THE FIVE FINALISTS FOR THE MINNESOTA MR. BASKETBALL HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED

According to Ken Lien, chairman of the Minnesota Mr. Basketball committee, the five finalists for this year’s award in alphabetical order are:

 

Wheeler Baker 6-2 Osseo

 

Brian Goodwin 6-4 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa

 

Tyus Jones 6-1 Apple Valley

 

J.P. Macura 6-6 Lakeville North

 

Reid Travis 6-8 DeLaSalle   

 

APPLE VALLEY’S TYUS JONES AND LAKEVILLE NORTH’S J.P. MACURA SPLIT AP PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

According to the Associated Press: “Apple Valley's Tyus Jones and Lakeville North's J.P. Macura are the co-winners of the 2014 Minnesota Associated Press Player of the Year award for boys basketball.

 

Joining Jones and Macura on the AP's first team are DeLaSalle's Reid Travis, Osseo's Wheeler Baker and Alex Illikainen of Grand Rapids. Illikainen is the only junior; the rest are seniors.”

 

Both Macura and Travis won state Basketball championships this year. Osseo was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the state tournament this year. Both Grand Rapids and Apple Valley were eliminated in the region tournament. 

BUFFALO WENT UP AGAINST LAKEVILLE NORTH IN A BOYS BASKETBAL GAME

Buffalo and Lakeville North went up against each other in the Class 4A state quarterfinal game at the Target Center.  

 

Both teams looked to push the ball down the floor and score baskets in transition.

 

Lakeville North got the ball into the hands of J. P. Macura. Macura was all over the floor. He wasn’t

afraid to shoot deep three-point shots.

 

Buffalo looked to get the ball into the hands of Levi Bean and Collin Olmscheid. They were able to hit jump shots.

 

Buffalo went into a scoring slump midway through the first half.

 

Buffalo called a timeout with 9:09 left in the first half. The score was Lakeville North 14, Buffalo 8.

 

Lakeville North’s Connor Flack came up with a few good mid-range jump shots. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball at the top of the key.

 

Both teams went cold from the field late in the first half.

 

Lakeville North called a timeout with 4:08 left in the first half. The score was Buffalo 16, Lakeville North 14.

 

Buffalo did a good job of guarding Macura as he struggled to shoot the ball throughout the first half.

 

At halftime the score was Buffalo 25, Lakeville North 18.

 

As the second half got underway Macura attacked the basket and was able to get to the free throw line in the second half.

 

Buffalo strung some baskets together in the second half.

 

Lakeville North called a timeout with 13:04 left in regulation. The score was Buffalo 37, Lakeville North 27.

 

Lakeville North kept on getting the ball into the hands of Macura who was able to hit mid-range jump shots.

 

Buffalo called a timeout with 4:30 left in regulation. The score Lakeville North 45, Buffalo 44.

 

The game came down to the wire.

 

In the end Lakeville North came away with the 59-47.

 

The leading scorers for Buffalo were Olmscheid with 18 points and Bean with 10 points.

 

The leading scorers for Lakeville North was Macura with 23 points.

 

After the game I was able to talk to Macura about the quarterfinals.

LAKEVILLE NORTH TOOK ON PRIOR LAKE IN A BOYS BASKETBALL GAME

On Feb. 21 Lakeville North went up against Prior Lake in a boys basketball game. Prior Lake’s Jon Sobaski got the ball off the tip and scored a layup for the first basket.

 

Prior Lake looked to push the ball down the floor.

 

On the offensive end Prior Lake looked to take time off the clock as they looked to swing the ball around the three-point line.

 

Lakeville North looked to get the ball into the hands of J.P. Macura and Connor Flack. Macura wasn’t afraid to shoot the deep three-point shot.

 

Prior Lake’s Nick Vanek was all over the floor on the offensive end. He was not afraid to drive to the basket if he thought he had an open shot.

 

There were several ties and lead changes throughout the first half. Neither team went on a run.

 

Flack came up with defensive rebounds. He was able to get the ball into the hands of Macura and Alex Reiland who were able to set up the offense and run plays.

 

Prior Lake’s Austin Heidecker came up with some big defensive stops. He was able to get steals and then get the ball into the ball into the hands of Sobaski.

 

Prior Lake called a timeout with 8:07 left in the first half. The score was Lakeville North 24, Prior Lake 16.

 

Prior Lake continued to move the ball well down the floor. They were able to get everyone involved in the offense.

 

Macura kept on hitting his shots throughout the first half. It didn’t matter if he was shooting three-pointers or two-pointers he was on fire.

 

Prior Lake’s Kevin McKiernan was able to drain three-point shots late.

 

Lakeville North called a timeout with 2:35 left in the first half. The score was Lakeville North 32, Prior Lake 25.

 

At halftime the score was Lakeville North 38, Prior Lake 29.

 

Macura scored 26 points in the first half.

 

Macura found his mid-range touch at the start of the second half. He was not afraid to shoot the ball.

 

Lakeville North started out the second half in a zone defense. They looked to try to force Prior Lake to shoot three-point shots.

 

Prior Lakes’ Jason Faul and Heidecker all shot three-point shots well in the second half. Prior Lake came out on fire to start the second half. They were down two with 15:00 left in regulation.

 

Prior Lake called a timeout with 14:33 left in regulation. The score was Lakeville North 42, Prior Lake 38.

 

Sobaski continued to drain three-point shots. Lakeville North couldn’t slow him down.

 

There were several ties and lead changes throughout the second half. Neither team went on a run.

 

Prior Lake looked to score baskets in transition. If they were not able to score baskets in transition they would bring the ball out to the top of the key and they would run their set plays. Sobaski did a good job of letting his teammates know what plays that he wanted ran.  

 

Both teams went to a full court press. They wanted to make it difficult for the other point guard to bring the ball down the court.  

 

Faul found his mid-range touch late in regulation. He kept on calling for the ball as he was able to knock down jumpers.

 

Macura and Flack kept Lakeville North in the game as they had good performances in the game.

 

The game came down to the wire. Neither team gave up easy shots down the stretch.

 

Vanek came up with some big shots late in regulation.  

 

Macura was fouled with 16.1 seconds left in regulation and he shot three free throws. The game was tied at 69. Macura missed the free throws. Sobaski fouled Calven Pesola and he missed his first free throw and then Prior Lake called a timeout with 4.3 seconds left with the score tied. Pesola made his second free throw.

 

Lakeville North had a 70-69 lead with 4.3 seconds to go when Lakeville North called a timeout.

 

Prior Lake had the ball with 4.3 seconds to go and Faul shot a three-point shot but it didn’t go in as time expired.

 

Lakeville North came away with the 70-69 victory over Prior Lake.

 

The leading scorers for Prior Lake were Sobaski with 20 points, Faul with 18 points, and Bair with 12 points.

 

Lakeville North was lead in scoring by Macura with 42 points and Flack with 12 points.

 

PRIOR LAKE WENT UP AGAINST LAKEVILLE NORTH IN A BOYS BASKETBALL GAME

On Jan. 21 Prior Lake traveled to Lakeville North High School for a boys basketball game. Lakeville North looked to get the ball into the hands of J. P. Macura. He was able to get his team involved in the offense.

 

Prior Lake called a timeout with 15:27 left in the first half. The score was Lakeville North 9, Prior Lake 2.

 

Lakeville North went to a full court press. They wanted to make it hard for Prior Lake to hit shots.

 

Macura was able to get hot from the three-point line. His teammates were not afraid to get him the ball in traffic.

 

The defense pressure that Lakeville North applied made it difficult for Prior Lake to hit shots.

 

Jon Sobaski got hot from the field. He was able to consistently hit shots that he put up. If he thought that teammate Austin Heidecker had a better shot he wasn’t afraid to pass it to him either.

 

Macura continued to get to the basket. He was also not afraid to shoot the ball. Macura was also able to get the ball into his teammate Connor Flack’s hands where Flack was able to hit mid-range jump shots.

 

Prior Lake’s Nick Vanek did a good job of calling for the ball inside the lane. He got the ball from his teammates and was able to make layups.

 

Prior Lake switched up between man-to-man and zone defenses in the first half. They were able to confuse Lakeville North on offense.

 

Lakeville North called a timeout with 3:31 left in the first half. The score was Lakeville North 31, Prior Lake 30.

 

Both teams shot well late in the first half.  Neither team gave the other team an uncontested shot.

 

At halftime the score was Lakeville North 38, Prior Lake 36.

 

As the second half got underway Lakeville North continued to look to get the ball into the hands of Macura.

 

There were many ties and lead changes early in the second half.  Neither team went on a run.

 

Lakeville North looked to trap Prior Lake. Prior Lake moved the ball well and they were able to avoid getting trapped.

 

Prior Lake called a timeout with 11:47 to go. The score was Lakeville North 47, Prior Lake 41.

 

Lakeville North did a good job of getting out and making shots in transition. They moved the ball well down the floor and was able to get everyone involved in the offense.

 

Lakeville North swung the ball around the three-point line as they looked to take time off the clock late in the contest.

 

Prior Lake didn’t give up. They fought hard throughout the entire game. Macura was all over the floor. He stepped up and knocked down his shots.

 

Sobaski stepped up big for Prior Lake. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball in spots

 

Lakeville North was too much for Prior Lake. Lakeville North came away with the 78-64 victory over Prior Lake.

 

Macura was Lakeville North’s leading scorers were Macura with 42 points. He played a very good all-around game. He got his teammates involved in the offense. Also Flack chipped in with 16 points.

 

For Prior Lake Sobaski showed up to play on both ends of the court. On offense he shot the ball well and on the defensive end he was able to lock down the guy he was defending. He ended up with 28 points. Heidecker ended up with 12 points.