By Matt Krumrie
MaxPreps.com
STARTING FIVE
1. Rubber Match to Minnetonka: It’s safe to say almost every Minnesota basketball high school hoops fan was expecting a third and final showdown between top-ranked Hopkins and No. 2 Minnetonka with a berth to state on the line in the Section 6AAAA finals. Fans got what they wanted, and Minnetonka earned the prize (a trip to the state tournament), with a 74-71 overtime win over the Royals Tuesday. C.J. Erickson led the way for Minnetonka with 21 points. Anthony Tucker scored 18 and Andy Burns 12 in the win. Hopkins was led by Raymond Cowels’ 29 points and Trent Lockett’s 21, while Anthony Diloreto chipped in 11. Hopkins led by as much as 18 points early in the second half before the Skippers chipped away to tie the game late and take control in overtime. Minnetonka will likely be the No. 1 seed in the AAAA state tournament that begins next week.
2. Dream Season Over: The undefeated dream season for Osseo came to a halt Tuesday in the section 5AAAA finals, where the Orioles lost to Robbinsdale Cooper 60-59. Quincey Bethea led Cooper with 22 points, while teammates Rodney Williams (13) and Joe Bright (13) were also bright spots for Cooper. Carrington Tankson led Osseo with 28 points and Sam Doweer had 16 in the loss. Osseo finished the season with a 28-1 record.
3. St. Cloud Tech on Cloud 9: St. Cloud Tech broke into the MaxPreps.com rankings recently, coming in at No. 9. The Tigers improved to 27-2 with a 80-65 win over Moorhead in the 8AAAA title game Tuesday. Nate Wolters (see below), Tyson Euerle (20 points, 13 rebounds), Nick Jordan (11 points, three assists), and Alex Hanks (five points, six rebounds, three assists) helped play key roles in the win.
4. Making Most of Opportunity: Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton made the most of an opportunity Tuesday in a 55-51 win over Spring Grove in the a Section 1A title game. Spring Grove played the game without Dakotah Rostad, the team’s sophomore captain. No one will ever know what his absence meant, but it doesn’t matter now, as JWP earned a trip to the 1A state tournament with the close win. Tyler Witt led JWP with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Kopachek had 11 points and ten rebounds in the win. Jacob Schram also added 15 points for JWP. Kevin Lochner had 18 points and 14 rebounds in the loss for Spring Grove.
5. Sibley Beats Cretin: In another matchup featuring two of MaxPreps.com’s top 10 ranked teams, Classic Suburban Conference champ Henry Sibley defeated Suburban East co-champ Cretin-Derham Hall 60-57 in the 4AAAA title game. Sibley’s Mike Bruesewitz, a Wisconsin recruit, scored 19 points, while Maurice Hernandez added 15 in the win. Sibley improved to 24-5 with the win. Michael Floyd led Cretin with 19 points, but was held five points below his average.
SIXTH MAN
Willmar Beats West: Willmar defeated Mankato West 66-62 in overtime in the 2AAA section final. Casey Sussenguth led Willmar with 24 points, while Michael Dunham had 15, and Jordan Smith 14. Taylor Filipek scored four of his five points in overtime to lead Willmar in the extra session. Ray Teachout led West with 20 points, while Miles Knutson (14), Andy Sathoff (13) and Derrick Cattrysse (10) were all in double figures. It is the first trip to state for Willmar in 20 years.
THREE TO WATCH
1. LaCrescent: LaCrescent earned its first-ever trip to state with a 58-48 win over Stewartville in a 1AA section final game. The Lancers play an up-tempo style and like to use their athleticism. They improved to 28-1 and avenged their only loss of the season, which came earlier this year to Stewartville. Ian Anderson led the team with 18 points in the big win, while Tim Verthein had 16 and Nate Abraham 14.
2. Crosby-Ironton: The Section 8AA champs, who defeated Pelican Rapids 74-62 Tuesday, are 30-0 and have a number of offensive threats that could wreak havoc come state. The Rangers, ranked No. 1 in the state in AA, were led by Trevor Dickie’s 21 points in the win over PR. Derek Swanhorst added 20 and Bryce Tesdahl 19 in the win for the undefeated Rangers. Tydan Storrusten of Pelican Rapids led all scorers with 29 points in the loss.
3. Cody Schilling, Ellsworth: Schilling, the second all-time leading scorer in Minnesota boys' high school basketball history, led the defending 1A state champs back to state with 26 points in a 56-51 win over Dawson-Boyd Tuesday.
TWO HOT TOO HANDLE
1. Nate Wolters, St. Cloud Tech: Wolters had 29 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals in the Tigers' 80-65 win over Moorhead in the 8AAAA title game Tuesday. That was in addition to his 17 points, 17 assists and 13 rebounds in Tech’s 85-69 semi-final win over Elk River Saturday.
2. Martin Wind/Nate Howard, Cass Lake-Bena: The duo combined to score 42 points (21 each) in a 76-59 win over Fertile-Beltrami in the 8A championship game. Cass Lake-Bena will get another shot at a state title this year, and advanced to state for the third time in the past four years. Last year CLB made it to the state finals last year before losing to Ellsworth, 74-73.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1,800 – Estimated fans who came to Gustavus Adolphus University’s Gus Young Court to watch Willmar and Mankato West in their section final game.
85 – Points scored by Minneapolis Henry in a 85-75 win over Spring Lake Park in the 3AAA title game.
44.1 – Points per game average of Benilde-St. Margaret’s Armond Battle and Jordan Taylor heading into Tuesday’s section 6AAA final against Holy Angels.
32 – Field goals Stewartville missed in its 1AA section final loss to LeCrescent. The team made only 17 of 49 shots in the loss.
30 – Points scored by Moorhead’s Jordan Driscoll in the Spuds’ loss to St. Cloud Tech Tuesday.
25 – Years since St. Cloud Tech has been to the boys state basketball tournament. The last trip was 1983.
20 – Points scored by both Battle and Taylor in the Red Knights’ 69-59 section win over Holy Angels which helped them advance to the 2008 state tournament next week.
18 – Free throws Willmar missed in its section final win over Mankato West. The team attempted 38 free throws, making only 20.
