to a 41-33 lead with 9:10 to play. Them Meyer hits a 3 and gets a 3 pt play and Parker Hines knocks down a 3 to complete a 14-0 Redhawks run. 47-41 Minnehaha with 3:20 left. MG only gets 1 FG and 3-6 FTs in the last 9:10. Minnehaha goes on to win 56-47. Meyer with 9 pts, all in the 2nd half. Hines with 7 late points to put the game away.

In other session 2 action, Maple Grove JV def Blake 65-62.

Session 3: TNL Express vs Park Center
Tied at 26 at the break. Devon Knopke comes out and has a great 2nd half and we're tied at 46 with 5:20 to play. A 4 point play and a TNL technical foul give PC a 54-49 lead with 2 minutes left. But TNL gets the next 6 as Knopke gets the assist on a 3 by Josh Pratt (St. Anthony) with 45.2 seconds to play to give TNL a 55-54 lead. PC gets a layup with 28 seconds left to regain the lead. TNL then gives Knopke the ball again on a clear out and he delivers with a nice floater in the lane with 3 seconds left to give TNL the 57-56 win. Jasper Duberry made a living at the FT line in this game (7-9 FTs) and finished with 11 points. Jay Sewer quiet with 10 points.

In other session 3 action, Edison defeats Coon Rapids 58-46 after the scoreboard operator flipped the teams on the scoreboard. A shame to see situations like that. Armstrong blew out Maple Grove 86-67.

Session 4: Armstrong vs St. Paul Central
No Ted Vogt for Armstrong but their guards were out in force in this game. Armstrong out to a quick 11-4 lead after 2 and a half minutes. 42-28 Armstrong at halftime. Central gets as close as 51-45 with 12 minutes to play, but a 17-4 Armstrong run puts the game away. Falcons win 77-57.

A typical Armstrong game with at least 9 triples. That includes a very cold shooting game for Damarius Cruz who started 2-12 before making a couple in the 2nd half. 4-15 shooting overall with 9 points. Andy Seidlitz with 3 triples and 15 points. David Weber with a real nice game of 4 triples and 16 points. Seidlitz had 9 triples in a JV game vs Hopkins last season. A real sniper and you know coach Miller will get him good looks over the next 2 seasons.

In other session 4 action, Dunwoody Academy blew out Blake 50-27. Minnehaha held off the Mpls Demons 72-65 after leading by 13 at halftime. The Demons squad has Jalen Jaspers and Jonah Travis of De La Salle as players of note.

Random thoughts from the day's action:

• TNL's running game is fun to watch in addition to their trapping style defense. The long outlet pass off of a score or rebound is what makes it go and it appears they really work on that.
  
• Along similar lines, Champlin Park had better be a running and trapping team this year as Josh Pella and Kyle Zimmerman will be their biggest players. The loss of Calvin Nolte and Emeka Okafor is definitely something big for the Rebels.
• Dunwoody Academy has some athletes, but they too are a small team.
• Sloppy play all day and a surprising amount of playground antics like behind the back passes.
• Henry Sibley joins the party next week. Should be real interesting to see how they look.
  

2008 Fall League Schedule

Click on the links below to read all posts about a particular league.

• Breakdown Fall League
• Concordia Fall League
• Magic Fall League
• MBA Fall League
• Minnetonka Fall League
• Washburn Fall League
  
• All Fall Leagues
  

Click on an event in the table below to read about that day's games.

Week	Saturday	Sunday
Sep 20/21	MBA, Magic	MYAS, Magic
Sep 27/28	MBA, Magic	MYAS, Magic
Oct 4/5	Magic	MYAS, Magic
Oct 11/12	MBA	MYAS, Magic
Oct 18/19	MBA, Breakdown	Concordia
Oct 25/26	Breakdown	Concordia, Magic
Nov 1/2	Breakdown, Washburn	Concordia, Tonka
Nov 8/9	Breakdown, Washburn	Concordia, Tonka
Nov 15/16	Breakdown, Washburn	Tonka
Nov 22/23	Washburn (Cancelled?)	Tonka

Notes

• MBA is the Minnesota Basketball Association league at Minnehaha Academy.
• MYAS is the Minnesota Youth Athletic Services Gopher State Fall League at Minnetonka, Shakopee and Forest Lake.
• Breakdown is at Bloomington Kennedy and Becker.
• Concordia is the league at Concordia-St. Paul.
• Tonka is the MBBA league at Minnetonka and 43 Hoops
• Magic is the Twin Cities Fall League at Eden Prairie and Bloomington Jefferson.
• The Champlin Park leagues were canceled.