The Big Game February 2010

The Big Game February 2010

Plus the Most Valuable Minnesotan and Most Valuable Coach of the day. But first, the summation:

All-February

Rachel Booth, St. Thomas women

Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North girls

Matt Schneck, St. Cloud State men

Zack Riedeman, Forest Lake boys

Kevin Noreen, Minnesota Transitions boys

Team of the Month

Lakeville North girls

St. Thomas women

Carleton men

Minneapolis Community and Technical College men

Minnesota State-Mankato men

Coach of the Month

Andy Berkvam, Lakeville North girls

Vern Simmons, St. Paul Johnson boys

Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas women

Guy Kalland, Carleton men

Jay Pivic, MCTC men

History in the Making

1. Michigan women 74 Minnesota 40. One of the worst defeats in Gophers history.

2. MCTC team will be disbanded at the end of this season. Women, too, I assume.

3. Carleton men 73 St. Thomas 67. On any given night.

4. Kevin Noreen has 55 and 50 point nights.

5. Minnesota men 62 Illinois 60. First win in Champaign in 14 years.

2/28 Rochester CC men 85 Minneapolis CTC 74, and Anoka-Ramsey women 74 Minneapolis 72. MVM: Katie Loberg, Minnesota. The freshman was about the only Gopher who showed up today, finishing with 10 points and 11 boards, 8 of them on the offensive end, plus 3 steals and a block, all team highs along with her 6 turnovers. (Against all odds, both Illinois and Indiana won today to relegate the Gophers to sole possession of last place in the Big Ten.) MVC: Jay Pivec, Minneapolis CTC.

2/27 Minnesota men 62 Illinois 60. The Gophers win in Champaign for the 1st time in 14 years, though the Illini came up just 1 possession short of over-coming a 51-32 deficit with 7:11 to go. Jeremy Sutherland, Carleton men 22/5 assists. Guy Kalland, Carleton men, and Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas women (see separate post on MIAC play-offs).

2/26 Anoka-Ramsey CC women 94 Rainy River 53, and Minneapolis CTC men 88 Vermillion 67. The two #5 nationally-rated teams start the MCAC playoffs with victories. MVM: Identical twins Kenny (22/10 rebounds/11 assists) and Peter (29/10 rebounds) Olafeso, MCTC. MVC: Andy Berkvam, Lakeville North girls.

2/25 Michigan women 65 Minnesota 54. The Gophers took a 13-0 lead and seemed to be in command until about 11:00 of the 2nd half, when the Wolverines went on a 10 minute 24-2 run. Michigan scored on 9 of 14 possessions with no turnovers, while the Gophers scored on 1 of 14 with 4 turnovers. Marshall Bjorklund, Sibley East boys. Guy Kalland, Carleton men (see separate post on MIAC play-offs).

2/24 Purdue men 59 Minnesota 58. The Gophers fell behind 26-12, then used a 24-4 run to take command. But Purdue scored on 11 of its last 13 possessions after the 9 minute mark. Ralph Sampson, Minnesota 21/7 rebounds/2 assists. Mike Durbin, St. Ben's.

2/23 New London-Spicer girls 45 Sauk Center 41. #2AA over #1AA, and both in Section 5AA. Louis Cox and Jordan Hughes, Mpls. Henry combined 56/16 assists/13 rebounds/Hughes 5 steals in 105-88 win over Washburn. Mike Dreier, New London-Spicer.

2/22 MIAC Play-offs: St. Thomas women 60 Macalester 52, and St. Catherine's 79 Concordia (Moorhead) 65. The lower seeds won both games, but only St. Cate's won an upset. The Wildcats pulled away from a 46-46 tie to lead 66-55 at 3:20. The Tommies fell behind 7-0, then went on a 24-6 run. The Lady Scots never got closer than 6. Rachel Booth, St. Thomas 20/15 rebounds. Gary Rufsvold, St. Cate's.

2/21 Minnesota Gopher women 59 Indiana 50. The Gophers opened the game with a 12-0 run and then, with the score 29-25 early in the 2nd half, ripped off a 14-0 run. Kiara Buford and Katie Ohm scored 19 of 26 points in the 2 big runs. The Hoosiers turned the ball over on half of their 16 possessions during those runs. Still, it was Brittney McCoy who was the Gophers' MVP with 5 points, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals during the 2 runs and 9 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in total. Pam Borton, Minnesota.

2/20 Minnesota Gopher men 81 Indiana 58. Gophers get back to .500 in the Big Ten, and keep their slim NCAA tournament hopes alive. Jineen Williams, Concordia (St. Paul) 36. Vern Simmons, St. Paul Johnson boys.

2/19 Mpls. Roosevelt girls 54 Mpls. South 52. The Teddies take sole possession of 1st place in the Mpls. Conference as Shakila Boler hits 2 throws with 4 seconds remaining in the game. Kahla Becken, Centennial girls 29. Jill Becken, Centennial 300th win.

2/18 Minnesota men 68 Wisconsin 52. Wisconsin shoots 31 percent. Blake Hoffarber, Minnesota 16/9 rebounds. Tubby Smith, Minnesota.

2/17 St. Thomas men 75 Gustavus 51. 1st place (and #3 nationally) Tommies are 24 points and 6 games better than 2nd place. Heather Gillund, St. Ben's 25. Guy Kalland, Carleton men.

2/16 Lakeville North girls 84 Eden Prairie 60. You can see my full report on this game at www.kjasr.com. Zack Riedeman, Forest Lake 30. Andy Berkvam, Lakeville North.

2/15 Mpls. North boys 80 Mpls. Patrick Henry 74. Rivalry game. Malik El-Amin scored 29 for North. I heard that he is Khalid's nephew, but nobody seems to be quite sure. Malik El-Amin, Mpls. North. Aaron Clusiau, Nashwauk-Keewatin girls.

2/14 Northwestern men 77 Minnesota 74. Ouch. Leading 48-35, the Gophers turned it over 3 of their next 4 and 4 of their next 7 possessions. By the time they scored again, they were behind 55-52. Then tied at 62 in OT, the Gophers turned it over twice in a row and never caught up. The Wildcats closed regulation on a 22-9 run, and outscored Minnesota 21-12 off of turnovers.

Ohio State women 64 Minnesota 59. Leading 35-31, the Gophers turned it over 3 of their next 5 possessions. By the time they scored again, they were behind 42-40, and they never led again.

2/13 New London-Spicer boys 89 Morris Area 68. #2AA at #1 AA finally gets played after 2 snow-0uts. #1 NLS is more than up for the challenge. Matt Schneck, St. Cloud State 34/10 rebounds. Kevin Schlagel, St. Cloud State.

2/12 Forest Lake boys 80 Cretin-Derham Hall 79 (OT). #6AAAA over #4. Zack Riedemen, Forest Lake 34. Dan Cremisino, Forest Lake.

2/11 Robbinsdale Cooper boys 93 Benilde-St. Margaret's 89 (OT). #5AAAA over #3AAA. Darryl Jones, Jr., Cooper 28, including a 25-footer at the buzzer to send it into OT. David Johnson, Cooper.

2/10 Macalester women 84 Concordia (Moorhead) 81. The Lady Scots clinched a play-off spot and knocked the Cobbers out of a tie for 2nd place Trina PaStarr matched her career high with 27 points. Bobby Fong, St. Olaf men 34/11 rebounds. Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas women.

2/9 Apple Valley boys 58 Eden Prairie 54. EP suffers its 2nd straight loss after gaining #1 status in AAAA. Tyus Jones, AV 18. Zach Goring, AV.

2/8 Bigfork girls 47 Deer River 39. #6A Bigfork gets to 17-2. Megan Powell, Bigfork 14. Greg Powell, Bigfork. (Morris Area boys [#2AAA] at New London-Spicer [#1AAA] was postponed for the second time.)

2/7 Michigan women 74 Minnesota 40. The Gopher women made it 6 straight losses, shooting 24.1 percent from the field, and 17.6 percent in the 2nd half. No MVM today. As for MVC, you're kidding, right?

2/6 Minnesota men 66 Penn State 64. The Gophers keep the Nittany Lions winless in the Big Ten on Lawrence Westbrook's 19-footer at the buzzer. Kevin Noreen, Minnesota Transitions boys 55. Nelson Whitmore and Melissa Young-Kruse, Hamline men and women.

2/5 Minnesota Timberwolves 117 Dallas 108. The Wolves broke a 4-year losing streak against the Mavs by finishing up on a 13-2 run. Cassie Rochel, Lakeville North girls 26. Kurt Rambis, Minnesota Timberwolves.

2/4 Wisconsin women 76 Minnesota 74 (20t). Make a positive of this if you can: With 24 seconds left in 2OT, the Gophs were up by 1. From that point forward, the Badgers had 2 possessions, 3 offensive rebounds, a steal, 3 points, 1 win, and the Gophers 1 possession, 1 turnover, 1 loss. Alyssa Karel, Wisconsin (formerly Cretin-Derham) 18 including those last 3 points. Kevin Boozikee, Mayer Lutheran boys.

2/3 Gustavus women 74 Macalester 66. The Gusties held on to 1st place in the MIAC, while the Lady Scots lost their 4th straight to fall 4 games behind Gustavus. Molly Mathiowetz, Gustavus 11/6 steals/2 blocks. Mark Tuchscherer, Champlin Park boys.

2/2 St. Croix Lutheran girls 65 Blake 35. The Crusaders remain unbeaten. SaVaughn Jordan, Maranatha boys 29. David Mielke, St. Croix Lutheran.

2/1 Columbia Heights boys 98 Robbinsdale Cooper 96. What fun. Jacob Thomas, Columbia Heights 34. Andy Berkvam, Lakeville North girls.