By Matt Krumrie
MaxPreps.com
STARTING FIVE1. Minnetonka vs. Wayzata: The Skippers of Minnetonka won another test, this time with Wayzata in a Classic Lake Conference battle. Anthony Tucker scored 35 points to lead Minnetonka to the 75-68 win. The Skippers improved to 15-2, but it was their firstconference game of the season. The Lake has only five teams, but all are considered top teams. Also in the conference is Hopkins, Edina and Robbinsdale Armstrong. Tucker, headed to Iowa next season, made seven three pointers and had nine rebounds and five assists. Minnetonka is ranked No. 3 in the MaxPreps.com rankings, Wayzata No. 4.
2. Missota Conference: The Missota Conference race appears to be wide open this season. Through four games Holy Angels, Farmington and Prior Lake were all 3-1, while Shakopee was 3-2. Holy Angels and Farmington were both 11-5 overall, while Prior Lake was 10-6. The best record of those teams belonged to Shakopee, at 15-2. Another team, New Prague, was 2-2 in conference action and 13-3 overall. Red Wing, at 1-3 in theconference, was 11-5 overall. Who will emerge when the season ends?
3. Upset Special I: The undefeated season came to an end for Maple River this week. Martin County West defeated previously unbeaten Maple River 58-55 Tuesday to create a logjam and a three-way tie in the Valley Conference boys basketball standings. Geoff Krumwiede scored 28 points to lead MCW. Seth Anderson led Maple Riverwith 20 points and Logan Drager had 18 in the loss. Both teams are tied with Granada-Huntley-East Chain, ranked No. 5 in the state in 1A.
4. Upset Special II: Rockford’s unbeaten season came to an end at the hands of Kimball Thursday. Scott Nystrom scored 29 points to lead Kimball to a 58-55 win over Rockford, ranked No.2 in the state in Class 2A.
5. Battle of Duluth: Thursday’s game between two northern Minnesota teams had a lot of similarities: same city, two players score over 30 points, and almost identical points scored. The city was Duluth, the players scoring over 30 points were Dyami Starks (East) and Garth Heikkinen (Central) and the final score was 69-67. The winner? Duluth East, which beat Crosstown rival Central by two. Starks led East with 31 points and teammate Keaton Hasan added 23 in the win. Heikkinen scored 30 for Central, who were not able to hold onto a 12 point halftime lead in the loss. Central fell to 9-9 while East improved to 7-11.
THREE TO WATCH
1. Osseo: The Orioles won a tight one Thursday, 58-55 over Glencoe-Silver Lake. Patrick Boerner led the Orioles with 22 points and five assists. Osseo, ranked No. 2 in the state in the MaxPreps.com poll, is 18-0 and in first place in the Northwest Suburban Conference.
2. Will Jackson and Craig Skalko, Virginia: Jackson is averaging 21.6 points per game for Virginia, which is 16-0 and ranked No. 6 in the state in Class 2A. His teammate, Craig Skalko, averages 19.5 points per game.
3. Larry Brown, St. Paul Central: Brown leads the St. Paul City Conference in scoring at 19.3 points per game. The Minutemen are in first place at 4-0 and 12-4 overall.
TWO HOT TOO HANDLE
1. Max Banchy, New Life Academy: The senior, who averages 18.3 points per game, scored 21 points in a win over Bethany Academy, and then added 26 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 55-53 loss to top-ranked (1A) and undefeated Marantha Academy.
2. Mark Cooper, Park Center: Cooper has scored 74 points his last three games (30, 21, 23) and is averaging 19 points per gameon the season. Included in those totals is a 30-point performance, a season high, in an 84-80 loss to Centennial.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
83.1 – Points per game Maple Rivers cored in its first 16 games – all wins
55 – Points Maple River scored Tuesday in its first loss of the season, 58-55 to Martin County West.
27.2 – Points per game by Duluth East’s Dyami Starks, which leads Duluth-area basketball players.
18 – Three-pointers Maple River attempted in its loss to Martin County West.
6.6 – Rebounds per game of Mahtomedi’s AnthonyKelley.
6.5 – Rebounds per game of Mahtomedi’s Tyler Carlson.
5 – Three-pointers Maple River made in loss to MCW.
