The 2009-10 high school boys basketball season is hitting the home stretch. The regular season will conclude in the coming weeks and conference championships are about to be determined. Here is a look at some of those events.
THE FAB FIVE
1. Sibley 78, Tartan 74: Sibley is back in the 4A rankings (No. 7) and appears to be on its way to a Classic Suburban Conference title in the process. That's because on Tuesday the Warriors defeated No. 9-ranked conference foe Tartan 78-74. With that win, Sibley improved to 11-1 in conference action (16-6 overall), while Tartan fell to 8-4 in the CSC and 16-5 overall. Sibley was led by Dante Grant (21 points), Jake Kreuser (17), Jordan Jackson (16) and Mike Rostampour (14). Drew Preiner led Tartan with 21 points while Manani Beavers had 14 and Darrion Strong 10.
2. Forest Lake on fire: Forest Lake has won 10 straight games and 12 of its last 13 and has taken over the Suburban East Conference lead at 12-1 (17-4 overall). The Rangers are two games ahead of Cretin-Derham Hall after defeating the Raiders 80-79 on Feb. 12. Cretin was ranked No. 4 in the state heading into that game. Prior to that the Rangers defeated No. 8-ranked Stillwater. Senior Zach Riedeman leads the team with 24.7 points per game. Doug Sewall is averaging 11.8 and Sam Miller and Phil Hegseth 9.5 each.
3. And then there were four: There are now only four undefeated teams left across the state. Johnson (St. Paul), the top-ranked team in 3A, is 20-0. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown is 21-0 and ranked No. 4 in 2A. MACCRAY, the top-ranked team in 1A, remains unbeaten (20-0), while 1A Ada Borup, ranked No. 4, is 21-0. There are no undefeated 4A teams.
Taylor Grant, Eden Prairie
File photo by Clarence Thomas
4. Lake race heating up: Eden Prairie won 17 straight games and was ranked No. 1 in 4A, but the Eagles have lost three of their last four to fall to 14-3 in the conference standings (18-3) overall and one game ahead of Apple Valley (13-4/16-5). EP is ranked No. 8 in the state, while AV, which defeated EP, which was ranked No. 1 at the time, 58-54. Meanwhile, Lakeville South and Lakeville North are lurking in third place, with both teams 12-6. With most teams having four or five conference games remaining, there is still a lot left to be determined in the Lake. Tom Schalk of Apple valley is the conference's leading scorer at 23.1 points per game. Alex Richter of Lakeville South is second at 22.7 ppg.
5. Minneapolis City Conference watch: Minneapolis North and Henry (Minneapolis) are locked in a first-place tie at 8-1 in conference play after North defeated Henry 80-74 on Monday. Malik El-Amin of North led all scorers with 29 points, while teammates Charles Smith, Ariel Deloney and Ricky Collins all scored 15 points for the Polars. Jordan Hughes led Henry with 25 points, while Louis Cox scored 17 and Dennis Joiner 14 in the loss.
THREE TO WATCH
1. Marshall Bjorklund, Sibley East: Bjorklund has been one of the most dominating players in the state the past few years, and he continues that pace this season. He averages 26.8 points per game and a state-leading 15.4 rebounds per game. Sibley East is 14-3 on the season.
2. St. Cloud Tech: The Tigers are 17-4 overall and in second place in the Central Lakes Conference at 12-2, one game behind Rocori. Tech plays at Rocori on March 1 in a game that could determine the conference championship.
3. Freddie Young, Brooklyn Park: Young is averaging 20.7 points per game through 19 games. Young scored 26 points in a 54-40 loss to DeLaSalle on Tuesday.
TWO HOT TO HANDLE
1. South Saint Paul: The Packers ended a nine-game losing streak with a 86-51 win over St. Croix Lutheran Thursday. Nathen Rother scored 23 points, Jack Bjorklund had 18, Vinny Garibay 14 and Billy Krodel 11 in the win for the Packers.
2. Montevideo: The Thunder Hawks have now won four straight after an 82-56 win over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Thursday and are 11-3 in the West Central South Conference, and 12-9 overall.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
898 - The number of career wins for Rocori head coach Bob Brink after a 53-46 win over Little Falls on Thursday.
34 - The number of points Jacob Thomas of Columbia Heights scored in a 69-67 win over Spring Lake Park on Thursday.
23 - The number of points Elijah Sabah of Spring Lake Park scored in that 69-67 loss to Columbia Heights.
19.3 - The number of points Cole Stefan of Minnetonka is averaging this season.
