UNI WINS AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 59-51

Johnny Moran and Kerwin Dunham each had 11 points, and Adam Koch added 10, to lead the University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team to a 59-51 win over Southern Illinois at SIU Arena

Moran hit 4-of-5 shots from the field and was 2-for-3 on three-pointers, while Dunham was 3-for-5 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 on treys. Jordan Eglseder had six points, three assists, two blocks and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Panthers.

The win was UNI’s first in Carbondale since the 1996-97 season, snapping an 11-game losing streak at SIU Arena. It was just SIU’s third Missouri Valley Conference loss at home since the start of the 2001-02 season.

Kwadzo Ahelegbe hit a pull-up jumper followed by an Ali Farokhmanesh three-pointer from the right wing to put UNI up 10-6 early in the game. The Salukis rallied to take a 14-12 lead after five straight points from Kevin Dillard, but the Panthers responded with six straight points, including layups from Lucas O’Rear and Jordan Eglseder, to go in front 18-14.

After SIU got within 18-16, Dunham provided two key three-pointers during a 9-0 run that put the Panthers in front, 27-16, with 7:15 left in the first half. UNI was able to maintain its advantage the rest of the way to the locker room, and held a 33-24 lead at the break.

A Moran three-pointer early in the second half put UNI in front, 38-30, with 18:01 left in the game. Neither team scored for the next five minutes, with SIU’s Kevin Dillard draining a three-pointer to end the scoreless drought. That spurred the Salukis on a 15-3 run over the next five minutes, as SIU moved in front, 45-41, with just over nine minutes left.

But UNI answered. Koch scored inside, followed by Eglseder grabbing an offensive rebound and getting a put-back, to pull the Panthers even at 45. With the game tied at 47, Koch took over. He was fouled on four straight UNI possessions, making 5-of-7 shots from the line, to put the Panthers up 52-47 with 2:56 left. After SIU’s Carlton Fay missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity, Dunham hit a three from the left wing to extend UNI’s lead to 55-47 with under two minutes remaining. The Panthers then were able to seal the game at the free throw line.

UNI shot 49 percent from the field for the game, including 50 percent (6-for-12) on three-pointers, and was 15-for-21 at the free throw line. The Panthers held Southern Illinois to just 35 percent field goal shooting, 6-for-16 on threes, and was 7-for-8 at the line. UNI out rebounded SIU, 30-29.

With the win, UNI improved to 7-6 overall, 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Southern Illinois fell to 5-8, 0-2 in the Valley. The Panthers return home this Saturday night (Jan. 3) to play host to Wichita State at the McLeod Center, with tip off set for 7:05 pm.

ANOKA IS TAKING ON WAYZATA IN THE FINAL GAME OF THE ANOKA CLASSIC

In the final game of the evening, it is the Wayzata Trojans taking on the Anoka Tornadoes. As this game gets started both of these teams are playing really aggressive here.

Wayzata has started the game out strong here was they have jumped out to a 10-2 lead with 15:23 left to go in the first half. Wayzata’s point guard Jamar Franks is playing well here he is trying to lead his team to victory here today. He has been able to get the ball up the court in this game. When Jamar Franks gets in trouble, his teammate Kellen Taylor has been able to assist him in getting the ball up the court.

Kellen Taylor has also been able to find his shot here early in this game. He has picked up his second foul here so he has been replaced. Wayzata has to be careful of not fouling too much here. They don’t want to get into foul trouble in this game.

With 11:16 left to go in the first half the score is Anoka 7 and Wayzata 16.

Jamar Franks is Wayzata’s floor leader he is one of the guys that his teammates go to. He gets his teammates involved in the game. Wayzata is playing well here in the first half.

Bernie Ward has just come down and nailed a three point here for the Anoka Tornados here. He is hoping that that will give them a spark and a come back here in the first half.

Both of these teams are looking to push the ball up the court here in this game. They want to have the plays go their way.

Bernie Ward has just come down and nailed a three pointer here that literally bounced off the backboard and went right in. That has sparked the Anoka come back as they are on a run here in this game. The Wayzata players are playing well but they have not been able to make a shot here for a couple of minutes and they are still trying to put it together and cool off this Anoka run.

Eren Cur has just picked up his fourth foul and one of those fouls was a technical foul he said one of those magic words to the officials and he rang him up.

Both of these teams are playing hard in this game here so far. Both of these teams have made their runs in this game today.

Jamar Franks has really played well in the first half here today. He has really gone after it here as he has made some good decisions in the game today.

In a game that has seen some good action we have reached half time, at half time the score is Anoka 29 and Wayzata 36.

As this second half gets underway both of these teams have came out ready to play here. Both of these teams have come out ready to play. Anoka has made a couple of nice shots here to get the second half underway and they have came back into this game. They are on a run here and they have tied the score at 40 with 15:00 left to go in regulation.

Wayzata has come out flat here they just need to have patience here and get the game back in their hands and not panic. Jamar Franks is trying to shoot the Trojans back into this game here. Both of these teams are trying to make shorts that will give them the advantage. They are shooting both three pointers.

There has been a lot of intensity in this game here both of these teams have played well here tonight. This game will come down the wire here.

With 11:00 left to go to in regulation the score is Anoka 46 and Wayzata 50.

Anoka is still playing strong here in this game. Neither of these teams is going to let down here. This game will be the closest game of the day here at Anoka if the score remains with in 20 which I see happening.

Both of these teams are playing well. There has been mass confusion on the part of the officials that have worked this game today. On a few different occasions the three officials have had to come together and figure out what the calls were. Both of these coaches have and to take deep breaths and relax as they have both been on the verge of losing their control over some of the calls that the officials have been making here tonight.

This game will come down to the end tonight. We will have to see who will make baskets down to the end. Kellen Taylor has just got hung by the rim. He tried a one handed dunk but he dunked the ball off the front rim and missed.

Anoka is still trying to get back into this game here. They are down by 7 with the score of 77-70 with 1:13 left to go in regulation. Both of these teams are in a scramble here in the last minute here as they want to come away with the victory here tonight.

Anoka is trying to shoot threes here in the final minute of the game here. They are hoping to get lucky and get a quick three and stop Wayzata from scoring.

In a game that was competitive throughout the game here the Wayzata Trojans have came away with the victory here tonight. The final of the game was Wayzata 80 and Anoka 70.

CHAMPLIN PARK IS TAKING ON IRONDALE IN THE SECOND GAME OF THE ANOKA TOURNAMENT

In the second game of the day, it is Champlin Park taking on Irondale. This is the first time that I have seen either of these teams this year.

Jeff Munneke who works for the Minnesota Timberwolves has a son who plays for the Champlin Park team and he is here today watching his son play in this game.

As this game gets underway both of these teams are looking to get the ball up the court. Champlin Park has been able to get the ball out of the basket and both of these teams have been trading baskets early here in this game so far.

Irondale has started out in this game playing zone defense. They have been able to close out on the shooters. Scott Theisen has just come down and hit a nice jump shot here for this Camplin Park team. He has played well so far in this game today. He has played with great poise here today.

Both of these teams are trying to get the ball up the court here in this game. Irondale continues to play tough strong aggressive defense here. Irondale is also playing in the half court. They are not putting on the defensive pressure in the full court as of yet.

Both of these teams are really getting after it here in this game. They have been on the floor going after the loose balls in this game.

De’Andre Williamson for Champlin Park is really going after the ball here. He is also going after the rebounds here on both ends of the court.

This has turned into a physical game here as the officials have let the players play there style of games here today. Champlin Park is looking to trap the ball here. Irondale has had trouble bringing the ball up the court here in this game today. They have been a few times that they have not made it across the half court line.

Jasper Duberry is playing well for the Rebels. He is playing good tough defense. On the offensive end he is very vocal and telling his players where they are supposed to go.

At halftime, Champlin Park has a 44-23 lead over Irondale.

Irondale can’t get too down on themselves here in this game. Even through that they are down here at the half they still have to come out and compete here in the second half.

As this second half gets underway here both of these teams come out fired up we will have to see what team comes away with it here down the stretch.

Scott Theisen has played well here today. He has been able to find the basket here today as he is not afraid to get his teammates in to the game as he has done a nice job passing the ball to the open man. Jasper Duberry has knocked down a couple of three point shots here in the second half.

Champlin Park has been able to find the basket in this game. Champlin Park’s coach has done a nice job in the substitution patterns here as he has been able to keep his players legs fresh.

Irondale’s Rayveen Banks has just put on some nice dribbling moves here. He was standing out in the middle of the court and dribbling the ball in between his legs trying to beat his defender off the dribble. He also has made some nice passes here as he has good court awareness.

With 11:49 left to go in regulation the score is Champlin Park 64 and Irondale 34.

Irondale is now playing half court man to man defense. In most cases they will have Rayveen Banks pick up his man at half court.

With 8:29 left to go in regulation the score is Champlin Park 66 and Irondale 39.

Both teams are playing hard here this entire game neither team is backing down here as they know that this game. This game has gotten sloppy for a couple of plays here as both of these teams have fumbled the ball here in this game.

With 3:50 left to go in regulation the score is Champlin Park 71 and Irondale 45.

As this game has come to a conclusion each of these teams played really well but Champlin Park has come away with the victory in this game. The final of the game was Champlin Park 78 and Irondale 50.

ST PAUL COMO PARK IS TAKING ON HOPKINS IN THE ANOKA HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

In the first game of the afternoon it is St. Paul Como Park taking on the Hopkins Royals. As this game gets underway here there are not many fans in the stands here but we are set to play basketball.

Mike Broghammer gets things underway here with a nice pull up jumper to get the game underway. Both of these teams are really getting the ball up the court here in the early goings.

St Paul Como Park is playing a tough man to man defense here in the early goings. They are really getting through touch picks. Here in this game.

Jordan Jackson for Como Park has played well here for come down for a nice slam dunk here mid way through the first half.

Hopkins has to keep working the ball inside to their big man and run their offense here in the first half to be successful here in this game. Raymond Cowles who is going to going Santa Clara next season is also playing well here. He has come down and made some nice shots here.

Como Park is playing aggressive here. They are not backing down to this Hopkins Royals team here. Trent Locket has really had a nice jump shot here in this game. He is not afraid to shoot the ball here in the game.

With 9:18 left to go in the first half the score is Hopkins 26 and St Paul Como Park 8.

Mike Broghammer has been using his baby turnaround jump shot here today. He has already had a couple of points using that shot. Hopkins is looking to get the ball up the court and run. Royce Alexander White and Mike Broghammer seem to be replacing each other on the court here in this game. I think that Ken Novak Jr has confidence in both of those players but he wants to space his players on the court and that has been an exchange that has been working well here today in this game.

This game has been up and down the court here. Both of these teams are pushing the ball up the court here so far. Hopkins has been doing a nice job on their substitution patterns in this game they have really played well in the first half. St Paul Como Park is trying to run some of their different plays here to get to the basket.

At half time the score is Hopkins 59 and St Paul Como Park 23.

As this second half gets started here in Anoka, Hopkins looks to have that fire in them that they want to come out and win this game. But I do know that this Como Park team is not going to back down from any challenge they are not going to back down from Hopkins. In fact Como Park has come out here with a lot of energy.

Hopkins is really getting after it here in the second half. They are playing really hard here in this game. Ken Novak Jr is really stressing closing out to his players.

With 13:00 left to go in the contest the score is Hopkins 75 and St Paul Como Park 34.

Hopkins is still playing aggressive here in this contest they need to play well because they have to use this game as a tool for them down the season.

St Paul Como Park is continuing to go hard to the basket and they are making their shots that they are putting up but it is just not as quickly as this Hopkins team is. This Hopkins team is just so loaded with good athletes. They are several players that have already committed to big division 1 school or they have kids that can compete at that level. I think that once Ken Novak Jr gets them to Hopkins he really is setting these kids up for success.

The clock is in running time because of the big scoring margin in this game. Hopkins has all of their reserves in the game right now as this game has gotten out of hand.

In a game that was not much of a contest the Hopkins Royals have ran away with the game here in the end. The final of the game was Hopkins 91 and St Paul Como Park 56.

For the Hopkins Royals leading the scoring was Trent Lockett who scored 19 points. I also thought that he played well in the game. He was one of their team leaders as far as being vocal on the court. Royce Alexander White added 10 points while Raymond Cowles and Mike Broghammer each got 7 points each.

STEVEN’S SPORTS REPORT TO COVER THE 2009 GATORADE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES SHOOTOUT

I will be covering the 2009 Gatorade Minnesota Timberwolves Shoot Out on Saturday January 3rd 2009. This is the schedule of games that are going to take place:

12:00 pm Osseo vs. Sioux Falls Roosevelt

2:00 pm Henry Sibley vs. Madison Memorial

4:00 pm Hopkins vs. Lake Geneva Badger

6:00 pm Robbinsdale Cooper vs. Eden Prairie

8:00 pm St. Cloud Tech vs. Manitowoc Roncalli

GOLDEN BEARS FALL TO UNBEATEN ST. THOMAS TOMMIES IN OVERTIME

Junior forward Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) poured in 26 points including a three-pointer with 1:35 to play to break a 66-66 tie in overtime, but the University of St. Thomas (9-0) would score six points in the final 68 seconds to upend Concordia University (6-5) in a non-conference matchup between the St. Paul schools.

There were 42 fouls and 48 total free throws between the two teams in what was a physical contest between the third ranked Division III team in the nation against the host Golden Bears, a Division II member.

The game was tight throughout with nine ties and 16 lead changes with both teams holding a large lead of nine. Concordia's nine point edge occurred with 11:41 to play in regulation, a 50-41 advantage that came on the heels of a 13-1 run that spanned nearly four minutes of play.

St. Thomas started strong defensively, holding CU to just one field goal in the first six-plus minutes of play before sophomore Matt Hackl (Seymour, Wis.) knocked down one of three first half three-pointers. Luckily for the Golden Bears, they only surrended eight points in the opening six minutes and would come back and take the lead at the 11:54 mark with Hackl's second three-pointer.

Hackl finished the night with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench. He was 4-7 from the floor and 3-5 from long range.

Concordia's defense stalled the UST offense during the early part of the game as well, keeping UST at eight points for a three and a half minute span.

With Concordia leading 16-15 at the 8:17 mark in the half, UST shut down the CU offense once again, holding them to just three points over the next five minutes as UST built their largest lead of the night, holding a 28-19 lead with 3:37 to play.

Heiman stopped the cold streak this time, drilling a three with 3:12 to play and Concordia would pull within five when junior Sammy Ricks (St. Paul, Minn.) put in a layup just on a nice pass from senior Matt Cadwell (St. Paul, Minn.) just before the buzzer. Cadwell and Ricks each scored eight while Ricks had five assists with Cadwell dishing three.

Heiman finished the game 10-21 from the field and knocked down 4-10 from three-point distance while collecting eight rebounds. He was busy on the evening, playing 43 of a possible 45 minutes.

B.J. Viau was tough to stop on the offensive glass, pulling down 10 of his 14 rebounds on the offensive end while finishing with a team-high 19 points. He also had four steals and three assists in a well balanced evening of play.
UST struggled from behind the arc, hitting just 4-21. Tyler Nicolai hit 4-9 from three while the Tommies' leading scorer, Joe Scott, was 0-9 from downtown and 2-14 from the field.

The Golden Bears and Tommies met for the 11th time in series history, with UST winning all 11 meetings.
Concordia returns to conference action for the remainder of the season with a big tilt at St. Cloud State this Saturday at 4 p.m. Both teams carry the only unbeaten records in the league with identical 4-0 records facing the same league schedules thus far.

UW-RIVER FALLS GETS PAST HAMLINE UNIVERSITY

ST. PAUL, Minn. (December 30, 2008) –A late-game surge by the visiting UW-River Falls Falcons gave them an 81-76 victory over Hamline University in non-conference men’s basketball action on Tuesday night.

The Pipers took an early lead and held it for much of the first half, until a three-point shot from the Falcons’ Aaron Anderson (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) gave River Falls their first lead, 27-26, at 3:11.

Hamline quickly regained the advantage on the scoreboard and held a 33-30 lead with 11 seconds to go, when Anderson completed a three-point play on a layup and free throw to tie the game.

The Pipers’ Brandon Hayes (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.) responded with two free throws with 4.5 seconds on the clock to put the Pipers back up 35-33. The Falcons attempted to put together a scoring play off of the in-bounds pass, but lost the ball at half court, allowing the hosts to hold onto the halftime lead.

Anderson led the Falcons with nine first-half points. Tanner Anderson (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) had eight first half points for the Pipers, including two baskets sunk from outside the arc. Carl Hipp (So., Little Canada, Minn.) also had eight points in the opening 20 minutes.

The second half was a different story, as the two teams traded ties and leads in the first 12 minutes of play. However, River Falls took the lead, 60-58, with just over seven and a half minutes to play in the game, and never relinquished it.

Jake Voeltz (So., River Falls, Wis.) led the Falcons with a double-double, scoring 22 points and pulling in 12 rebounds. Anderson ended the game with 13 points for the Falcons, while Jontae Koonkaew (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) had 18 points.

Anderson and Eric Clute (So., Hawley, Minn.) had 15 points each to lead the Pipers. Dan Anderson (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) had 13 points, including going 3-for-4 from outside the arc.

With the non-conference loss, the Pipers are 3-5, 2-2 MIAC, while the Falcons are now 8-4, 2-1 WIAC. The Pipers will return to MIAC play on Saturday, January 3, for a 3:00 p.m. game at Carleton.

Hamline University belongs to the NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, one of the most competitive conferences in the nation. Hamline supports 19 intercollegiate athletic teams for men and women. Find out more about Hamline athletics at www.hamline.edu/athletics.

Creative and innovative teaching and learning attract a diverse student body of nearly 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students to Hamline University. Challenged to create and apply knowledge in local and global contexts, Hamline students develop an individual and community ethic of social justice, civic responsibility, and inclusive leadership and service.

Ranked first in Minnesota among comprehensive master’s universities by U.S.News & World Report, Hamline is also Minnesota’s first university, founded in 1854, and among the first co-educational institutions in the nation.

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA TO TAKE ON SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team (6-6, 0-1 Missouri Valley Conference) heads to Carbondale, Ill., for its first conference road game of the season, facing Southern Illinois (5-7, 0-1) on New Year's Eve. The Panthers have dropped 11 straight decisions at SIU, with their last win being in the 1996-97 campaign.

JUMP BALLS

Sophomore point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored a career-high 28 points, nearly leading UNI from a 21-point first half deficit to the win, in the team’s 85-84 double-overtime loss to Indiana State on Sunday. Ahelegbe connected on 11-of-19 shots from the floor, and was 2-of-3 from three-point range, while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists. The 28 points was the most ever scored by a UNI player in the three-year history of the McLeod Center, Ahelegbe’s previous career-high was 18 points against Iowa State in an overtime loss Dec. 3.

The 85-84 double-overtime loss to Indiana State Dec. 28 was the first double-overtime game in the three-year history of the McLeod Center. The last time UNI played in a double-overtime game was on Jan. 16, 2006, in a 71-65 win over Southern Illinois in the UNI-Dome.

UNI made a season-high 10 three-pointers against Indiana State Dec. 28. Ali Farokhmanesh led the way with four treys – all after halftime while Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Johnny Moran each connected on two. After falling behind by as many as 21 points in the first half (39-18), and trailing by 17 points at halftime (41-24), UNI fought back to force overtime against Indiana State Dec. 28. Travis Brown hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with one second left to force the extra session.

Two players saw career-high minute totals in UNI’s double-overtime game with Indiana State Dec. 28. Sophomore guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe played 46 of 50 possible minutes against the Sycamores, while freshman guard Johnny Moran played 41 minutes.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS ARE TAKING ON HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are currently ranked number 23 in this week’s ESPN/USA Today poll. Tubby Smith is a graduate of High Point University. In fact, that is where Tubby Smith met his wife Donna. So this game will be a sort of a home coming for Tubby Smith. We will have to wait and see what the Gophers can do against his alma mater.

The Gophers enter this game with a record of 11-0. High Point comes into this game with a 4-7 record.

We are about to get this game underway here and the atmosphere in this game is electric. There was kind of a buzz about this team in the hall way when I was walking around out there earlier. We are underway here. High Point has started in a tough man to man defense. They don’t want the Gophers to get any easy shots here.

The Gophers are looking to get the ball out and push the ball up there court. The Gophers have gotten out to a quick lead here but as it is way too early to tell how this will play out they have been able to make shots here. Lawrence Westbrook has just hit a long three point shot here in the early goings. Al King Nolen Jr has been able to run the show here early in this game.

With 15:44 left to go in the first half the score in Minnesota 13 and High Point 5.

Lawrence Westbrook has gotten the hot hand here to star this game off tonight. He has been able to make some nice shots so far in this game. He just needs to slow down on the offensive end as he has had a couple of costly turnovers but it is just first half jitters.

The Gophers are trying to get the flow of the game. If they are able to control the tempo of this game they will be able to come away with the victory tonight. I think that turnovers will be the key tonight. If the Gophers keep turning the ball over and handing the game to High Point that will give the game to High Point. No team wants a lot of turnovers. That has been a concern of Tubby Smith’s all season long.

With 11:57 left to go in the first half the score is Minnesota 16 and High Point 11.

Tubby Smith has gone with the wholesale substitutions here in this game. He has subbed in all 5 players in different parts of this game here tonight.

Devoe Joseph has looked good in this game. He has been able to make a couple of good defensive stops here in this game.

The Minnesota Gophers are still looking to push the ball up the court here. High Point has played the Gophers well here in this game tonight. They have been able to disrupt the Gophers on the Gophers offensive end.

High Point has played well here in this game so far tonight. They have been quick and scrappy on both ends of the court here tonight.

With 7:46 left to go in the first half the score is Minnesota 26 and High Point 16.

The Gophers are still playing really tough man to man defense here in this game. They have really looked good here so far in the first half. The Gophers have played well on both ends of the floor so far in the first half.

For High Point Steadman Short has looked good so far in this game. He has made some nice moves around the basket. He has also done a good job battling the Gopher big men down in the low post. It should also be noted that he is wearing a full plastic face shielded that covers his whole face except his mouth.

The Gophers continue to play touch man to man defense. And they have also been able to find the basket here in the first half. They can’t get lackadaisical here and think that they have this game one because as you know any team can go on a run at any point of time. Deveron Bostick has looked sharp here in this game so far. He has been able to get a couple of nice shots up here in the first half.

At half time the score is the University of Minnesota Gophers 49 and High Point University 23.

In the first half High Point is shooting 8-28 (28.6%) from the field and 2-10 (20%) from three point range. The Gophers are shooting 18-34 (52.9%) from the field and (8-14) 57.1 % from three point range. High Point has committed 10 turnovers and the Gophers have committed 4 turnovers.

As the second half gets underway here the Gophers come out fired up ready to play. High Point is looking to take its time on the offensive end. They have really let the shot clock wind down before they think about taking the shot that they want to take.

High Point is looking to run there offence here they get it and swing the ball around the three point ark. Eugene Harris has looked good in this game so far. The other high point players look for Harris for their spark.

With 15:23 left to go in regulation the score is Minnesota 55 and High Point 35.

Both of these teams continue to play scrappy and hard here in the second half. They each want a win but Minnesota has to stay sharp here in this game because they don’t want to lose their focus.

The Gophers keep at it here and they continue to work and play hard. I don’t even think that these players know what the score is as they keep going after this High Point team. Colton Iverson continues to work hard in the low block.

With 11:48 left to go in regulation the score is Minnesota 64 and High Point 40.

High Point is playing a zone defense here in this game. They want to try to slow this Minnesota team down but it does not seem to be working. Kevin Payton who does not see much time has made an appearance in the game tonight. I think Tubby Smith is going to be giving his bench some time here with the score so out of hand at this juncture of the game.

With 7:30 left to go in regulation the score is Minnesota 75 and High Point 45.

The Gophers continue to play hard and well here. Both of these teams have gotten after loose balls here and they have players diving on the floor after them.

Eugene Harris has looked good in this game tonight. He has been a vocal leader here in the game tonight. High Point is looking to push the ball up the court here in a stretch here but they also have caught fumbles.

With 3:13 left to go the score is Minnesota 77 and High Point 54.

As this game winds down here the Gophers just wind down the clock here was they continue their winning streak here. They have finished the non-conference part of their schedule undefeated with a record of 12 -0.

The Gophers end up beating High Point by the final score of 82-56.

In a game that the Gophers won hands down and was considered a confidence builder for this team. In the victory tonight Ralph Sampson was the leading scorer tonight with a total 17 points. Lawrence Westbrook also came up big for the Gophers and he had 13 points. For the game the Gophers ended up shooting 52.5% from the field and 45.8 % from the three point line. The Gophers were also 58.3% from the free throw line.

High Point shot 33.9% from the field and was 33.3% from the three point line. They also shot 68.8% from the free throw line. For High Point, Eugene Harris was their leading scorer with a total of 18 points.

After the game Blake Hoffarber talked about how this team has really came around during the non conference part of the schedule. He though that a lot of guys stepped up and played well in the game this evening. Everyone is clicking right now. He really hasn’t thought too much about the Big Ten season as him and his team only tries to look toward the next game. He knows that his team has to be focused on their next opponent and can’t get too far ahead of themselves. He thinks that this team is ready for the Big Ten opponents. And this game was a confidence builder for the program.

Devon Bostick also thinks that this team is ready for the Big Ten season. He likes this system and knows each one of the players is doing their best in Tubby’s system.

Tubby Smith liked what he saw on the court this evening. He thought that they played with a purpose and he wanted to know how each of these guys would react in different situations. Even though Al King Nolen Jr was held scoreless in the game this evening, Tubby Smith give Al King Nolen Jr credit on leading the team in assists in the game tonight. Al King Nolen Jr was the leading assists man this evening with a total of 7. This is what Tubby Smith had to say about the game this evening. “I thought our guys played with purpose. We played with good concentration and good focus tonight. You're always worried that the team might be looking ahead to the holiday break, but this was a good performance for us.”

"A lot of guys had a chance to get out there and perform tonight. I think that will give us a lot of confidence, especially going into Big Ten play against Michigan State. Blake [Hoffarber], Devron [Bostick] and Devoe [Joseph] were the ones that really helped us to pull away. That shows that they're getting better; they're learning the system. They are starting to understand where their shots are going to come from and how hard we're going to play.

"High Point is the second-youngest team in the country. I've scheduled and played High Point a number of times before coming to Minnesota; they're athletic and they were able to get up and block shots at times. They're pretty physical, too. I think they'll do pretty well in the Big South this year. We're like every other team. We're battling with the hope that we're getting better. A school like High Point plays some guaranteed games and I'm grateful that they came up here."

INDIANA STATE OUTLASTS UNI, 85-84, IN DOUBLE-OVERTIME

Despite a career-high 28 points from sophomore guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe, the University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team fell, 85-84, to Indiana State in double-overtime this afternoon in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both schools. It was the first double-overtime game in the three-year history of the McLeod Center.

Ahelegbe was joined in double-figure scoring by junior guard Ali Farokhmanesh, who tied his career-best with 20 points, all of which came after halftime. Junior forward Adam Koch had 11 points and senior guard Travis Brown chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds off the bench. Indiana State also had four players in double-figures, led by guard Harry Marshall’s 23 points.

UNI got out of the gates quickly to start the game, as Koch drained a three-pointer and also made a pair of free throws as the Panthers jumped to a 7-2 lead four minutes in. Indiana State scored five straight to pull even at seven, and took a 12-9 lead after Carl Richard hit a three.

Ahelegbe hit a pull-up 15 foot jumper to get UNI within 14-13, before Indiana State went on a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 23-13 with 8:44 left in the first half. Following a UNI timeout, Lucas O’Rear converted a conventional three-point play, and Koch had a layup to pull the Panthers within 23-18 with 7:31 on the clock.

The Panthers had two chances to get closer right after that, but missed two straight front ends of one-and-one free throw opportunities. ISU’s Jay Tunnell then hit back-to-back three-pointers, starting ISU on a 16-0 run over the next four minutes, which saw the Sycamores push their lead to its largest point, 39-18, with just over a minute remaining before halftime. Jordan Eglseder scored on a put-back, and Ahelegbe made two foul shots and a jumper just before the buzzer to pull UNI within 41-24 at the break. Indiana State shot a sizzling 65 percent from the field (16-for-25) in the first 20 minutes, including 7-of-12 on three-pointers. UNI made just 33 percent of its shots (7-for-21) and was 1-for-6 from behind the arc in the opening half.

UNI got three-pointers from Ahelegbe and Farokhmanesh early in the second half, while forcing ISU to miss its first six shots from the floor, to get within nine, 43-34, with less than six minutes off the clock.

The Sycamores responded by extending their lead back to 13 points, 51-38, after a pair of free throws, but Ahelegbe and Farokhmanesh made consecutive layups to get UNI back within nine, 51-42.

With ISU in front 54-42 with 7:12 left in the second half, UNI made a huge surge. Johnny Moran nailed a three from the left wing to get the Panthers started, and Farokhmanesh hit a bomb from the right wing to conclude a 12-2 run, getting UNI within 56-54 with just over four minutes remaining.

ISU regained the momentum, as Marshall scored on two straight trips down to push the Sycamores’ lead to 61-54 with two minutes left in regulation. Farokhmanesh then drained a deep three, and after forcing an ISU turnover, Brown made a layup to pull UNI within 61-59. ISU scored the next time down, but Moran drained another three to get the Panthers within 63-62 with 25 seconds left.

UNI forced another turnover, but Moran was called for an offensive foul with 15 seconds to go as he went in for a layup. The Panthers fouled Marshall, who made both free throws to push ISU’s lead to 65-62. But UNI found Brown at the top of the key, and he drained a trey with one second left to force overtime. UNI shot 58 percent from the floor in the second half (14-for-24) and was 7-for-10 from three-point range, while ISU made 40 percent of its shots (8-for-20) and was 0-for-6 from behind the arc.

Tunnell hit a three-pointer to start the first overtime, and ISU held a slight lead throughout most of the first extra session. UNI got within 70-68 after Brown hit one of two free throws with just over two minutes left, and ISU’s Rashad Reed hit both of his foul shots to give the Sycamores a 72-68 edge with 1:19 left.

Farokhmanesh hit his fourth three-pointer of the game to get UNI within one, and after Marshall made one of two free throws with 32 seconds left, Ahelegbe drove the lane and tied the game at 73 with 19 seconds on the clock. UNI forced a Marshall miss as the horn expired and the game went to its second overtime. Ahelegbe scored on two straight layups to open the second extra period and push UNI to 77-73 lead. Marshall then made one of two free throws, but ISU grabbed the offensive rebound on his miss, and Carter was able to drain a three to tie the game at 77. Ahelegbe was fouled and made both shots to give UNI a 79-77 advantage, but the next time down, Carter drained a three and was fouled, making the free throw, to put ISU in front 81-79 with just under a minute to go.

Brown tied the game at 81 by making both free throws after he was fouled driving to the basket. Marshall was then fouled on the other end with 17 seconds left, and he, too, made both free throws to give the Sycamores an 83-81 lead. Ahelegbe got into the lane the next time down, but his shot would not go down. ISU’s Reed grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and made both free throws to with six seconds left to seal the win.

UNI shot 43 percent from the floor for the game, including connecting on a season-high 10 three-pointers. Indiana State made 49 percent of its shots and also drained 10 threes.

With the victory, Indiana State improved to 3-9 overall, 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while UNI fell to 6-6, 0-1. The Panthers travel to face Southern Illinois on Wed., Dec. 31, with tipoff from SIU Arena set for 7:05 pm.

BOB SANSEVERE'S BODY SHOTS: MINNESOTA GOPHERS POINT GUARD AL KING NOLEN JR

I got this from the St Paul Pioneer Press. Here is a story that Bob Sansevere did on Minnesota Gopher Al King Nolen JR.

HEAD AND HEART

Al Nolen's first passion was football.

"I was in the third grade when I first started playing basketball," said Nolen, the standout sophomore point guard for the University of Minnesota men's basketball team. "I liked football a lot, and my mom forced me to play basketball. Once I started playing, I realized this is the game I love."

Gophers coach Tubby Smith should send a thank you card to Nolen's mother for steering her son to basketball. Nolen has played a significant role in the Gophers' 11-0 start and was outstanding with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists when they beat then No. 9-ranked Louisville for their biggest win of the season.

"He has a good basketball IQ," Smith said. "He really is a tough kid. He doesn't back down. He really takes the fight to the opponent. He's got all the qualities."

EYES

Nolen's eyesight is 20/20, prompting him to say, "I've got good eyes. I'm able to see the whole court. I tell my teammates that even though they don't see me looking at them, and they think I'm not looking at them, I see them."

Smith, who coached several exceptional players at Kentucky, said point guards "have to have that extra sense of what's going on, where everybody is, like a quarterback. He has to know where his receivers are, and has to go through his reads. Al does it as well as anyone I've had."

MOUTH

Asked how he would like to be remembered at Minnesota after he completes his Gophers career, Nolen said, "I want to be known as one of the best all-around players. I don't want to zero myself into one part of my game. I also want people to think I'm a nice guy, a great teammate, a good friend, a good guy in the community, a pretty humble guy. I try to do whatever the team needs. If they need rebounding, I'm going to try to rebound. If we need assists, I'm going to try to get people involved. If we need scoring a little bit, I'll try to score. Whatever we need to win is what I'll try to do."

UPPER BODY

Nolen, who is 6 feet 1, 180 pounds, had a slighter build when he played for Minneapolis Henry High School. Since joining the Gophers, he has spent considerable time in the weight room. Though Nolen admits he's "still not the biggest guy," he said the work he has done on his upper body has added muscle and made him stronger.

"It comes into play when I'm guarding somebody," Nolen said. "I'm able to control him a little more. And when you go by a guy (for a layup), you've got to be strong with the ball" to maneuver through the tangle of bodies often found in the lane.

HANDS

Smith likes Nolen's hands. A lot.

"He's got super hands," Smith said. "He can latch onto things. And he's got strong hands. He can go inside and pull that ball out, lots of times, in traffic."

Nolen makes good use of his hands, particularly on defense.

"I'm really good at getting in a lane and deflecting passes," Nolen said. "I'm real quick with my hands. I think my hands are one of my better assets for defense."

LEGS AND FEET

Nolen knows his limitations.

"I may not be the speediest guy, but I've got a pretty quick first step," he said. "I like to lull my opponents to sleep. On defense, I'll play lazy on a person. They think I'm not playing defense on them, and I'll make the quick move. On offense, I'll dribble real lazy and maybe give some hesitation. And my first step is pretty quick to get by the guy."

Smith said "the good players have that" ability to fool an opponent.

"You can't always be pressuring a guy. You've got to use defensive fakes, deception," Smith said. "The offense is trying to deceive you and they're changing pace, so you've got to change pace defensively. Sometimes, I think (Nolen is) not really concentrating, but he's just trying to bait a guy into maybe feeling comfortable and relaxed and then he pounces on him."

Asked what his vertical leap is, Nolen said. "I'm not too much of a jumper. I can't jump that high, really. I can dunk the ball, but plenty of people can do that. That's probably one of my lesser attributes — my jumping ability."

Nolen is being far too modest about his leaping ability, according to Smith.

"He's got hops. The guy can dunk the ball. He's only 6-1," Smith said. "He's got the total package. He really does."

THE GOVERNORS ARE TAKING ON THE SKIPPERS IN THE FINAL GAME OF THE NIGHT AT THE OLIVE GARDEN HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

In the final game of the day here at Bethel University it is St Paul Johnson taking on Minnetonka.

Johnson is looking to push the ball up the court here in the early goings in this game. They know that they are going to have to use their quickness here to control this game. Each team has been able to get the ball up the court. Minnetonka is playing very good strong man to man defense here so far in this game. Neither team is in foul trouble mid way through this game. Both head coaches have gotten frustrated here in this game as they each have seen things that they don’t like here so far in this game. Minnetonka has spread the court out here and they are looking to slow this Johnson team down. St Paul Johnson has been playing very aggressive here in this game. Johnson has been able to get the ball in transition and they have been able to make shots that they have taken here so far in this first half.

This game has been back and forth all throughout the first half here tonight. Both of these teams have been trading baskets here in the first half. Both of these teams are playing very aggressively here. Both of these teams have played really aggressively here in this game so far in the first half. This game will come down to the end to see who comes away with the victory tonight. We have reached the half way point of this game. At half time the score in Minnetonka 38 and St Paul Johnson 40.

As this second half gets underway here both teams come out fighting hard here. Both of these teams have looked to fast breaking teams. They have really done a good job of pushing the ball and getting the ball up the court. St Paul Johnson’s Head Coach Vern Simmons is instructing his kids to run up the court. Both of these teams have been up and down the court. They have been trading baskets here in this game here for a period. This game has been close through out here and we will have to see how this game plays out here to see who will come away with the victory in the game tonight. Minnetonka has been on a roll here midway through the second half here and they have taken the lead at 57-56 with 12:34 left to go in regulation. Both of these teams are fighting hard here in this second half. They are both pushing the ball up the court. Johnson is applying full court pursue here.

Both of these teams are really playing aggressively here both of these teams want to get this victory tonight. Both of these teams have hit some deep three point shots here was we have hit the under 5:00 mark in this game. This game will come down to the end here. The atmosphere here is electric even in a gym like this and some of the crowd has left we have been treated to a great game here. John Hedstrom has just called a time out here and he is fuming. He thinks that there was a foul that the officials missed and he is letting him here it here. This game has come down to the end. Johnson has a two point lead with less than 40 seconds left to go and they are trying to hold the ball until the clock runs out. Cole Stefan has just hit a two point shot to tie this game at 82 as the clock expired. We are headed into overtime with the score tied at 82. There will be a 4 minute extra session.

In the overtime both teams come out aggressive. Both teams are looking to get there shot up to come away with the victory here this evening. Demitiri Comwell has just made a nice shot for St Paul Johnson. Johnson has been able to control the tempo in the overtime period. In the end, St. Paul Johnson was able to hang out for the victory here as they came away with the 93-88 victory over Minnetonka.

The Czar from Twin Cities Boys Hoops was also in the building today. He has done a story on this game and it is linked here.

EDEN PRAIRIE IS TAKING ON MOUNDS VIEW IN THE FIRST GAME OF THE EVENING SESSION

As this game gets under way here both of these teams are looking to push the ball up the court. I think that this will be a fast pace game form the onset. Mounds View is looking to swing the ball around the three point line here to start this game off. They want to get as many different looks as the can at the basket and spend as much time as they can here in the early goings. Eden Prairie is looking to extend the floor and looking to push the ball up the court early in this game. Ethen Wragge has just come down and hit a long three point shot here to give the Eagles a boost of energy. Both of these teams are playing hard and really going after each other here early in this game, as they are both going after loose balls and getting back on defense. With 10:48 left to go in the first half the score is Eden Prairie 7 and Mounds View 5.

Eden Prairie has been able to come down and make a couple of good shots in a row here. The Mounds View players haven’t been able to get there shots to drop here in a stretch of time. They continue to shoot the ball hoping that they will get the bounce that they want. Eden Prairie is looking to get the ball out of the rim quickly here and extend. Mounds View is looking to trap the Eden Prairie players when they bring the ball up court.

This game has been back and forth. There have been many different lead changes in this game here this evening. It’s still early in this game and it is any ones game. Whichever team can come down and make shots in the end will come out ahead in the end. So far both of these teams have played very well and they are matched up well. Both of these teams will have to fight it out here in the second half. At half time the score is Mounds View 26 and Eden Prairie 32. Mounds View shot 14.3% from the three point line in the first half. Eden Prairie shot 37.5 percent from the three point line.

Eden Prairie continues to look sharp here in the second half. As they have been throughout this game. Ethan Wragge has hit a couple of nice shots here in this game. They continue to come out and play aggressive here in this game. They have been able to run their offense here in this game. They are able to push the ball up the court here in this game. Mounds View continues to shoot three point shots here as they want to shoot them self’s back into this game here tonight. They are looking for the shot that they want. They are running their offense based on passing and cutting. Mounds View has made a run in this game and they are trying to get back into this game here this evening. They will not have enough though as they tried to come back they don’t have enough to get caught up. In the end the final score was Mounds View 52 and Eden Prairie 68.

Eden Prairie was able to control this game here tonight and they were just able to fight a little bit harder than this Mounds View team. You have to give the Mounds View kids credit here as they kept a positive attitude and they played very hard till the end. Ethan Wragge had a nice game for Eden Prairie. He was there leading scorer with 22 points for the Eagles tonight.

The Czar from Twin Cities Boys Hoops was also in the building today. He has done a story on this game and it is linked here.

MINNEHAHA ACADEMY TAKING ON HENRY SIBLEY IN SECOND GAME OF THE BETHEL HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

In the second game of the Bethel Holiday tournament it is the Minnehaha Academy Redhawks taking on the Henry Sibley Warriors. Both of these teams come out fired up. Henry Sibley is playing a tough man to man defense here to get this game started. They are talking on the defensive end and they are really getting after it here in the early goings of this game. Both of these teams seem to be evenly matched has they have each traded baskets here to start this game off. Minnehaha is looking to get the ball out of the basket and push it up the court.
Minnehaha is playing a matchup zone defense. They are getting to an area had then they are playing a zone principals and they are also finding a man to guard on the defensive end. Both teams are making baskets here on an even rate. With 9:39 left to go in the first half the score is Sibley 16 and Minnehaha 21.

This Minnehaha team is not afraid to shoot the ball here as they have been able to put up the shots that they want to put up. Both teams are really playing aggressively here in the first half. They are really going after each other here in this game so far. Henry Sibley’s Mike Rostampour has done a good job so far in this game today. He has really played well in this contest. He is a scrappy player who is going after loose balls and has a nice jump shot.

Minnehaha has played very well on the defensive end here in the first half. There players are in a good defensive stance here and they are not afraid to take a charge in this game. Mike Bruesewitz has just come down and had a nice slam dunk here in this game for Henry Sibley. He has had a few of them already today and he is just so good at it, he makes it look oh so easy. Both of these teams have been able to warm up here and now towards the end of the first half they are an evenly matched team. Minnehaha got out to a big lead to begin this game but Henry Sibley has climbed back into this game. Neither of these teams is going to give in here in this game. Both teams are fighting hard. This game has gotten close here in the final minutes of the first half. Minnehaha has hit a spark here in the last minute of the game as they have had a couple of break way steals and had a couple of nice shots in the open court. At half time the score is Minnehaha Academy 38 and Henry Sibley 29. The leading scorer for Minnehaha Academy is Taylor Sparkman with 12 points. For Henry Sibley Mike Bruesewitz has 13 points.

As this second half gets under way here both of these look very aggressive and they both look fired up ready to get this game back underway. Parker Hines for Minnehaha Academy has a nice looking shot. He has been able to get his shot off here in this game. He also has played well on the defensive end here in this game so far today. He is really hustling here to get after it in this game today. With 14:37 left to go in regulation the score is Minnehaha Academy 42 and Henry Sibley 34. Minnehaha has had success with the circle cut in the middle of the key here in this game. They have someone get the ball and then come all the way around in the middle of the key and receive the ball and then make a shot. Chris Halvorsen has just come down and had a monster dunk for this Henry Sibley team had the score is now tied at 44 each with 11:10 left to go in regulation. This is quite a comeback here for this Henry Sibley team. Jimmy Ryan has played well here in this game he has been able to get his shot off here and has played very good on the defensive end here for this Henry Sibley team. With 8:20 left to go in regulation the score is Henry Sibley 50 and Minnehaha Academy 46. This game has been a tight well played game throughout the whole game. Both of these teams is really playing hard in this game. This game will come down to the end of the game.

Sibley has doing a good job when they have the ball and they have been on a little run here in the second half. Minnehaha has taken a 30 second time out with the score Henry Sibley 58 and Minnehaha Academy 48.

Sibley has running a flex offensive style they are making good hard strong cuts in the offensive sets. Chris Halvorsen has just came down and just had a nice two handed backwards dunk here late in this game.

As this game concludes both of these teams played well but Minnehaha was not able to hang with this very aggressive and good Henry Sibley team. Mike Rostampour played well tonight for Henry Sibley. I was impressed by his play here today. In the end the final of the game was Henry Sibley 72 and Minnehaha 59.

For Minnehaha Academy the leading scorers were Taylor Sparkman with 17 points and Taylor Hanson with 12 points. For Henry Sibley who remains undefeated at 5-0 they were lead in scoring by Mike Bruesewitz with 21, Maurice Hernandez finished with 16 points. Chris Halvorsen finished with 10 points.

The Czar from Twin Cities Boys Hoops was also in the building today. He has done a story on this game and it is linked here.

MAPLE GROVE TAKING ON ST. ANTHONY IN THE FIRST GAME OF THE BETHEL UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT SPONSERED BY OLIVE GARDEN

This is the first time that I have seen ether of these teams. As this game gets underway both of these teams are getting it up the court. Neither of these teams has been able to hit a shot here in the early goings. Maple Grove has started pressing here to start this game off. They have applied full court pressure here to start this game off. Both of these teams have been diving after balls as there have been a few loose balls here in the early goings. This game is being played on a college basketball court. In the college game this year they have moved the 3 point line back about a foot for shooting so on the court there are two three point lines. Some of the players are getting confused on what line they are supposed to be shooting at. Maple Grove has been able to get a lead here early here this game. With 12:00 left to go in the first half the score is Maple Grove 12 and St. Anthony 4. Andrew Frost has played well here so far in this game for Maple Grove; he has had some really nice moves around the basket. He has been able to find his shot and he also has had some nice stops on the defensive end.

Both of these teams are looking to get the ball up the court. Maple Grove has just been able to get off more shots here in this game. St Anthony has had trouble getting shots off here in this game.

Brent Torrence has played well here. He is Maple Grove’s big man he has been able to go after loose balls and he goes up strong for the rebound. He really fights hard to go after the ball on the defensive end. There have been discussions between the officials and the coaches from both teams on which three point line they are using. As I have mentioned before they has been some confusion on what line they are using in this tournament because there are two lines on the court. Maple Grove has really been flying up and down the court here in this game. They are really pushing the ball up the court. They are on a run here as they have been able to come and hit shots and they have been able to stop St Anthony from making shots. With 5:51 left to go in the first half the score is Maple Grove 36 and St Anthony 13.

St Anthony has switch up the defense and they are playing a little zone defense. They are playing 2-3 zone. With St Anthony playing zone defense that has slowed down. St Anthony wanted to try to keep the pace of the zone at their tempo but they have not been able to do that much here in the first half of this game. This game has been back and forth both of the teams have been getting it up the court. He have reached half time and at the half in which Maple Grove has basically dominated the score is Maple Grove 47 and St Anthony 21. At half time the stat that really sticks out to me is the shooting percentage Maple Grove is shooting 57.6% from the field and St Anthony is shooting 26.9 % from the field. Alex Geisenhoff is Maple Grove’s leading scorer with 16 points and for St Anthony Tyler Hagen is there leading scorer with 9 points.

As the second half gets underway here Maple Grove is continuing playing tough man to man defense. St Anthony has dropped back and playing half court man to man defense here to start the second half out. St Anthony is still fighting hard here in this game. The Huskies know that they have a lot of work to do this second half if they want to come back and with this game here today. Maple Grove also has to keep playing hard here in this second half here if they want to come away with this victory here today. Maple Grove’s Josh Pedretti has just come down and made a nice two handed slam dunk here that has gotten this crowd in to this game here. As this second half continues on both teams have been able to get the ball up the court and this game has really gotten sloppy. Maple Grove has been able to do what they wanted mostly here in this game as they have really took it to this St Anthony team here this afternoon.

With 4:12 left to go in the game and the score Maple Grove 67 and St Anthony 41 both of these teams have decided to go deep into their benches and bring in players that usually don’t see much playing time during the close varsity games. Both teams have played hard this whole entire game. They have given it there all. Maple Grove was much more physical teams here today and they came down with the victory. In the end of this contest the final was Maple Grove 70 and St Anthony 45. The leading scores for Maple Grove were Alex Geisenhoff with 16 points, Josh Pedretti with 12 points and Brett Torrence with 10 points. Derek Jahner was St Anthony’s leading scorer. He scored 15 points today.

The Czar from Twin Cities Boys Hoops was also in the building today. Read his account of the game here.

RICHFIELD SPARTANS ARE TAKING ON THE MINNEAPOLIS NORTH POLARS IN A HOLIDAY AFTERNOON TILT

The Minneapolis North Polars are taking on the Richfield Spartans in a Tuesday afternoon battle at the Richfield High School gym. This game is another first for me as I have not seen either of these teams before. There are a lot of different coaches in attendance at this game today. They are mostly here to scout each of these teams or players here today. The atmosphere is kind of dead to start this game off today. There is a small crowd here this afternoon to watch this game.

We are underway here both of these teams come out fired up ready to play. Richfield has started playing in a man to man defense. Jim Dimick Jr always preaches defense. Minneapolis North has come out and hit a few quick baskets to open this game up. They are walking up the court here in the beginning of this game. They have also come out hot out of the gates and hit a couple of nice three point shots here early in this contest. North is playing in a zone defense to start this game out. They are getting out in the Richfield players faces. North’s quick start has Jim Dimick Jr concerned so he decided to take a quick 30 second time out with 13:40 left to go and the score North 14 and Richfield 6. North is looking to push the ball up the court in this contest here. They have really done a nice job of getting the ball out of the net and getting it the other way. Both of these teams have been getting after it here early in the game today. Malik El-Amin has played aggressive here in this game he has been on the floor diving after balls and has played aggressively on both sides of the court so far today. On the offensive end one of the plays that that has work has been when they start in a box set and they have a cut to the center of the lane and they try to feed it into the guy coming around on the curl cut for a layup in the middle of the lane.

Richfield has had trouble here in the first half finding the basket. They have not had their shots fall here in the early going. They are still putting them up but they are still trying hard.

Each team has gone on little runs here in the first half. Now it is Richfield’s turn to go on a run. With 7:20 left to go in the first half the score is Richfield 22 and Minneapolis North 23. This Minneapolis North team is not afraid to shoot the ball. They have taken a ton of shorts here so far and they always have someone else besides the shooter crash to the boards to get to the rebound. They are playing really aggressively here they have a lot of energy and they are talking on the defensive end and shouting out who they have. They are also doing a lot of switching of screens. They don’t want to get screened. Richfield uses a lot of different offensive sets. They also have run a lot of different plays for different players. North continues to take their time getting the ball up the court. They want to dictate the ball on both ends of the court. They are not in a deliberate delay yet which we might see later on but it is just a matter of them taking their time on the offensive end. This game has been close throughout the first half. Both of these teams have played well. Richfield’s Renard Robinson has played well here in this game here so far. He has basically found his touch here in the first half. In a half that has been up and down the court and both teams playing well we have reached the half way point here. At half time the score is Richfield 36 and Minneapolis North 36. This game will come down to the wire.

As this second half gets underway we are going to have to see what team will come up big here in the second half. Richfield has the ball to start the second half here in this game. Philip Freeman has just come down and drained 2 long 3 point shots for Richfield to get the second half started. Whatever Jim Dimick Jr said at half time worked. Richfield has just drained 3 pointers to start off this second half. Both of these teams are still looking to push the ball up the court here at the beginning of the second half. Minneapolis North is still fighting in this game they are not going to give in and die. Minneapolis North’s head coach Broderick Powell was arguing a call with one of the officials here and he has just gotten himself a technical foul for arguing a call. He was really going at with the official and the official heard the magic word and gave Broderick Powell a technical foul.

Richfield has been able to find the basket here early in the second half. Minneapolis North is not backing down either here as they continue to work hard here in the second half. They have tough kids and they are not backing down in this game.

With 11:09 left to go in regulation the score is Richfield 54 and Minneapolis North 49.

Richfield is still looking to push the ball up the court here mid way through the second half. This game has gone up and down the court like a track meet. Both teams have been able to score in transition. North is on a run here in the second half. They have made their way back into this game and they have tied this game at 54 with 9:00 left to go in regulation. Both of these teams want to control the tempo of this game. The energy that these teams are playing at is unbelievable it looks like everyone is on the same page here in this game. Phillip Freeman continues to impress me he has just been able to get to the basket at will and has made some unbelievable shots here this afternoon.

Both of these teams have played very hard here throughout this whole game. Both teams are playing tough hard noised defense here in this game. They have their hands up and they are calling out screens and making it difficult for the other players to make wide open shots. Minneapolis has been in this game the whole entire game. With 43.3 seconds left to go in regulation the score is Richfield 74 and Minneapolis North 71.This was a fun and entertaining game in the end the Richfield Spartans have came away with the 77-73 victory today in an impressive game. Phillip Freeman had 28 points to and Renard Robinson had 25 points for the Spartans.

The Czar from Twin Cities Boys Hoops was also in the building. Read his account of the game here.

SPRING LAKE PARK PANTHERS ARE TAKING ON THE MOUNDS VIEW MUSTANGS

The Spring Lake Park Panthers are taking on the Mustangs of Mounds View. This is the first time seeing either of these teams play this season. There are a few different high school coaches that are in attendance at tonight’s game to scout either one of these teams. We are about to get this game started here. The student section is on their feet at the end of the court.

Mounds View has started this game off playing in a zone defense. They are getting to their spots on the court and playing aggressively from there they are looking to trap the ball in the corners early here in this game.

Spring Lake Park is looking to push the ball up the court here early in this game. Spring Lake Park has gotten out to a quick 7-0 lead with just under 15:30 left in the first half. Spring Lake Park is also started in a zone defense to open this game up with. Spring Lake Park's Shaun Jensen has played well here in the opening minutes of this game. He has came down and made some nice looking shots here to open this game up. He has just hit a deep three with 12:46 left to go in the first half and that prompted Zig Kauls to take a time out with the score Spring Lake Park 12 and Mounds View 4.

Both of these teams are playing aggressively here in this game so far. Spring Lake Park has come out on fire here making most of the shots that they have put up so far but the Spring Lake Park players are not afraid to shoot the ball either as they have taken a bunch of shots by they have not fallen for the Panthers so far. Spring Lake Park is just trying to stall here a little bit as they are passing the ball around the three point arc. Mounds View is playing 2-3 zone on defense and they are letting Spring Lake Park dictate the clock and making them look for the shot that they want to get. Shaun Jensen has just made a nice move to the basket here as he has made a nice up and under shot to the basket and he made it. After he made that shot he went and played tough man defense. Tyler Ylvisaker has just come down and drained a three point shot from about 2 feet behind the three point line. He's earning a good round of cheers from the crowd this evening after he made two there point shots in a row. Both teams are diving on the ball for loose balls and they are really getting after it here in this game. At half time the score is Spring Lake Park Panthers 29 and the Mounds View Mustangs 18.

As we get the second gets underway Spring Lake Panthers look to come out on fire and under control. Both of these teams are playing hard here. Elijah Sabah has come down and made a nice move around the basket here to open the second half. He has impressed me with his moves around the basket and his ability to finish.

Mounds View has been able to get up and make some quick shots here to open the second half. They have been able to go on a little run here to start this second half and they are now right back into this game here folks. With 14:49 left to go in regulation the score is now Spring Lake Park 33 and Mounds View 30. And that has Grant Guzy worried so he has taken a time out so he can calm his troops down.

Trey Scott from Spring Lake Park has played well here in this game he has been able to come down and hit a couple of nice three point shots here. He is not afraid to draw contact as he goes plowing into a crowd of defenders and is able to make a few good shots in traffic, and he has played nice defense. Derek Dahl has just come down and made a couple of nice shots in a row here for Spring Lake Park. He has had a few nice plays throughout this game tonight. This Spring Lake Park team has looked good here tonight. They have been able to find the basket here tonight. You have to give credit to the Mounds View players they have also played good basketball throughout this game tonight. There is still a lot of time left to go in this game and neither team is giving up. With 8:53 left to go in the second half the score is Spring Lake Park 49 and Mounds View 38. Elijah Sabah has continued to play well here tonight. He has the moves that are just so fluent. He really knows the game and he is not afraid to get his teammates into the game. With 5:08 left to go in regulation the score is Spring Lake Park 51 and Mounds View 46. Mounds View is trying to trap Spring Lake Park here late in this game. They are trying to create havoc on the court. Spring Lake Park has been able to break the press here tonight.

With 2:33 left to go in regulation the score is Spring Lake Park 55 and Mounds View 48. This game has gotten very physical here in the last few minutes of the game. Both of these teams are really taking it to each other here as time is running out. They are right into this game. Both of these teams know that it is there game to win. Mounds View is trying to make a comeback and Spring Lake Park is looking to protect its lead. Cole Christenson has just came down and hit a huge thee point shot here with 7.1 second left to go the score is Spring Lake Park 59 and Mounds View 56.

Mounds View was not able to find the basket here tonight until they went on a flurry in the closing seconds. The final of the game was Spring Lake Park 60 and Mounds View 56. They have played hard and aggressive here tonight but the ball did not bounce the Mustangs way this evening. Spring Lake Park was lead in scoring by Shaun Jensen with 17 points. For Mounds View the leading scorer was Dan Carroll with 20 points. This was Mounds View's first loss of the season.

The Czar from Twin Cities Boys Hoops who I thought was out of town for the holidays was also in the building this evening. Read his account of the game here.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CRACKS THE TOP 25 RANKINGS TAKES ON SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA

The University of Minnesota Men’s basketball has cracked the USA Today/ ESPN Coaches Poll this week. Currently the U of M is ranked number 23 in this week’s poll. Coming into the game today the Gophers have a 10 and 0 record. Southeastern Louisiana is coming into this game with a 6-4 record. Al King Nolen JR is coming into this game with a hot hand. In the Gophers last victory Al Nolen scored a career high 18 points in the victory over Louisville. He is currently averaging 9.2 points per game coming into this game tonight. It should be noted that there is not a live pep band here tonight. All of the music that is being played in the arena is done by stereo. The music quality is good but nothing beats a live band. Remember all of the students are on break.

As this game gets underway here the crowd has gotten on its feet and we are ready to get this game underway. South East Louisiana comes out playing tough man to man defense here to start this game. Both of these teams are looking to push the ball up the court here in the early goings on this game. Minnesota has started playing in a man to man defense to get the game underway. Minnesota is looking to push the ball up the court here. Colton Iverson has just come down and hit a nice jumper here. With 15:25 left to go in the first half the score is Minnesota 6 and Southeastern Louisiana 5. Southeastern Louisiana has come out of the media time out and they are fired up and they are really playing with a lot of energy after that time out. Antonio Pope has just come down and had a nice two handed slam dunk here. With 11:37 left to go in the first half the score is tied at 11 at the under 12:00 media time out. Both of these coaches have done a lot of subbing here in this game already. They want to keep their guys fresh throughout the game. I have just noticed on the Southeastern Louisiana’s bench James Yarbough Jr has a portable chair up on the arena deck. Even though he has not sat on it for too long this evening, as he has been up shouting instructions to his players. It is up there for him to use. Tubby Smith has been his usual self sitting up on the deck and up pacing shouting instructions to his Gopher players. With 7:48 left to go in the first half the score is Minnesota 20 and Southeastern Louisiana 18.

Lawrence Westbrook has just came down and hit a nice three point shot here with just over 6:00 left to go in the first half. Lawrence is currently Minnesota’s leading scorer coming into the game with an average of 14.1 points per game. He has played well here in this game so far this evening. He has made some aggressive moves on both ends of the court. Jonathan Williams has also played well so far here in this game this evening. With 3:15 left to go in the first half the score is Minnesota 30 and Southeastern Louisiana 29. Both of these teams continue to play hard here in the closing minutes of the first half. Both teams are putting it on the line here in the first half. Both of these teams have really gotten after it here in the first half. The Gophers have really done a good job getting the ball up the court. Each of the Gophers have done a good job running there lanes in transition. They have been able to say wide and they know where they are supposed to go in transition. Travis Busch has just nailed a 3 point shot at the buzzer to bring us into half time. The score at half time is Minnesota 40 and Southeastern Louisiana 36.

As this second half gets underway here Kevin Green of Southeastern Louisiana picks up a quick foul here. The Gophers are pressing here to get the second half underway. They want to control the tempo here in the second half. The Gophers are looking to push the ball up the court. They have done a good job of that so far here in this game. Southeastern Louisiana has come out aggressive here in the second half. They have been after the Gophers here the whole game and they have challenged the Gophers here in the game so far. With 15:23 left to go in regulation the score is Minnesota 49 and Southeastern Louisiana 44. Jamal Abu-Shamala has just come out of the media time out and he drained a three point shot from about 3 feet behind the three point line. That has given this crowd something to cheer about. Devoe Joseph has just come down and drained a three point shot and that has prompted Southeastern Louisiana to call a time out. The score with 12:33 left to go in regulation is Minnesota 57 and Southeastern Louisiana 46. The Gophers have been able to fluster this Southeastern Louisiana team here in this second half. Even though they are fighting hard get stay in this ball game, Southeastern Louisiana has played a good game here tonight and they have kept the Gophers on their toes here in this game. Blake Hoffarber has come down and nailed a big three here in this second half and came down and played very good defense. With 7:40 left to go in regulation the score is Minnesota 65 and Southeastern Louisiana 53.

Southeastern Louisiana is now on a little run. The Gophers have to calm down here and play Minnesota basketball. They can’t let this game slip away from them. They won’t let that happen. There have been many times that Colton Iverson has been able to get a layup right at the basket when they are in a fast break and he goes in and makes a little lay up in transition. That has been one of his better moves here this evening. With 3:03 left to go in the game the score is Minnesota 76 and Southeastern Louisiana 67. This game is going to come down to the final minutes here we will see if the Gopher can hold on to this win here tonight. The Gophers did come away with the 80-71 victory tonight.

For Southeastern Louisiana Kevyn Green was there leading scorer with 22 points. Patrick Sullivan had 15 points to round out the top scorers for Southeastern Louisiana. Southeastern Louisiana falls to 6-5 overall. The Gophers really played team ball tonight they had balanced scoring tonight. Lawrence Westbrook and Blake Hoffarber lead the Gophers tonight in scoring with 15 a piece. Damian Johnson had 13 for the Gophers this evening. The Gophers are now 11-0 on the season.

MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS HOPE TO REMAIN UNDEFEATED AS THEY FACE SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA

The University of Minnesota basketball team is currently 10-0 as they prepare to face Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday at Williams Arena.

Coming into the game, the Gophers are lead in scoring by Lawrence Westbrook who is averaging 12.8 points per game and Damian Johnson who averages 10.7.

The Gophers are coming into this game on emotional high after their 70-64 win over Louisville. The Cardinal’s were ranked No. 9 in the nation and with the win, the Gophers confidence has been buoyed.

Southeastern Louisiana is 6-4 coming into the game with the Gophers. In the only their only previous meeting on December 30, 2006, the Gophers won 63-61 on Spencer Tollackson’s tip in at the buzzer.

HOT SHOOTING PROPELS UNI TO 72-55 WIN OVER SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

This round up I got from the SID at UNI. The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team shot a season-best 57 percent from the field as the Panthers rolled to a 72-55 win over South Dakota State Sunday afternoon at the McLeod Center.

UNI sophomore guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored 16 points to lead the way for the Panthers, while junior guard Ali Farokhmanesh added 14 and junior center Jordan Eglseder had 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Those three players combined to connect on 16-of-24 field goal attempts and were 7-for-9 at the free throw line.

Ahelegbe, Eglseder and Adam Rodenberg each had baskets in the opening moments for the Panthers. After SDSU’s Anthony Cordova scored to get his team within 6-4, UNI broke the game open. Eglseder had a layup, Farokhmanesh nailed a three, and Ahelegbe drained a pull-up jumper in the lane, starting the Panthers on a 17-1 run.

UNI’s defense was stifling during that decisive stretch, as it held the Jackrabbits without a basket for nearly eight minutes – SDSU missed all seven of its field goal attempts and had four turnovers as the Panthers built their lead to 23-5 with 5:47 left in the first half. UNI held at least a 15-point lead the rest of the way to the locker room, with Ahelegbe scoring the final four points of the half as the Panthers extended to a 40-19 advantage at intermission. UNI was 15-for-24 (63 percent) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including making 3-of-4 from three-point range, while South Dakota State made just 7-of-25 shots (28 percent) and was 2-for-11 from downtown.

Freshman guard Johnny Moran had a layup and a three-pointer early in the second half as UNI extended its advantage to 24 points, 47-23. South Dakota State went on a 12-4 run to get within 51-35, but Farokhmanesh and Moran each buried treys to push the Panthers back up by 22 with 10 minutes left in the game. The Panthers had at least a 20-point cushion most of the rest of the way, cruising to the 72-55 victory.

The 72 points was UNI’s highest total since recording a season-high 81 against Chicago State in an 81-70 victory Nov. 25. The 55 points allowed was the second-fewest scored by a Panthers’ opponent this year, second only to the 49 tallied by North Dakota in a 69-49 UNI victory Dec. 3.

With the win, UNI improved to 6-5 on the season, while South Dakota State fell to 5-8. The Panthers are next in action a week from today (Dec. 28), when they open Missouri Valley Conference play by playing host to Indiana State. Tipoff from the McLeod Center is set for 1:05 pm.

HOLIDAY TIMES BRING FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND BASKETBALL TOGETHER

As I sit at home on this cold Sunday afternoon in late December, I have to think back to the season of giving. As I am continuing my shopping I think about the week ahead and how to process all of the tournaments and other stuff that is going on. Just as the holidays bring people together, basketball brings people together. We appreciate the student athlete or the professional athlete for their skills and game day abilities, but we also have to appreciate their sacrifice’s, when they are away from their family and friends at this special time of year.

As I am writing this, I have no clue what the week has in store. I don’t know how Mother Nature is going to cooperate with all the travels we will be making over the holidays. I know that I will be out at holiday tournaments in the next two weeks trying to find the next prep athlete, or the next big team in action. I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and please keep me posted if there is a kid or team that is really lighting it up that you think I should know about.

GOLDEN GOPHERS STAY PERFECT WITH WIN OVER LOUISVILLE

The Golden Gophers played the Louisville Cardinals in the battle of the dessert in Glendale, Arizona. The Game was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.

Here is what Myron Medcalf of the Minneapolis Star Tribune had to say about the game. With that win the Gophers are now 10-0.

HIGHLAND PARK GIRLS FORFEIT GAME AGAINST MINNEAPOLIS SOUTHWEST

According to officals, St Paul Highland Park announced that had to forfeit the game vs Minneapolis Southwest on 12/18/08.

According to the MSHSL rules, a player is in-eligible to play in the both halves of junior varsity and both halves of varsity play and this was the case in this situation. They are allowed only 3 total halves of play.

The final score of the game on Tuesday was Highland Park 52 Southwest 43.

Highland Park’s Record is now 3-4 and Minneapolis Southwest is 5-1.