DELANO WENT UP AGAINST MINNEAPOLIS DELASALLE IN A BOYS’ SECTION SEMIFINAL BASKETBALL GAME

On March 11, Delano went up against Minneapolis DeLaSalle in a boys’ Class 3A Section 6 boys’ section basketball game. Going into the game Delano had an overall record of 20-7 while DeLaSalle’s overall record was 22-3.

Fans crammed into them DeLaSalle gym to watch the game. Both student sections were full of cheering students.

DeLaSalle pushed the ball down the floor and looked to score layups in transition. 

Delano started the game in a zone defense. They wanted to make DeLaSalle take long shots. 

DeLaSalle got the ball into the hands of Gabe Kalscheur and Sage Booker. Both Kalscheur and Booker made mid-range jump shots and layups. 

Delano’s Calvin Wishart brought the ball down the floor and got his teammates involved in the offense. Even though it took Delano awhile to get into an offensive shooting rhythm they kept on shooting the ball. 

Delano called a timeout with 14:57 left in the first half. The score was DeLaSalle 13, Delano 0. 

Delano called another timeout with 14:48 left in the first half. The score remained DeLaSalle 13, Delano 0.

The defensive pressure that DeLaSalle applied made it difficult for Delano to get a shot off. Delano didn’t get any open looks at the basket. They shot with a hand in their face. 

DeLaSalle did a good job of getting everyone involved in the offense. They talked on both ends of the floor calling out screens and could get through screens. 

DeLaSalle’s Dominic Bledsoe took the ball strong to the basket. He came away with mid-range jump shots and layups. 

There were multiple jump balls in the first half. Both teams went after loose balls and rebounds on both ends of the floor. 

Delano called a timeout with 11:31 left in the first half. The score was DeLaSalle 21, Delano 5.

Delano left DeLaSalle shooters open from behind the 3-point line. The DeLaSalle players were not afraid to shoot shots that they thought that they could make. Delano had a hard time defending players behind the 3-point line. 

Wishart’s teammates did a good job of getting him the ball in spots where he could shoot it. Delano looked to create steals and looked to score layups off seals. 

Delano’s Derek Techam got into foul trouble and came out with just under 8 minutes to play with his fourth personal foul. 

Wishart came up and drained a big 3-point basket on the offensive end. Then on the next play he raced down the floor and defended well.

The Delano offense started to click late in the first half. Their shots started to drop and they came up with steals on the defensive end. 

DeLaSalle called a timeout with 3:53 left in the first half. The score was DeLaSalle 34, Delano 18. 

Delano’s Dylan Gilmer came up with mid-range jump shots and layups that gave his team energy. 

Booker and Mar both had good court awareness as they knew were their teammates were on the floor. They set screens for each other and made shots. 

At halftime, the sore was DeLaSalle 39, Delano 22. 

As the second half got underway DeLaSalle continued to look to get the ball into the hands of Kalscheur, Mar and Bledsoe on the offensive end.

Delano called a timeout with 16:25 left in regulation. The score was DeLaSalle 43, Delano 25. 

Delano attempted a lot of 3-point shots early in the half. Both teams rebounded the ball well. 

Terry split his defenders and got to the basket and made layups. He used his quickness to his advantage. The defense had a hard time slowing Terry down.

Delano attacked the basket and attacked the DeLaSalle defense. They didn’t back down to the defensive pressure that DeLaSalle applied. 

The pace of the game slowed down midway through the second half. DeLaSalle passed the ball around the 3-point line as they took time off the clock. 

Delano called a timeout with 7:33 left in regulation. The score was DeLaSalle 65, Delano 45. 

Both teams kept attacking the basket late in regulation. DeLaSalle spread the ball around and passed the ball around the 3-point line even though they didn’t go into a stall offense they took time off the clock on each possession let in the game. Both teams played their bench players late in the game as well. 

DeLaSalle came away with the 82-62 victory over Delano. 

I thought that both teams played well throughout the game. DeLaSalle was too powerful for Delano. Delano’s Wishart impressed me with his play. DeLaSalle could get Wishart in foul trouble as he fouled out of the game in the second half. The whole Delano team stepped up with Wishart fouled out and they rallied around each other and kept on attacking the basket. 

The leading scorers for Delano were Wishart with 18 points and Gilmer with 10 points. 

The leading scorers for DeLaSalle Mar with 25 points, Bledsoe with 13 points, Christian Dickson with 12 points, and Kalscheur with 11 points.

DELANO WENT UP AGAINST ROCORI IN A BOYS’ BASKETBALL GAME

It was the second day of the Granite City Classic on Dec. 30. The games were played at St. Cloud Apollo.

Delano and Rocori squared off in a boys’ basketball game. Rocori’s Eli Backes could make layups jump shots.

Both teams were evenly matched. Neither team went on a run early.

Rocori’s Connor Schoborg came up with mid-range jump shots and layups. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball in spots where he could make shots.

Both teams dove on the floor after loose balls. And went after rebounds on both ends of the floor.

Delano called a timeout with 8:58 left in the first half. The score was Rocori 22, Delano 14.

Delano did a good job of swinging the ball around the 3-point line. Delano’s Calvin Wishart came up a slam dunk that got his team motivated.

Rocori called a timeout with 6:19 left in the first half. The score was Rocori 26, Delano 25.

Delano passed the ball around the 3-point line as they looked to get everyone involved in the offense.

Rocori called a timeout with 3:56 left in the first half. The score was Delano 32, Rocori 26.

Delano continued to push the ball down the floor and make layups and could get the ball into the hands of Wishart.

At halftime, the score was Delano 43, Rocori 30.

As the second half got underway Delano continued to get the ball into the hands of Wishart.

Rocori kept on attacking the basket in the second half. They could get the ball into the hands of Schoborg and Derek Thompson. Those two came up with big shots throughout the second half.

Rocori spread the ball around as everyone on the floor could make shots in the second half. They kept chipping away at the deficit.

Rocori called a timeout with 9:36 left in regulation. The score was Delano 54, Rocori 42.

Rocori continued to push the ball down the floor and looked for their shots in the second half.

Rocori passed the ball around the 3-point line as they looked to take time off the clock.

Rocori called a timeout with 6:15 left in regulation. The score was Delano 64, Rocori 50.

Delano kept on hitting shots down the stretch.

Delano came away with the 76-54 victory over Rocori.

Rocori was lead in scoring by Thompson with 22 points.

Delano was lead in scoring by Wishart with 33 points.

ST. CLOUD TECH WENT UP AGAINST DELANO IN A BOYS’ BASKETBALL GAME

St. Cloud Tech and Delano squared off in a boys’ basketball game. Both teams looked to push the ball down the floor and score quick baskets in transition.

Delano struggled to shoot the ball early. Tech got everyone involved in the offense.

Delano called a timeout with 15:07 left in the first half. The score was Tech 7, Delano 1.

Tech came up with steals and could convert off the steals. The Delano offense couldn’t get going early.

Delano called a timeout with 13:57 left in the first half. The score was Tech 11, Delano 2.

Delano went to a zone defense as they wanted Tech to take deep 3-point shots.

Tech got the ball into the hands of Brevyn Spann-Ford and Trevor Koenig. Both came up with mid-range jump shots and layups.

Delano called a timeout with 8:41 left in the first half. The score was Tech 20, Delano 6.

Delano went to a trapping defense as they wanted to trap Tech as soon as they crossed half court.

Tech called a timeout with 7:34 left in the first half. The score was Tech 24, Delano 9.

Spann-Ford kept on making mid-range jump shots and layups late in the first half. The defense had a hard time slowing him down.

Tech called a timeout with 3:30 left in the first half. The score was Tech 33, Delano 17.

Tech kept on taking the ball hard to the basket and coming up with layups late in the first half.

At halftime, the score was Tech 37, Delano 20.

As the second half got underway Tech continued to push the ball down the floor and come up with mid-range jump shots and layups.

Delano kept on attacking the basket and they could make shots in the second half.

Tech called a timeout with 7:48 left in regulation. The score was Tech 50, Delano 44.

Delano came up with layups late in the contest.

Spann-Ford kept on coming up with big layups late in the game. Teammate Camden Jackson also knocked down mid-range jump shots.

Tech called a timeout with 2:23 left in regulation. The score was Tech 56, Delano 49.

Tech was too much for Delano to overcome.

Tech came away with the 61-56 victory over Delano.

The leading scorers for Delano were Gilmer with 12 points and Wishart with 10 points.

The leading scorers for Tech were Spann-Ford with 20 points and Jackson with 19 points.                   

DELANO WENT UP AGAINST BLAKE IN A BOYS’ BASKETBALL GAME

On Feb. 6, Delano went up against Blake in a boys’ basketball game. Blake started the game in a zone defense. Delano also started the game in a zone defense.

 

Delano looked to push the ball down the floor in transition. Delano looked to get the ball into the low post where Nick Cayler or Matt Kreklow looked to make layups.

 

Blake called a timeout with 16:10 left in the first half. The score was Delano 4, Blake 3.

 

Delano looked to score jump shots and layups in the paint.

 

Blake did a good job of getting the ball out of the Delano basket and pushed the ball down the floor, as they looked to score layups in transition.

 

Kreklow also was able to come up with mid-range jump shots and layups. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball in the lane where he could make shots.

 

Delano's Dylan Gilmer and Calvin Wishart also came up with layups and mid-range jumpers. They did a good job of making their offense run.

 

Delano went to a zone defense. That made Blake have to pass the ball around the 3-point line and take a lot of time off the clock.

 

Blake called a timeout with 10:07 left in the first half. The score was Delano 16, Blake 6.

 

Delano came up with steals on the defensive end and were to come up with layups off of the steals.

 

Blake went for a period of time where they couldn’t make shots. Delano took advantage of that and were able to come up with fast break layups.

 

Delano was able to get everyone involved in the offense. They did a good job of communicating with each other on the floor on both ends of the court.

 

Blake called a timeout with 4:42 left in the first half. The score was Delano 36, Blake 16.

 

Blake kept on attacking the basket as they looked to make layups. Blake was able to get everyone involved in the offense late in the first half.

 

At halftime the score was Delano 47, Blake 27.

 

As the second half got underway Delano continued to come up with layups. Delano was quicker than Blake. Blake struggled to shoot the ball. They took good shots but they were not able to make them fall.

 

Delano called a timeout with 16:06 left in regulation. The score was Delano 54, Blake 27.

 

Delano continued to attack the basket and looked to take time off the clock and go into a motion offense. They did a good job of passing and cutting and coming off of cuts.

 

Blake called a timeout with 9:52 left in regulation. The score was Delano 65, Blake 33.

 

Delano’s Keegan O’Neill made mid-range jump shots and layups.

 

Blake’s Tenzin Choezin came up with deep 3-point shots. He wasn’t afraid to shoot the ball from anywhere on the court.

 

Blake shot a lot of 3-point shots late in the game.  

 

Delano came away with the 89-44 victory over Blake.

 

The leading scorers for Blake were Choezin with 10 points and Moe with 9 points.

 

The leading scorers for Delano were Kreklow with 24 points, Gilmer with 13 points and Wishart with 10 points.

DELANO WENT UP AGAINST PARK CENTER IN A GIRLS’ BASKETBALL GAME

Delano and Park Center squared off in a girls’ basketball game. Delano was set the tempo early as they scored layups on fast breaks.

The score went back and forth early. Neither team went on a run. 

Delano pushed the ball down the floor and scored baskets in transition. Park Center kept pace with Delano. 

Both teams traded baskets throughout the first half. 

Delano called a timeout with 7:29 left in the first half. The score was Park Center 26, Delano 24.

Park Center was able to control the ball late in the first half. They swug the ball around the 3-point line and were able to hit shots late in the half. 

At halftime the score was Park Center 40, Delano 34.

Delano started the second half out hot. They were able to get to the basket and hit layups. Delano’s Bbria Barfnecht was all over the floor. On the offensive end she was able to get to the basket and hit her mid-range jump shots.

Park Center was a little quicker than Delano. Park Center used their speed to create turnovers and get layups on fast breaks. 

Delano was not able to get a lead in the game.

Park Center came away with the 69-54 victory over Delano.

DELANO TOOK ON ST. FRANCIS IN A BOYS BASKETBALL GAME

Delano and St. Francis went up against each other in a boys basketball game at St. Cloud State as part of the Breakdown Granite City Holiday Classic.

 

The score went back and forth early in the contest. Neither team went on a run early.  

 

The defense that each team played made it difficult for the other team to get open looks at the basket.

 

There were many ties and lead changes in the first half.  Blake Moreno for St. Francis was all over the floor. On the offensive end he was to get the ball in the low post and took it hard to the basket.

 

He was not afraid of contact on the offensive end.

 

Delano looked to score baskets in transition.

 

Nate Svihel for St. Francis was able to hit both the deep three-point shot and shots within the three-point line. He took the ball hard to the basket and wasn’t afraid of contact.

 

At halftime the score was St. Francis 29, Delano 26.

 

As the second half got underway St. Francis continued to move the ball well down the floor. St. Francis kept on feeding the ball to Svihel. Svihel was able to do what he wanted to do with the ball when he was on the offensive end.  

 

Delano attacked the basket. They kept on fighting for their shots. The defense that St. Francis applied made it difficult for Delano to hit shots.

 

St. Francis continued to take good shots as they were able to hit shots that they put up.

 

Delano’s Toby Hanson was all over the floor. He was able knock down shots from everywhere on the floor.

 

St. Francis continued to attack the basket and was able to hit shots in the second half. They didn’t let Delano make uncontested shots.

 

Delano had a difficult time hitting shots in the second half. They didn’t give up on the offensive end.

 

Delano caught fire late in the first half. They were not however able to get the lead late in the game.

 

St. Francis was able to hang on to come away with the 60-58 victory over Delano.

 

The leading scorers for Delano were Hanson with 28 points, and Campbell with 19 points. The leading scorers for St. Francis were Svihel with 25 points, Jake Johnson with 12 points and Moreno with 11 points.

ROCORI TOOK ON DELANO IN A BOYS BASKETBALL GAME

Rocori and Delano went up against each other in a boys basketball game.  

 

Rocori had a hard time moving the ball on offense. The Delano defense came away with the ball and was able to get the ball down the floor on offense.

 

Neither team had played with a lot of energy in the first half.

 

Rocori swung the ball around the three-point line as they looked to get into an offensive rhythm.

 

Delano came up with some nice steals which resulted in baskets on the offensive end.

 

At halftime the score was Delano 29, Rocori 19.

 

As the second half got underway Rocori went to a zone defense. They wanted to spread the Delano defense out.

 

The score went back and forth in the second half. Neither team went on a run in the second half.   

 

Delano attacked the basket. They moved the ball well on the offensive end of the floor. Rocori was not afraid to shoot the ball from anywhere on the court.

 

The game came down to the wire. In a very defensive battled game the game was tied at 52 at the end of regulation.

 

In the overtime period both teams launched deep three-point shots.  Delano stepped up big and knocked down some deep shots in the overtime period.

 

Delano came away with the 63-60 overtime victory over Rocori.

 

The leading scorers for Rocori were Brad Fabel with 23 points, Skippy Virchow with 10 points

 

The leading scorers for Delano were Toby Hanson with 32 points, and Sean Campbell with 13 points.

DELANO AND HUTCHINSON WENT UP AGAINST EACH OTHER IN A SEMIFINAL OF THE MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE’S STATE TOURNAMENT

Delano took on Hutchinson in a Class 3A Minnesota State High School League’s state football tournament.

Delano kicked off to Hutchinson to start the game. Hutchinson turned it over and gave Delano the ball. Delano’s Toby Hanson got the ball and he was able to get by the defenders as he ran for a 35-yard touchdown.

 

The extra point attempt was good.

 

With 9:52 left in the first quarter the score was Delano 7, Hutchinson 0.

 

Hutchinson looked to get into the end zone midway through the first quarter.  Hutchinson found the end zone on a two-yard run by Jayden Fleck. The extra point attempt was good.

 

With 4:52 left in the first quarter the score was tied at 7.

 

Delano also kept the ball on the ground. The Hutchinson defense stepped up big and was able to slow down the Delano offense.

 

Hutchinson’s Jake Wendland caught a 13-yard pass from Marcus Hahn for a touchdown. The extra point attempt was good with 9:59 left to go.

 

That made the score Hutchinson 14, Delano 7.

 

Hutchinson found the end zone again on an 80-yard run by Hahn. The extra point was good.

 

With 4:12 left in the second quarter the score was Hutchinson 21, Delano 7. That was the score at halftime.

 

Both teams struggled to move the ball in the third quarter. They both used a lot of clock up but they were not able to get a lot of yardage.

 

With 4:23 left in the third quarter Delano scored on a safety.

 

After three quarters of play the score was Hutchinson 21, Delano 9.

 

Hutchinson found the end zone on a 19-yard run by Troy Adams. The extra point was good.

 

With 9:39 left in regulation the score was Hutchinson 28, Delano 9.

 

Hutchinson continued to pound the ball down the field. Hahn found the end zone on a 17-yard run. The extra point was good.

 

With 7:08 left to go in regulation the score was Hutchinson 35, Delano 9.

 

Hutchinson was too much for Delano to handle. Hutchinson played well and was able to get past the Delano defenders.

 

Hutchinson came away with the 35-9 victory over Delano.

 

After the game I talked to Hutchinson’s head coach Andy Rostberg and Adams and Hahn about the game and the season.

 

DELANO TOOK ON ORONO IN A BOYS' BASKETBALL REGIONAL SEMIFINAL GAME

In a section 5AAA boys' basketball game the #4 seeded Delano Tigers took on the #1 seeded Orono
Spartans in a semifinal regional game. The game was played at St. Cloud State University at
Hellenbeck Hall, the home floor of the St. Cloud State Huskies.
 

Delano started the game out in a man-to-man defense. They looked to spread Orono out as much as
they could.
 

Orono started out on fire. They were able to get a 5-0 lead with 16:45 before Delano called their first
timeout.
 

Orono looked to penetrate to the basket. They did a good job of getting to the basket. Delano could not
hit any of their shots.
 

Delano switched to a zone defense. They did a good job of slowing down the tempo of the game. 

Delano got with in three points of Orono.
 

Jordan Smith for Orono was on fire. He was able to hit his shots consistently throughout the half. His
teammates knew where he was on the floor and they were able to get the ball to him where he was able
to put it in.
 

Both teams looked to push the ball down the court. They each looked to score in transition.
 

Smith continued to take the ball hard to the basket. When he had a good look at the basket he was not
afraid to go up strong with it.
 

Orono did a good job of trapping Delano. Delano turned the ball over to Orono because they couldn't
handle the trap.
 

At halftime the score was Orono 39 and Delano 29.
 

Orono started the second half out in a full court man-to-man press. They wanted to try to create
turnovers as quickly as they could.
 

Delano's Michael Douglas Yahnke found his shot early on. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball.
 

Delano switched between zone and man-to-man defenses throughout the second half. They did a good
job of keeping Orono guessing.

Delano called a timeout with 13:39 left in regulation with the score Orono 48 and Delano 39.
 

Orono continued to hit their shots throughout the game. Smith stepped back behind the three-point line
and continued to make his three-point shots. That gave his teammates energy and confidence in making
their shots.
 

Orono was too much for Delano. Orono came away with the 74-52 victory over Delano.
 

Orono shot 26-51 from the field. That included going 8-18 from behind the three-point line. They shot
14-19 from the free throw line. Orono was led in scoring by Jordon Smith with 30 points and Jeremy
Borg with 13 points.
 

Delano shot 21-51 from the field. That included going 1-11 from behind the three-point line. They shot
9-13 from the free throw line. Delano was led in scoring by Michael Douglas Yahnke with19 points and Grayson Pulis with 10 points.