To Concordia-St. Paul for the 6AAA semifinals. Game 1 features Benilde-St. Margaret's against the top seeded Washburn Millers.
7-4 BSM early on a Alex Miller jumper. Washburn counters with a 12-2 run as DeAaron Hearn ignites it with a steal for 2 and an NBA range 3. Jordan Osberg with a 3 point play to complete the run. 16-9 Washburn at 11:36. Peter Crawford off the BSM bench and immediately active with a 3 point play. Seth Marx then hits a 3 and puts back a miss for 8 straight Red Knights points. 17-16 BSM at the 9:10 mark. After another Marx 3 cuts a Washburn lead to 23-22, Hearn with a layup off a high screen/roll and then a triple on a high handoff. 28-22 Millers at the 6:10 mark. BSM then rattles off 12 in a row as Darren Glover nails a step back J (where's Lawrence Moten to see that). Crawford runs out and earns 1 free throw. Alex Miller with a jumper and the foul for an old-fashioned 3 point play. After a Ra'Shede Hageman charge, Crawford nails an elbow jumper for a 34-28 lead with 2:10 left in the half. Noah Shepherd with a triple and then Osburg sneaks behind the BSM zone and Hageman finds him for a 36-35 Washburn lead at the half. 8-1 Washburn to end the half. DeAaron Hearn with 11 points, Cedric Martin with 10 on 8-8 FTs. Peter Crawford with 10 points off the bench in the last 11+ minutes. Darren Glover with 8 points. Hageman with only 3 points after good early touches vs Myles Barnes.
Coach Perkins must have lit a fire under the Millers at the half. Dylan Hale with a steal and a 2 handed throwdown followed by 2 free throws. Hageman with a post bucket, then a steal and he takes it for a dunk. He tacks on 1 of 2 freebies. Martin with a tip bucket and then a layup. 15-2 Millers to start the half as they lead 51-37 with 12:14 left. BSM with a minimum of 6 turnovers and a pair of bad shots already in the half. Counting the run to end the 1st half, its a 23-3 Washburn run over 8 minutes.
Hale with another steal and dunk to push the lead to 16, 55-39 Washburn with 11:10 left. Benilde not going away as they go to an extended 1-3-1 with Crawford on top and Washburn struggles against it initially. That allows BSM to go on a 11-3 run over 5:16. Isaiah Zierden ends the run with a triple. 58-50 Washburn with 5:30 to play. Hageman with 4 FTs in a row (normally that good at the line). 64-52 with 4 minutes left. Crawford fouled on a drive to the hoop and he lands awfully hard and hits his head. He gets up and is OK, but the 2 FTs and his next shot weren't close. Washburn sloppy late as they try to close this one out. Zierden with a triple to cut the lead to 6, 64-58 with 2 minutes left. Hageman misses the front end of the bonus at 1:35 but Washburn gets the rebound and Hageman dunks with 1:20 left and the fire is out. Washburn goes on to win 73-61.
For Benilde-St. Margaret's, Peter Crawford with 18 points and 6 boards on 6-15 shooting. Darren Glover with 12 points on 4-10 shooting. Shooter Seth Marx with 10 points off the bench on my sheet (I have no clue why the online box score is so different from mine, I think the table majorly confused Zierden and Marx, #34 vs #24). BSM finishes the season 17-11 with a very young team. Look for them to be a very dangerous team in AAA next season.
For Washburn, they hang on and it appeared they wanted to just turn it on and off. I was very surprised that Hageman was left in the game so much late considering his free throw shooting. And that's not the only time I've seen that this year. We'll see if this comes back to bite them. Cedric Martin leads the way with 20 points and once again a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe. I also had him for 12 rebounds. Ra'Shede Hageman with 15 points (12 in the 2nd half) and I had 13 rebounds on my sheet. While Evan Battle did a nice job defending him in the post, he needs more touches.
Woodbury at Central thoughts (08-09 4AAAA Quarterfinal)
To Central for a 3 vs 6 game as Woodbury comes to town. Woodbury with their passive 1-3-1 and standard power motion. It takes Woodbury almost 3 minutes to make a field goal before Bo Schiffler banks one home at 15:10. 6-3 Central. LeDarian Horton counters with his 2nd and 3rd offensive rebounds of the night for 2. Nick Quicksell and Schiffler with jumpers, Ross Bailey with 3 points. Brandon Nelson off the Woodbury bench with 1 of 2 free throws for Woodbury's 1st lead of the night 11-10 at the 9:06 mark. That concludes an 8-2 Woodbury run. Quicksell with a charge for his 2nd foul at 7:34 and he sits out the rest of the half. David Smith with a pair of free throws and Bailey with a pair of putbacks for a 19-15 Woodbury lead with 3:50 left in the half. Central outscores Woodbury 12-5 to finish the half as the Royals only must 1 tip in during that time. 27-24 Central at the half. Horton with 6 points and 10 rebounds. He's all over the offensive glass. Jordan Larson with 5 points and 2 rebounds in limited minutes. Schiffler with 6 points on 2-6 shooting. Ross Bailey with 7 points and 8 rebounds in a very nice 1st half inside. Quicksell held to 3 points on 1-4 shooting. Woodbury switching to a 2-3 zone for the last 8 minutes of the half.
The Royals stay in the 2-3 in the 2nd half. A Horton bucket and foul (missed the FT) push the Central lead to 34-28 with 14:24 left. Schiffler with a triple to cut the lead to 34-32. Woodbury had gone the previous 4:50 without a bucket. Larson to Horton for a layup against the zone. Nice work out of the high post there. 36-34 Central with 11:10 left. Central won't lead again.
Schiffler for 3, David Smith 2 and fouled (missed FT). Quicksell drives the left baseline for 2. 41-36 Woodbury with 7:31 left. Timeout Central. Interesting during the timeout that the Central students give the Woodbury cheerleaders a loud chorus of boos. Central then loses Quicksell in transition and he goes straight to the basket for a fast break layup. 43-36 Woodbury with 6:45 to play after a 15-2 run (7:40 time elapsed). Quicksell with 2 more buckets for Woodbury to make the score 47-38 Royals (19-4 over 10 minutes). Junior Cameron Smith won't let Central go quietly. He nails a 3, has 2 straight steals (1 for a bucket). He then puts back a miss at 2:20 and the Woodbury lead is only 49-45. Quicksell misses the front end and then has a Fred Brown moment (Georgetown vs UNC in the 1982 NCAA title game) and throws it right to Cameron Smith who coverts the turnover. 49-47 Royals with 100 seconds left. Brent Kallman with 1 of 2 FTs with 1:24 left. Cameron Smith misses a triple with 1:11 left. Schiffler 1 of 2 with 48.7 to play and the lead is 4. Out of a timeout, Central tries to go 1-4 high with some dribble handoffs and high screens against the Woodbury 2-3 zone. Interesting strategy as a quick 2 would work too. Smaller finally hits a floater on the left baseline with 20.2 left. Woodbury inbounds to Quicksell who finds Schiffler for a 2 on 1. Schiffler pulls it back and gets fouled. He buries both freebies for the 53-49 Woodbury win.
For Central, Jordan Larson with 7 points and 6 rebounds in very limited minutes. He was getting only 3 minutes or so at a time. He came out with 4 minutes left in the game. With 1:33 left he's on the bench with a towel over his head or his head on the scorers table. If he's 100%, he would have been deadly in the high post. Sad to see his career end this way. Central did a poor job of exploiting consistent good touches from there against the 2-3. LeDarian Horton was a beast on the offensive glass as he finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds on my sheet (half of them had to be offensive boards). He's the only guy in double figures for the Minutemen.
For Woodbury, they weren't full strength either as point guard Ernest Dorsett wasn't dressed. I think he may have been in the stands behind the bench. That forced Bo Schiffler to play the point spot and he's more of a shooting guard. He leads the Royals with 16 points on 4-13 shooting on my sheet. Nick Quicksell with 11 points and 11 rebounds on my sheet. Ross Bailey with 7 points and 9 rebounds in a usable performance inside. I think everybody played for them scored. The Tartan game is not a good matchup for them in my mind. Tartan has a ton of shooters to bust the zone and their defenders will be bigger than Woodbury's scorers.
The Royals stay in the 2-3 in the 2nd half. A Horton bucket and foul (missed the FT) push the Central lead to 34-28 with 14:24 left. Schiffler with a triple to cut the lead to 34-32. Woodbury had gone the previous 4:50 without a bucket. Larson to Horton for a layup against the zone. Nice work out of the high post there. 36-34 Central with 11:10 left. Central won't lead again.
Schiffler for 3, David Smith 2 and fouled (missed FT). Quicksell drives the left baseline for 2. 41-36 Woodbury with 7:31 left. Timeout Central. Interesting during the timeout that the Central students give the Woodbury cheerleaders a loud chorus of boos. Central then loses Quicksell in transition and he goes straight to the basket for a fast break layup. 43-36 Woodbury with 6:45 to play after a 15-2 run (7:40 time elapsed). Quicksell with 2 more buckets for Woodbury to make the score 47-38 Royals (19-4 over 10 minutes). Junior Cameron Smith won't let Central go quietly. He nails a 3, has 2 straight steals (1 for a bucket). He then puts back a miss at 2:20 and the Woodbury lead is only 49-45. Quicksell misses the front end and then has a Fred Brown moment (Georgetown vs UNC in the 1982 NCAA title game) and throws it right to Cameron Smith who coverts the turnover. 49-47 Royals with 100 seconds left. Brent Kallman with 1 of 2 FTs with 1:24 left. Cameron Smith misses a triple with 1:11 left. Schiffler 1 of 2 with 48.7 to play and the lead is 4. Out of a timeout, Central tries to go 1-4 high with some dribble handoffs and high screens against the Woodbury 2-3 zone. Interesting strategy as a quick 2 would work too. Smaller finally hits a floater on the left baseline with 20.2 left. Woodbury inbounds to Quicksell who finds Schiffler for a 2 on 1. Schiffler pulls it back and gets fouled. He buries both freebies for the 53-49 Woodbury win.
For Central, Jordan Larson with 7 points and 6 rebounds in very limited minutes. He was getting only 3 minutes or so at a time. He came out with 4 minutes left in the game. With 1:33 left he's on the bench with a towel over his head or his head on the scorers table. If he's 100%, he would have been deadly in the high post. Sad to see his career end this way. Central did a poor job of exploiting consistent good touches from there against the 2-3. LeDarian Horton was a beast on the offensive glass as he finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds on my sheet (half of them had to be offensive boards). He's the only guy in double figures for the Minutemen.
For Woodbury, they weren't full strength either as point guard Ernest Dorsett wasn't dressed. I think he may have been in the stands behind the bench. That forced Bo Schiffler to play the point spot and he's more of a shooting guard. He leads the Royals with 16 points on 4-13 shooting on my sheet. Nick Quicksell with 11 points and 11 rebounds on my sheet. Ross Bailey with 7 points and 9 rebounds in a usable performance inside. I think everybody played for them scored. The Tartan game is not a good matchup for them in my mind. Tartan has a ton of shooters to bust the zone and their defenders will be bigger than Woodbury's scorers.
SPA at Concordia Thoughts (08-09 4AA Round of 16)
To Concordia Academy in Roseville for a 4 vs 5 game in the East subsection of 4AA. Concordia won the regular season meeting 74-72 on January 15th at St. Paul Academy via 33 from Zach Towle. What would SPA do to slow Towle down in this one?
Evan McMillan off to a quick start with 2 quick baskets, Harry Whitaker with a nice reverse layin and the hot point guard is Santano Rosario. He finishes a 9-2 SPA run to start the game with a triple. Timeout Concordia at 13:41. Towle off to an 0-5 start. Junior Nik Novitsky and Zach Houliston off the bench to provide a spark for Concordia. Rosario with a couple of jumpers to try and hold the Beacons off. But Novitsky with 8 straight Concordia points with a pair of triples. 19-17 Concordia with 7:05 left and Towle's only FG is a steal, otherwise 0-8. Novitsky with another 3 for 11 in a row to finish a 20-8 run over 7 minutes. Towle with a bad pass that ends up magically back in his hands for 2 and then Houliston with back to back buckets. 30-21 Concordia. SPA closes to 32-25 at the half. Novitsky with 13 on 3 triples and Houliston with 9 from the Concordia bench. Rosario with 11 points to keep SPA afloat. McMillan with 7 points but after the 1st 2 makes, I've got 2-7 shooting.
13-6 Concordia run to start the 2nd half with Chad Koepke and Zach Houliston getting it done inside. Towle finishes the run with a triple in transition. 45-31 Beacons at the 12:52 mark. Timeout SPA. Sophomore post Gabe Mast with a nice move to the right baseline and a lefty finish and a flex cut (my eyes are bleeding) for a layup to cut the lead to 10. Rosario has a chance to cut it to 9 with 6:35 left but he misses the front end of the bonus. SPA doesn't threaten again. Concordia moves on 66-47.
For SPA, junior point guard Santano Rosario leads the way with 17 points. Coach Schutte even had to move Towle off of him. Evan McMillan with 13 points and 12 rebounds but no field goals in the 2nd half. I had him in the area of 4-15 shooting and that includes the 1st 2 makes. Gabe Mast with 7 points and 5 rebounds on my sheet. He's a big body inside and shows a nice ability to use both hands at the basket with a decent shooting touch. Nice move by coach Kevin McKenzie when Concordia went 1-4 low with Towle on top. He brought the corner defenders to the elbows almost like a 1-2-2 zone to provide help. He also tried to really help/trap on ball screens. Add in 6'3 Joseph Stanoch to play him man-man and he had a very nice game plan. SPA finishes the season a much improved 13-13.
For Concordia, Zach Towle with only 11 points. I had him for 7 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers with 4-15 shooting. Hard to believe Concordia wins by 19 with those stats. Nik Novitsky was a huge key with all 13 of his points in the 1st half. Zach Houliston with 16 and 9. Chad Koepke with 16 points. They move on to play at St. Bernard's on Saturday night. St. Bernard's won the 2 regular season meetings by an average of 35 points.
Evan McMillan off to a quick start with 2 quick baskets, Harry Whitaker with a nice reverse layin and the hot point guard is Santano Rosario. He finishes a 9-2 SPA run to start the game with a triple. Timeout Concordia at 13:41. Towle off to an 0-5 start. Junior Nik Novitsky and Zach Houliston off the bench to provide a spark for Concordia. Rosario with a couple of jumpers to try and hold the Beacons off. But Novitsky with 8 straight Concordia points with a pair of triples. 19-17 Concordia with 7:05 left and Towle's only FG is a steal, otherwise 0-8. Novitsky with another 3 for 11 in a row to finish a 20-8 run over 7 minutes. Towle with a bad pass that ends up magically back in his hands for 2 and then Houliston with back to back buckets. 30-21 Concordia. SPA closes to 32-25 at the half. Novitsky with 13 on 3 triples and Houliston with 9 from the Concordia bench. Rosario with 11 points to keep SPA afloat. McMillan with 7 points but after the 1st 2 makes, I've got 2-7 shooting.
13-6 Concordia run to start the 2nd half with Chad Koepke and Zach Houliston getting it done inside. Towle finishes the run with a triple in transition. 45-31 Beacons at the 12:52 mark. Timeout SPA. Sophomore post Gabe Mast with a nice move to the right baseline and a lefty finish and a flex cut (my eyes are bleeding) for a layup to cut the lead to 10. Rosario has a chance to cut it to 9 with 6:35 left but he misses the front end of the bonus. SPA doesn't threaten again. Concordia moves on 66-47.
For SPA, junior point guard Santano Rosario leads the way with 17 points. Coach Schutte even had to move Towle off of him. Evan McMillan with 13 points and 12 rebounds but no field goals in the 2nd half. I had him in the area of 4-15 shooting and that includes the 1st 2 makes. Gabe Mast with 7 points and 5 rebounds on my sheet. He's a big body inside and shows a nice ability to use both hands at the basket with a decent shooting touch. Nice move by coach Kevin McKenzie when Concordia went 1-4 low with Towle on top. He brought the corner defenders to the elbows almost like a 1-2-2 zone to provide help. He also tried to really help/trap on ball screens. Add in 6'3 Joseph Stanoch to play him man-man and he had a very nice game plan. SPA finishes the season a much improved 13-13.
For Concordia, Zach Towle with only 11 points. I had him for 7 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers with 4-15 shooting. Hard to believe Concordia wins by 19 with those stats. Nik Novitsky was a huge key with all 13 of his points in the 1st half. Zach Houliston with 16 and 9. Chad Koepke with 16 points. They move on to play at St. Bernard's on Saturday night. St. Bernard's won the 2 regular season meetings by an average of 35 points.
Opening round scoreboard club
Time to look in the mirror and see how this year's Czar's Blindness Index is doing on the playoff predictions.
Section 4A
I went 3 for 4 in the playin games. Ascension spoils it with a road win at Bethany. Follow this. MTS beat Roosevelt by 51. Roosevelt beat Providence by 50. Providence beat Math and Science by 36. Now MTS plays Math and Science. That will not be pretty.
Section 4AA
Dunwoody beats Trinity so I end up splitting my predictions there. I'm kind of kicking myself for that one as Dunwoody does have athletes.
Section 3AAA
A perfect 4 for 4 here. Isaiah Thomas held to 7 points, but Josh Pratt held to 6 for St. Anthony as Fridley moves on. Chisago Lakes led at Henry at the half but couldn't hold on. Josh Figini with 31, Benj Figini with 26. Rest of the team totaled 13. Columbia Heights saved me some embarassment as they came from 7 down at half to win against Totino-Grace. 3 of the 4 games close so it shows how closely matched this section is.
Section 6AAA
Get the broom out again as Holy Angels takes out Waconia. While that was a 2 vs 7 game, this was the upset that everybody had their eyes on. It also saves me and fans everywhere from having to watch De La Salle play Waconia on Saturday night. Tyler Bredow 15 points for AHA in the win. So much for a good 4 vs 5 game as Benilde St. Margaret's blows out Delano. Complain all you want about the seedings but the coaches knew what they were watching throughout the season. While I thought the seed was low, based on what I saw of Delano against Holy Angels, I don't think Delano had that big of a complaint.
Section 2AAAA
The 3rd broom comes from this section as Chaska wins at Shakopee. Jefferson keeps the game from getting up and down and they get the 63-57 win over Richfield.
Section 3AAAA
The big shocker of the night comes from this section as Park takes out the top seed Lakeville North. Cody Hofmann with 19 points to lead Park. His matchup with Apple Valley's Varmah Sonie in the next round will be key. Eastview needed OT to take out Eagan in the 2 vs 7 game. Sophomore Frank Veldman with 16 to lead the way. Soph Jameson Parsons leads Eagan with 18 points. Burnsville moves on without Devon Knopke. I get 3 of 4 correct and I still have my section winner (Eastview) alive.
Section 5AAAA
Also 3 for 4 in section 5 as Mike Muscala goes off for 30 on Mounds View. Dan Carroll held to 7. Champlin Park with an easy win at home over Centennial in a surprise margin. 43-15 at halftime in that one, wow.
Add in 3 for 4 in section 6 (I got North wrong). Totals thru the 1st 3 days. 25-30 for 83.3%
Section 4A
I went 3 for 4 in the playin games. Ascension spoils it with a road win at Bethany. Follow this. MTS beat Roosevelt by 51. Roosevelt beat Providence by 50. Providence beat Math and Science by 36. Now MTS plays Math and Science. That will not be pretty.
Section 4AA
Dunwoody beats Trinity so I end up splitting my predictions there. I'm kind of kicking myself for that one as Dunwoody does have athletes.
Section 3AAA
A perfect 4 for 4 here. Isaiah Thomas held to 7 points, but Josh Pratt held to 6 for St. Anthony as Fridley moves on. Chisago Lakes led at Henry at the half but couldn't hold on. Josh Figini with 31, Benj Figini with 26. Rest of the team totaled 13. Columbia Heights saved me some embarassment as they came from 7 down at half to win against Totino-Grace. 3 of the 4 games close so it shows how closely matched this section is.
Section 6AAA
Get the broom out again as Holy Angels takes out Waconia. While that was a 2 vs 7 game, this was the upset that everybody had their eyes on. It also saves me and fans everywhere from having to watch De La Salle play Waconia on Saturday night. Tyler Bredow 15 points for AHA in the win. So much for a good 4 vs 5 game as Benilde St. Margaret's blows out Delano. Complain all you want about the seedings but the coaches knew what they were watching throughout the season. While I thought the seed was low, based on what I saw of Delano against Holy Angels, I don't think Delano had that big of a complaint.
Section 2AAAA
The 3rd broom comes from this section as Chaska wins at Shakopee. Jefferson keeps the game from getting up and down and they get the 63-57 win over Richfield.
Section 3AAAA
The big shocker of the night comes from this section as Park takes out the top seed Lakeville North. Cody Hofmann with 19 points to lead Park. His matchup with Apple Valley's Varmah Sonie in the next round will be key. Eastview needed OT to take out Eagan in the 2 vs 7 game. Sophomore Frank Veldman with 16 to lead the way. Soph Jameson Parsons leads Eagan with 18 points. Burnsville moves on without Devon Knopke. I get 3 of 4 correct and I still have my section winner (Eastview) alive.
Section 5AAAA
Also 3 for 4 in section 5 as Mike Muscala goes off for 30 on Mounds View. Dan Carroll held to 7. Champlin Park with an easy win at home over Centennial in a surprise margin. 43-15 at halftime in that one, wow.
Add in 3 for 4 in section 6 (I got North wrong). Totals thru the 1st 3 days. 25-30 for 83.3%
Lakeville South at Apple Valley Thoughts
Mitch Bires
Today's tournament adventure takes me on a return trip to Apple Valley for their 3AAAA quarterfinal against Lakeville South. Interesting for me too since I haven't seen either team since the opening couple of days of the season. Great music tonight on the PA system, but beware of the ketchup bottle. I was lucky not to turn my green shirt into a Christmas outfit. The 3rd matchup this season of star sophs Alex Richter (South) and Tom Schalk (AV). Richter put up 38 and 10 (13-16 shooting) in the 1st meeting this year and 12 when the teams met 2 weeks ago. What would happen tonight.Blake Shay gets the assignment guarding Schalk. David Bauer gets the task of containing Richter. This one is quiet early as 2 Varmah Sonie free throws give Apple Valley a 6-5 lead at the 13:25 mark. Bauer being effective in the post as he gets a layup from Sonie, a nice reverse layin and a post up for 1 of 2 FTs. 13-12 AV at 9:33. Lakeville South gets a triple from Riley West and a 3 point play from Blake Shay as part of a 9-3 run that puts the Cougars up 21-16 with 6 minutes left in the half. West with a couple of tough shots. Sonie goes thru West to convert one of those misses and Schalk with 2 free throws the other. The 6-0 AV spurt gives them the lead 22-21 at the 4:34 mark and forces a Lakeville South timeout. 28-27 Lakeville South at the half. Varmah Sonie with 10 points and outplaying Riley West in the point guard matchup. Alex Richter with 8 and 6. Blake Shay with 6 and 6 on my sheet. Schalk 3 points on 1-3 shooting.
Sonie keeps it going with a 3 point play on a nice move to start the half. Mitch Bires with a triple, Bauer with another reverse and Sonie buries a 3 for a 38-34 Apple Valley lead with 15:35 to play. Timeout Lakeville South. West with a floater and then Shay with 5 in a row for Lakeville South and they have the lead back 41-39 at 13:25. Shay loses Schalk on the defensive end for the easy layin. 41 all. Jake Wensmann with a putback, a defensive rebound and then goes hard for 2 free throws. Calvin Otting with a putback to conclude a 13-3 Lakeville South run and they have big momentum. Matt Hermes with a layup to end the run and only then does AV take the timeout. I never understood or liked that philosophy.
But it works. Sonie with a steal for 2 and then he swipes West again and West gives him the forearm push away going for the loose ball. That's his 4 foul. Richter picks up his 4th 14 seconds later. That fouls leads to 2 Mitch Bires free throws that tie the game at 47 with 9:24 left and if you blinked, you missed the complete 180 in the momentum. Bires with a hoop and then a jumper. JD Mehlhorn with a layup at 7:15 to put the Cougars back up 52-21. West and Richter return at 6:43 in a surprise move. Lefty Matt Gurtcheff giving AV nice minutes off the bench. He makes a jumper, 2 free throws and then goes right at Richter (4 fouls) for a layup on a right baseline drive and a nice lefty finish. That's 6 of the 8 points in an 8-0 run that gives AV a 59-52 lead with 4:30 to go. Melhorn with a putback at 2:09 to cut the lead to 5 and then Shay with 2 FTs after an AV turnover. 61-58 AV with 1:53 left. Sonie trapped on the inbounds and he may have flopped but instead its the 5th foul on Riley West. Sonie makes both freebies and Bires with 2 freebies after a Richter miss. Shay with 2 free throws and then Wensmann nails a 3. 66-63 AV with 54.8 left. Lakeville South gets a great trap in the corner on the inbound and forces a jump ball but the Eagles have the arrow. Gurtcheff goes 1 of 2 again at the stripe with 36 seconds left. Nice job by the Cougars of working for a trap instead of an immediate foul. Wensmann with a bucket with 21 seconds left, but Bauer breaks the press for a layup with 10 seconds left and that seals it. Apple Valley hangs on 69-65.
For Lakeville South, Alex Richter goes bagel in the 2nd half. 8 points total in his 2nd lowest total of the season and only the 2nd time he's been held without double-figures. Blake Shay with another big game against the Eagles as I had him for 20 and 9. Not to mention the nice defensive job he did on Tom Schalk. The Cougars lost 5 of their last 6 to finish the season at 12-15. Blake Shay was a big glue guy for this team. He'll be very difficult to replace.
For Apple Valley, they get the huge break as Park knocks off Lakeville North by 13. Big roar at halftime when it was announced Park was winning that game at the half. Varmah Sonie with 20 points on the night and controlled the action. Mitch Bires with 14 points. Matt Gurtcheff with 10 points off the bench. David Bauer effective inside on the post as he finished with 11 points. Tom Schalk with only 5 points.
Mitch Bires photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
Mpls North vs Tonka (6AAAA Quarterfinal)
To Hopkins on this slippery and blustery night for the start of real playoff action in the 08-09 season. I skip the last matchup of the night with Hopkins and St. Louis Park, but the 4 vs 5 game with North taking on Minnetonka has promise. Willie Braziel, Al Harris and John Sherman (working) all on hand for this one.
Kyle Risinger gets the Tonka assignment on Kevin Thompson of North. The 1st 4 minutes of this one are ugly with turnovers and no flow whatsoever. Cole Stefan off to a quick 3-4 start from deep and Tonka leads 11-7 at 12:35. The last one was from NBA distance. Thompson forcing shots early (1-5 to start) but he finally gets it started with a triple, a steal for 2 free points, and a jumper to end a 13-2 run for North. Frosh guard Charles Smith with back to back triples to start the run. 23-15 North at the 6:08 mark. Thompson sits with foul #2 later and North will have to play the rest of the half without him. By this point the fouls have mounted and Tonka starts a parade to the foul line. Chad Howard (a newbie to the Tonka rotation) with 2 freebies and a scoop for 2. Taylor Nelson with 2 FTs and a putback. Cole Stefan with 6 free throws on cheap fouls including 1 right at the 1st half buzzer. North takes quick shots to end the half instead of running clock and Minnetonka closes the gap to 33-32 at the break. Stefan with 17 points but only 1 of his last 7 shooting in the half. Thompson 9 points and 4 boards on 4-10 shooting. Charles Smith off the bench with 8 big points for North.
Ariel Deloney and Spencer Puckett start the 2nd half for North in a lineup change by coach Bo Powell. Deloney comes out and gets right on the glass for 2 putbacks. Stefan counters that with another triple for a 38-37 Tonka lead with 15:50 to play. Deloney inside for a layup, Thompson with a 3, Malik El-Amin with 6 points and a 3 point play from Mark Devine inside compose a 14-3 North run over 2:45. 51-41 Polars lead with 12:27 left and the Skippers call timeout. Blake Nelson with 2 FTs and Stefan with a tough fade from the right baseline cut the lead to 6 and Tonka is in their 1-1-3 defense. North counters with 5 straight points over the next 2 minutes for an 11 point cushion, 56-45. Thompson sits at the 7:57 mark and you wonder if Tonka will make a run here. But that doesn't happen as North has an answer for each Tonka bucket. North goes on to a 64-55 win.
For Minnetonka, they finish a disappointing 12-14 season. Cole Stefan with 28 points on 8-20 shooting on my sheet along with 6 rebounds. That was after a 3-4 start, so he finished 5-16 over the last 30 minutes. Nick Latzke with only 6 points in my surprise of the night. I thought he'd get more looks from 3. Tonka did run some dribble handoffs with high screens for Stefan along with a couple of sets for 3s and a little 4 out 1 in motion. It will be interesting to see what they do next year to replace Taylor Nelson inside.
For North, Kevin Thompson with 14 points and I had 5 turnovers for him on my sheet. I had him 6-13 shooting overall. That was after a 1-5 start. Great production from the North bench. Ariel Deloney 8 points and 6 rebounds, Spencer Puckett 13 rebounds. Charles Smith 11 points. Malik El-Amin with 6 of his 12 points in the run that put the game out of reach. They move on to play Hopkins Friday night at Osseo.
Kyle Risinger gets the Tonka assignment on Kevin Thompson of North. The 1st 4 minutes of this one are ugly with turnovers and no flow whatsoever. Cole Stefan off to a quick 3-4 start from deep and Tonka leads 11-7 at 12:35. The last one was from NBA distance. Thompson forcing shots early (1-5 to start) but he finally gets it started with a triple, a steal for 2 free points, and a jumper to end a 13-2 run for North. Frosh guard Charles Smith with back to back triples to start the run. 23-15 North at the 6:08 mark. Thompson sits with foul #2 later and North will have to play the rest of the half without him. By this point the fouls have mounted and Tonka starts a parade to the foul line. Chad Howard (a newbie to the Tonka rotation) with 2 freebies and a scoop for 2. Taylor Nelson with 2 FTs and a putback. Cole Stefan with 6 free throws on cheap fouls including 1 right at the 1st half buzzer. North takes quick shots to end the half instead of running clock and Minnetonka closes the gap to 33-32 at the break. Stefan with 17 points but only 1 of his last 7 shooting in the half. Thompson 9 points and 4 boards on 4-10 shooting. Charles Smith off the bench with 8 big points for North.
Ariel Deloney and Spencer Puckett start the 2nd half for North in a lineup change by coach Bo Powell. Deloney comes out and gets right on the glass for 2 putbacks. Stefan counters that with another triple for a 38-37 Tonka lead with 15:50 to play. Deloney inside for a layup, Thompson with a 3, Malik El-Amin with 6 points and a 3 point play from Mark Devine inside compose a 14-3 North run over 2:45. 51-41 Polars lead with 12:27 left and the Skippers call timeout. Blake Nelson with 2 FTs and Stefan with a tough fade from the right baseline cut the lead to 6 and Tonka is in their 1-1-3 defense. North counters with 5 straight points over the next 2 minutes for an 11 point cushion, 56-45. Thompson sits at the 7:57 mark and you wonder if Tonka will make a run here. But that doesn't happen as North has an answer for each Tonka bucket. North goes on to a 64-55 win.
For Minnetonka, they finish a disappointing 12-14 season. Cole Stefan with 28 points on 8-20 shooting on my sheet along with 6 rebounds. That was after a 3-4 start, so he finished 5-16 over the last 30 minutes. Nick Latzke with only 6 points in my surprise of the night. I thought he'd get more looks from 3. Tonka did run some dribble handoffs with high screens for Stefan along with a couple of sets for 3s and a little 4 out 1 in motion. It will be interesting to see what they do next year to replace Taylor Nelson inside.
For North, Kevin Thompson with 14 points and I had 5 turnovers for him on my sheet. I had him 6-13 shooting overall. That was after a 1-5 start. Great production from the North bench. Ariel Deloney 8 points and 6 rebounds, Spencer Puckett 13 rebounds. Charles Smith 11 points. Malik El-Amin with 6 of his 12 points in the run that put the game out of reach. They move on to play Hopkins Friday night at Osseo.
Providence at Roosevelt Thoughts
Nothing else tonight but a pigtail game with Providence Academy making the trip into the city to take on Roosevelt. Roosevelt turns it over and Zach Money converts. Providence with the 1st bucket of the game and by golly we might have a game. Pull the ball out! 4 Providence turnovers in a row force the Lions to take a timeout down 6-2 at the 14:40 mark. James Smith with 2 layups inside for a 14-6 Roosevelt lead at the 12:45 mark. Providence staying close with a John Lundbeck triple and Alex Eaton with a fadeaway and a short pullup. 18-15 Roosevelt with 9:55 left in the half.
And that's all that really worth noting. Roosevelt forces 10 turnovers over the rest of the half for a 26-4 run with only 1 Providence field goal. 44-19 Roosevelt at the break. Providence with 17 turnovers on my sheet. James Smith with 18 points on layups thanks to dump offs against pressure or on penetration against the Lions 2-3 zone. Eddie White the main guy responsible for that. More of the same in the 2nd half. Providence turns it over 27 times in the 1st 25 minutes. The 2nd half is really ugly as Roosevelt rolls 78-28. Eddie Boler with 15 of his 23 in the 2nd half. John Lundbeck with 10 for Providence. They lose only 1 senior, unfortunately that's Zach Money their best player. Roosevelt travels to Holy Family on Thursday.
And that's all that really worth noting. Roosevelt forces 10 turnovers over the rest of the half for a 26-4 run with only 1 Providence field goal. 44-19 Roosevelt at the break. Providence with 17 turnovers on my sheet. James Smith with 18 points on layups thanks to dump offs against pressure or on penetration against the Lions 2-3 zone. Eddie White the main guy responsible for that. More of the same in the 2nd half. Providence turns it over 27 times in the 1st 25 minutes. The 2nd half is really ugly as Roosevelt rolls 78-28. Eddie Boler with 15 of his 23 in the 2nd half. John Lundbeck with 10 for Providence. They lose only 1 senior, unfortunately that's Zach Money their best player. Roosevelt travels to Holy Family on Thursday.
08-09 Metro AAAA section previews
Labels:
08-09 Playoff Previews
This is part 2 in my series previewing and predicting the metro sections. In part 3, a look at the big boys in class AAAA.
Part 1: Sections 4A and 4AA
Part 2: Sections 3AAA, 4AAA and 6AAA
Section 2AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/14 at Hopkins
Section Championship: 3/20 at Hopkins
Teams to beat: Eden Prairie, Edina
Contenders: Jefferson, Shakopee
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Eden Prairie, Chaska, Edina, Jefferson
Semifinals: Eden Prairie, Edina
Section champion: Eden Prairie
Section Thoughts: The Richfield vs Jefferson game will be all about pace. If Richfield can speed the game up they'll be fine. But Jefferson won't let them do that and Moses Alipate is the best inside player in this one. Chaska vs Shakopee should be a rivalry game but they didn't play this season. Shakopee doesn't have enough weapons and Chaska has plenty plus the experience of the Lake Conference schedule. Eden Prairie has to win this section at some point after all the success they've had. Its a good game but I think Eden Prairie's defense will hold Edina's guards down.
Section 3AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at St. Olaf
Section Championship: 3/20 at St. Olaf
Teams to beat: Lakeville North
Contenders: Eastview, Burnsville
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Lakeville North, Lakeville South, Burnsville, Eastview
Semifinals: Lakeville North, Eastview
Section champion: Eastview
Section Thoughts: AV barely won at home 2 weeks ago, I think Lakeville South pulls the 4 vs 5 upset in a very good game. Eastview knocked off Burnsville both times and Lakeville North in the last meeting. I like the Lightning here as they finished up 7-3 despite a bad loss to Rosemount to end the regular season. If Burnsville shoots it well, they're very dangerous.
Section 4AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/13 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at St. Paul Arlington
Section Championship: 3/20 at St. Paul Arlington
Teams to beat: Henry Sibley
Contenders: Tartan
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Henry Sibley, Stillwater, Central, Tartan
Semifinals: Henry Sibley, Tartan
Section champion: Henry Sibley
Section Thoughts: Stillwater defeated CDH by 70-65 scores in both games and the teams just played to end the season. Stillwater and their juniors have won 11 of 13 to end the season while CDH and their juniors have stumbled home. This could be a preview of the top 2 teams in the league next year. Woodbury at Central will be fun to watch but Central has too much inside. I expect a big night from Jordan Larson there. Sibley has already blown out Tartan twice, I can't see anything different in the section final.
Section 5AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at Rogers
Section Championship: 3/20 at Rogers
Teams to beat: Cooper, Osseo
Contenders: Mounds View
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Cooper, Champlin Park, Mounds View, Osseo
Semifinals: Cooper, Osseo
Section champion: Cooper
Section Thoughts: Centennial lost 4 out of 5 down the stretch including a bad blowout loss to Elk River. Then again, the Elks finished the season by blowing out Champlin Park. The Rebels finished 4-5 after a 12-5 start. Very evenly matched teams, but I'll take Champlin Park at home. Watch out for that 3 vs 6 game with Roseville at Mounds View. Roseville won at home by 2 and lost by 7 at Mounds View with Mike Muscala putting up 36. Even if Mounds View gets past that game, I can't see how they deal with Sam Dower. Cooper has the same team that beat Osseo last year and Osseo isn't as good as they were last year so I'll take Cooper to win the best AAAA section final out there.
NOTE: for these last 2 sections the MSHSL site doesn't have the brackets posted so these are educated guesses
Section 6AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/10 (Top 2 seeds, Hopkins and Wayzata)
Semifinals: 3/13 at Osseo
Section Championship: 3/17 at Osseo
Teams to beat: Hopkins
Contenders: Wayzata
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Hopkins, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Armstrong
Semifinals: Hopkins, Armstrong
Section champion: St. Louis Park! (NOT, just seeing if you're paying attention), Hopkins
Section Thoughts: I'm interested to see Minnetonka and what they're doing to get Cole Stefan some more looks. They'll have no answer for Kevin Thompson of North in that 4 vs 5 game, but I think Stefan and Nick Latzke combine for double-digit triples in this one. I just have a feeling that Armstrong gets it done on a neutral court against Wayzata with their shooters. This section is all about Hopkins, but with the Star Trib article and Hopkins putting up 119 on Armstrong to end the season, there's more to a Hopkins/Armstrong final than might meet the eye.
Section 7AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/13 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at Elk River
Section Championship: 3/21 at Elk River
Teams to beat: Forest Lake, Blaine
Contenders: Cambridge-Isanti
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Forest Lake, Blaine, Cambridge-Isanti, Andover
Semifinals: Forest Lake, Blaine
Section champion: Forest Lake
Section Thoughts: Not sure what the 3-7 seeds here will be, but Forest Lake is clearly the 1 seed and Blaine has more talent than anybody else in the section. Coon Rapids finished 2-9 but they have a couple of scorers who are dangerous. Cambridge-Isanti went 1-4 against the section including losses to Blaine, Andover, St. Francis and lowly Anoka. Duluth East has Dyami Starks and a future star in frosh Johnny Woodard. They took Forest Lake to double OT earlier in the year. Very open section.
Part 1: Sections 4A and 4AA
Part 2: Sections 3AAA, 4AAA and 6AAA
Section 2AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/14 at Hopkins
Section Championship: 3/20 at Hopkins
Teams to beat: Eden Prairie, Edina
Contenders: Jefferson, Shakopee
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Eden Prairie, Chaska, Edina, Jefferson
Semifinals: Eden Prairie, Edina
Section champion: Eden Prairie
Section Thoughts: The Richfield vs Jefferson game will be all about pace. If Richfield can speed the game up they'll be fine. But Jefferson won't let them do that and Moses Alipate is the best inside player in this one. Chaska vs Shakopee should be a rivalry game but they didn't play this season. Shakopee doesn't have enough weapons and Chaska has plenty plus the experience of the Lake Conference schedule. Eden Prairie has to win this section at some point after all the success they've had. Its a good game but I think Eden Prairie's defense will hold Edina's guards down.
Section 3AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at St. Olaf
Section Championship: 3/20 at St. Olaf
Teams to beat: Lakeville North
Contenders: Eastview, Burnsville
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Lakeville North, Lakeville South, Burnsville, Eastview
Semifinals: Lakeville North, Eastview
Section champion: Eastview
Section Thoughts: AV barely won at home 2 weeks ago, I think Lakeville South pulls the 4 vs 5 upset in a very good game. Eastview knocked off Burnsville both times and Lakeville North in the last meeting. I like the Lightning here as they finished up 7-3 despite a bad loss to Rosemount to end the regular season. If Burnsville shoots it well, they're very dangerous.
Section 4AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/13 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at St. Paul Arlington
Section Championship: 3/20 at St. Paul Arlington
Teams to beat: Henry Sibley
Contenders: Tartan
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Henry Sibley, Stillwater, Central, Tartan
Semifinals: Henry Sibley, Tartan
Section champion: Henry Sibley
Section Thoughts: Stillwater defeated CDH by 70-65 scores in both games and the teams just played to end the season. Stillwater and their juniors have won 11 of 13 to end the season while CDH and their juniors have stumbled home. This could be a preview of the top 2 teams in the league next year. Woodbury at Central will be fun to watch but Central has too much inside. I expect a big night from Jordan Larson there. Sibley has already blown out Tartan twice, I can't see anything different in the section final.
Section 5AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at Rogers
Section Championship: 3/20 at Rogers
Teams to beat: Cooper, Osseo
Contenders: Mounds View
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Cooper, Champlin Park, Mounds View, Osseo
Semifinals: Cooper, Osseo
Section champion: Cooper
Section Thoughts: Centennial lost 4 out of 5 down the stretch including a bad blowout loss to Elk River. Then again, the Elks finished the season by blowing out Champlin Park. The Rebels finished 4-5 after a 12-5 start. Very evenly matched teams, but I'll take Champlin Park at home. Watch out for that 3 vs 6 game with Roseville at Mounds View. Roseville won at home by 2 and lost by 7 at Mounds View with Mike Muscala putting up 36. Even if Mounds View gets past that game, I can't see how they deal with Sam Dower. Cooper has the same team that beat Osseo last year and Osseo isn't as good as they were last year so I'll take Cooper to win the best AAAA section final out there.
NOTE: for these last 2 sections the MSHSL site doesn't have the brackets posted so these are educated guesses
Section 6AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/10 (Top 2 seeds, Hopkins and Wayzata)
Semifinals: 3/13 at Osseo
Section Championship: 3/17 at Osseo
Teams to beat: Hopkins
Contenders: Wayzata
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Hopkins, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Armstrong
Semifinals: Hopkins, Armstrong
Section champion: St. Louis Park! (NOT, just seeing if you're paying attention), Hopkins
Section Thoughts: I'm interested to see Minnetonka and what they're doing to get Cole Stefan some more looks. They'll have no answer for Kevin Thompson of North in that 4 vs 5 game, but I think Stefan and Nick Latzke combine for double-digit triples in this one. I just have a feeling that Armstrong gets it done on a neutral court against Wayzata with their shooters. This section is all about Hopkins, but with the Star Trib article and Hopkins putting up 119 on Armstrong to end the season, there's more to a Hopkins/Armstrong final than might meet the eye.
Section 7AAAA
Quarterfinals: 3/13 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at Elk River
Section Championship: 3/21 at Elk River
Teams to beat: Forest Lake, Blaine
Contenders: Cambridge-Isanti
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Forest Lake, Blaine, Cambridge-Isanti, Andover
Semifinals: Forest Lake, Blaine
Section champion: Forest Lake
Section Thoughts: Not sure what the 3-7 seeds here will be, but Forest Lake is clearly the 1 seed and Blaine has more talent than anybody else in the section. Coon Rapids finished 2-9 but they have a couple of scorers who are dangerous. Cambridge-Isanti went 1-4 against the section including losses to Blaine, Andover, St. Francis and lowly Anoka. Duluth East has Dyami Starks and a future star in frosh Johnny Woodard. They took Forest Lake to double OT earlier in the year. Very open section.
08-09 Metro AAA section previews
Labels:
08-09 Playoff Previews
This is part 2 in my series previewing and predicting the metro sections. If you missed part 1 on section 4A and 4AA, you can read that here. In part 2, a look at sections 3AAA, 4AAA and 6AAA.
Section 3AAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at Blaine
Section Championship: 3/20 at Blaine
Team to beat: Spring Lake Park
Contenders: Columbia Heights, Minneapolis Henry
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Spring Lake Park, Minneapolis Henry, Fridley, Columbia Heights
Semifinals: Spring Lake Park, Columbia Heights
Section champion: Columbia Heights
Section Thoughts: Minneapolis Henry lurks here but they haven't played well since Jordan Hughes returned so I can't pick them over Spring Lake Park in the semis as much as I'd like to. Columbia Heights is the pick since they beat Fridley twice and won the last meeting with Spring Lake Park. Not to mention I'm not a fan of how Spring Lake Park has played in big games. They revolve too much around Shaun Jensen which I think hurts them and they get nothing in the post which is nice for Columbia Heights. Beware of that Fridley vs St. Anthony game in the 3 vs 6 matchup. When these teams met before Christmas, St. Anthony frustrated the heck out of Isaiah Thomas with a box and 1. I would almost guarantee you'll see this again.
Section 4AAA
Quarterfinals: 3/13 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at St. Paul Central
Section Championship: 3/20 at St. Paul Central
Team to beat: Johnson
Contenders: Mahtomedi
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Johnson, Hill-Murray, Arlington, Mahtomedi
Semifinals: Johnson, Mahtomedi
Section champion: Johnson
Section Thoughts: Hill-Murray started 8-3 before losing 13 of 15 to end the season. But they hammered Highland Park 74-42 on December 12 so I'm thinking this will be one of the least competitive 4 vs 5 games out there. Johnson is the hands down favorite to win the section. Arlington is more talented but Mahtomedi so that game could be interesting.
Section 6AAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/14 at Concordia-St. Paul
Section Championship: 3/19 at Concordia-St. Paul
Team to beat: Washburn
Contenders: Waconia, DeLaSalle, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Delano
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Washburn, Benilde-St. Margaret's, De La Salle, Holy Angels
Semifinals: Washburn, Holy Angels
Section champion: Washburn
Section Thoughts: A very difficult section here with controversy surronding the seedings. Holy Angels is playing way above their seed right now and they were beating Waconia by double-digits in the regular season meeting. De La Salle can't score, especially without AJ Barker. I think they survive Orono, but not AHA. Delano will come out determined to prove they earned a home game, but Benilde will be too much in one of the best 4 vs 5 games out there. Let's hope that De La Salle and Waconia don't meet in the 2nd round as watching that will be worse than having teeth pulled. 1st team to 30 points wins (if either gets that far).
Section 3AAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at Blaine
Section Championship: 3/20 at Blaine
Team to beat: Spring Lake Park
Contenders: Columbia Heights, Minneapolis Henry
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Spring Lake Park, Minneapolis Henry, Fridley, Columbia Heights
Semifinals: Spring Lake Park, Columbia Heights
Section champion: Columbia Heights
Section Thoughts: Minneapolis Henry lurks here but they haven't played well since Jordan Hughes returned so I can't pick them over Spring Lake Park in the semis as much as I'd like to. Columbia Heights is the pick since they beat Fridley twice and won the last meeting with Spring Lake Park. Not to mention I'm not a fan of how Spring Lake Park has played in big games. They revolve too much around Shaun Jensen which I think hurts them and they get nothing in the post which is nice for Columbia Heights. Beware of that Fridley vs St. Anthony game in the 3 vs 6 matchup. When these teams met before Christmas, St. Anthony frustrated the heck out of Isaiah Thomas with a box and 1. I would almost guarantee you'll see this again.
Section 4AAA
Quarterfinals: 3/13 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/17 at St. Paul Central
Section Championship: 3/20 at St. Paul Central
Team to beat: Johnson
Contenders: Mahtomedi
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Johnson, Hill-Murray, Arlington, Mahtomedi
Semifinals: Johnson, Mahtomedi
Section champion: Johnson
Section Thoughts: Hill-Murray started 8-3 before losing 13 of 15 to end the season. But they hammered Highland Park 74-42 on December 12 so I'm thinking this will be one of the least competitive 4 vs 5 games out there. Johnson is the hands down favorite to win the section. Arlington is more talented but Mahtomedi so that game could be interesting.
Section 6AAA
Quarterfinals: 3/11 (High Seed)
Semifinals: 3/14 at Concordia-St. Paul
Section Championship: 3/19 at Concordia-St. Paul
Team to beat: Washburn
Contenders: Waconia, DeLaSalle, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Delano
Predictions:
Quarterfinals: Washburn, Benilde-St. Margaret's, De La Salle, Holy Angels
Semifinals: Washburn, Holy Angels
Section champion: Washburn
Section Thoughts: A very difficult section here with controversy surronding the seedings. Holy Angels is playing way above their seed right now and they were beating Waconia by double-digits in the regular season meeting. De La Salle can't score, especially without AJ Barker. I think they survive Orono, but not AHA. Delano will come out determined to prove they earned a home game, but Benilde will be too much in one of the best 4 vs 5 games out there. Let's hope that De La Salle and Waconia don't meet in the 2nd round as watching that will be worse than having teeth pulled. 1st team to 30 points wins (if either gets that far).
08-09 Section 4A and Section 4AA playoff preview
Labels:
08-09 Playoff Previews
This is the 1st in a 3 part series of playoff previews. We'll start with section 4A and section 4AA.
Section 4A (at high seed unless noted)
Playin Games: 3/10
Round of 16: 3/12
Quarterfinals: 3/14
Sub-Section Finals: 3/17 at Heritage
Section Championship: 3/20 at Holy Angels
Team to beat: Minnesota Transitions
Contenders: SW Christian, Maranatha
Sub-section Predictions:
Playin Games: Math & Science over Liberty Classical, AFSA over St. Paul Prep, Bethany over Ascension, 4 Directions over International School
Round of 16: MN Transitions, CHOF, New Life, Spectrum, Maranatha, Heritage, PACT, SW Christian
Sub-section semifinals: MN Transitions, New Life, Maranatha, SW Christian
Sub-section champions: MN Transitions, SW Christian
Section champion: MN Transitions
Section Thoughts: There's MTS and then everybody else in this section. The only team with a remote chance of knocking them off is SW Christian with Caleb Palkert. But SW Christian will have to get past MCA and PACT. But this isn't your brother's MCA team. They may be 21-5, but they're nothing like the teams they've had in the past. If SW Christian can Palkert enough touches they can beat anybody in this section. MCA gets the other contender nomination as Jeff Wall is arguably the top coach in the section. CHOF has their hands full with St. Agnes in the east 4 vs 5 game despite a regular win over the Aggies as Cole Piepkorn played in that game and won't be available. The health of Nate Fiscus is also an issue. I like New Life's experience and Robbie Anderstrom to upset Spectrum (who frankly should be in the west sub-section).
Section 4AA (at high seed unless noted)
Playin Games: 3/9 and 3/10
Round of 16: 3/12
Quarterfinals: 3/14
Sub-Section Finals: 3/17 at Holy Angels
Section Championship: 3/20 at Holy Angels
Teams to beat: St. Bernard's, Minnehaha Academy
Contenders: None
Sub-section Predictions:
Playin Games: Roosevelt over Providence, Trinity over Dunwoody
Round of 16: Concordia, Minnehaha, St. Croix Lutheran, Jordan, Breck, Edison, Holy Family
Sub-section semifinals: St. Bernard's, Minnehaha, Jordan, Holy Family
Sub-section champions: St. Bernard's, Holy Family
Section champion: St. Bernard's
Section Thoughts: The east sub-section is really what this is about as you have 2 of the best in AA there. St. Bernard's and Minnehaha are at another level. Holy Family and Jordan split in their 2 meetings, I take Holy Family as I think their tough schedule helps them and they've been here before. Edison over Brooklyn Center is my upset as they've played close games without wins. Minnehaha will be jacked up and really prepared for the game with St. Bernard's but I don't know how they handle the pressure from the Bulldogs that was a problem in the 1st matchup.
Section 4A (at high seed unless noted)
Playin Games: 3/10
Round of 16: 3/12
Quarterfinals: 3/14
Sub-Section Finals: 3/17 at Heritage
Section Championship: 3/20 at Holy Angels
Team to beat: Minnesota Transitions
Contenders: SW Christian, Maranatha
Sub-section Predictions:
Playin Games: Math & Science over Liberty Classical, AFSA over St. Paul Prep, Bethany over Ascension, 4 Directions over International School
Round of 16: MN Transitions, CHOF, New Life, Spectrum, Maranatha, Heritage, PACT, SW Christian
Sub-section semifinals: MN Transitions, New Life, Maranatha, SW Christian
Sub-section champions: MN Transitions, SW Christian
Section champion: MN Transitions
Section Thoughts: There's MTS and then everybody else in this section. The only team with a remote chance of knocking them off is SW Christian with Caleb Palkert. But SW Christian will have to get past MCA and PACT. But this isn't your brother's MCA team. They may be 21-5, but they're nothing like the teams they've had in the past. If SW Christian can Palkert enough touches they can beat anybody in this section. MCA gets the other contender nomination as Jeff Wall is arguably the top coach in the section. CHOF has their hands full with St. Agnes in the east 4 vs 5 game despite a regular win over the Aggies as Cole Piepkorn played in that game and won't be available. The health of Nate Fiscus is also an issue. I like New Life's experience and Robbie Anderstrom to upset Spectrum (who frankly should be in the west sub-section).
Section 4AA (at high seed unless noted)
Playin Games: 3/9 and 3/10
Round of 16: 3/12
Quarterfinals: 3/14
Sub-Section Finals: 3/17 at Holy Angels
Section Championship: 3/20 at Holy Angels
Teams to beat: St. Bernard's, Minnehaha Academy
Contenders: None
Sub-section Predictions:
Playin Games: Roosevelt over Providence, Trinity over Dunwoody
Round of 16: Concordia, Minnehaha, St. Croix Lutheran, Jordan, Breck, Edison, Holy Family
Sub-section semifinals: St. Bernard's, Minnehaha, Jordan, Holy Family
Sub-section champions: St. Bernard's, Holy Family
Section champion: St. Bernard's
Section Thoughts: The east sub-section is really what this is about as you have 2 of the best in AA there. St. Bernard's and Minnehaha are at another level. Holy Family and Jordan split in their 2 meetings, I take Holy Family as I think their tough schedule helps them and they've been here before. Edison over Brooklyn Center is my upset as they've played close games without wins. Minnehaha will be jacked up and really prepared for the game with St. Bernard's but I don't know how they handle the pressure from the Bulldogs that was a problem in the 1st matchup.
2009 Twin Cities Game Thoughts
Cedric Martin
To Arlington to end my regular season with the Twin Cities Game. Johnson with the clean sweep as they're in all 3 games. Washburn in the top 2 games and Henry in the freshman game for Minneapolis. Names to remember from the early 2 games include Ben Glover from Henry and Roosevelt Scott from Johnson. Clarence Thomas with 22 points and Dwight Anderson with 21 points to lead Washburn to a 68-53 win in the JV game. To the big game.Washburn with a quick 5 points to start the game but Johnson right back thanks to Dion Suggs-Young. He nails a 3 and after he finds Jordan Pluff on a screen roll, we're tied at 7 at the 13:25 mark. After 4 Washburn free throws, we have the ball go out of bounds and its gone. The zebras look under the stands and we've got nothing. New ball please. Ra'Shede Hageman finishes a 17-5 Washburn run with a follow-up dunk for a 24-12 Washburn lead with 6:20 to play in the half.
Johnson won't go away as they go on a 20-5 run and lead 34-31 at the half. No flow to the end of the half as it was a parade to the free throw line. The game was also marred by a brawl in the stands at the 2:10 mark for a long delay, but thankfully no issues after order was restored. Johnson with 9 guys scoring. Hageman with 6 points and 11 rebounds.
Back and forth we go in the 2nd half. Cedric Martin with a pair of free throws and a DeAaron Hearn floater put Washburn on top 39-38. Lamar Anderson and soph Anthony Lee with layups for a 47-43 Johnson lead at 12:20. Dylan Hale with 5 points in a 10-3 Washburn spurt for a 53-50 Washburn lead with 8:36 left. Washburn switching to a 2-3 zone during the run. Johnson right back with 6 in a row as Estan Tyler finds Suggs-Young and then Suggs-Young again and Maxie Rosenbloom with a layup. 56-53 Johnson with 6:40 to play. Hearn with a tough bank and Martin with a 3 point play. Hearn with a steal for 2 and Jordan Osberg runs out for a layup after a bad Johnson shot. 62-56 Washburn with 4 minutes left. Washburn with 3 straight bad possession concluding with a questionable offensive foul on Hearn with 1:35 left. Suggs-Young with 2 free throws to cut the lead to 62-60 with 1:28 left. Hale with 2 free throws and Hageman with 1 of 2 after Suggs-Young misses a 3. Suggs-Young with a 3 at 29.2 65-63 Washburn. Hale turns it over with 22 seconds left and Johnson has it back. Suggs-Young rushes it back the other way and forces a shot with 18 seconds left. Osberg fouled on the rebound with 16.1 left. The 1st FT is up and its off the back rim up and ... it falls thru. WOW! He makes the 2nd as well. 67-63 Washburn. Washburn goes to their bench thinking there's a timeout but none called. Coach Reggie Perkins rushes his guys back on to the floor for the inbound, but they've got 6 or 7 guys on the floor and that's a technical foul. Suggs-Young steps up and makes only 1 of 2. He gets a handoff on the possession but he misses the front end of the bonus. Hageman fouled at 8.2 and misses both. Johnson out of timeouts and back they come. Michael Talley open in the corner and drives but that does them no good. By the time his kickout pass gets to the opposite corner, time has expired. Washburn wins 67-64.
Washburn with 13 points from Dylan Hale and Cedric Martin. Martin 11 of 11 from the charity stripe. Ra'Shede Hageman with 9 points and I had 18 rebounds for him on my unofficial sheet. But I also had him 1-8 from the FT line. Every Washburn player made a trip to the line. 7-10 from their bench. The starters besides Hageman were a perfect 19-19. Washburn opens 6AAA play at home on Wednesday against Mound-Westonka.
Johnson got 18 points from Dion Suggs-Young. 15 of those in the 2nd half. Only 1-4 FTs and a forced shot in the last 20 seconds for one of the most clutch players in the state. Very surprising. The Governors host Harding in the opening round of 3AAA on Friday. Johnson 14-24 from the charity stripe compared to the 27-37 for Washburn.
Cedric Martin photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
Conference clinchers and city battles to end the regular season
So with the end of the regular season comes joy that the playoffs are here but sadness that the end of the 08-09 season is only 3 weeks away. So why stop with 1 game when you can do 2.
Game 1: North at Edison
I saw half of this one as it was an early game and I still had to hustle to game 2. Did I mention Kevin Thompson of North is a beast? 12 points in the minutes I saw and he should have had at least another couple of trips to the foul line. 11 all early when Thompson scores a layup on a pretty screen/roll and then a steal for 2 more. Edison counters to tie it at 15 with 9:30 left in the 1st half before North goes on a 11-0 run with a pair of Mark Devine post ups included. 19-4 North over that last 9:30 for a 34-19 halftime lead. Thompson with at least 12 in the half.
Edison cuts it to 34-23 1 minute in to the 2nd half, but Edison probably won't get closer. I leave with 11+ to go and North up 43-27. North ends up winning 71-50. Thompson with 20 points and Pengi Mboma with 20. I'm surprised they don't give Spencer Puckett more time. Devine, Puckett and Mboma with Thompson and Malik El-Amin is a nice lineup. North likely has a 4 vs 5 game against Minnetonka (at Hopkins) on Tuesday. Edison travels to Brooklyn Center in 4AA west on Thursday.
Game 2: Farmington at Holy Angels
Farmington needs a win to win the Missota outright over Northfield and Shakopee who are 1 game behind. Very good Farmington crowd in terms of size and vocals and the students standing all night. But the Tigers can't get it going. An early Bonzi Wells reference (Sahr Ngekia, I miss the headband) tonight as he swipes the ball away and Tyler Bredow for a layup. Bredow with a steal to Cole Frechette for a layup and then Bredow with a jumper off a nice high screen from Bonzi. RD Brown with a steal and Bredow converts that and the foul (but misses the FT). Sam Gullickson with his 2nd triple of the night. 18-5 Holy Angels at the 10 minute mark. AHA has outscored the Tigers on turnovers alone. Jake Lippert leads the Tigers back with a layin and then spins for 2 more. After 2 Gullickson FTs, 20-9 Stars at 7:54. 11-2 Farmington over the next 3:50 to cut the lead to 2. Jake Lippert ends the half with 2 FTs to send the game to halftime tied at 26. Lippert with 12, 10 and 2 blocks in the half. Josh Ziztmann with 4 points and the other player with more than 1 item in the scoring column for Farmington. Defensively he was able to alter shots on Bonzi or Christian Larson post ups. Gullickson and Bredow with 9 each for AHA.
Christian Larson comes out possessed inside as converts 2 offensive boards into 3 of 4 FTs. After a Zitzman 3, Gullickson with a steal and finds Larson for 2 more. Zitzmann with 2 buckets for Farmington for their 1st 7 of the half. But Frechette has a pair of FTs in there so AHA leads 35-33 with 12:48 to play. After Larson grabs another board but misses 2 FTs, Conner Duffy shakes loose on an inbounds play for an open 3 and Farmington has their first lead of the game 36-35. Holy Angels responds with a Gullickson 3, Andy Jirik with layup on a textbook screen/roll and then he runs out after a rebound and Bredow finds him for an easy layup to end a 7-0 AHA run. Timeout Farmington as the Stars lead 42-36 with 9:33 to play. Zitzmann has a 3 go in and out and Jirik with great position on a stepover, but he misses the 2 free throws with 8:52 left.
David Steege scores inside for Farmington to cut the lead to 4. Jirik then commits an intentional foul after a turnover but Zitzmann misses both free throws and Steege misses a bunny inside on the possession. Things going the Stars way on this night but now they can't score. Steege scores again to cut the lead to 42-40 with 6:55 left. Lippert with a 3 point play after a bad Bonzi shot and Farmington is back on top 43-42 with a 7-0 run of their own. Justin Lavey with a steal that would make a professional pickpocket proud and Zitzmann with a layin at 4:10 to give Farmington a 47-44 lead with 4:10 to play and the momentum. Timeout Holy Angels after an 11-2 Farmington run over 5:23.
The pace slows and Holy Angels uses alternating free throws to close within 47-46 with 2:52 left. Lippert takes a really tough shot at 1:55 that misses. 5'11 Bredow with a charge on 6'10 Steege at the other end and Steege hardly even budged at the contact. Zitzmann with a tough shot that goes in at 1:10 for a 49-46 lead, wow. That shot really took the air out of the Holy Angels fans. Bonzi goes at Lippert inside and somehow Lippert gets it clean with :45 seconds left. Tough no call there. Ziztmann with 2 FTs at 33.8, 51-46 Tigers. Tyler Emanuel in the game as a shooter and the entire building knows he's getting a touch. He catches and steps inside a defender and nails a left corner 3 with 22.7 left. Both teams out of timeouts. On the dead ball after the basket, Farmington throws a long bomb for Lippert but its too far. Lippert runs the ball down and throws it off Bonzi in a great mental moment. But wait the zebras are conferencing. They agree its AHA ball but they bring it all the way back to the other end under the AHA basket. I thought Lippert got it without stepping out and even if he did, it seems like the ball should still have been at the other end. AHA on the inbounds has Bredow inbound to the wing and follow it to the corner for a surprisingly good look at a 3 but that's no good. Lippert rebounds and is fouled but misses the front end with 15.7 to play. Emanuel off baseline screens no good from the left corner. Jirik called for a strange intentional foul with 3 seconds left. Senior Brent Beenken steps up and makes both free throws to clinch the Missota outright for Farmington as they win 55-49.
For AHA, watch out for them in the tournament (more on this in my previews on Sunday, cheap promotional moment). They open Wednesday at Waconia in a rematch of a January game at AHA. Sam Gullickson with 14 points to lead the Stars. Once again they give a good opponent a great game. Interesting moment after the game as Farmington celebrated on the court and brought out a championship banner. Coach McKenzie of AHA (who it was known was going to make a post game address to the crowd) makes a guarantee of a conference title next year for AHA. I would have rather seen him say that privately to his team than to the crowd.
For Farmington, Josh Zitzmann clutch with 13 of his 17 points in the 2nd half. Jake Lippert with a quiet 2nd half but made 2 clutch free throws and had the clutch strip/block of Bonzi in the last minute. He finishes with 17 points and I had him for 15 rebounds unofficially. It looks like Farmington will be the #1 seed in section 1AAAA and host Rochester Century on Wednesday.
Game 1: North at Edison
I saw half of this one as it was an early game and I still had to hustle to game 2. Did I mention Kevin Thompson of North is a beast? 12 points in the minutes I saw and he should have had at least another couple of trips to the foul line. 11 all early when Thompson scores a layup on a pretty screen/roll and then a steal for 2 more. Edison counters to tie it at 15 with 9:30 left in the 1st half before North goes on a 11-0 run with a pair of Mark Devine post ups included. 19-4 North over that last 9:30 for a 34-19 halftime lead. Thompson with at least 12 in the half.
Edison cuts it to 34-23 1 minute in to the 2nd half, but Edison probably won't get closer. I leave with 11+ to go and North up 43-27. North ends up winning 71-50. Thompson with 20 points and Pengi Mboma with 20. I'm surprised they don't give Spencer Puckett more time. Devine, Puckett and Mboma with Thompson and Malik El-Amin is a nice lineup. North likely has a 4 vs 5 game against Minnetonka (at Hopkins) on Tuesday. Edison travels to Brooklyn Center in 4AA west on Thursday.
Game 2: Farmington at Holy Angels
Farmington needs a win to win the Missota outright over Northfield and Shakopee who are 1 game behind. Very good Farmington crowd in terms of size and vocals and the students standing all night. But the Tigers can't get it going. An early Bonzi Wells reference (Sahr Ngekia, I miss the headband) tonight as he swipes the ball away and Tyler Bredow for a layup. Bredow with a steal to Cole Frechette for a layup and then Bredow with a jumper off a nice high screen from Bonzi. RD Brown with a steal and Bredow converts that and the foul (but misses the FT). Sam Gullickson with his 2nd triple of the night. 18-5 Holy Angels at the 10 minute mark. AHA has outscored the Tigers on turnovers alone. Jake Lippert leads the Tigers back with a layin and then spins for 2 more. After 2 Gullickson FTs, 20-9 Stars at 7:54. 11-2 Farmington over the next 3:50 to cut the lead to 2. Jake Lippert ends the half with 2 FTs to send the game to halftime tied at 26. Lippert with 12, 10 and 2 blocks in the half. Josh Ziztmann with 4 points and the other player with more than 1 item in the scoring column for Farmington. Defensively he was able to alter shots on Bonzi or Christian Larson post ups. Gullickson and Bredow with 9 each for AHA.
Christian Larson comes out possessed inside as converts 2 offensive boards into 3 of 4 FTs. After a Zitzman 3, Gullickson with a steal and finds Larson for 2 more. Zitzmann with 2 buckets for Farmington for their 1st 7 of the half. But Frechette has a pair of FTs in there so AHA leads 35-33 with 12:48 to play. After Larson grabs another board but misses 2 FTs, Conner Duffy shakes loose on an inbounds play for an open 3 and Farmington has their first lead of the game 36-35. Holy Angels responds with a Gullickson 3, Andy Jirik with layup on a textbook screen/roll and then he runs out after a rebound and Bredow finds him for an easy layup to end a 7-0 AHA run. Timeout Farmington as the Stars lead 42-36 with 9:33 to play. Zitzmann has a 3 go in and out and Jirik with great position on a stepover, but he misses the 2 free throws with 8:52 left.
David Steege scores inside for Farmington to cut the lead to 4. Jirik then commits an intentional foul after a turnover but Zitzmann misses both free throws and Steege misses a bunny inside on the possession. Things going the Stars way on this night but now they can't score. Steege scores again to cut the lead to 42-40 with 6:55 left. Lippert with a 3 point play after a bad Bonzi shot and Farmington is back on top 43-42 with a 7-0 run of their own. Justin Lavey with a steal that would make a professional pickpocket proud and Zitzmann with a layin at 4:10 to give Farmington a 47-44 lead with 4:10 to play and the momentum. Timeout Holy Angels after an 11-2 Farmington run over 5:23.
The pace slows and Holy Angels uses alternating free throws to close within 47-46 with 2:52 left. Lippert takes a really tough shot at 1:55 that misses. 5'11 Bredow with a charge on 6'10 Steege at the other end and Steege hardly even budged at the contact. Zitzmann with a tough shot that goes in at 1:10 for a 49-46 lead, wow. That shot really took the air out of the Holy Angels fans. Bonzi goes at Lippert inside and somehow Lippert gets it clean with :45 seconds left. Tough no call there. Ziztmann with 2 FTs at 33.8, 51-46 Tigers. Tyler Emanuel in the game as a shooter and the entire building knows he's getting a touch. He catches and steps inside a defender and nails a left corner 3 with 22.7 left. Both teams out of timeouts. On the dead ball after the basket, Farmington throws a long bomb for Lippert but its too far. Lippert runs the ball down and throws it off Bonzi in a great mental moment. But wait the zebras are conferencing. They agree its AHA ball but they bring it all the way back to the other end under the AHA basket. I thought Lippert got it without stepping out and even if he did, it seems like the ball should still have been at the other end. AHA on the inbounds has Bredow inbound to the wing and follow it to the corner for a surprisingly good look at a 3 but that's no good. Lippert rebounds and is fouled but misses the front end with 15.7 to play. Emanuel off baseline screens no good from the left corner. Jirik called for a strange intentional foul with 3 seconds left. Senior Brent Beenken steps up and makes both free throws to clinch the Missota outright for Farmington as they win 55-49.
For AHA, watch out for them in the tournament (more on this in my previews on Sunday, cheap promotional moment). They open Wednesday at Waconia in a rematch of a January game at AHA. Sam Gullickson with 14 points to lead the Stars. Once again they give a good opponent a great game. Interesting moment after the game as Farmington celebrated on the court and brought out a championship banner. Coach McKenzie of AHA (who it was known was going to make a post game address to the crowd) makes a guarantee of a conference title next year for AHA. I would have rather seen him say that privately to his team than to the crowd.
For Farmington, Josh Zitzmann clutch with 13 of his 17 points in the 2nd half. Jake Lippert with a quiet 2nd half but made 2 clutch free throws and had the clutch strip/block of Bonzi in the last minute. He finishes with 17 points and I had him for 15 rebounds unofficially. It looks like Farmington will be the #1 seed in section 1AAAA and host Rochester Century on Wednesday.
The Czar's initial list of 2012 prospects
Labels:
2012 Recruiting
Here's a list of some of the metro freshmen that I think will be names to watch over the next 3 years and starting this summer for some of them. The names are in no particular order within each group. The main caveat is that I had to see the player in person to put them on this list so keep that in mind when reading.
Posts
Cutler Finneman - Concordia (Roseville)
Tyler Strandlund - CHOF
Chad Potas - Wayzata
Andrew Turnblad - Minnetonka
Forwards
Will Dunn - Benilde-St. Margaret's
Sean Scott - Spring Lake Park
Eric Gebeke - White Bear Lake
Zach Stahl - Hopkins
Dante Grant - Henry Sibley
Guards
Siyani Chambers - Hopkins
Isaiah Zierden - Benilde-St. Margaret's
Darian Pittman - Maranatha
Tommy McDermott - Minnetonka
Brady Wohler - Orono
Posts
Cutler Finneman - Concordia (Roseville)
Tyler Strandlund - CHOF
Chad Potas - Wayzata
Andrew Turnblad - Minnetonka
Forwards
Will Dunn - Benilde-St. Margaret's
Sean Scott - Spring Lake Park
Eric Gebeke - White Bear Lake
Zach Stahl - Hopkins
Dante Grant - Henry Sibley
Guards
Siyani Chambers - Hopkins
Isaiah Zierden - Benilde-St. Margaret's
Darian Pittman - Maranatha
Tommy McDermott - Minnetonka
Brady Wohler - Orono
Packers and Polars grudge match thoughts
To South St. Paul tonight for their rematch with North (St. Paul that is). Actually this is a reschedule of the 1st meeting which was snowed out. The Packers went into the arctic and pulled the 58-57 upset on February 17th for 1 of the 4 season wins and only one in 2009. Brandon Strickland with 27 in that one for S. St. Paul. Josh Bennett with 13 for North in that game in the loss. That win makes the Packers 1-16 since a 3 game winning streak.
SSP introduces all 6 seniors on senior night and I thought they may leave them all out there for the technical but that didn't happen. We finally have a team that goes back to the Princeton offense. Nice to see NSP running that. S. St. Paul doing everything it can on the defensive end with 3 different defenses in the 1st 100 seconds (more on this later). 4 all at the 14:53 mark (snooze). SSP's Joe Chudars and NSP's soph guard Rex Johnson trade 2 triples each in a 1 minute span and I'm thinking the scoreboard might explode. 12-10 NSP at 12:35. Strickland then 7 straight SSP points on a jumper, an inbound lob and a triple for a 17-14 Packers lead with 6:15 left in the half. Josh Fleury (related to the former hockey star Theo Fluery?) with an offensive reboard and a tough finish and the Packers go up 6 at the 5:20 mark. A Josh Bennett 3 and Johnson steal cut the lead to 2. Strickland counters with a spinning banker in the lane and a bomb from the right corner for a 26-19 Packers lead and NSP needs timeout. 26-24 Packers at the half. Strickland with 14, Johnson with 11 in the half.
Bennett with a triple and Johnson with a putback to tie it at 29 at the 15:15 mark. After 2 Chudars free throws, the Packers go cold and NSP turns up the pressure with some full court traps. Bennett with a 3 point play, Jake Knutson with a triple followed by a Bennett triple, Andrew Rangistch with an offensive board for 2 and Kyle Whyte with a nice slip of a screen for a bucket. Strickland then goes thru a trap for a charge and this one is slipping away. 42-35 North at the 8:45 mark. Over 5:45, its a 13-4 spurt for the Polars. Peter Rother with 2 and the foul (misses the FT) to cut the lead to 5 as Charlie Choinere picks up his 4th foul with 7:08 to go. That thickens the plot some as Choinere is the center in their Princeton Offense. Then again maybe not. Bennett with more long distance sniper fire, Strickland misses 2 free throws and Whyte nails a 3 from Bennett. Bennett flared off a high screen in the Princeton Chin Series, caught and drove to draw the lone defender on the weak side and Whyte nailed it. Chudars has a 3 of his own go in and out and this one is basically over in my mind. Choinere scores on the post with 4:30 to go to give the Polars a 50-39 lead and I don't see SSP coming back as I call it a night. North wins 60-48.
For South St. Paul, they fall to 4-21 and finish up at St. Thomas Academy tomorrow. They travel to Mahtomedi next Friday in the opening round of section 4AAA play. Brandon Strickland scored 20 points over his average of 16.3 for the year. Nice job by the Packers to keep it interesting on the defensive end. On misses they'd go man, on makes 3-2 zone and on dead balls they went 1-3-1. I still think they had one of the better game plans of the year when they went triangle and 2 on Sibley.
For North, Josh Bennett with 14 of his 19 in the 2nd half including all 3 of his triples. Rex Johnson with 3 triples as well and 13 points. Jake Knutson with 16 points but he must have had them late or my sheet is way off. North is definitely committed to the Princeton Offense stuff as they have a ton of it in. Fun to watch, but I think its turnover prone at the high school level especially when 1st implemented. But it can be a giant killer.
SSP introduces all 6 seniors on senior night and I thought they may leave them all out there for the technical but that didn't happen. We finally have a team that goes back to the Princeton offense. Nice to see NSP running that. S. St. Paul doing everything it can on the defensive end with 3 different defenses in the 1st 100 seconds (more on this later). 4 all at the 14:53 mark (snooze). SSP's Joe Chudars and NSP's soph guard Rex Johnson trade 2 triples each in a 1 minute span and I'm thinking the scoreboard might explode. 12-10 NSP at 12:35. Strickland then 7 straight SSP points on a jumper, an inbound lob and a triple for a 17-14 Packers lead with 6:15 left in the half. Josh Fleury (related to the former hockey star Theo Fluery?) with an offensive reboard and a tough finish and the Packers go up 6 at the 5:20 mark. A Josh Bennett 3 and Johnson steal cut the lead to 2. Strickland counters with a spinning banker in the lane and a bomb from the right corner for a 26-19 Packers lead and NSP needs timeout. 26-24 Packers at the half. Strickland with 14, Johnson with 11 in the half.
Bennett with a triple and Johnson with a putback to tie it at 29 at the 15:15 mark. After 2 Chudars free throws, the Packers go cold and NSP turns up the pressure with some full court traps. Bennett with a 3 point play, Jake Knutson with a triple followed by a Bennett triple, Andrew Rangistch with an offensive board for 2 and Kyle Whyte with a nice slip of a screen for a bucket. Strickland then goes thru a trap for a charge and this one is slipping away. 42-35 North at the 8:45 mark. Over 5:45, its a 13-4 spurt for the Polars. Peter Rother with 2 and the foul (misses the FT) to cut the lead to 5 as Charlie Choinere picks up his 4th foul with 7:08 to go. That thickens the plot some as Choinere is the center in their Princeton Offense. Then again maybe not. Bennett with more long distance sniper fire, Strickland misses 2 free throws and Whyte nails a 3 from Bennett. Bennett flared off a high screen in the Princeton Chin Series, caught and drove to draw the lone defender on the weak side and Whyte nailed it. Chudars has a 3 of his own go in and out and this one is basically over in my mind. Choinere scores on the post with 4:30 to go to give the Polars a 50-39 lead and I don't see SSP coming back as I call it a night. North wins 60-48.
For South St. Paul, they fall to 4-21 and finish up at St. Thomas Academy tomorrow. They travel to Mahtomedi next Friday in the opening round of section 4AAA play. Brandon Strickland scored 20 points over his average of 16.3 for the year. Nice job by the Packers to keep it interesting on the defensive end. On misses they'd go man, on makes 3-2 zone and on dead balls they went 1-3-1. I still think they had one of the better game plans of the year when they went triangle and 2 on Sibley.
For North, Josh Bennett with 14 of his 19 in the 2nd half including all 3 of his triples. Rex Johnson with 3 triples as well and 13 points. Jake Knutson with 16 points but he must have had them late or my sheet is way off. North is definitely committed to the Princeton Offense stuff as they have a ton of it in. Fun to watch, but I think its turnover prone at the high school level especially when 1st implemented. But it can be a giant killer.
Survey turns the table on parents
Throughout the season, I often comment on fan sections, sportsmanship issues, food and many other elements surrounding the different game environments I see. So when I heard there was a survey out there asking the players to evaluate parents in the stands, it got my attention as an interesting twist on some of the sportsmanship issues that have come up over the years.
So, if you're one of those players (in any sport) who has to hear the parents and want to give some feedback on this, The Basketball Mom has created a quick 2 minute survey to see what influence parents have on sports from the kids point of view. All the responses are anonymous and aggregrated results will be posted after the survey closes on March 15th. I'm looking forward to seeing the results and how the players turn the tables on the parents.
Click here to take the survey.
So, if you're one of those players (in any sport) who has to hear the parents and want to give some feedback on this, The Basketball Mom has created a quick 2 minute survey to see what influence parents have on sports from the kids point of view. All the responses are anonymous and aggregrated results will be posted after the survey closes on March 15th. I'm looking forward to seeing the results and how the players turn the tables on the parents.
Click here to take the survey.
Arlington at Harding Thoughts
A bleak night in the metro with only 2 bad St. Paul City games. Of course, I'm still going to 1 of the games. Since I'll probably see Central yet this season, I decided to get 1 more look at Arlington. Especially since the rumor mill says they may not have any athletics next year. Certainly the basketball program is short numbers with barely enough kids returning to field a varsity squad next year and they had no freshman program this season.
To address the problem of that nice gym at Arlington going unused (assuming that's true for a minute), how about his wacky thought. Tuesday night league doubleheaders at Arlington and then league triple headers on Saturdays. Enough daydreaming, more work.
Harding starts with a very John Gray (Arlington assistant and former Breck head coach) like backscreen triangle offense. But whenever the Knights went to it, Arlington went to a 3-2 zone on the fly. Andre Creighton hot early for Harding as he has their 1st 10 points. He ends his streak with a jumper at 11:40 that cuts the Arlington lead to 11-10. But Harding can't find the ocean from the shoreline as they only score 1 field goal in the next 9 minutes. Arlington takes advantage for a 18-2 run to bust this one open. 36-19 at the half in favor of Arlington. Creighton with 12 of the 19 for Harding.
Travon McKee with 8 points via layins off of turnovers and penetration early in the second half. 46-27 Phoenix with 13:35 left. Harding then goes cold again and after a long season, you can see the effects on the kids. Arlington goes on a 24-3 run over the next 9 minutes to put this one to mercy rule. 78-37 Arlington wins. With an early start and a quick game, we're out the door at a record time of 7:55 PM.
For Harding, their season will end next Friday in the section 4AAA quarterfinals. They're now 3-20 and they lose their 2 best kids from varsity and have a B squad that won't resupply them next year. Andre Creighton with 14 points. Ernest Mang with 4 3s and 11 of his team high 16 points in the 2nd half.
For Arlington, 4 players in double-figures with Travon Mckee's 19 leading the way. Deandre White with 17. Arlington may be 14-10 but they'll probably be the 4 seed in 4AAA behind 10-15 Hill-Murray via the Pioneers 74-64 win at Arlington on December 16th. That 4 vs 5 game is looking like it will be against Highland Park who they've beaten twice, 1 close, once in a blowout. They finish the season against Como Park on Friday.
To address the problem of that nice gym at Arlington going unused (assuming that's true for a minute), how about his wacky thought. Tuesday night league doubleheaders at Arlington and then league triple headers on Saturdays. Enough daydreaming, more work.
Harding starts with a very John Gray (Arlington assistant and former Breck head coach) like backscreen triangle offense. But whenever the Knights went to it, Arlington went to a 3-2 zone on the fly. Andre Creighton hot early for Harding as he has their 1st 10 points. He ends his streak with a jumper at 11:40 that cuts the Arlington lead to 11-10. But Harding can't find the ocean from the shoreline as they only score 1 field goal in the next 9 minutes. Arlington takes advantage for a 18-2 run to bust this one open. 36-19 at the half in favor of Arlington. Creighton with 12 of the 19 for Harding.
Travon McKee with 8 points via layins off of turnovers and penetration early in the second half. 46-27 Phoenix with 13:35 left. Harding then goes cold again and after a long season, you can see the effects on the kids. Arlington goes on a 24-3 run over the next 9 minutes to put this one to mercy rule. 78-37 Arlington wins. With an early start and a quick game, we're out the door at a record time of 7:55 PM.
For Harding, their season will end next Friday in the section 4AAA quarterfinals. They're now 3-20 and they lose their 2 best kids from varsity and have a B squad that won't resupply them next year. Andre Creighton with 14 points. Ernest Mang with 4 3s and 11 of his team high 16 points in the 2nd half.
For Arlington, 4 players in double-figures with Travon Mckee's 19 leading the way. Deandre White with 17. Arlington may be 14-10 but they'll probably be the 4 seed in 4AAA behind 10-15 Hill-Murray via the Pioneers 74-64 win at Arlington on December 16th. That 4 vs 5 game is looking like it will be against Highland Park who they've beaten twice, 1 close, once in a blowout. They finish the season against Como Park on Friday.
The Czar's 2009 Mr. Basketball Finalists
Here's who I would name as the 5 Mr. Basketball finalists (in no particular order) (Czar's Note 3/25: In this post, you'll see that I explain why I replace Williams with Jett in this list)
1) Nate Wolters - St. Cloud Tech. He'd be a stud for anybody in the metro and far more people would talk about him. He's as clutch as any player in the state (ask Tartan and Apollo) and as responsible for his team's success as anyone. He puts Tech in the ranks of the state's elite.
2) Sam Dower - Osseo. Without him, Osseo is a nice team. With him, Osseo is one of the best teams in the state. With his ability to block shots and score almost at will inside against most opponents. His projected game against Cooper in the 5AAAA section final could be a big factor in determining if he's a serious contender for the award. Speaking of Cooper...
3) Rodney Williams Jr - Robbinsdale Cooper. Wolters and Dower are more valuable to their teams because Cooper is stacked with talent, but just the threat of a Rodney dunk changes game plans. I personally would have the Rodney rules, like Chuck Daly had the Jordan rules. But does a blowout loss to Hopkins hurt his chances? Speaking of Hopkins...
4) Royce White - Hopkins. Top player on the top team and the most talented player in the state. While he has a history, to Royce's credit that hasn't been an issue this year. Therefore he earns a spot on this list. Does his performance in a win against #2 give him an advantage over...
5) Mike Bruesewitz - Henry Sibley. The player that takes the Warriors to the top level. The reason why Sibley is the 1 team with a legitimate chance to beat Hopkins. A great leader and do everything player.
1) Nate Wolters - St. Cloud Tech. He'd be a stud for anybody in the metro and far more people would talk about him. He's as clutch as any player in the state (ask Tartan and Apollo) and as responsible for his team's success as anyone. He puts Tech in the ranks of the state's elite.
2) Sam Dower - Osseo. Without him, Osseo is a nice team. With him, Osseo is one of the best teams in the state. With his ability to block shots and score almost at will inside against most opponents. His projected game against Cooper in the 5AAAA section final could be a big factor in determining if he's a serious contender for the award. Speaking of Cooper...
3) Rodney Williams Jr - Robbinsdale Cooper. Wolters and Dower are more valuable to their teams because Cooper is stacked with talent, but just the threat of a Rodney dunk changes game plans. I personally would have the Rodney rules, like Chuck Daly had the Jordan rules. But does a blowout loss to Hopkins hurt his chances? Speaking of Hopkins...
4) Royce White - Hopkins. Top player on the top team and the most talented player in the state. While he has a history, to Royce's credit that hasn't been an issue this year. Therefore he earns a spot on this list. Does his performance in a win against #2 give him an advantage over...
5) Mike Bruesewitz - Henry Sibley. The player that takes the Warriors to the top level. The reason why Sibley is the 1 team with a legitimate chance to beat Hopkins. A great leader and do everything player.
Class AAA and AAAA outstate section predictions
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08-09 Playoff Previews
This is the 3rd and final installment of my outstate section predictions. If you missed the small school predictions, use these links.
Now on to the big schools.
Class AAA
Section 1: This will be a interesting section to watch with Austin having a very good year, Connor O'Brien and Danny Geiger being a formidable duo at New Prague and the highest power ranking of the group (but 3rd best record) goes to always tough St. Thomas Academy. 3 teams, 3 leagues, always a dilemma. New Prague hammered Austin by 25 earlier in the year. I'll take New Prague to beat both teams on their way to the section title as I'm rooting for the heart-wrenching story of them winning one for their fallen coach. No Jake Syzmanski for STA really hurts their cause against New Prague as they could use his defense on Geiger. Geiger is the straw that stirs the drink in their dribble-drive motion.
Section 2: In a word, brutal. Any of the top 4 seeds could win it, but Mankato West is on another level so I'll take them. The semifinals will be must see games with Worthington, Marshall and Willmar.
Section 5: Very open section. Monticello likely the #1 seed with their 18 point win over Annandale last night. But they've lost to Rogers and have to face the Royals again to end the season. Both wins over STMA are close and STMA has 2 close wins over Rogers. Burke Lendl and Tony Cain Rogers give Rogers an inside advantage but tourney time means good guard play which STMA and Monticello both have. STMA made it last year, let's take them again behind the point guard play of Jason Dehmer and shooting from Kevin Nelson.
Section 7: Cloquet got blown out by Grand Rapids to start the season and then thanks to 18 and 14 from Chad Calcaterra only lost by 5 last night at home to the Thunderhawks. I'd love to see Cloquet pull the upset to see Calcaterra make a state trip and hear the name RaRa Jones, but that has to wait a year. Grand Rapids has too much experience and Cloquet's guards aren't up to par yet.
Section 8: The easy pick here is Apollo and for good reason as Andre Garth is on another level. Add in a talented group of sophs and this should be a no-brainer. But watch out for Little Falls, they've lost 2 tough ones to Apollo this season and remember that this is also what happened last season when Little Falls pulled the 62-60 upset.
Class AAAA
Section 1: Winona is on fire right now and they're no better than 4th in line right now. Farmington, Owatonna and Northfield are all going to be tough outs. Looking like a dynamite semifinal rematch between Owatonna and Northfield. Farmington on fire right now winning 12 of 13 after a 6-5 start (including a close loss at Owatonna). I like Owatonna here as they have the most pieces and the toughest matchup in the section, Kyle Melcher. But they'll probably have to get thru a Northfield team that already beat them this season.
Section 8: St. Cloud Tech looks like an obvious choice but hold the phone. Buffalo has won 17 of 18 and that loss was to Cooper after being up 17 with 10 minutes left. But they went 1-5 vs the Northwest Suburban before that including a 52-41 loss to my sleeper in the section, Maple Grove. The Crimson have beaten Grand Rapids and Osseo (rematch tonight) and played Henry Sibley and St. Paul Johnson very tough in the Bethel Holiday Tournament. MG is tough inside with Josh Pedretti and Brett Torrence amongst the group of bodies up front and they have solid guard play from Alex Geisenhoff and Matt Christenson. I think they beat Buffalo again in the 2 vs 3 semifinal and give Tech major heartburn before bowing out to clutch play down the stretch from Nate Wolters.
Now on to the big schools.
Class AAA
Section 1: This will be a interesting section to watch with Austin having a very good year, Connor O'Brien and Danny Geiger being a formidable duo at New Prague and the highest power ranking of the group (but 3rd best record) goes to always tough St. Thomas Academy. 3 teams, 3 leagues, always a dilemma. New Prague hammered Austin by 25 earlier in the year. I'll take New Prague to beat both teams on their way to the section title as I'm rooting for the heart-wrenching story of them winning one for their fallen coach. No Jake Syzmanski for STA really hurts their cause against New Prague as they could use his defense on Geiger. Geiger is the straw that stirs the drink in their dribble-drive motion.
Section 2: In a word, brutal. Any of the top 4 seeds could win it, but Mankato West is on another level so I'll take them. The semifinals will be must see games with Worthington, Marshall and Willmar.
Section 5: Very open section. Monticello likely the #1 seed with their 18 point win over Annandale last night. But they've lost to Rogers and have to face the Royals again to end the season. Both wins over STMA are close and STMA has 2 close wins over Rogers. Burke Lendl and Tony Cain Rogers give Rogers an inside advantage but tourney time means good guard play which STMA and Monticello both have. STMA made it last year, let's take them again behind the point guard play of Jason Dehmer and shooting from Kevin Nelson.
Section 7: Cloquet got blown out by Grand Rapids to start the season and then thanks to 18 and 14 from Chad Calcaterra only lost by 5 last night at home to the Thunderhawks. I'd love to see Cloquet pull the upset to see Calcaterra make a state trip and hear the name RaRa Jones, but that has to wait a year. Grand Rapids has too much experience and Cloquet's guards aren't up to par yet.
Section 8: The easy pick here is Apollo and for good reason as Andre Garth is on another level. Add in a talented group of sophs and this should be a no-brainer. But watch out for Little Falls, they've lost 2 tough ones to Apollo this season and remember that this is also what happened last season when Little Falls pulled the 62-60 upset.
Class AAAA
Section 1: Winona is on fire right now and they're no better than 4th in line right now. Farmington, Owatonna and Northfield are all going to be tough outs. Looking like a dynamite semifinal rematch between Owatonna and Northfield. Farmington on fire right now winning 12 of 13 after a 6-5 start (including a close loss at Owatonna). I like Owatonna here as they have the most pieces and the toughest matchup in the section, Kyle Melcher. But they'll probably have to get thru a Northfield team that already beat them this season.
Section 8: St. Cloud Tech looks like an obvious choice but hold the phone. Buffalo has won 17 of 18 and that loss was to Cooper after being up 17 with 10 minutes left. But they went 1-5 vs the Northwest Suburban before that including a 52-41 loss to my sleeper in the section, Maple Grove. The Crimson have beaten Grand Rapids and Osseo (rematch tonight) and played Henry Sibley and St. Paul Johnson very tough in the Bethel Holiday Tournament. MG is tough inside with Josh Pedretti and Brett Torrence amongst the group of bodies up front and they have solid guard play from Alex Geisenhoff and Matt Christenson. I think they beat Buffalo again in the 2 vs 3 semifinal and give Tech major heartburn before bowing out to clutch play down the stretch from Nate Wolters.
MCA survives Centaur Scare
The final week of the regular season in 08-09 takes me to Maranatha for a non-conference tilt with Brooklyn Center. An interesting night tonight for our friendly public address/timer guy. He introduces the zebras as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, HA. But then he goes after the BC cheerleaders for waving barely waving their pompoms behind the basket during MCA free throws. Not that I don't agree with his point of view, but it seemed really out of place for him to be the guy. That's what coaches and officials are for.
MCA out to a quick 6-0 lead in this battle of young point guards. MCA's frosh PG Darian Pittman finishes the run with a steal and layin. BC soph PG Freddie Young stops the run with a layup of his own. 11-10 MCA at the 11:53 mark before BC gets 7 in a row in the next 1:08. Very sloppy stretch there for MCA. But they show a 1-3-1 zone and go off on a 12-1 run over the next 6 minutes. BC survived some of that stretch with 4 bench guys on the floor so it could have been much worse. But the Centaurs find an answer for the zone and counter with their own 7-0 run over the last 4:47 of the half for a 27-23 halftime lead. In the battle of point guards, Freddie Young with 9 points on 4-8 shooting, Darian Pittman with 8 points on 2-5 FGs and only 4-8 FTs. Jay Higgins already with 10 rebounds.
11-2 MCA to start the 2nd half thanks to 7 Josh Hanson points and a huge block by Matt Eickmann. SaVaughn Jordan finishes the run with a putback and the foul. 34-29 MCA with 14:13 to play. Freddie Young with back to back triples in the Centaurs column. Another bucket forces an MCA timeout. A turnover for 1 bucket and a Shawn Edwards jumper force another MCA timeout 90 seconds later. 43-38 Centaurs with 9:30 left. Young then finds frosh Mahari Wilson with 7:45 left and its 49-40 BC after a 20-6 run over 6:28. But MCA won't go away at home. Pittman with a 3 from the left corner, Hanson with a blk that turns into a 3 point play for Jordan at the other end. That puts a spark in the MCA zone defense as they've played 1-3-1 most of the half. Young with 2 free throws at 5:37 for a 52-47 Brooklyn Center lead. Pittman with a drive for 2 and then Higgins with a 3 point play to tie it at 5:08 and this one has turned out to be a far better game than I anticipated.
The teams have an offensive drought but Wilson breaks that with a layup with 2:30 left. Higgins thru a player for a post 2 (flop/charge? probably a good no call). Then he steals an entry pass to the wing and hits Pittman for a layup and MCA leads 56-54 with 1:45 left. BC misses a layup at 1:15 but Jordan steps out of bounds against a trap with 53.6 left. Antone Darrington misses with 35 seconds left and may have been fouled. BC takes an awfully long time to foul before they send Pittman to the line with 15.1 left. He misses the front end and BC has the ball in the front court after a timeout with 10.3 left. Against the 1-3-1 they elect to start Young on top, enter to the wing and then dribble away attempting to throw back to him in the corner. He gets an OK look that goes long. Wessah Teah runs it down and throws up the 10 foot fade away at the horn and its good to tie the game at 56. BC celebrating like they won the game and I can't blame them. Mighty mo is with them for the OT.
To the OT, Hanson with a putback after a set play on the tip missed a layin. Higgins ends up with Young on him in the post and that earns him 2 FTs with 2:55 left in the OT. 60-56 MCA. Edwards with a tipin at 2:30 to cut the lead to 2. MCA travels on the next possession. Edwards with a nice cut and gets fouled. He makes 1 of 2 with 1:57 left, 60-59 MCA. Pittman banks home a runner from outside the left box with 1:28 left. Darrington goes baseline for 2 with 1:05 left. 62-61 MCA. MCA goes weave to kill the clock and they almost turn it over before calling time with 33.4 left. Very strange that they call a high screen/roll for Pittman and he throws up a tough scoop shot that's no good, but Hanson grabs it and makes 1 of 2 FTs with 24.5 left and we're back on an even number. Young penetrates and finds Darrington with 12 seconds left to tie. MCA right back the other way. Higgins misses a tough shot from the right baseline but Hanson cleans that up too and converts the bunny with 2.2 left. Young no good from halfcourt after a timeout. MCA survives a major scare 65-63.
For Brooklyn Center, Freddie Young leads the way with 17 points. I had him unofficially 6-13 from the floor with 3 assists. Shawn Edwards with 14 points and 6 rebounds as their 1 inside presence. Yuriy Malashenko from Jordan may go for 2o boards on them tomorrow in a possible 4AA west preview game. But their quickness did bother MCA and caused problems for them getting into their offense.
For Maranatha, Josh Hanson with the 2 clutch plays late. He finishes with 18 points and I had him for 8 rebounds. Darian Pittman with 18 points (5-12 FTs though, can't have that from a PG). Jay Higgins with 11 points and 16 rebounds on my sheet. SaVaughn Jordan is only listed at 6'0, but he was a very effective power forward on this night. I had him for 14 points and 10 rebounds. I was surprised at how much zone they played, specifically 1-3-1 with some 1-2-2 and 2-3 thrown in. In the past they've used an amoeba like 1-1-3. MCA only loses 1 senior and they have only 2 juniors of note. Very young all the way around. This preserves their #1 seed in the west half of section 4A. (BTW, how does Spectrum get sent to the east subsection when PACT is in the west?)
MCA out to a quick 6-0 lead in this battle of young point guards. MCA's frosh PG Darian Pittman finishes the run with a steal and layin. BC soph PG Freddie Young stops the run with a layup of his own. 11-10 MCA at the 11:53 mark before BC gets 7 in a row in the next 1:08. Very sloppy stretch there for MCA. But they show a 1-3-1 zone and go off on a 12-1 run over the next 6 minutes. BC survived some of that stretch with 4 bench guys on the floor so it could have been much worse. But the Centaurs find an answer for the zone and counter with their own 7-0 run over the last 4:47 of the half for a 27-23 halftime lead. In the battle of point guards, Freddie Young with 9 points on 4-8 shooting, Darian Pittman with 8 points on 2-5 FGs and only 4-8 FTs. Jay Higgins already with 10 rebounds.
11-2 MCA to start the 2nd half thanks to 7 Josh Hanson points and a huge block by Matt Eickmann. SaVaughn Jordan finishes the run with a putback and the foul. 34-29 MCA with 14:13 to play. Freddie Young with back to back triples in the Centaurs column. Another bucket forces an MCA timeout. A turnover for 1 bucket and a Shawn Edwards jumper force another MCA timeout 90 seconds later. 43-38 Centaurs with 9:30 left. Young then finds frosh Mahari Wilson with 7:45 left and its 49-40 BC after a 20-6 run over 6:28. But MCA won't go away at home. Pittman with a 3 from the left corner, Hanson with a blk that turns into a 3 point play for Jordan at the other end. That puts a spark in the MCA zone defense as they've played 1-3-1 most of the half. Young with 2 free throws at 5:37 for a 52-47 Brooklyn Center lead. Pittman with a drive for 2 and then Higgins with a 3 point play to tie it at 5:08 and this one has turned out to be a far better game than I anticipated.
The teams have an offensive drought but Wilson breaks that with a layup with 2:30 left. Higgins thru a player for a post 2 (flop/charge? probably a good no call). Then he steals an entry pass to the wing and hits Pittman for a layup and MCA leads 56-54 with 1:45 left. BC misses a layup at 1:15 but Jordan steps out of bounds against a trap with 53.6 left. Antone Darrington misses with 35 seconds left and may have been fouled. BC takes an awfully long time to foul before they send Pittman to the line with 15.1 left. He misses the front end and BC has the ball in the front court after a timeout with 10.3 left. Against the 1-3-1 they elect to start Young on top, enter to the wing and then dribble away attempting to throw back to him in the corner. He gets an OK look that goes long. Wessah Teah runs it down and throws up the 10 foot fade away at the horn and its good to tie the game at 56. BC celebrating like they won the game and I can't blame them. Mighty mo is with them for the OT.
To the OT, Hanson with a putback after a set play on the tip missed a layin. Higgins ends up with Young on him in the post and that earns him 2 FTs with 2:55 left in the OT. 60-56 MCA. Edwards with a tipin at 2:30 to cut the lead to 2. MCA travels on the next possession. Edwards with a nice cut and gets fouled. He makes 1 of 2 with 1:57 left, 60-59 MCA. Pittman banks home a runner from outside the left box with 1:28 left. Darrington goes baseline for 2 with 1:05 left. 62-61 MCA. MCA goes weave to kill the clock and they almost turn it over before calling time with 33.4 left. Very strange that they call a high screen/roll for Pittman and he throws up a tough scoop shot that's no good, but Hanson grabs it and makes 1 of 2 FTs with 24.5 left and we're back on an even number. Young penetrates and finds Darrington with 12 seconds left to tie. MCA right back the other way. Higgins misses a tough shot from the right baseline but Hanson cleans that up too and converts the bunny with 2.2 left. Young no good from halfcourt after a timeout. MCA survives a major scare 65-63.
For Brooklyn Center, Freddie Young leads the way with 17 points. I had him unofficially 6-13 from the floor with 3 assists. Shawn Edwards with 14 points and 6 rebounds as their 1 inside presence. Yuriy Malashenko from Jordan may go for 2o boards on them tomorrow in a possible 4AA west preview game. But their quickness did bother MCA and caused problems for them getting into their offense.
For Maranatha, Josh Hanson with the 2 clutch plays late. He finishes with 18 points and I had him for 8 rebounds. Darian Pittman with 18 points (5-12 FTs though, can't have that from a PG). Jay Higgins with 11 points and 16 rebounds on my sheet. SaVaughn Jordan is only listed at 6'0, but he was a very effective power forward on this night. I had him for 14 points and 10 rebounds. I was surprised at how much zone they played, specifically 1-3-1 with some 1-2-2 and 2-3 thrown in. In the past they've used an amoeba like 1-1-3. MCA only loses 1 senior and they have only 2 juniors of note. Very young all the way around. This preserves their #1 seed in the west half of section 4A. (BTW, how does Spectrum get sent to the east subsection when PACT is in the west?)
Class AA outstate section predictions
Labels:
08-09 Playoff Previews
If you missed part 1 of my 3 part series on outstate section predictions, you can read my class A predictions here. Part 2 covers the class AA outstate sections.
Class AA
Section 1: Plainview-Elgin-Millville has to be the favorite and I'll pick them for state. The west half should be very interesting. Yes #1 seed Rochester Lourdes beat #2 Stewartville twice, but I think Stewartville comes out of that subsection.
Section 2: Blah. This team would be a #8 team at state if AA were seeded. Give me the #2 seed out of the east Byron to win this section.
Section 3: I think there's plenty of illusion in this section as I see good records with weak schedules. Martin County West is the favorite in the south. Give me Minnesota Valley Lutheran and that partially because I missed out on the great St. Croix Lutheran vs MVL game earlier in the year.
Section 5: Sibley East has to be the pick, but watch out for Norwood-Young America who just beat Sibley East last week. HLWW has beaten Pierz once so I'll take them in the north half.
Section 6: I'll take Breckenridge after they survive a tough subsection with Morris and Staples-Motley. Albany has won 16 of 17 on the other side including 2 over section and conference rival (and Defending State Champ) New London-Spicer. I'll take Albany on the other side.
Section 7: Mora could be dangerous in the Braham and Moose Lake/Willow River half. These 3 teams went 1-1 in round robin play. In the other half, Virginia and Mesabi East split 2 close regular season games. The rubber match will determine that subsection. Give me Mesabi East to beat Braham again this season and break the Bombers streak of state trips.
Section 8: Easiest pick of these as Pelican Rapids is on another level from most teams in AA. Pequot Lakes handed Crosby-Ironton 1 of their 3 losses, that looks like a very good subsection final on the other side. UND recruit Brandon Brekke lurks in the Pelican Rapids half for East Grand Forks.
Class AA
Section 1: Plainview-Elgin-Millville has to be the favorite and I'll pick them for state. The west half should be very interesting. Yes #1 seed Rochester Lourdes beat #2 Stewartville twice, but I think Stewartville comes out of that subsection.
Section 2: Blah. This team would be a #8 team at state if AA were seeded. Give me the #2 seed out of the east Byron to win this section.
Section 3: I think there's plenty of illusion in this section as I see good records with weak schedules. Martin County West is the favorite in the south. Give me Minnesota Valley Lutheran and that partially because I missed out on the great St. Croix Lutheran vs MVL game earlier in the year.
Section 5: Sibley East has to be the pick, but watch out for Norwood-Young America who just beat Sibley East last week. HLWW has beaten Pierz once so I'll take them in the north half.
Section 6: I'll take Breckenridge after they survive a tough subsection with Morris and Staples-Motley. Albany has won 16 of 17 on the other side including 2 over section and conference rival (and Defending State Champ) New London-Spicer. I'll take Albany on the other side.
Section 7: Mora could be dangerous in the Braham and Moose Lake/Willow River half. These 3 teams went 1-1 in round robin play. In the other half, Virginia and Mesabi East split 2 close regular season games. The rubber match will determine that subsection. Give me Mesabi East to beat Braham again this season and break the Bombers streak of state trips.
Section 8: Easiest pick of these as Pelican Rapids is on another level from most teams in AA. Pequot Lakes handed Crosby-Ironton 1 of their 3 losses, that looks like a very good subsection final on the other side. UND recruit Brandon Brekke lurks in the Pelican Rapids half for East Grand Forks.
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