The concept of the timer not starting the 20 minute warmup clock until the home team comes out is starting to get on my nerves. Tonight it was so bad that Heights was out warming up for 5 minutes, the officials came out then went back to get Cooper and in the meantime one of the refs had to come back to directly tell Cooper timer/announcer Lloyd Sullivan to start the clock. We're scheduled for a 7:15 start and its 7:05 with 1 team on the court ready to start and we don't have the 20 minutes running. And this happens in many places, not just Cooper. If the game time is behind, once the JVs get off the court, start that clock and let's go.
Early on we get a couple of timeouts (more on that later), but its 15-12 Columbia Heights with about 10 minutes left when Joe Bright and Rodney Williams Jr get out on a 2 on 1 break. Bright has the ball and this looks like a lob all the way but Bright decides to go Dr J over Michael Cooper on this one and slams it home himself for a nasty dunk that sparks a 12-2 Cooper run to make it 24-17 Cooper with 6:03 left in the half. Jacob Thomas gets a pretty reverse layup off a backdoor cut to start a Heights 8-0 run that gives them a 25-24 lead with about 3 minutes left but Williams get a 3 point play and another bucket and Cooper gets 8 of the next 10. Halftime score is 33-29 Cooper. Williams has 14 pts, 6 rbs, 2 ast and a blk by my unofficial count. But everything is on the post. No outside shots as he's playing center against the Heights 1-2-2 and man and he's shooting cold from close distance anyway.
In the 2nd half, Williams gets the 1st 6 Cooper buckets and Heights gets a Technical and they may be on the ropes as its 48-41 outside 11 minutes remaining. But a couple of Zaire Saunders 3s make it 52-49 with 9:15 remaining. Joe Bright puts back a missed FT of a 3 pt play to push the lead to 7 and start a 26-4 run. During the run, Williams finally hit an outside shot (his 1 3 of the night) and that appears to be icing on the cake. But he gets the real exclamation point right after this with a monster breakaway 360 dunk with 3:45 remaining. The rest is garbage time as Williams leaves with 2:16 remaining and a 80-56 Cooper lead. Final score is 87-65 Cooper.
Jacob Thomas did have some looks in the 1st half that didn't go down, but showed good poise. He finishes with 14. Zaire Saunders has 10 of the 1st 15 Heights points and finishes with 20. For Cooper, Joe Bright with 12 but this night was all about Rodney Williams Jr. He finishes with 37 points, close to double digit rebounds, at least 3 ast and 3 blks. He played in the post all night and even had trouble from short range which was surprising, but it didn't matter as it was over when he touched it at the basket. No chance for Heights to deal with him there. I was surprised at how visibly frustrated he got when he was open in the post and wasn't given the ball. He had a handful of dunks including the 360. It was interesting to see him during warmups shoot with a defender on him (he had a teammate play D for the last 10 minutes of warmups). His shot used to be very very flat but he's greatly improved that, but it appears his release point is lower so you may be able to get a hand in and bother him.
The 2 vs 3 seed discussion with Cooper vs Mounds View in 5AAAA is interesting. Don't be surprised if it turns out to be seeded such that Cooper plays Park Center and Mounds View plays Centennial (travel reasons). As it stands today, a Champlin Park/Irondale 4 vs 5 game looks pretty interesting in that section. For Heights, a 3AAA tournament rematch of the game with St. Anthony would be fun (St. Anthony won the 1st matchup at home by 2, see below)
(Czar's correction 2/7/08. Columbia Heights won the 1st matchup with St. Anthony at St. Anthony by 2. Thanks to Coach Braziel for pointing this out and my apologies for the error.)
Week 11 Tuesday Night Scoreboard club
A special edition this week as we have Monday and Tuesday games.
Classic Suburban
Sibley over Tartan by 9, Mike Bruesewitz blows up for 30 as Chris Halverson and Peter Leslie only combine for 11. Marc Sonnen with 17. Sibley now 2 games in front of Tartan and STA for the league lead.
Lake
Rosemount by 3 at Eden Prairie. Wow. Considering what Eden Prairie did at home to Burnsville and Kennedy, this is a shocker. Good balance from Rosemount and Ethan Wragge gets 19 for EP. EP and Kennedy now tied at 10-2 atop the conference standings.
MCAA
NLA by 8 over SWC, Banchy 32 Anderstrom 28 forces 3 way tie with WL for 2nd 2 games behind MCA with Heritage 1/2 game back. MCA at WL and NLA at Heritage on Friday in good games.
MPLS City
Washburn hammers Roosevelt to take sole possession of 1st.
Missota:
Prior Lake wins by 12 at Farmington to keep pace at 4-1 with AHA for the league lead.
St Paul
Central destroys Como Park 92-48 to take sole possession of 1st at 5-0. Avenges 3 pt loss to CP in Hamline tournament. Central has won 7 in a row since the buzzer beater loss to North.
Non-Conf
Armstrong blows out Forest Lake at FL with a 21 pt halftime lead (61-45 final, 38-17 1/2).
Calvin Walker gets 30 for St. Anthony at Rockford, but Rockford still wins by 12.
Classic Suburban
Sibley over Tartan by 9, Mike Bruesewitz blows up for 30 as Chris Halverson and Peter Leslie only combine for 11. Marc Sonnen with 17. Sibley now 2 games in front of Tartan and STA for the league lead.
Lake
Rosemount by 3 at Eden Prairie. Wow. Considering what Eden Prairie did at home to Burnsville and Kennedy, this is a shocker. Good balance from Rosemount and Ethan Wragge gets 19 for EP. EP and Kennedy now tied at 10-2 atop the conference standings.
MCAA
NLA by 8 over SWC, Banchy 32 Anderstrom 28 forces 3 way tie with WL for 2nd 2 games behind MCA with Heritage 1/2 game back. MCA at WL and NLA at Heritage on Friday in good games.
MPLS City
Washburn hammers Roosevelt to take sole possession of 1st.
Missota:
Prior Lake wins by 12 at Farmington to keep pace at 4-1 with AHA for the league lead.
St Paul
Central destroys Como Park 92-48 to take sole possession of 1st at 5-0. Avenges 3 pt loss to CP in Hamline tournament. Central has won 7 in a row since the buzzer beater loss to North.
Non-Conf
Armstrong blows out Forest Lake at FL with a 21 pt halftime lead (61-45 final, 38-17 1/2).
Calvin Walker gets 30 for St. Anthony at Rockford, but Rockford still wins by 12.
Lakeville North at Jefferson observations
So via a warning that I might end up sleeping with the fishes if I attended the Chisago Lakes/Totino-Grace doubleheader, I ended up going to the Lakeville N/Jefferson game instead. Actually, it was due to a late afternoon work meeting, who schedules these things anyway?
So for starters we've got a female lead referee. You don't see that much, especially at the boys level. We have the pep band, but the Jefferson PA guy has music blaring instead. Finally he chops off the music with 13 to go in warmups and we finally have the pep band playing. The kids go to all the trouble to practice and show up only to have the PA play, crazy. With the female ref on duty, its only appropriate that they did a nice version of "I saw her standing there". You need plenty of horns to make a good pep band, but you can't wrong with a good xylophone. Props to the girl who was playing it for the Jefferson pep band.
As to the game, let's just say I should have gone to the Republican Caucus down the hall. Jefferson gets out to a 15-4 lead with 13:11 to go in the half as LN is sloppy vs the Jags 2-3 zone. They extend the lead to 25-13 with 7:44 to go in the half as Moses Alipate is playing well. Jefferson gets the last 4 points of the half to go to the locker room up 38-24. Moses Alipate with 10, Marcus Alipate comes in at 9:52 left and promptly hits a 3 and plays big minutes until his 3rd foul in about 7 minutes. Aaron Barmore with 9.
Jefferson extends the lead more to 46-27 with about 13 minutes to go. A long Aaron Gallegos 3 makes it 52-40 with 8:42 left but a Jefferson 13-4 blows the game open and Jefferson rolls 67-49. No one in double-figures for Lakeville North. Barmore with 21, Moses Alipate with 17 for Jefferson. Marcus Alipate contributes 10 points off the bench. Jefferson's 2-3 zone befuddled the Panthers all night and once LN got behind, they took quick 3s and this was one of those nights where nothing was falling so it got ugly.
Jefferson trying to maybe get the 5 seed in 2AAAA but not fall to #7. They also close to within a half game of Lakeville N in the Lake race for 5th. This one hurt Lakeville N in their race for the #2 in 3AAAA and they need to be careful as Rosemount and Eagan are right there with them.
So for starters we've got a female lead referee. You don't see that much, especially at the boys level. We have the pep band, but the Jefferson PA guy has music blaring instead. Finally he chops off the music with 13 to go in warmups and we finally have the pep band playing. The kids go to all the trouble to practice and show up only to have the PA play, crazy. With the female ref on duty, its only appropriate that they did a nice version of "I saw her standing there". You need plenty of horns to make a good pep band, but you can't wrong with a good xylophone. Props to the girl who was playing it for the Jefferson pep band.
As to the game, let's just say I should have gone to the Republican Caucus down the hall. Jefferson gets out to a 15-4 lead with 13:11 to go in the half as LN is sloppy vs the Jags 2-3 zone. They extend the lead to 25-13 with 7:44 to go in the half as Moses Alipate is playing well. Jefferson gets the last 4 points of the half to go to the locker room up 38-24. Moses Alipate with 10, Marcus Alipate comes in at 9:52 left and promptly hits a 3 and plays big minutes until his 3rd foul in about 7 minutes. Aaron Barmore with 9.
Jefferson extends the lead more to 46-27 with about 13 minutes to go. A long Aaron Gallegos 3 makes it 52-40 with 8:42 left but a Jefferson 13-4 blows the game open and Jefferson rolls 67-49. No one in double-figures for Lakeville North. Barmore with 21, Moses Alipate with 17 for Jefferson. Marcus Alipate contributes 10 points off the bench. Jefferson's 2-3 zone befuddled the Panthers all night and once LN got behind, they took quick 3s and this was one of those nights where nothing was falling so it got ugly.
Jefferson trying to maybe get the 5 seed in 2AAAA but not fall to #7. They also close to within a half game of Lakeville N in the Lake race for 5th. This one hurt Lakeville N in their race for the #2 in 3AAAA and they need to be careful as Rosemount and Eagan are right there with them.
South at Henry Observations
Minneapolis City action on this night as South travels to Henry. Its 16-15 Henry inside of 12 minutes when South goes on a 12-2 run over the next 6 minutes. South extends the lead to 35-23 with 3:15 left in the half. Inside of 2 minutes its 40-28 South but Jordan Hughes hits a 3 after a blocked shot, Mandela Jackson gets 2 after a scrum and another South turnover results in 2 FTs for Alonzo Melton which gives Henry 7 of the last 8 pts of the half. Halftime score is 41-35 South. Michael Adams had 15 and Devon Lamb has 9 in the half as Henry can't contain dribble penetration. Mandela Jackson with 11 in the half for Henry, Jordan Hughes cold shooting for only 6 points. Inside Melton and Evan Gray with 8, but Gray's points were early in the half.
South can't pull away in the early part of the 2nd half as its 60-49 with 10:23 to go. Both teams are in the bonus already. Henry then proceeds to start raining in 3s (Jackson with 2, Hughes with 1 and Louis Cox with 1) to go on a 16-4 run over the next 4 minutes to take a 65-64 lead with 6:25 to play. South is missing a ton of free throws but they're getting them back on the offensive glass, a cardinal sin. A Hughes 3 ties the game at 70 and then a nice post move by Jerome Vaughn gives Henry a 72-70 lead. DeShaun Tyler gets a bucket outside of 3 minutes to give South the lead 73-72 and they won't trail again. Lamb gets a nice post up and makes a tough shot after Cox misses a 3. Jackson makes 1 of 2 FTs to pull Henry with 2 at 2:25 (75-73). But Michael Adams makes 2 FTs, Will Ferguson gets 2 layups, Hughes misses 2 3s but hits one late to pull Henry within 4 but South tacks on 1 more Ferguson layup for a 87-81 South victory.
Mandela Jackson was somewhat out of control in the 1st half, but he had a really good 2nd half and finishes with a game high 27. Jordan Hughes with 3 3s in the 2nd half and he totals 17. Evan Gray with 13 but didn't get nearly enough inside touches. Minimal offense from Henry and their defense was suprisingly bad as they couldn't contain anything off the dribble. But that jives with their ranking as the 5th worst defensive team in class 3A giving up 73.5 PPG coming into tonight. Section 3AAA is another up for grabs section as the best records are Fridley at 8-7 and Spring Lake Park at 9-8. Henry falls to 8-9 with the loss and this hurts in the race for the #1 seed.
Henry tried some 1-2-2 3 quarter court trap on missed FTs which I found interesting as that's the 3rd team I've seen do that this year (Eastview vs Aquinas and Waukesha Catholic Memorial who does it on everything were the others). Pressing off a miss can be a good way to get cheap points if you can get organized since the offense usually isn't as organized on a miss. But they put a little guy on top which defeats the purpose (OK so that's a peeve of mine). Get a big guy up front on those odd-front zones so he's in a passing lane and you've got a tough guy to trap with. I also wish Henry would do more of that nasty diamond press (1-2-1-1) that they used last year with Jerome Vaughn on the ball.
For South, big games from all 3 guard spots. Devon Lamb with 19 (tough matchup too as he's strong enough to post up), Deshaun Tyler and Michael Adams with 20 each. While the loss hurts Henry in the Minneapolis City it keeps South with an outside look. As to the section race, we mentioned that 9-8 was the best record in 3AAA, South improves to 11-7 with the win and still only has the 5th best record in brutal section 6AAAA. North's 7th best 9-6 would be best in 3AAA.
South can't pull away in the early part of the 2nd half as its 60-49 with 10:23 to go. Both teams are in the bonus already. Henry then proceeds to start raining in 3s (Jackson with 2, Hughes with 1 and Louis Cox with 1) to go on a 16-4 run over the next 4 minutes to take a 65-64 lead with 6:25 to play. South is missing a ton of free throws but they're getting them back on the offensive glass, a cardinal sin. A Hughes 3 ties the game at 70 and then a nice post move by Jerome Vaughn gives Henry a 72-70 lead. DeShaun Tyler gets a bucket outside of 3 minutes to give South the lead 73-72 and they won't trail again. Lamb gets a nice post up and makes a tough shot after Cox misses a 3. Jackson makes 1 of 2 FTs to pull Henry with 2 at 2:25 (75-73). But Michael Adams makes 2 FTs, Will Ferguson gets 2 layups, Hughes misses 2 3s but hits one late to pull Henry within 4 but South tacks on 1 more Ferguson layup for a 87-81 South victory.
Mandela Jackson was somewhat out of control in the 1st half, but he had a really good 2nd half and finishes with a game high 27. Jordan Hughes with 3 3s in the 2nd half and he totals 17. Evan Gray with 13 but didn't get nearly enough inside touches. Minimal offense from Henry and their defense was suprisingly bad as they couldn't contain anything off the dribble. But that jives with their ranking as the 5th worst defensive team in class 3A giving up 73.5 PPG coming into tonight. Section 3AAA is another up for grabs section as the best records are Fridley at 8-7 and Spring Lake Park at 9-8. Henry falls to 8-9 with the loss and this hurts in the race for the #1 seed.
Henry tried some 1-2-2 3 quarter court trap on missed FTs which I found interesting as that's the 3rd team I've seen do that this year (Eastview vs Aquinas and Waukesha Catholic Memorial who does it on everything were the others). Pressing off a miss can be a good way to get cheap points if you can get organized since the offense usually isn't as organized on a miss. But they put a little guy on top which defeats the purpose (OK so that's a peeve of mine). Get a big guy up front on those odd-front zones so he's in a passing lane and you've got a tough guy to trap with. I also wish Henry would do more of that nasty diamond press (1-2-1-1) that they used last year with Jerome Vaughn on the ball.
For South, big games from all 3 guard spots. Devon Lamb with 19 (tough matchup too as he's strong enough to post up), Deshaun Tyler and Michael Adams with 20 each. While the loss hurts Henry in the Minneapolis City it keeps South with an outside look. As to the section race, we mentioned that 9-8 was the best record in 3AAA, South improves to 11-7 with the win and still only has the 5th best record in brutal section 6AAAA. North's 7th best 9-6 would be best in 3AAA.
Correction to Week 10 Tuesday night scoreboard club
Correction:
In my Week 10 Tuesday Night Scoreboard Club post, I said that Chisago Lakes star Josh Figini had 2 pts vs Benilde St. Margaret's. That information is incorrect, it was his brother Benj who had 2 pts. Josh actually had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the game.
My apologies to Josh Figini and Chisago Lakes for the mistake. I look forward to see them play tomorrow night in the boys/girls doubleheader at Totino-Grace.
In my Week 10 Tuesday Night Scoreboard Club post, I said that Chisago Lakes star Josh Figini had 2 pts vs Benilde St. Margaret's. That information is incorrect, it was his brother Benj who had 2 pts. Josh actually had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the game.
My apologies to Josh Figini and Chisago Lakes for the mistake. I look forward to see them play tomorrow night in the boys/girls doubleheader at Totino-Grace.
Week 10 observations and Week 11 Schedule
I forgot to give it props when I did my Burnsville/Lakeville N write up, but the 1-2-2 matchup from Lakeville N was effective. Matchup zone really forces your team to communicate and I thought they did a nice job with it.
Saturday action
Due to caucuses on Tuesday, games have been moved all over the place so lots of Monday and Wednesday action this week. For me, this is North Suburban conference week.
Monday: South at Henry. I'll see Henry for the 1st time. Jordan Hughes is fun to watch. Tartan at Sibley in the Classic Suburban. A Sibley win puts them 2 games ahead in the league. A Tartan win bring STA to within a game with games vs both teams remaining. Big games in the City leagues. Roosevelt at Washburn and Central goes to Como Park. Armstrong at Forest Lake. The Rangers have lost 5 out of their last 6 (only win vs Hastings).
Tuesday: Chicago Lakes at Totino-Grace (Boys+Girls). Brooklyn Center tries to stop their recent slide as they travel to Breck in a big Tri-Metro West game. A Breck win would move DLS to the top. Lakeville N at Jefferson in a good Lake matchup. SW Christian at New Life Academy in a matchup of top level MCAA teams.
Wednesday: Columbia Heights at Cooper. Cooper comes in mad after an upset loss at Irondale. the Hylanders come in high (no pun intended) after a home upset of Spring Lake Park. Always fun to watch Rodney Williams, Jr (1st time I'll see him in person this season) but Jacob Thomas of CH is on the star watch as well. Park Center at Coon Rapids and Anoka at Champlin Park are a couple of interesting NW Suburban games. DLS at SPA might be worth it just for the Davanni's pizza.
Thursday: Extremely light schedule. BSM goes to TG for another boys/girls doubleheader. Prior Lake at Red Wing in a good Missota Conference game. Oh Day Aki at CHOF in section 4A action.
Friday: Stillwater at Cretin-Derham Hall. Can CDH give the Ponies their 1st league loss? Cooper goes to Spring Lake Park, Minnetonka goes to Armstrong, Kennedy hosts Burnsville in good league games.
Saturday: Wayzata at Central (1:00). This should be a good non-conference test for the Trojans. Coach Ward didn't see Larry Brown do much on Saturday vs Washburn, he should see much more of him in this game.
BSM at DLS in my 3rd boys girls doubleheader of the week. This may be the longest single day of basketball I've heard of at 1 school. 3 undercard boys games starting at 9:30 AM, followed by 2 undercard girls games at 2:15 leading to the girls varsity game at 5:45 and the boys game at 7:30. I expect to see the BSM students out in force.
YTD Stats
4A: 8 (Missing Rochester Mayo and Wayzata)
3A: 5 (BSM, STMA, Rocori, Como Park, AHA)
2A: 1 (St. Bernard's)
1A: 2 (MCA and CLB)
Saturday action
- Hopkins gives up 90 to Cass Lake-Bena but still wins in a rout.
- Edison with a nice win over Park Center. They need to start winning meaningful conference games.
- Roosevelt beats Como Park. I can't figure Roosevelt out. They looked awful vs Oh Day Aki, got blown out by North, Armstrong, Rockford and Minnehaha, but they got up 20+ on Henry at half and beat them and now this win. Big one on Monday at Washburn to finish up the 1st rotation of Minneapolis City play.
Due to caucuses on Tuesday, games have been moved all over the place so lots of Monday and Wednesday action this week. For me, this is North Suburban conference week.
Monday: South at Henry. I'll see Henry for the 1st time. Jordan Hughes is fun to watch. Tartan at Sibley in the Classic Suburban. A Sibley win puts them 2 games ahead in the league. A Tartan win bring STA to within a game with games vs both teams remaining. Big games in the City leagues. Roosevelt at Washburn and Central goes to Como Park. Armstrong at Forest Lake. The Rangers have lost 5 out of their last 6 (only win vs Hastings).
Tuesday: Chicago Lakes at Totino-Grace (Boys+Girls). Brooklyn Center tries to stop their recent slide as they travel to Breck in a big Tri-Metro West game. A Breck win would move DLS to the top. Lakeville N at Jefferson in a good Lake matchup. SW Christian at New Life Academy in a matchup of top level MCAA teams.
Wednesday: Columbia Heights at Cooper. Cooper comes in mad after an upset loss at Irondale. the Hylanders come in high (no pun intended) after a home upset of Spring Lake Park. Always fun to watch Rodney Williams, Jr (1st time I'll see him in person this season) but Jacob Thomas of CH is on the star watch as well. Park Center at Coon Rapids and Anoka at Champlin Park are a couple of interesting NW Suburban games. DLS at SPA might be worth it just for the Davanni's pizza.
Thursday: Extremely light schedule. BSM goes to TG for another boys/girls doubleheader. Prior Lake at Red Wing in a good Missota Conference game. Oh Day Aki at CHOF in section 4A action.
Friday: Stillwater at Cretin-Derham Hall. Can CDH give the Ponies their 1st league loss? Cooper goes to Spring Lake Park, Minnetonka goes to Armstrong, Kennedy hosts Burnsville in good league games.
Saturday: Wayzata at Central (1:00). This should be a good non-conference test for the Trojans. Coach Ward didn't see Larry Brown do much on Saturday vs Washburn, he should see much more of him in this game.
BSM at DLS in my 3rd boys girls doubleheader of the week. This may be the longest single day of basketball I've heard of at 1 school. 3 undercard boys games starting at 9:30 AM, followed by 2 undercard girls games at 2:15 leading to the girls varsity game at 5:45 and the boys game at 7:30. I expect to see the BSM students out in force.
YTD Stats
- 91 games (64 MN split 54 boys and 10 girls, 27 WI split 23 boys and 4 girls)
- 35 buildings
- 125 teams (100 boys and 25 girls, 84 MN teams split 68 boys and 16 girls, 35 Wisconsin split 27 boys and 8 girls, 6 outstate split 5 boys and 1 girls)
- 2 Genders
4A: 8 (Missing Rochester Mayo and Wayzata)
3A: 5 (BSM, STMA, Rocori, Como Park, AHA)
2A: 1 (St. Bernard's)
1A: 2 (MCA and CLB)
Week 10 Weekend Scoreboard Watching
Scoreboard watching from Thursday and Friday of week 10. I'll do the Saturday games as part of my Week 10 observations and Week 11 schedule post.
- Armstrong and Minnetonka open the Classic Lake schedule with wins. Wayzata's only 2 losses are to Osseo and Minnetonka. I look forward to seeing them on Saturday vs Central which then takes them full tilt into conference play.
- In the Classic Suburban, the 112-64 Sibley drubbing of Simley stuck out. Especially since Sibley was up 20 at the half and put up 63 in the 2nd half. That's backwards from what is normally seen in blowouts like this. And no that's not implying anything about running up the score (besides under very unique circumstances, I don't have a problem with it). Though it seems like starters stay in blowouts more now than they did when I played 15-20 years ago.
- In the Lake, Apple Valley beats Rosemount again and Eden Prairie hangs on for a 5 pt home win over Eagan. Rosemount drops to 4-7 and 8th in the Lake, disappointing season for the Irish.
- In the Minneapolis City, Roosevelt beats Henry (who had destroyed North who had destroyed Roosevelt, so much for logic in this case). Super sophs Jordan Hughes and Louis Cox only combine for 11 pts and Henry was down 46-25 at halftime, wow. Now the top of the league is a 3 way tie with Henry/Washburn/Roosevelt 4-1 with North 1 game back.
- In the Missota, Prior Lake gets a home win over Shakopee to move the Sabers out of the 1st place tangle at the top. Prior Lake up 16 at the half and were led by Tor Anderson's 18 pts.
- In the North Suburban, Columbia Heights pulls the 3pt home upset on Spring Lake Park and Cooper goes to Irondale and gets beat as Irondale wins the 2nd half of that game 41-26. Irondale holds Rodney Williams Jr to 18 pts. Irondale moves into 3rd place alone in the league and Cooper is now tied with BSM at the top 3 games clear.
- In the NW Suburban, Maple Grove goes to Coon Rapids and gets beat to give Osseo a 2 game lead and put Coon Rapids and Champlin Park only 1 game behind MG for 2nd.
- Forest Lake goes to Park and gets blown out by 19. Stillwater only gets 14 from Joel Armstrong but they still get a nice 10 point home win over Mounds View which takes them thru the 1st rotation of league play undefeated. Forest Lake's loss makes them 3-5 in a 3 way tie for 5th, 1 game behind Woodbury for the best of the rest distinction in the league. So you've got a Forest Lake team that isn't doing well in their league, ditto Cambridge-Isanti in the Mississippi 8 (6th) and those are the only 2 teams above 500 in section 7AAAA. That shows how wide open that section is. I've already been on 3 bandwagons in the section, I'm ready to jump again. At this rate, I'll pick every single team in the section to win it at 1 point or another.
- St. Bernard's with a 3 pt win at Minnehaha (Thursday). In addition to their loss on Thursday at CHOF, BC comes home and loses to St. Agnes. BC has lost 4 of 5 and their next 2 games are trips to Breck and Minnehaha. Breck also puts up 83 on St. Anthony. So now the Tri-Metro West is really interesting. BC and DLS are tied in the loss column and Minnehaha is only 1 game back. Bernard's is rolling in the East 3 games up with all the other Saints (except St. Elsewhere) 1 game behind Concordia in the loss column for 2nd.
Central at Washburn observations
Central gets out to an 11-4 lead with 13 minutes left in the 1st half. Washburn claws back and the teams go back and forth for a 28-26 Central lead at the half. Washburn was 3-12 from the line in the half. Cedric Martin with 6 pts but 1-6 FTs. Rashede Hageman picked up his 2nd foul at 9:12 and he sat the rest of the half. He was a force on the glass when he was in there and finished the half with just 2 pts. Seems like he's always in foul trouble when I see him play. Larry Brown with only 4 pts, Dylan Hale had 8 for the Minutemen.
Central comes out with the 1st 6 points of the 2nd half and after a Hale steal and layup its 38-30 Central with 13:40 left. But Martin hits a 3 and Hageman gets 2 inside buckets, followed by a Martin layup and 3 pt play as part of a 15-2 Washburn run. That run gives Washburn a 45-40 lead with 6:04 to go. Central gets 8 of the next 10 pts to go ahead 48-47 with 3:52 remaining. Nick Smith knocks down a 3 from Martin with 2:30 to play (remember that). Brown hits 2 of 2 FTs at 2:10 to tie the game at 50. That play was the 3rd straight possession where Brown got a post touch. I've been critical of teams not getting their stars touches when and where it mattered so this sequence by Central deserves praise. Washburn turns it over but Central doesn't get a good shot so its Washburn ball with 1:10 left. Larry Brown rebounds a miss with 45 seconds left and Central kills the clock until 13 seconds remain to take a timeout. At this point I'm thinking the same play call as the one that they used at the end against Minneapolis North. And sure enough, here comes Larry Brown to the left elbow but Cedric Martin does a great job of forcing him all the way to mid-court to catch the ball and then he tips it away and time expires. We go to OT tied at 50.
In the OT, Michael Adams makes 1 of 2 FTs to give Central a 51-50 lead with 2:24 to go. Martin misses a front end for Washburn at 1:24 left. Daanjerae Johnson makes 2 FTs for Central to put them up 53-50 with 1:03 to play. Nick Smith gets an open look off a pass from Martin after a timeout with 36 seconds left, but Washburn rebounds and Martin misses another front end with 27 seconds to play. Washburn doesn't foul until 7 seconds left and Johnson tacks on 1 more FT to give Central a 54-50 win.
Martin with 14 to lead Washburn but 2-9 from the line including 2 clutch front ends (so you could count this as 2-11) but he was a dominant force with the ball in his hands not just for himself, but he got his teammates good open looks as well. Hageman with a nice 2nd half of 9 pts to finish with 11 total. Washburn went scoreless the last 2:30 of regulation and the entire 4 minutes of overtime.
Dylan Hale leads Central with 15. Jordan Larson with a nice game of 12 points. Larry Brown only has 8 for Central. Both teams started 4 underclassmen. Central loses Brown which is a big loss, but Hageman and Martin both return next year for Washburn.
Central comes out with the 1st 6 points of the 2nd half and after a Hale steal and layup its 38-30 Central with 13:40 left. But Martin hits a 3 and Hageman gets 2 inside buckets, followed by a Martin layup and 3 pt play as part of a 15-2 Washburn run. That run gives Washburn a 45-40 lead with 6:04 to go. Central gets 8 of the next 10 pts to go ahead 48-47 with 3:52 remaining. Nick Smith knocks down a 3 from Martin with 2:30 to play (remember that). Brown hits 2 of 2 FTs at 2:10 to tie the game at 50. That play was the 3rd straight possession where Brown got a post touch. I've been critical of teams not getting their stars touches when and where it mattered so this sequence by Central deserves praise. Washburn turns it over but Central doesn't get a good shot so its Washburn ball with 1:10 left. Larry Brown rebounds a miss with 45 seconds left and Central kills the clock until 13 seconds remain to take a timeout. At this point I'm thinking the same play call as the one that they used at the end against Minneapolis North. And sure enough, here comes Larry Brown to the left elbow but Cedric Martin does a great job of forcing him all the way to mid-court to catch the ball and then he tips it away and time expires. We go to OT tied at 50.
In the OT, Michael Adams makes 1 of 2 FTs to give Central a 51-50 lead with 2:24 to go. Martin misses a front end for Washburn at 1:24 left. Daanjerae Johnson makes 2 FTs for Central to put them up 53-50 with 1:03 to play. Nick Smith gets an open look off a pass from Martin after a timeout with 36 seconds left, but Washburn rebounds and Martin misses another front end with 27 seconds to play. Washburn doesn't foul until 7 seconds left and Johnson tacks on 1 more FT to give Central a 54-50 win.
Martin with 14 to lead Washburn but 2-9 from the line including 2 clutch front ends (so you could count this as 2-11) but he was a dominant force with the ball in his hands not just for himself, but he got his teammates good open looks as well. Hageman with a nice 2nd half of 9 pts to finish with 11 total. Washburn went scoreless the last 2:30 of regulation and the entire 4 minutes of overtime.
Dylan Hale leads Central with 15. Jordan Larson with a nice game of 12 points. Larry Brown only has 8 for Central. Both teams started 4 underclassmen. Central loses Brown which is a big loss, but Hageman and Martin both return next year for Washburn.
Whitefish Bay Domincan vs DeLaSalle observations
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Royce White
Dominican came into tonight's game 14-1 and ranked #1 in Division 3 (MN 2A). Their only loss was to a Racine Horlick team at Christmas that has a star forward like DLS does. I saw them in both games of that Christmas event. Very little different from them tonight so it was fun to watch.
DLS uses a 10-0 spurt near the end of the 1st half to get a 27-15 lead with Royce White starting to really dominate, but Jerrel Harris gets a gift goaltending call and hits a 3 in the last minute and a half so its only 31-23 DLS at the half. White has 14 points and looks unstoppable. AJ Barker chipping in nicely with 11 so those 2 have 25 of the DLS 31 pts. Kwamain Mitchell quiet with only 3 1st half pts and 2 fouls which cost him minutes. Harris has 9 and Mark Pace gave Dominican a nice lift with 3 pick and pop jumpers from 18 feet to have 6 first half points. Nice adjustment by Dominican in their screen/roll offense to always have the guy Royce White was guarding set the ball-screen so that White wouldn't be near the basket to contest and clog driving lanes.
It's 33-28 DLS when White picks up his 3rd foul with 14:39 to go and he goes to the bench. Jerrel Harris gets hot and he's got 8 points in the half with Bryce Hawkins getting 4 in a row to carry the DLS offense. 39 all at 11:15 and White is back in the game. He immediately gets a bucket. A Mitchell 3 makes it 42-41 Dominican at 10:20 for their 1st lead in forever. White picks up his 4th foul and has to go to the bench again at 8:38 with DLS clinging to a 45-44 lead. Dominican gets quick buckets from Mitchell and Pace to take a 48-45 lead with 7:52 to go and it looks like DLS is really on the ropes. Jeremy Randle makes 2 FTs and for some unknown reason Dominican goes to their slowdown game. That's the 1 thing DLS wants so that they can buy Royce some time. That doesn't mean to run and gun and shoot 3s to get a lead, but you don't take the air out of the ball which is what Dominican did. Wise gets 2 but Hawkins responds inside with 2 of his own. Dominican turns it over and Royce is back at 5:38 and DLS is only down 50-49. He promptly gets fouled but misses the front end of a 1 and 1. He goes over the back to get the rebound and he's gone with his 5th foul at 5:13. Now that delay game makes some sense. Despite a 5 count on Mitchell its 51-49 Dominican at 4:30 left. Tim O'Keefe hits 1 of 2 FTs with 3:44 to go. JD Wise gets a great bounce on a 3 from the corner to make it 54-50 Dominican with 3:20 left. Harris misses the front end of a bonus at 2:44 and Hawkins makes 1 of 2 at 2:27 to make it 54-51. Dominican still in the delay game but Jeremy Randle gets a steal and makes 2 FTs with 1:31 left to pull DLS to 54-53. Wise forces a bad shot at 1 minute left out of a timeout but Mitchell gets a steal and a layup with 30 seconds left to put Domincan up 3. Hawkins hits 2 FTs at 14.1 and Mitchell is clutch by hitting both ends of a 1 and 1 at 12.3. DLS has 1 last chance and Jeremy Randle gets a decent look at a 3 but its no good and Dominican wins 58-55.
For Dominican, Mitchell has 14 2nd half pts and he shares the team high of 17 pts with Jerrel Harris. JD Wise with 14. Give them lots of credit for making that late 1st half run and making plays when they needed to. It would have been really interesting to see how the late game would have unfolded if White would have been in there. But Dominican was the better team tonight and all credit to them. Impressive win for them as they get ready for state tournament play in 2 weeks.
For DLS, White finishes with 18, Barker with 13, Hawkins with 11. After 25 combined pts from White/Barker in the 1st half, those 2 only get 6 combined in the 2nd half. Hawkins with 9 of his points in the 2nd half when he really carried the offense. He's really a brute at 6'4 and he's only a sophomore. He's a scary inside presence for DLS in the next 2 years. They also have a JV player that I thought was similar. Not to mention the load of guards that they'll have coming thru the system. With White, Barker, Jaspers, Evan Williams and Hawkins all back next year, that's scary.
DLS uses a 10-0 spurt near the end of the 1st half to get a 27-15 lead with Royce White starting to really dominate, but Jerrel Harris gets a gift goaltending call and hits a 3 in the last minute and a half so its only 31-23 DLS at the half. White has 14 points and looks unstoppable. AJ Barker chipping in nicely with 11 so those 2 have 25 of the DLS 31 pts. Kwamain Mitchell quiet with only 3 1st half pts and 2 fouls which cost him minutes. Harris has 9 and Mark Pace gave Dominican a nice lift with 3 pick and pop jumpers from 18 feet to have 6 first half points. Nice adjustment by Dominican in their screen/roll offense to always have the guy Royce White was guarding set the ball-screen so that White wouldn't be near the basket to contest and clog driving lanes.
It's 33-28 DLS when White picks up his 3rd foul with 14:39 to go and he goes to the bench. Jerrel Harris gets hot and he's got 8 points in the half with Bryce Hawkins getting 4 in a row to carry the DLS offense. 39 all at 11:15 and White is back in the game. He immediately gets a bucket. A Mitchell 3 makes it 42-41 Dominican at 10:20 for their 1st lead in forever. White picks up his 4th foul and has to go to the bench again at 8:38 with DLS clinging to a 45-44 lead. Dominican gets quick buckets from Mitchell and Pace to take a 48-45 lead with 7:52 to go and it looks like DLS is really on the ropes. Jeremy Randle makes 2 FTs and for some unknown reason Dominican goes to their slowdown game. That's the 1 thing DLS wants so that they can buy Royce some time. That doesn't mean to run and gun and shoot 3s to get a lead, but you don't take the air out of the ball which is what Dominican did. Wise gets 2 but Hawkins responds inside with 2 of his own. Dominican turns it over and Royce is back at 5:38 and DLS is only down 50-49. He promptly gets fouled but misses the front end of a 1 and 1. He goes over the back to get the rebound and he's gone with his 5th foul at 5:13. Now that delay game makes some sense. Despite a 5 count on Mitchell its 51-49 Dominican at 4:30 left. Tim O'Keefe hits 1 of 2 FTs with 3:44 to go. JD Wise gets a great bounce on a 3 from the corner to make it 54-50 Dominican with 3:20 left. Harris misses the front end of a bonus at 2:44 and Hawkins makes 1 of 2 at 2:27 to make it 54-51. Dominican still in the delay game but Jeremy Randle gets a steal and makes 2 FTs with 1:31 left to pull DLS to 54-53. Wise forces a bad shot at 1 minute left out of a timeout but Mitchell gets a steal and a layup with 30 seconds left to put Domincan up 3. Hawkins hits 2 FTs at 14.1 and Mitchell is clutch by hitting both ends of a 1 and 1 at 12.3. DLS has 1 last chance and Jeremy Randle gets a decent look at a 3 but its no good and Dominican wins 58-55.
For Dominican, Mitchell has 14 2nd half pts and he shares the team high of 17 pts with Jerrel Harris. JD Wise with 14. Give them lots of credit for making that late 1st half run and making plays when they needed to. It would have been really interesting to see how the late game would have unfolded if White would have been in there. But Dominican was the better team tonight and all credit to them. Impressive win for them as they get ready for state tournament play in 2 weeks.
For DLS, White finishes with 18, Barker with 13, Hawkins with 11. After 25 combined pts from White/Barker in the 1st half, those 2 only get 6 combined in the 2nd half. Hawkins with 9 of his points in the 2nd half when he really carried the offense. He's really a brute at 6'4 and he's only a sophomore. He's a scary inside presence for DLS in the next 2 years. They also have a JV player that I thought was similar. Not to mention the load of guards that they'll have coming thru the system. With White, Barker, Jaspers, Evan Williams and Hawkins all back next year, that's scary.
Lakeville North at Burnsville observations
Tonight's adventure takes me to Burnsville for their Lake Conference showdown with Lakeville N. Tarell Clark on display + top 30 junior David Berthene. 14-7 Lakeville N early before Burnsville closes to 24-22 inside of 7 minutes remaining in the 1st half. No huge run at its 37-31 LN with 1:58 left in the half. Berthene gets a 3 pt play, Brad Calhoun gets a layup off a wonderful screen/roll pass and Nick Judkins throws one in at the buzzer and Lakeville N has their biggest lead of the half. 42-33 Panthers at the break. Tarell Clark with 12 for Burnsville in the half. Tyler Swanson with a nice 1st half of 10 pts for Lakeville N
Burnsville always has some of the best halftime entertainment around (which more than makes up for all of the annoying advertising stuff they do) and tonight was no exception. The Blazettes did a nice dance routine to Billy Joel's Movin' Out. Useless sidenote, Billy Joel is terrific in concert and this song was part of it when he was here last year. Since I'm no Bernie Taupin, I won't try to parody the lyrics here to try and tell the story.
To the 2nd half, Swanson gets a backdoor layup off a great set play to start the half and the Panthers extend the lead to 48-35 at 15:30 and to 56-40 at 12:15. Burnsville gets to 58-45 with 8 to go and they have momentum. But Brad Calhoun badly misses the front end of a 1 and 1, Aaron Gallegos hits his 4th 3 of the night, a Burnsville turnover results in another Gallegos 3 and the lead is all the way out to 64-45 with 6:53 to go. But Tarell Clark won't let Burnsville go away. After a Alex Wheeler bucket, he gets a steal for a dunk, a layup and makes 1 of 2 FTs plus another steal and 2 FTs. Tack on a Max Van Ordstrand 3 and its a 12-0 Burnsville run in about 2 1/2 minutes. 64-57 Lakeville North with 4+ to go. Lakeville N throws up a questionable 3, but Clark overthrows an open Devon Knopke on a run out and Nick Judkins hits a 3 to extend the lead to 10. That starts a 15-4 Lakeville N run to close the game and they win 79-61 to avenge a 60-56 home loss on Dec 11th.
Great balance for the Panthers. Aaron Gallegos with 6 3s (but 1 of 4 from the line, amazing how that works) to lead them with 19. Nick Judkins with 18 at the other guard spot. Tyler Swanson with 18 and David Berthene with 14 for the inside players. Don't count them out of the picture in 3AAAA. But Eastview is a tough matchup for them, as demonstrated by the Jan 11th 25 pt loss. They lose Judkins next year but return their other 4 starters so look for them to be a title contender in the Lake next season.
Clark with 21 to lead Burnsville, Devon Knopke with 10 and Max Van Ordstrand with 8. Their running game is fun to watch, including their full-court pregame drill where they practice it. I like the detail where the guy who scores, actually takes the ball out of the net and then out of bounds to throw the outlet pass. Burnsville's guard play ranks up there with just about anybody with Clark, VanOrdstrand and Knopke. Can they find some inside play for tournament time to deal with Grinnell/Emory of Eastview and Swanson/Berthene of Lakeville North?
Burnsville always has some of the best halftime entertainment around (which more than makes up for all of the annoying advertising stuff they do) and tonight was no exception. The Blazettes did a nice dance routine to Billy Joel's Movin' Out. Useless sidenote, Billy Joel is terrific in concert and this song was part of it when he was here last year. Since I'm no Bernie Taupin, I won't try to parody the lyrics here to try and tell the story.
To the 2nd half, Swanson gets a backdoor layup off a great set play to start the half and the Panthers extend the lead to 48-35 at 15:30 and to 56-40 at 12:15. Burnsville gets to 58-45 with 8 to go and they have momentum. But Brad Calhoun badly misses the front end of a 1 and 1, Aaron Gallegos hits his 4th 3 of the night, a Burnsville turnover results in another Gallegos 3 and the lead is all the way out to 64-45 with 6:53 to go. But Tarell Clark won't let Burnsville go away. After a Alex Wheeler bucket, he gets a steal for a dunk, a layup and makes 1 of 2 FTs plus another steal and 2 FTs. Tack on a Max Van Ordstrand 3 and its a 12-0 Burnsville run in about 2 1/2 minutes. 64-57 Lakeville North with 4+ to go. Lakeville N throws up a questionable 3, but Clark overthrows an open Devon Knopke on a run out and Nick Judkins hits a 3 to extend the lead to 10. That starts a 15-4 Lakeville N run to close the game and they win 79-61 to avenge a 60-56 home loss on Dec 11th.
Great balance for the Panthers. Aaron Gallegos with 6 3s (but 1 of 4 from the line, amazing how that works) to lead them with 19. Nick Judkins with 18 at the other guard spot. Tyler Swanson with 18 and David Berthene with 14 for the inside players. Don't count them out of the picture in 3AAAA. But Eastview is a tough matchup for them, as demonstrated by the Jan 11th 25 pt loss. They lose Judkins next year but return their other 4 starters so look for them to be a title contender in the Lake next season.
Clark with 21 to lead Burnsville, Devon Knopke with 10 and Max Van Ordstrand with 8. Their running game is fun to watch, including their full-court pregame drill where they practice it. I like the detail where the guy who scores, actually takes the ball out of the net and then out of bounds to throw the outlet pass. Burnsville's guard play ranks up there with just about anybody with Clark, VanOrdstrand and Knopke. Can they find some inside play for tournament time to deal with Grinnell/Emory of Eastview and Swanson/Berthene of Lakeville North?
Brooklyn Center at CHOF observations
Tonight was my 2nd chance to see CHOF and 1st chance of the season to see the surprise story that is Brooklyn Center. Its 12-9 CHOF in the first 5 minutes and they extend it to 33-17 with 2:30 left in the half. BC closes the half on a 12-3 run capped by a halfcourt 3 by Tyrese Chambers and its 36-29 CHOF at the half.
BC closes to 42-37 early in the 2nd half but its 66-48 CHOF with 8 minutes left. BC then goes on a 18-0 run thanks to turnovers and cold shooting. DeAngelo Potter gets 8 straight points near the end of the run and we're tied at 66 with 3:45 left. CHOF fights back to lead 73-68 with 2 minutes left. BC has ball down 73-70 twice but can't score and CHOF hits 7 of 8 free throws after BC tied it and they hang on for a 77-72 win.
Overall CHOF missed at least 10 FTs and 2 front ends of 1 and 1. Nate Fiscus was a force inside to finish with around 20 pts. Cole Piepkorn has a nice floor game for the Lions as well. Potter has a nice game for the Centaurs with around 17 pts. He's a good sophomore. Freddie Young wiht only 8 points and shows that he's a freshman but he'll be a nice player too. BC has athletes and is aggressive defensively with their 2-2-1 and reaching. Now that I'm seen them, I can see how they would have beaten DLS when Royce White was out. BC gets another test from the East subsection of 4A when they play St. Agnes tonight.
CHOF goes a respectable 2-3 in this tough stretch of their schedule (Losses to MTS, @St. Bernard, @Braham, wins over Park Christian and the win tonight over BC). The remaining game with Bethlehem at home is tough and they have a road test at Heritage, but don't be shocked if they run the table. A win in one of those 2 games, especially the Bethlehem game, should be enough to seal the #1 seed in 4A East unless St. Agnes runs the table with 5 road wins in league play at BC, Concordia, SB, Minnehaha and DLS and a home win over SW Christian. Then the Aggies might have an argument, but they'd still have a worse record (by about 2 games) and the home head-head loss.
BC closes to 42-37 early in the 2nd half but its 66-48 CHOF with 8 minutes left. BC then goes on a 18-0 run thanks to turnovers and cold shooting. DeAngelo Potter gets 8 straight points near the end of the run and we're tied at 66 with 3:45 left. CHOF fights back to lead 73-68 with 2 minutes left. BC has ball down 73-70 twice but can't score and CHOF hits 7 of 8 free throws after BC tied it and they hang on for a 77-72 win.
Overall CHOF missed at least 10 FTs and 2 front ends of 1 and 1. Nate Fiscus was a force inside to finish with around 20 pts. Cole Piepkorn has a nice floor game for the Lions as well. Potter has a nice game for the Centaurs with around 17 pts. He's a good sophomore. Freddie Young wiht only 8 points and shows that he's a freshman but he'll be a nice player too. BC has athletes and is aggressive defensively with their 2-2-1 and reaching. Now that I'm seen them, I can see how they would have beaten DLS when Royce White was out. BC gets another test from the East subsection of 4A when they play St. Agnes tonight.
CHOF goes a respectable 2-3 in this tough stretch of their schedule (Losses to MTS, @St. Bernard, @Braham, wins over Park Christian and the win tonight over BC). The remaining game with Bethlehem at home is tough and they have a road test at Heritage, but don't be shocked if they run the table. A win in one of those 2 games, especially the Bethlehem game, should be enough to seal the #1 seed in 4A East unless St. Agnes runs the table with 5 road wins in league play at BC, Concordia, SB, Minnehaha and DLS and a home win over SW Christian. Then the Aggies might have an argument, but they'd still have a worse record (by about 2 games) and the home head-head loss.
Osseo at Maple Grove TV thoughts
So with nothing on the schedule, I had to find a game somehow so I watched the broadcast of last night's Osseo at Maple Grove game. Before Maple Grove even gets a possession, 2nd leading scorer Jordan Nelson has 2 fouls in the 1st 14 seconds and goes to the bench. Him and Josh Pedretti see very little time on the floor together in the 1st half. MG gets ahead 5-2 after 4 minutes and then Osseo goes on a 12-2 run over the next 3+ minutes to take a 14-7 lead. It's 16-12 Osseo with 8:30 to go in the half before Dan Brown hits a layup, Carrington Tankson gets an assist for a layup and then hits 2 3s in 30 seconds to give Osseo a 26-12 lead with 5:18 to go in the half. Its 33-22 as we approach the half and Ryan Spading gets a pass that is a just slightly out in front of him as he goes to the basket, he reaches out and as he's going toward the sideline (about 10 ft out), he shoots it up and over the corner of the backboard and good for a 35-22 Osseo lead at halftime. Tankson with 8 pts in the half. Dan Brown with 11, but this was another game where he couldn't buy an outside shot. He had 4 2s and 1 3. He 4 2s were layups. He did a nice job of being aggressive.
In the 2nd half, Sam Dower picks up his 4th foul at 16:41 and Zach Peterson picks up his 4th at 12:18 with Osseo leading 40-32 and maybe MG's bigs will get some better looks and start to take over. It's 44-35 with 9 minutes left and 44-40 Osseo with 8 minutes left but MG gets no closer. Brown and Tankson hit back to back 3s to push the lead back to 10. MG had the ball down 6 inside of 4 minutes but couldn't score. Dower made his presence felt when he returned with 5:24 to go and immediately got a dunk off a nice post up. Pedretti's 3 at the buzzer makes the final of 60-54 Osseo look closer than it really was.
Josh Pedretti is a nice big guy for MG and he had 25 in the game and he'll be back next year. Jordan Nelson's foul trouble limits him to only 6 pts. Dan Brown finishes with 16 to lead Osseo. Tankson with 15 and once again he didn't start, not to mention a little showboating by trying to throw a lob to Dower on the break with 13 seconds left and the outcome already decided. Zach Peterson didn't start due to the flu but still had 11 pts.
In the 2nd half, Sam Dower picks up his 4th foul at 16:41 and Zach Peterson picks up his 4th at 12:18 with Osseo leading 40-32 and maybe MG's bigs will get some better looks and start to take over. It's 44-35 with 9 minutes left and 44-40 Osseo with 8 minutes left but MG gets no closer. Brown and Tankson hit back to back 3s to push the lead back to 10. MG had the ball down 6 inside of 4 minutes but couldn't score. Dower made his presence felt when he returned with 5:24 to go and immediately got a dunk off a nice post up. Pedretti's 3 at the buzzer makes the final of 60-54 Osseo look closer than it really was.
Josh Pedretti is a nice big guy for MG and he had 25 in the game and he'll be back next year. Jordan Nelson's foul trouble limits him to only 6 pts. Dan Brown finishes with 16 to lead Osseo. Tankson with 15 and once again he didn't start, not to mention a little showboating by trying to throw a lob to Dower on the break with 13 seconds left and the outcome already decided. Zach Peterson didn't start due to the flu but still had 11 pts.
Week 10 Tuesday Night Scoreboard Club
Scores from 1/29/08 that caught the Czar's eye.
Conference Action
Conference Action
- Apple Valley goes to Kennedy and pulls the upset by 14. If you would have told me that AV would outscore Kennedy by 15 on the road in the 2nd half and Varmah Sonie had only 3 pts total for the game and AV would win easily, I would've said you're crazy. With Eden Prairie's come from behind win at Jefferson, Kennedy falls a game behind at the midpoint of the Lake season. 3rd tough home loss for Jefferson, they fall to 4-6 and a 3 way tie for 6th in the Lake with Rosemount and Apple Valley.
- Centennial upsets Coon Rapids for their 1st conference win and Champlin Park goes on the road and beats Elk River by 29. Scott Theisen after hitting 9 of 14 3s vs Centennial, hit 11 of 15 3s vs Elk River, WOW! Champlin Park improves to 4-3 and has 3rd place in the NW Suburban (via tiebreak with Coon Rapids). Those teams are 3 games behind Osseo who won what will probably be their last major test until the 5AAAA section final with a 6 pt win at Maple Grove.
- Tough times for New Prague as they lose their 2nd straight in Missota play with a 9 pt loss at Holy Angels. Farmington goes to Hutchinson and loses so that leaves all the expected contenders, AHA, Shakopee and Prior Lake (and Farmington) at the top with 1 loss.
- MCA goes to NLA and gets a tough 2 point win. Another close league win on the road, what does this mean come tournament time?
- Josh Figini with 2 pts (avg 21.4) for Chisago Lakes in a loss to BSM. They fall to a disappointing 3-12 and one of those wins was over Princeton in the season opener. (Czar's note 2/4/08, A very kind reader has informed me that this Chisago Lakes entry is incorrect. See my correction here)
- Roosevelt goes to Columbia Heights (Willie Braziel vs his old school) and wins by 8. CH has now lost 4 out of 5 with Spring Lake Park and a trip to Cooper next Wed looming. I'm looking forward to that game, not just because of Rodney Williams Jr (which is always a treat), but also to see the Hylanders soph G Jacob Thomas who's putting up 23.1 a night.
- Wayzata continues to roll with a win at Hill-Murray. I'll enjoy seeing them next Saturday vs St. Paul Central. Tonka comes in to play them on Friday.
- Braham hangs on for a tough home win over CHOF. The Lions return home tomorrow for a tough one with Brooklyn Center as they finish the most difficult stretch of their schedule. Nice article in the Star Tribune about BC coach Ross Ihry making his kids hit the books.
Tartan at Richfield observations
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Marc Sonnen
A blustery night indeed takes me to Richfield to see Marc Sonnen and Tartan. This game stays close the entire way and is a defensive struggle except for the last half of the 1st half. At 10 minutes left its 16-14 Richfield. Sonnen is playing the point for Tartan, I had thought he was a 2 guard with Sam Ryan manning the point, oh well. Sonnen forced some 1st half shots, but he handled Richfield's pressure well. He finishes the 1st half with 12 points. Renard Robinson finishes the half with an outburst. He gets a bucket off a nice set play (zipper, Robinson is then part of setting a double screen and then he comes up to the weak side away from the double for an easy look), dishes to Chris Williams for 3 and then knocks down a 3 at the 1st half buzzer to send Richfield to the locker room up 42-41. Robinson with 18 in the half.
Shawn Marlowe starts the 2nd half with 6 straight Tartan points. No team can pull away as its 57-57 with 8 minutes left. Tartan holds the ball for 1:50 and Manani Beavers misses a bad 3. Richfield comes back with a long possession on their end. At 4:30 its 59-58 Richfield. Shawn Marlowe gets fouled on a defensive rebound, he makes 1 of the 2 bonus free throws but a bad bounce goes right to him to put the miss back and its 61-59 Tartan at 3:03. DeAaron Hearn misses a tough floater and Sonnen gets a layup. Robinson misses one of his very few 2nd half looks. But Beavers takes another bad shot and Jason Sewer gets a 3 pt play to make it 63-62 Tartan with 1:24 to go. Sonnen with a clutch banker to make it 65-62 Tartan at 1:03. Jason Sewer misses a 3 but Sonnen only makes 1 of 2 at 44.7. Phillip Freeman gets a 2. Aaron Hoverson only makes 1 of 2 with 26 seconds left, Freeman has a decent look at the tying 3 with about 15 seconds left but misses and Derek Peterson seals it with 1 of 2 FTs with 9.8 left. A Phillip Freeman 3 at the buzzer makes the final 68-67 Tartan.
After 18 first half pts, Robinson gets nothing in the 2nd half with limited touches. Beavers had the unenviable task of trying to guard him for most of the game. Disappointing that Richfield didn't come back to the set play for him. He even had a wing clear out that he passed up in the 2nd half. Strange game for him. Give Tartan credit for turning up the D in the 2nd half after Coach Klingsporn was not happy with it in the 1st half.
Sonnen with 23 to lead Tartan and Shawn Marlowe with a nice game inside for Tartan to finish with 20. Sam Ryan didn't score, but he played very good defense. Their inside play is much improved from last year with Marlowe and James Pritschet getting 29 pts combined.
As to future years, they've got sophomores Max Ryan and Troy Klingsporn (very unselfish pass 1st PG) who will be solid guards for them in addition to Beavers inside. Remember these freshmen twins, Luke and Drew Preiner. They'll be nice wing players for Tartan down the road. They kinda remind me of Stu Herman of Heritage. The pipeline remains strong for the Titans.
Shawn Marlowe starts the 2nd half with 6 straight Tartan points. No team can pull away as its 57-57 with 8 minutes left. Tartan holds the ball for 1:50 and Manani Beavers misses a bad 3. Richfield comes back with a long possession on their end. At 4:30 its 59-58 Richfield. Shawn Marlowe gets fouled on a defensive rebound, he makes 1 of the 2 bonus free throws but a bad bounce goes right to him to put the miss back and its 61-59 Tartan at 3:03. DeAaron Hearn misses a tough floater and Sonnen gets a layup. Robinson misses one of his very few 2nd half looks. But Beavers takes another bad shot and Jason Sewer gets a 3 pt play to make it 63-62 Tartan with 1:24 to go. Sonnen with a clutch banker to make it 65-62 Tartan at 1:03. Jason Sewer misses a 3 but Sonnen only makes 1 of 2 at 44.7. Phillip Freeman gets a 2. Aaron Hoverson only makes 1 of 2 with 26 seconds left, Freeman has a decent look at the tying 3 with about 15 seconds left but misses and Derek Peterson seals it with 1 of 2 FTs with 9.8 left. A Phillip Freeman 3 at the buzzer makes the final 68-67 Tartan.
After 18 first half pts, Robinson gets nothing in the 2nd half with limited touches. Beavers had the unenviable task of trying to guard him for most of the game. Disappointing that Richfield didn't come back to the set play for him. He even had a wing clear out that he passed up in the 2nd half. Strange game for him. Give Tartan credit for turning up the D in the 2nd half after Coach Klingsporn was not happy with it in the 1st half.
Sonnen with 23 to lead Tartan and Shawn Marlowe with a nice game inside for Tartan to finish with 20. Sam Ryan didn't score, but he played very good defense. Their inside play is much improved from last year with Marlowe and James Pritschet getting 29 pts combined.
As to future years, they've got sophomores Max Ryan and Troy Klingsporn (very unselfish pass 1st PG) who will be solid guards for them in addition to Beavers inside. Remember these freshmen twins, Luke and Drew Preiner. They'll be nice wing players for Tartan down the road. They kinda remind me of Stu Herman of Heritage. The pipeline remains strong for the Titans.
Breck at Minnehaha observations
So here we are at the end of January and I'm carrying around a golf umbrella waiting to put on 19,000 layers tomorrow. Love Minnesota weather. To the game, its back and forth early to be 9-8 Breck at 12:30 before Minnehaha gets sloppy and Thomas Smolenski makes them pay with a 3, a steal for 2 and another bucket. Add on a Ben Yawakie bucket and its18-8 Breck at 10:36 of the 1st half. Minnehaha crawls back to 20-14 before Breck extends it to 25-14 inside of 5 minutes. But Minnehaha finishes the half on a 15-2 run thanks to increase defense and David Burnham getting hot and they go to the break ahead 29-27.
More of the same to start the 2nd half as Burnham gets 6 quick points in a 9-2 Minnehaha run to start the half and its 38-29 Minnehaha at 13:54 to go. Minnehaha extends the lead to 15 with about 6 minutes to go and then gets sloppy again. Breck has the ball down 7 (62-55) with 2 minutes left but they'll get no closer. Smolenski gets a couple more 3s late but it doesn't matter as Minnehaha hits their FTs to win 71-59.
Burnham with 20 for Minnehaha and Taylor Hanson has a real nice game with 18 pts. Kevin Stoll chips in with 12 off the bench. For Breck, Smolenski has 20 and Matt Vargas finishes with 23 points, but Breck simply didn't have enough offense in this one. Dakota Tidd goes bagel for the night with an 0-3 from the line. Hard to win that way. Minnehaha's win keeps them above 500 and in the discussion for the 4 seed in the East subsection of 4AA. Breck's loss puts them 1/2 game behind Edison for overall record and Edison won the head-head matchup at Breck. This would be a tough seeding decision in the West subsection of 4AA as Breck has the higher QRF but Edison has the better record and the head-head victory. Of course, that Breck win is the only win worth noting on their schedule.
More of the same to start the 2nd half as Burnham gets 6 quick points in a 9-2 Minnehaha run to start the half and its 38-29 Minnehaha at 13:54 to go. Minnehaha extends the lead to 15 with about 6 minutes to go and then gets sloppy again. Breck has the ball down 7 (62-55) with 2 minutes left but they'll get no closer. Smolenski gets a couple more 3s late but it doesn't matter as Minnehaha hits their FTs to win 71-59.
Burnham with 20 for Minnehaha and Taylor Hanson has a real nice game with 18 pts. Kevin Stoll chips in with 12 off the bench. For Breck, Smolenski has 20 and Matt Vargas finishes with 23 points, but Breck simply didn't have enough offense in this one. Dakota Tidd goes bagel for the night with an 0-3 from the line. Hard to win that way. Minnehaha's win keeps them above 500 and in the discussion for the 4 seed in the East subsection of 4AA. Breck's loss puts them 1/2 game behind Edison for overall record and Edison won the head-head matchup at Breck. This would be a tough seeding decision in the West subsection of 4AA as Breck has the higher QRF but Edison has the better record and the head-head victory. Of course, that Breck win is the only win worth noting on their schedule.
Follow-Up to the East Metro Showcase
Here's a nice article from the Sioux City Journal on Johnson coach Vern Simmons and his ties to Sioux City, IA and how Heelan ended up in the East Metro Showcase.
Also from the Sioux City Journal an article on the Johnson/Heelan game and an article on the Osseo/Heelan game.
Also from the Sioux City Journal an article on the Johnson/Heelan game and an article on the Osseo/Heelan game.
Week 9 observations and Week 10 Schedule
Let's start with some scoreboard watching from the end of the week.
Thursday:
Monday: Breck at Minnehaha, my 1st chance to see Breck this season. Also a big non-conference matchup as Stillwater travels to Sibley. Mike Bruesewitz vs Joel Armstrong should be interesting. Sibley has won 8 out of 9 since lsoing 3 out of 4 to the top 3 teams in 4A (Osseo, Tonka and Hopkins) including a 14 pt win over Maple Grove and only losing by 3 to Mounds View in the Bethel tournament before the win over STA on Friday. Stillwater has won 10 in a row since the tough loss to Armstrong including wins over Rochester Mayo, CDH and a blowout of Forest Lake.
Tuesday: Tartan at Richfield, this should be fun and I look forward to seeing Marc Sonnen. Game of the night though is Osseo at Maple Grove. Should be a full-house as both teams are 6-0 and 2 games ahead in the NW Suburban and this is a great rivalry game. Also Hopkins at Henry, DLS at Concordia, Eden Prairie at Jefferson.
Wednesday: I finally get a weekday off as the last 2 weeks have been a game every night and next week will be as well.
Thursday: This looked like a weak schedule, but now the Brooklyn Center at CHOF game looms large and I finally get a chance to see if the Centaurs are for real.
Friday: Lakeville N at Burnsville in a Lake matchup. Tarell Clark is a pleasure to watch, but David Bethene for Lakeville N is a nice player too that I want to see. Mounds View travels to Stillwater in a big Suburban East matchup. PACT at MN Transitions in an interesting section 4A matchup. Shakopee at Prior Lake in a tough Missota conference battle and Minnetonka travels to Wayzata to start the Classic Lake season looking to rebound from the loss to Madison Memorial.
Saturday:
Central at Washburn (1:00)
Whitefish Bay Dominican (#1 2A WI) at DLS at 7:00, really looking forward to this one. Kwamain Mitchell is the #2 ranked senior in Wisconsin and a contender for the Mr. Basketball award. He's signed with St. Louis. It'll be interesting to see if the bevy of DLS guards can contain him.
Also Cass Lake-Bena at Hopkins at 3:00
YTD Stats
4A: 6 (missing Wayzata, Rochester Mayo and Moorhead, I've only seen Armstrong on tape, not in person)
3A: 7 (missing Red Wing, New Prague and Willmar)
2A: 2 (SB, Holy Family)
1A: 2 (MCA and CLB)
Thursday:
- Kennedy blows out Armstrong, surprising there as I thought Armstrong would be competitive in that game. But if they don't shoot it well, this really isn't a surprise.
- Hopkins by only 13 over Richfield, but give Richfield credit, they've won 4 out of 5 (including the SSP game after this one) and are playing well right now.
- Wayzata routs North, Wayzata continues to impress.
- St. Bernard's runs away from CHOF in the 2nd half in a blowout
- Sibley gets a home win over STA to take control of the Classic Suburban race.
- Eden Prairie gets another blowout home win over a top half Lake team with a blowout of Burnsville. Combined with Kennedy's blowout win at Lakeville N, Kennedy and EP are now 2 games clear in the Lake at 8-1 as we approach the end of the 1st half of league play.
- Coon Rapids with a 2 pt win over Elk River to improve to 4-2 in the NW Suburban and claim sole possession of 3rd place. But when the 3rd place team in the league is 6-7 overall and only 3 teams overall are above 500, that's a sign of a weak league.
- In the Tri-Metro, Blake upsets Breck. Despite this being a rivalry, this is still a bad loss for Breck. St. Anthony gets 33 from Calvin Walker to pull a 4 pt upset at DLS. That loss pushes DLS 2 games behind Brooklyn Center in the Tri-Metro West. St. Anthony stays 1 game behind Concordia for 2nd in the Tri-Metro East.
- Farmington with another nice win in the Missota by beating Red Wing and they're in sole possession of 1st early in the conference season as Shakopee knocked off New Prague and Prior Lake won at Holy Angels. Its worth noting that all the big games for Farmington in league play are at home in the 1st rotation. They have to go to Shakopee, Red Wing, Prior Lake and New Prague in the last rotation with a trip to Holy Angels to end the 1st rotation.
- Johnson beats Heelan by 6 in the East Metro Showcase, I don't get that one after seeing Heelan and Como Park only beats Milwaukee Marshall by 3.
- Henry routs North 110-56, wow. Henry takes control of the Minneapolis City race with the win.
- As to the Border Battle, I totally botched the Marshall and Princeton results, but got the other 3 right along with the final 3-2 Wisconsin prediction. Princeton getting blown out really surprised me but when you give up 17 3s, that'll happen. I had 2nd thoughts about not mentioning Aris Wurtz in my preview and sure enough he had a big game. Jeronne Maymon with 30 and 16 for Madison Memorial in the win over Tonka, no surprise there. In another case where a MN team had no answer for a powerful inside player, Tartan gives up 30 and 19 to Jason Ziemer in a 4 pt loss that costs MN the border battle again this year. MCA as expected was too much for Barneveld.
Monday: Breck at Minnehaha, my 1st chance to see Breck this season. Also a big non-conference matchup as Stillwater travels to Sibley. Mike Bruesewitz vs Joel Armstrong should be interesting. Sibley has won 8 out of 9 since lsoing 3 out of 4 to the top 3 teams in 4A (Osseo, Tonka and Hopkins) including a 14 pt win over Maple Grove and only losing by 3 to Mounds View in the Bethel tournament before the win over STA on Friday. Stillwater has won 10 in a row since the tough loss to Armstrong including wins over Rochester Mayo, CDH and a blowout of Forest Lake.
Tuesday: Tartan at Richfield, this should be fun and I look forward to seeing Marc Sonnen. Game of the night though is Osseo at Maple Grove. Should be a full-house as both teams are 6-0 and 2 games ahead in the NW Suburban and this is a great rivalry game. Also Hopkins at Henry, DLS at Concordia, Eden Prairie at Jefferson.
Wednesday: I finally get a weekday off as the last 2 weeks have been a game every night and next week will be as well.
Thursday: This looked like a weak schedule, but now the Brooklyn Center at CHOF game looms large and I finally get a chance to see if the Centaurs are for real.
Friday: Lakeville N at Burnsville in a Lake matchup. Tarell Clark is a pleasure to watch, but David Bethene for Lakeville N is a nice player too that I want to see. Mounds View travels to Stillwater in a big Suburban East matchup. PACT at MN Transitions in an interesting section 4A matchup. Shakopee at Prior Lake in a tough Missota conference battle and Minnetonka travels to Wayzata to start the Classic Lake season looking to rebound from the loss to Madison Memorial.
Saturday:
Central at Washburn (1:00)
Whitefish Bay Dominican (#1 2A WI) at DLS at 7:00, really looking forward to this one. Kwamain Mitchell is the #2 ranked senior in Wisconsin and a contender for the Mr. Basketball award. He's signed with St. Louis. It'll be interesting to see if the bevy of DLS guards can contain him.
Also Cass Lake-Bena at Hopkins at 3:00
YTD Stats
- 85 games (58 MN split 48 boys and 10 girls, 27 WI split 23 boys and 4 girls)
- 35 buildings
- 120 teams (95 boys and 25 girls, 79 MN teams split 63 boys and 16 girls, 35 Wisconsin split 27 boys and 8 girls, 6 outstate split 5 boys and 1 girls)
- 2 Genders
4A: 6 (missing Wayzata, Rochester Mayo and Moorhead, I've only seen Armstrong on tape, not in person)
3A: 7 (missing Red Wing, New Prague and Willmar)
2A: 2 (SB, Holy Family)
1A: 2 (MCA and CLB)
HS athletics and social networking sites.
So much to my dismay, my alma mater is in the news as 30 La Crosse Central HS students were turned in to school officials for underage drinking via pictures from Facebook. Athletic suspensions will be handed down. We also recently had the same issue at Eden Prairie where some students were so upset with the punishment handed down they walked out in protest.
With the ability these days to doctor pictures or create them from thin air, how reliable are these pictures and should it matter where they came from (both the pics themselves and the person who turns them in)? We all know that kids are really vindictive and 1 scorned kid will find a way to get you somehow. I'm not supporting the behavior or the stupidity of kids who actually get caught on film, but to use this stuff the same way you would use information from parents or authorities seems a little sketchy to me. Will this lead to more schools snooping around on their own, they'll never admit to it, but I find it hard to believe that its never been done.
With the ability these days to doctor pictures or create them from thin air, how reliable are these pictures and should it matter where they came from (both the pics themselves and the person who turns them in)? We all know that kids are really vindictive and 1 scorned kid will find a way to get you somehow. I'm not supporting the behavior or the stupidity of kids who actually get caught on film, but to use this stuff the same way you would use information from parents or authorities seems a little sketchy to me. Will this lead to more schools snooping around on their own, they'll never admit to it, but I find it hard to believe that its never been done.
SW Christian at MN Transitions thoughts
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Kevin Noreen
The end of my Saturday takes me to a new building, the old Minneapolis Central HS gym, for SW Christian at MTS. MTS uses a 9-2 run early in the 1st half to take a 25-18 lead with 8:42 left in the 1st half and they never trail again. Fast pace to the game, especially 1st half, despite a SWC 2-3 zone. SWC would get close with a run and then MTS would get a big bucket. A big 3 right before the half makes it 49-42 MTS going to the break.
MTS tries to run away at 65-58 with 7:25 to go but SWC won't go away. They pull to 67-66 with 3:45 to go. With 1:10 left SWC gets a turnover and has ball down 73-70 but Caleb Palkert can't convert inside and MTS hits 4 FTs to seal a 77-70 win. Ironically, all 3 of my boys games today had the winner scoring 77 points and the last 2 boys game had the same 77-70 final.
For MTS, Kevin Noreen with a nice game of 22 points including 9-9 FTs. Kyle Noreen had 5 3s and 17 points. How people don't do their homework and continue to leave Kyle open for standstill 3s is beyond me. 3 of his 5 3s were completely inexcusable, 1 off of the same old inbounds play and 2 off of opponents FTs where he starts off the FT line and then just runs to the corner waiting for a spot up in transition (no pun intended). Good concept for their system so give MTS credit for having it in. 9 cheap points lost and you get beat by 7. It's the little things. Carlos Lewis with 22 was X-Factor for MTS. For SWC, 6-7 Jr Caleb Palkert is quite the player and my preseason pick for MCAA player of the year next year (with apologies to Josh Hanson of MCA). He can step out and shoot it, score inside and block shots. Its not a surprise that he got 30 and 19 rbs on Heritage or 21 on MCA. He finishes with 25, 17 of them in a dominating 1st half. He only got 2 touches in the last 5 minutes though which was disturbing. Some of that was impatience vs the MTS 2-3 trap (probably more appropriately called a 2-2-1 in the half court)
With MTS having more personnel than they had when I saw their Minnehaha game, you can see the number of athletes and defensive aggressiveness. The defense is still lacking but some of that may be due to the Loyola Marymount/Grinnell style of play where you just want the ball back. But they still run very little offense and their defense is predicated on gambling or if your guy gets by you hope that Kevin Noreen blocks the shot. I still don't see them being able to get consistent stops when it matters in the tournament.
MTS tries to run away at 65-58 with 7:25 to go but SWC won't go away. They pull to 67-66 with 3:45 to go. With 1:10 left SWC gets a turnover and has ball down 73-70 but Caleb Palkert can't convert inside and MTS hits 4 FTs to seal a 77-70 win. Ironically, all 3 of my boys games today had the winner scoring 77 points and the last 2 boys game had the same 77-70 final.
For MTS, Kevin Noreen with a nice game of 22 points including 9-9 FTs. Kyle Noreen had 5 3s and 17 points. How people don't do their homework and continue to leave Kyle open for standstill 3s is beyond me. 3 of his 5 3s were completely inexcusable, 1 off of the same old inbounds play and 2 off of opponents FTs where he starts off the FT line and then just runs to the corner waiting for a spot up in transition (no pun intended). Good concept for their system so give MTS credit for having it in. 9 cheap points lost and you get beat by 7. It's the little things. Carlos Lewis with 22 was X-Factor for MTS. For SWC, 6-7 Jr Caleb Palkert is quite the player and my preseason pick for MCAA player of the year next year (with apologies to Josh Hanson of MCA). He can step out and shoot it, score inside and block shots. Its not a surprise that he got 30 and 19 rbs on Heritage or 21 on MCA. He finishes with 25, 17 of them in a dominating 1st half. He only got 2 touches in the last 5 minutes though which was disturbing. Some of that was impatience vs the MTS 2-3 trap (probably more appropriately called a 2-2-1 in the half court)
With MTS having more personnel than they had when I saw their Minnehaha game, you can see the number of athletes and defensive aggressiveness. The defense is still lacking but some of that may be due to the Loyola Marymount/Grinnell style of play where you just want the ball back. But they still run very little offense and their defense is predicated on gambling or if your guy gets by you hope that Kevin Noreen blocks the shot. I still don't see them being able to get consistent stops when it matters in the tournament.
Osseo vs Heelan observations
Game 2 of the East Metro Showcase featured Osseo vs Sioux City Heelan. Wow is Brannon Cougill big. Has a striking resemblance to John Daly too. Carrington Tankson didn't start for Osseo, but did come in right away at 16:10 of the 1st half. Heelan brought an absolute army of fans too, props to them. Also interesting that they have Bishop Heelan on the front and "Pride" on the back of their jerseys (mascot is Crusaders).
Heelan gets out to a 16-8 lead, but Osseo fights back behind Carrington Tankson dominance. Cougill picks up 2 fouls and goes to the bench with 5 minutes left in the half and Heelan up 30-28. Heelan stretches it to 39-33 and there was an interesting moment during this period. Zach Peterson was in the game (no Dower) and Heelan had no big on the floor so they spread the floor and had Peterson's guy take him off the dribble. Great coaching and equally great coaching by Tim Theisen to get Peterson out of there immediately. Interestingly, Peterson played very little after that. Tankson hits a 3 off a missed Dan Brown FT and then finds Brown for a layup and its 39-38 Heelan at half. Very fast paced half. Tankson has 18 pts, Cougill with 11 and sophomore stud Zach McCabe has 10.
In the 2nd half, its back and forth early. Heelan is playing a 1-3-1 with Cougill in the back and they aren't guarding DJ Phillips, Nate Dimmer or Ryan Spading so Osseo is playing 3 on 5 on the offensive end. Heelan leads 60-57 with about 8 minutes left and Tankson goes nuts. 2 3s and a steal for a layup lead a 10-0 Osseo run to lead 67-60. Heelan tried to faceguard him and run DJ Phillips defender at him the entire last 10 minutes and Tankson still got his. He also got a dumb T for showing up the official after a carrying call (loads of those for some odd reason in this game). Tankson's head can be an issue at times and this was one of those times. Heelan made 1 of the 2 FTs but got nothing on the possession. They fight back to be down 71-69 with 2:05 left when they get a steal for a breakaway and Tankson flops but no call and the layup is no good. Sam Dower takes an ill-advised 10 footer at 1:10. Tanner Ferguson makes 2 FTs but the 2nd one is waived off for a lane violation and its 71-70 Osseo with 1:04 left. Osseo turns the ball over but Dower rebounds a Heelan miss with 40 seconds left. DJ Phillips makes both ends of the bonus with 33 seconds left and its 73-70 Osseo. Heelan's Shay Jacler has the tying 3 go in and out with 20 seconds left. Tankson hits 4 FTs to seal a 77-70 Osseo win.
Zach McCabe is a really nice sophomore wing player for Heelan in addition to the monster that is Brennan Cougill. They also have a shooter in Tanner Ferguson and all 3 of them are back next year. Ouch! Not a team I want in my section and the type of team I'd like to see come in for the TWolves Shootout. I'm still baffled how Johnson beat them by 6 last night. McCabe finishes with 24, Cougill with 19 for Heelan. For Osseo, Tankson finishes with 33, Sam Dower with 18. Dan Brown was ice ice cold for the 2nd straight time I've seen him. He finished with only 6 pts and most shocking went 0-4 from the line including 2 missed front ends of the bonus.
Great games and well done by Coach Simmons to put this together despite the fact that I skipped the last 2 games. But please clean the top row of bleachers behind the benches where the cameras go. The same pizza crust, pop cans and 1-2-2 trap I was drawing up were still there today from the Como Park game on Wednesday night.
Heelan gets out to a 16-8 lead, but Osseo fights back behind Carrington Tankson dominance. Cougill picks up 2 fouls and goes to the bench with 5 minutes left in the half and Heelan up 30-28. Heelan stretches it to 39-33 and there was an interesting moment during this period. Zach Peterson was in the game (no Dower) and Heelan had no big on the floor so they spread the floor and had Peterson's guy take him off the dribble. Great coaching and equally great coaching by Tim Theisen to get Peterson out of there immediately. Interestingly, Peterson played very little after that. Tankson hits a 3 off a missed Dan Brown FT and then finds Brown for a layup and its 39-38 Heelan at half. Very fast paced half. Tankson has 18 pts, Cougill with 11 and sophomore stud Zach McCabe has 10.
In the 2nd half, its back and forth early. Heelan is playing a 1-3-1 with Cougill in the back and they aren't guarding DJ Phillips, Nate Dimmer or Ryan Spading so Osseo is playing 3 on 5 on the offensive end. Heelan leads 60-57 with about 8 minutes left and Tankson goes nuts. 2 3s and a steal for a layup lead a 10-0 Osseo run to lead 67-60. Heelan tried to faceguard him and run DJ Phillips defender at him the entire last 10 minutes and Tankson still got his. He also got a dumb T for showing up the official after a carrying call (loads of those for some odd reason in this game). Tankson's head can be an issue at times and this was one of those times. Heelan made 1 of the 2 FTs but got nothing on the possession. They fight back to be down 71-69 with 2:05 left when they get a steal for a breakaway and Tankson flops but no call and the layup is no good. Sam Dower takes an ill-advised 10 footer at 1:10. Tanner Ferguson makes 2 FTs but the 2nd one is waived off for a lane violation and its 71-70 Osseo with 1:04 left. Osseo turns the ball over but Dower rebounds a Heelan miss with 40 seconds left. DJ Phillips makes both ends of the bonus with 33 seconds left and its 73-70 Osseo. Heelan's Shay Jacler has the tying 3 go in and out with 20 seconds left. Tankson hits 4 FTs to seal a 77-70 Osseo win.
Zach McCabe is a really nice sophomore wing player for Heelan in addition to the monster that is Brennan Cougill. They also have a shooter in Tanner Ferguson and all 3 of them are back next year. Ouch! Not a team I want in my section and the type of team I'd like to see come in for the TWolves Shootout. I'm still baffled how Johnson beat them by 6 last night. McCabe finishes with 24, Cougill with 19 for Heelan. For Osseo, Tankson finishes with 33, Sam Dower with 18. Dan Brown was ice ice cold for the 2nd straight time I've seen him. He finished with only 6 pts and most shocking went 0-4 from the line including 2 missed front ends of the bonus.
Great games and well done by Coach Simmons to put this together despite the fact that I skipped the last 2 games. But please clean the top row of bleachers behind the benches where the cameras go. The same pizza crust, pop cans and 1-2-2 trap I was drawing up were still there today from the Como Park game on Wednesday night.
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