By Matt Krumrie
MaxPreps.com
Starting Five
1. Hopkins Holds off Henry Sibley: In a match-up of the state’s two top teams, Hopkins showed why it is ranked No. 1 in the state with a 77-66 win over No. 2 Sibley Friday in front of 2,800 fans at the Sibley gym in Mendota Heights. Hopkins stars Royce White and Trent Lockett led a balanced attack with 13 points each, while teammate Marcus Williams added 12. Sibley was led by Mike Bruesewitz with 15 points and Maurice Hernandez with 15. Hopkins led 43-33 at halftime in a game that featured six players who have signed with Division I programs, including White (Minnesota), Lockett (Arizona State) and Bruesewitz (Wisconsin).
2. Champlin Park Challenging in Northwest Suburban: Osseo entered the season as the favorite in the Northwest Suburban Conference, and so far, the Orioles are living up to expectations at 3-0 in the conference and 9-1 overall. One team that could be ready to challenge in the conference race is Champlin Park. The Rebels defeated Blaine 75-73 Tuesday to move to 3-0 in the conference (7-4 overall). The Rebels lead the conference in points per game at 72.6 and have a balanced attack led by Scott Theisen (16.4 points per game), Kyle Zimmermann (15.2), Jasper Duberry (14.1), Josh Pella (11.3) and Tyler Munneke (7.7). In that win against Blaine Zimmermann scored 25 and Duberry 20 to lead the Rebels, who face Osseo Thursday evening.
3. Owatonna Rolling: Owatonna appears to be one outstate threat teams will have to deal with this year. The Huskies improved to 5-0 in the Big Nine and 8-2 overall with a 63-48 win over Rochester John Marshall Tuesday. Kyle Melcher scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds, Spencer Busho scored 11, Taylor Steinbauer 9 and Vaughn Thada 8. The Huskies are tied for first in the Big Nine Conference with Mankato West, the top-ranked team in 3A. Owatonna is ranked No. 8 in 4A. The two teams square off for the first time Friday in Mankato.
4. Awesome Blossom Playing Awesome: Blooming Prairie remains on top of the Gopher Conference with a 65-45 win over J-W-P this week. Cooper Nelson scored 15 points to lead BP, who improved to 5-0 in the conference and 8-1 overall. Matt Zellmer scored 14 and Israel Clark 12 in the win for BP.
5. Cooper Cruising: Nine games, nine wins for the Robbinsdale Cooper basketball team. Led by Rodney Williams (15.9 points per game), a Minnesota recruit and one of the most high-flying players in the country, Cooper is far from one dimensional. Other key players for the Classic Lake title contenders include Kenquane Brown (15.2), Quincey Bethea (13.1) and Joe Bright (13.3).
Three to Watch
1. Matt Zager, Shakopee: Zager scored 27 points in a 60-58 win over Robbinsdale Armstrong Friday. Zager leads the Sabres with an average of 20.2 points per game.
2. Red Lake Warriors: Red Lake is 4-0 (6-2 overall) and on top of the Northland Conference standings. The Warriors average 82.9 points per game, led by Robert Pemberton with 22.9 and Sam Kingbird with 16.5.
3. St. Cloud Tech: At 5-0 in the Central Lakes Conference and 10-0 overall, all is well for Tech so far this year. They defeated Rocori 98-73 this week, led by Tyson Euerle and Nate Wolters, who had 18 and 17 points in the win to lead five players in double figures. Adam Johnson added 12 points, and Alex Hanks and Devin Ambrose 10 each in the win.
Two Hot Too Handle
1. Mahtomedi: The Zephyrs rolled in a 97-70 win over Hill-Murray Friday. Johnny Krebs scored 21 points in that game for the Zephyrs, while Bobby Sherwood added 17 and Zach Goodwin 15. Goodwin went over the 1,000 point milestone in his career in the win for the Zephyrs, who are 8-2 heading into weekend action.
2. Kyle Crocker, Brainerd: Crocker drained five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points in Brainerd’s 66-56 win over Sartell this week. Crocker had 22 points in a game against Bemidji the week before and is averaging 17.5 points per game.
Inside the Numbers
93.2 – Points scored per game by Cass Lake-Bena, one of the top small school teams in the state.
90 – Points St. Paul Central scored in a 90-74 win over Minneapolis Southwest Friday. Taylor Smaller and LeDarian Horton scored 17 in the win for the Minutemen.
90 – Points Concordia Academy scored in a 90-67 win over St. Agnes. Zach Towle scored 44 points in the win for CA.
3 – The number of times Red Lake High’ Robert Pemberton has scored 39 points in a game this season. He did it Dec. 13 against Minnesota Transitions and Dec. 31 against the same team.
