THE MAPLE GROVE CRIMSON TOOK ON THE OSSEO ORIOLES IN A BOYS' REGION HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL GAME AT ROGERS HIGH SCHOOL

Rogers High School hosted the region 5AAAA boys' basketball game between Maple Grove Crimson and the Osseo Orioles. Maple Grove came into the game with the number 4 seed. Osseo came into the game with the number 1 seed. Both of these teams have met during the regular season. Osseo came away with the victory in both of the meetings.

Osseo won the tip. They took their time setting up the offense. They swung the ball around the three-point line looking to get the ball into the hands of big man Will Johnson. Johnson was a force on the low block. He and Dan Lochner went to war on the low block going after rebounds and loose balls.

Both teams seemed focused on the court. They both played with a lot of intensity and emotion while they were on the floor.

Osseo looked to push the ball in transition. They were able to get easy lay-ups and put back jump shots off their misses.

It took a while for each of these teams to get a feel for each other. Maple Grove also swung the ball around the three-point line as they wanted to take time off of the clock in the early goings of the game.

Both of the head coaches stood and shouted instructions to their players. The players responded well to the instructions their coaches gave them. As both of these teams were in the same conference they have not only played each other twice they have scouted each other multiple times throughout the season. So each team knew what the other was going to do.

The Osseo defense was hard fought. The players stayed in their stances while they were on defense. They did a good job of switching between man-to-man and zone defense which create some problems for Maple Grove.

James Morris for Maple Grove found his shot early and often. He knocked down a couple of mid-range jump shots to keep his team in the game.

Maple Grove called a :30 second timeout with 7:28 left in the first half. The score was tied at 17. You can get a feel of how much of a defensive struggle this game was during the first 12:32 because they could only manage 17 points per side. There was incredible defensive intensity during throughout the first half.

After the timeout it seemed that Osseo stepped up their defensive pressure. They looked to take Maple Grove out of the game. Maple Grove didn't back down though. Maple Grove was able to keep attacking the basket.

Bridgeport Alexander Tulsler ran the Osseo offense. He shouted instructions to his teammates and let them knew where they were supposed to be on the court.

With 4:28 left in the first half Osseo called a timeout. The score was Osseo 23 and Maple Grove 19.

Osseo switched between man-to-man and zone defense which continued to create a problem for the guards on Maple Grove to get into their offense.

Ian Theisen did a good job of getting to the basket in the first half. He and Tusler were all over the floor.

Osseo went stagnant on the offensive end. Osseo was not able to hit a shot. They scored their first basket with 2:25 left in the half. That made the score Osseo 25 and Maple Grove 22.

In a tight first half that went back and forth that was played at a decent pace. The score was Osseo 31 and Maple Grove 27.

Osseo opened up the second half on a run. Maple Grove called a timeout with 16:11 left in regulation. The score was Osseo 39 and Maple Grove 31.

Maple Grove fought hard throughout the game but they were not able to get into an offensive swing early in the second half.

Osseo called a timeout with 12:35 left in regulation.

Osseo did a good job of taking time off the clock. They were able to get shots that they wanted to take but also stalled and took a lot of time off the clock. That is what a team wants to do when they are up late in the contest.

Osseo called a timeout with 5:07 left in regulation. The score was Osseo 55 and Maple Grove 47.

Jake Wieneke fouled Tusler who flipped over and hit his head of the floor. He was able to walk off the court on his own will and was attended to by medical personnel.

Tusler entered the game with 3:32 left in regulation. As soon as Tulser entered the game Maple Grove burned a :30 second timeout.

Osseo came away with the 67-59 victory over Maple Grove. The leading scorer for Maple Grove Tyler Barker with 14 points. The leading scorers for Osseo was Bridgeport Tusler with 29 points.

At halftime Osseo Head Coach Tim Theisen said, “We don't come back for the finals if we don’t finish business today.” I thought that his players committed to that because they came out and played very well in the second half. They laid it all out on the line in the second half. You have to give Maple Grove credit because they didn't back down and they fought though out the whole game.