2023 Border Battle Thoughts

Its the 2023 Border Battle!  Always one of my favorite events of the year and a great opportunity for me to see of the best from the home state.  This year's event was in Prescott so nice and close to the metro.  They have a great new facility (2016), that while smaller than we're used to for this, was a fantastic host.  Here are some of the sights and sounds.  Wisconsin would pull this one out 4-3.  We look forward to next season at Benilde-St. Margaret's.

Game 1: #11A Lyle/Pacelli 55 Eau Claire Regis 50
This one on paper was a mismatch as former Regis star Connor Miller's Ramblers have struggled.  They made this one a game the entire way.  Their box and 1 defense on Lyle/Pacelli star Buay Koak largely held him in check.  Jake Truckenmiller carrying the Lyle/Pacelli offense in the 2nd half with 4 of his 6 3s.  But Regis would still hold a 4 point lead with under 2 minutes left.  Truckenmiller with a triple and converting a turnover to regain the lead.  Regis misses a layup, Koak with a SLOB post up for a layup to break a 50 all tie with under 40 seconds left.  He then sealed the deal with bonus free throws at the 7.3 mark for the final score.  Jake Truckenmiller 6 3s 22 pts, Buay Koak 11 pts for Lyle/Pacelli.  Jaren Payne 15 points to lead Regis.

Game 2:  #1AA Lake City #7 90 D4 La Crosse Aquinas 52
Aquinas was down 2 starters for this one but not sure it would have mattered.  Lake City just dominated the interior all day.  A 27-2 run by Lake City across halftime would blow open a 5 point game.  They had a stretch of 16 buckets that were all at the rim.  Jaden Shones layup/post up after layup/post up on his way to a game high 29 points.  Hunter Lorenson adds 19 for Lake City. Walter Berns 18 of his 24 to lead Aquinas.

Game 3: #9 D3 Prescott 81 Concordia 72
Prescott would open an 11 point lead in the 1st half but AJ Greene at the halftime buzzer cut the margin to 3.  That was part of a 13-0 run across halftime that gave the Beacons a 37-35 lead just over a minute into the second half.  Prescott promptly responds with a 15-2 run to push the margin back to double digits.  Concordia with the next 7 including back to back Greene buckets and they're back to within 4.  Brady Block with his 2nd and 3rd back breaking 3s of the half to keep the lead at 9.  Concordia never gets closer than 6 after that as Prescott has the answers.  Prescott's stars lead the way.  Sniper Jordan Malmlov 21 points and 20 from forward Dallas Wallin.  Wallin with the brunt of the work guarding AJ Greene as well.  Brandon Stuart adds 17 and Brady Block 4 3s and all 14 of his points in the 2nd half were crushing.  Ben Raymond with 24 points and 3 triples to lead Concordia.  AJ Greene adds 23, Luc Swanson 12.

Game 4: #4AAA Mahtomedi 72 #4 D2 La Crosse Central 59
Mahtomedi came out on fire making 9 of their 1st 15 3s on their way to a 30-16 1st half lead.  Man or zone, didn't matter.  Nic Williams with 2 fouls for Central not helping their cause along with a 3 for 16 shooting start.  They were coming off a tough home OT loss to Onalaska the previous night.  Mahtomedi after that hot start would miss their next 12 attempts from 3.  Central would claw their way back to within 2 via a 8-0 run.  But Mahtomedi would keep their lead for about another 4 minutes.  Central finally gets over the top with a 3 point play from Nic Williams at the 6:30 mark.  Its Central up 54-52, their first and last lead since 2-0.  Then Mahtomedi's shooting strikes again.  AJ McCleery for 3.  Owen Carlson 3 more triples with a tipped out rebound for a dunk sandwiched in there.  Its all in a 16-2 Mahtomedi run with 4-4 3s that puts the Zephyrs up 68-56 with 2:58 left and slams the door.  Owen Carlson fantastic with 29 points and 7 3s.  AJ McCleery 16 points with 2 3s.  I had Mahtomedi 13-31 from deep.  That kind of shooting makes they really dangerous.  Junior Henry Meyer in attack mode all day leading the Riverhawks with 21 points.  Bennett Fried adds 19.

Game 5: #6 D2 Onalaska 94 #6AA Minneapolis North 64
Max Wilson with 3 of North's 6 triples early as the Polars would open a 29-25 lead under the 6 minute mark of the 1st half.  Onalaska would cross halftime on a 28-3 run for a 53-34 lead.  Star soph TJ Stuttley 3 buckets and 2 free throws in that run.  North with a couple of buckets and as they're within 60-46 with 10:17 left.  Not insurmountable as they take time out.  Then the roof falls in for North.  A bench tech during the timeout then coach Ricky Davis gets tossed a couple minutes later.  Add in another player technical for more free throws.  Now the game is a total blowout.  Then a couple of late game frustration technicals and the game gets called with 44.5 seconds left.  More on this later.  Onalaska with 5 players in double figures led by Evan Anderson with 31 points, TJ Stuttley with 20.  Caylon Redd with 18, Zashon Rich 15 for North.  Final free throw count in this one was huge.  7-10 for North, 30-44 for Onalaska (25-35 2nd half).

Game 6:  #1 D2 Pewaukee 93 #1AAA Totino-Grace 63
Pewaukee was dominant in last year's Border Battle and it was more of the same last year. Iowa St commit Momcilovic with the 1st 8 points of the game.  TG avoids the blowout initially with good minutes off the bench from Zy'Lerre Stewart.  Taison Chatman for 3 and we're tied at 29 at the 4:40 mark.  Nick Janowski with 10 points in a 14-1 Pewaukee run after that.  They used him posting up Chatman at moments here.  Then a 16-3 run to start the 2nd half with Janowski and Momcilovic scoring 8 each in the run.  62-37 with 13:25 left.  Nick Janowski with 34, Milan Momcilovic with 33 in sharp shooting performances to lead Pewaukee.  Great bench minutes from soph Karson Osertman with 13 points for the Pirates as well.  Zy'Lerre Stewart 15 points, Tyler Wagner 10 to lead Totino-Grace.  Pewaukee is so disciplined and so skilled and have a ton of young talent after Momcilovic leaves for Iowa State.  Scary thought. 

Game 7: #2 D1 Middleton 51 #2AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's 47
The late game was a grind it out affair.  BSM doesn't get their 2nd FG of the 2nd half until 1:45 left in the game.  That allows Middleton to open up a 10 point lead that the Red Knights just couldn't recover from.  They had no answer inside for soph post Will Garlock.  Garlock 21 points to lead Middleton.  Winona State commit Gavin Hurley adds 17.  Jalen Wilson with 18 points to lead BSM.  Jaleel Donley with 3 of his 4 3s in the last minute to give him 12 points and make the final score look closer than it was.  BSM's youth still shows on the offense end as they had 22 turnovers.  Middleton played zone most of the night and the patience and shooting weren't there to address it.

All Border Battle Team
Nick Janowski - Pewaukee
Milan Momcilovic - Pewaukee
Owen Carlson - Mahtomedi
Will Garlock - Middleton
Jaden Shones - Lake City
Evan Anderson - Onalaska
TJ Stuttley - Onalaska

More on Minneapolis North
So as mentioned the game was called early.  Let's start with what I saw from my vantage point.  Head coach Ricky Davis was ejected for a 2nd technical midway through the 2nd half.  Didn't want to sit as directed after the 1st technical (1st T you lose your coaching box privileges, standard rule).  Then didn't want to leave after the 2nd T.  Finally he was escorted out by Prescott staff without incident.  Now to the end of the game.  A North player rips the ball away and gets called for a foul.  He then throws the ball at the kid for a technical.  That technical upsets the North kid who then picks up the basketball and kicks it into the stands for the ejection.  Assistant coach does a fantastic job of getting the kid out before anything else can happen.  Refs huddle, talk to the coaches and call the game at that point.

I mentioned the free throw count above and it was definitely the point of frustration.  In the 2nd half, the officials definitely called the game much tighter than they did in the 1st half.  Though Onalaska only had a 9-6 edge in the 2nd half FTA at the time coach Davis was ejected.  That's a style that the city teams don't see very much.  That's just the reality of our game.  North has played in Iowa this season where the officiating is notoriously touchy.  They played in Wisconsin just last weekend and will play in South Dakota next month.  At the end of the day, teams have to adjust.  While it was tight, I certainly thought it was fair.  It had nothing to do with Onalaska simply being the much better team on this day.

So where do I come down on this.  For starters, it makes me sick to my stomach since it gives our game, the school, the coaches and the players a bad rap.  Nobody wants that.  North has gone thru so much in the last few years that piling on something like this is unfortunate.  The players I have no comment on as they are kids.  Yes they know better but who amongst us was a saint in our high school years.  I hope this turns into a valuable teachable moment for them.

That teachable moment will come from the coaching staff.  I learned the hard way when I coached that a team will take on the personality and actions of its coaches.  If the coaches are complaining to the officials, then the kids will emulate that.  That was exactly what happened here.  Sadly it spiraled out of control.  As an Iowa fan, in addition to my Wisconsin allegiances), I rooted for Ricky Davis back when he was a college player.  I hope he continues the run at Minneapolis North.  At the end of the day, leadership comes from the top.  The ultimate responsibility for this and fixing it comes down to him.  He needs to set the example.