powers joust at tip-off

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

*Top 20 teams each class*That prep school thing

*Nnaji picks Arizona*Son breaks dad’s record

Volume 27 Issue No. 3 Dec. 17 2021-22

Powers joust at Tip-Off

By Bruce Strand

Park Center and Minneapolis North each toppled No. 1 ranked teams, and took over the top spots, at the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic on Sat-urday, highlighting an entertaining slate of 16 games.

Park Center foiled Wayzata 66-62, and North toppled Minnehaha Academy 84-81, in exciting duels for several hundred fans at Hopkins High School.

The Tip-Off lineup included several other duels of top-ten teams.

Totino-Grace, No.1 in Class 3A, was supposed to meet Class 4A’s No. 3 Cretin-Derham Hall, but that one was canceled, due to illnesses among CDH players.

The No. 2 Park Center Pirates shad-ed Wayzata 66-62 with guard Leo Torbor sinking 19 points, guard Ayouba Berthe 15, forward Cody Pennebaker 14 and guard Braeden Carrington 11. The Pirates opened a 60-51 lead and held on.

For Wayzata, Carter Bjeke notched 15 points and six rebounds. Spen-

Pirates, Polars win crowd-pleasers in hoops showcase

cer Hall 13 and Myles Barnette sank 13 points apiece and Ryan Harvey made six assists.

Pirate coach James Ware praised

Wayzata as a well-coached team that makes opponents pay for defensive break-downs.

“If you take your eye off your defender and stare at the ball, they are back cutting for layups. You over-help on dribble penetration; they stick a 3-point shot,” Ware said. “Our coaching staff and team are pleased we made the adjustments required to win a high-level game vs. Wayzata. We also recognize it is early and all teams will continue to get better.”

The No. 3 Minneapolis North Polars, with relentlessly rap-id pacing in both foot speed and ball movement, outlasted Minnehaha Academy 84-81. North led 81-71, then missed five of eight free shots in the last minute. Minnehaha got a pair of three-point plays to start a last-ditch rally that fell shot with a missed three-pointer at the horn.

For North, Willie Wilson tal-lied 21 points, Gani Stevens 14, De’Meiko Anderson12, Mario Sanders 10, and Da-trell McCrimmon eight. For

Minnehaha, Prince Aligbe hit 27 points, Mercy Miller 22 and Leroy Barnes 17. The Redhawks had won 24 straight in-state games.

Leo Torbor launches a 3-pointer late in Park Center’s win over Wayzata.

Photos by Bruce Strand

Pacesetter Newsletter Minnesota Basketball News December 17

Unranked Minneapolis South beat Class 3A’s No. 2 DeLaSalle 61-58, led by Jerome Williams, who sank 13 of 15 free shots and totaled 20 points. Chiang Ring and De’Mari Larkins scored 14 points each, with Larkins 7-for-8 at the line. Randy McClendon tallied 14 points and Casmir Chais 10 for the Islanders.

No. 12 Nevis won a Class 1A match over No. 6 Mayer Lutheran 66-55. (Mayer Lutherans’s top athlete, Teigan Martin, did not come for basketball this year, which the MBBN did not know until Saturday.) Nevis was pow-

ered by Eddie Kramer with 25 points, four rebounds and four blocked shots, and Mathias Warrington with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Joe Houchn added 12 points and JP Benson 10. Neu-tral Tyler Neitzel led Mayer Lutheran with 10 points.

No. 4 Alexandria cruised in a Class 3A match against No. 7 Austin 68-34. Kristen Hoskins, a Gophers football recruit (wide receiver), notched 18 points and three steals, shooting 3-for-4 on three’s. Grayson Grove, 6-foot-8 soph-omore, had two dunks among 15 points, and made four of the team’s 13 steals. Erik

Hedstrom snagged nine rebounds and scored seven points. Victor Idris led Austin with 10 points.

Nolan Winter powered No. 4 Lakeville North past No. 10 Park of Cottage Grove 56-43 in a Class 4A clash. The 6-foot-8 junior forward logged 24 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and three assists. Brayden Manning scored nine points and blocked seven shots, and Jack Robison notched eight points and nine rebounds. The Panthers

Wayzata’s Spencer Hull (23) grabs the ball Park Center’s Leo Torbor (13) tipped it. Trailing were

Braeden Carrington (4) and Erik Rottinghaus.

didn’t shoot their best but held Park to 14-for-43 from the field.

South St. Paul, No. 3 in Class 3A, probably the smallest top-five team in the top classes, topping out at 6-foot-2, edged a much taller, No. 10 Mankato East squad 66-62, forcing 20 turnovers. Devin Newsome poured 28 points and Alonzo Dodd added 20 for the Packers in their first Tip-Off Classic appearance. Leading Mankato East was BJ Omot with 19 points.

East Ridge, No. 5 in Class 4A, nipped No. 7 Hopkins 70-67, led by Kendall Blue with 22 points and 13 re-bounds, and Alex Mattes with 21 points. Dane Muel-ler and Carson Koch added nine points each. Cordney O’Hara pumped in 25 points for Hopkins. Max Wilson added 16 points and Josh Hoffman 13.

Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta, No. 4 in Class 2A, over-took No. 5 Blake 84-74 after trailing by 16 in the first half, Jackson Loge led the Tigers with 25 points, 13 re-bounds and six assists. Thomas Tiernan had 19 points, Durgin Decker 12, Brandon Jergenson 10 and Cole Wente 10 as the Tigers shot 50 percent overall and 9-for-23 on three’s. Grayson Okoronkwo poured in 32 points for Blake and Theo Liu added 23. The Bears made eight 3-pointers.

Mounds View, No. 9 in Class 3A, beat No. 18 Eden Prairie 61-45, with Kobe Kirk sinking 16 points, Jacob Becher 15 and Ben Erickson 11. Chiddi Obiazor tallied 14 and Ethan Weisshaar 13 for the Eagles.

Nevis, Alexandria, Morris were outstate Tip-Off victors

Alexandria’s Kristen Hopkins (21) drives after stealing the ball, trailed by Austin’s Jack Lang.


Red Lake, Minnewaska, Pelican Rapids and Brainerd take Great State titles

Nineteen youth basketball teams from every corner of the state competed in Pacesetter’s Great State Tournament, Nov. 20-21, at Mounds View on Saturday and on the main Target Center floor on Sunday.

The champions were the Red Lake boys and Minnewaska Area girls in Division I, and the Pelican Rapids boys and Brainerd girls in Division II. Other entrants were Lewiston-Altura, Canby, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Staples-Motley, Byron, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Redwood Valley, Goodhue, St. Mary’s-Brecken-ridge, New Ulm, Moorhead, Kimball, and West Central. In a normal year, Pacesetter conducts a five-state playoff system for grades 4-9 in Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. The top eight teams play in the Great Five-State Tournament in Minneapolis, where all teams are guaranteed a minimum of one game on the main Target Center floor, complete with an announcer and music for the line-ups.

Due to COVID challenges, the five-state playoffs were not held in 2020 or 2021, but the Minnesota state tourna-ment was held for both years, though modified both years and delayed in 2020.

The state teams from both years were finally rewarded with an invitation to play in a special “Great State” tour-nament, involving a Timberwolves game and playing in the Target Center. All players and fans were treated to a Timberwolves’ blowout win over Memphis. The score was 96-52 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Tyus Jones, a former Pacesetter player from Apple Valley, played for Memphis. Pacesetter began the multi-state playoff system in 2010 with a four-state tournament, and added Wisconsin in 2018. Pacesetter has conducted the eight-region Minne-sota Youth Basketball State Championships since 1993.

Playoffs are set for 2022 in eight regions: (1) Rochester, (2) Mankato, (3) Redwood Falls, (4) Mora, (5) Paynes-ville, (6) Alexandria, (7) Bemidji and (8) Grand Rapids/Mountain Iron-Buhl. See the ad in this issue for grades, dates and registration link.

New addition in 2022: The MYAS (Minnesota Youth Ath-letic Services) Grade State champion in the Class A divi-sion will receive one spot in the eight-team field for the 2022 Pacesetter Great Five-State Championships. Teams may register for the Pacesetter Region Playoffs at www.pacesettersports.net. Each region is limited to 16 teams in each grade/gender group. All teams play 3-4 games in one day in each region.

Brainerd girls

Minnewaska Area girls

Red Lake boys Pelican Rapids boys


By Bruce Strand

Bryan Schnettler got the news in August that high school coaches with premier players dread. The best re-turning player from his Wayzata state champion team would not be wearing the the blue and gold his senior year.

Prep schools, with their heavy emphasis on basketball and a much higher level of competition, are a tempta-tion for talented teens with D-1 and pro aspirations, even if nobody comes to the games except scouts.

Camden Heide informed Schnettler that he’ll be at-tending Wasatch Academy in Utah his senior year. The 6-foot-6 guard is a four-star prospect, committed to Purdue. “The decision came as a surprise to our pro-gram,” said Schnettler, adding that Heide discussed it once with him before visiting the school in August.

Just a small percentage of high school stars opt for the prep schools but it’s a growing concern in recent years. As players compete with summer AAU teams around the country, they are exposed to prep school players and coaches. Social media and some AAU coaches are also factors, Schnettler noted.

This was the first time Schnettler has lost a player, but he already had an opinion about whether prep schools are a good option: “Absolutely not!” Schnettler al-lowed that there are some circumstance it can be a good idea, such as academic needs, or if a player isn’t being recruited to the level he thinks he should be. “But for the most part,” he opined, “kids would be better served staying in the community and school that they grew up in. It is too bad that kids feel a need to make this deci-sion and miss out on their last year of high school and the special experiences that go along with that.”

Wayzata remains one of the top teams in Class 4A, led by returning all-conference players Carter Bjerke and Drew Berkland, and Ryan Harvey, in his third varsity season. “We have a chance to be very good again if we can keep improving throughout the season,” he said.

Alexandria, three years ago, lost a 6-foot-11 forward,

Coaches sound off: that ‘prep school thing’

Treyton Thompson, a Gopher recruit who averaged 15.8 points and 8.5 re-bounds as a sopho-more. Thompson spent his junior and senior seasons at La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind. He averaged 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds there as a senior on a team that went 22-5 against a na-tional schedule. He is currently a fresh-man with the Go-phers.

Asked about losing Thompson, Alexan-dria coach Forrest Witt took the no-comment approach. “I would rather not go on the record with the whole prep

school thing,” he said. His team did pretty well anyway last season, placing second in the state, and is currently ranked No. 4 in Class 3A with four starters back. “I think we have a good core of experienced guys, and another group ready to step into an important role.”

Four seasons ago, sophomore guard Lu’Cye Patterson led Brooklyn Center to fourth place in the state Class 2A tournament, scoring 23 points per game, including 77 in three games at state. Then he left, along with three teammates. His father, a former Augsburg player, had co-founded a basketball-first school, Minnesota Prep Academy and was going to coach the team.

“What a weird situation that was,” said Matt McCol-lister, then Brooklyn Center’s coach, currently coach-ing South St. Paul, which is ranked No. 3 in Class 3A. “His dad, Lucas Patterson, started the school, and took four of our returning starters with him.”

As a senior, Patterson averaged 21 points, seven as-sists and 6.7 rebounds and was named offensive MVP of his league. Currently, Patterson is a sophomore at Missouri State, averaging five points and 1.8 assists off the bench. He recently had a 16-point for the Bears (4-4). McCollister noted that Amahn Decker from that BC team is playing for Morehouse College in Atlanta,

Camden Heide scores at the 2021 state tourney.


and Adrian Sprinkles has played junior college ball.Two players for whom the prep school route worked out are Gary Trent Jr. and Rashad Vaughn.

Trent left Apple Valley after scoring 26 ppg his junior year on a state third-place team and 18 ppg as a sopho-more on a state champion. He’s currently averaging 15.5 points for the Toronto Raptors, after 2 1/2 seasons with Portland, and had a 44-point game against Cleveland last April. The son and namesake of an NBA player, Trent spent his senior year at Prolific Prep in California. He played one college season for Duke, averaging 14.5 points, before going pro. He was taken by Sacramento with the 37th pick and traded to Portland.

Vaugh left Robbinsdale Cooper after scoring 28 ppg as a junior in 2012-13, joining Findley Prep in Nevada, where he was a McDonald’s All-America. He played and season with UNLV, averaging 17.8 points, and was drafted No. 17 by the Milwaukee Bucks. After three seasons as a fringe player with the Bucks, he has played for minor league and European teams.

Sticking with their high school teams didn’t seem to hurt major talents like current NBA players Tyus Jones (Memphis, formerly Timberwolves) of Apple Valley, Tre Jones (San Antonio) of Apple Valley, Jalen Suggs (Orlando) of Minnehaha Academy, and Zeke Nnaji (Denver) of Hopkins, all making a nice living after one season in college. Minnehaha’s Chet Holmgren fol-lowed Suggs to Gonzaga as the nation’s No. 1 recruit and is projected as a one-and-done and high draft pick.

If any coach is vulnerable to prep schools pursuing his players, it’s Minnehaha Academy’s Lance Johnson, who’s had a bunch of them. “I would imagine that play-ers like Jalen and Chet get tempted to go to an elite school,” said Johnson, “but I think that both of them re-alized the high school situation here had its advantages over a prep situation.”

Johnson said he’s had just two players leave for prep schools. One of them, Terry Lockett Jr., returned. Lock-ett helped the Redhawks win a state title as a sopho-more, played for an Ohio team as a junior and was back as a senior, graduating in 2020. Football was his favored sport; he’s currently a sophomore wide receiver for Michigan State. The other player who left, Johnson said, did so because of a a state eligibility rule.

“I don’t see leaving and going to a prep school as a huge advantage for most players,” said Johnson. “I think the only ones who would really benefit are those who go to one of the top prep schools in the country and play an

Hopkins’ Nnaji following 2 sets of

really big shoesBy Bruce Strand

A year after Paige Bueckers was the nation’s top pros-pect, another Hopkins athlete followed her into the upper stratosphere of coveted high school recruits.

Maya Nnaji, the Royals’ 6-foot-4 forward, who’s gotten massive D-I attention since ninth grade, was ranked as the No. 7 overall recruit in the senior class by ESPN Hoop-Gurlz. Nnaji was featured in Sports Illustrated’s Novem-ber issue as the lead athlete in Faces in the Crowd.

Landing Hopkins’ latest blue-chipper was University of Arizona, the 2021 NCAA runner-up.

Maya will follow her brother to Tus-con. Zeke Nnaji, a 6-foot-9, 240 pound forward who led Hopkins to the 2019 state title, turned in one outstanding season for Arizona before entering the NBA with the Denver Nuggets as the 22nd pick in the draft. He’s averaging six points and 3.1 rebounds for Denver.

Maya had her own reasons for choosing Arizona. She told a fan web site, axdesertstorm.com, she wants to be a doc-tor, and UA offers a program that will allow her to com-plete pre-med and medical school in seven years. Down the road, she said, she will be able to attend medical school while playing in the WNBA if she winds up there.

Arizona pulled a gigantic upset upset of UConn — led by her old friend Bueckers, the college player of the year as a freshman — in the NCAA Final Four semifinals and finished runner-up after losing the title game to Stanford. Arizona’s great run last year “kind of sealed the deal,” Nnaji said, in an ESPN article on her signing. “I kind of wanted to go to a school that wasn’t a dynasty already but where they have the tools to get there, so I know I can come there and continue to help build that.”

By the way, the next Nnaji, Josie, a freshman, already has an offer from Arizona.

Maya Nnaji


Boys Top 20 TeamsCLASS 4A1. Park Center 4-02. Shakopee 3-03. Wayzata 2-24. Cretin-Derham Hall 1-0 5. East Ridge 2-06. Eastview 4-07. Hopkins 3-18. Lakeville North 1-1 9. Park 3-110. Spring Lake Park 3-0 11. Rosemount 2-012. Owatonna 1-013. Mounds View 5-114. Osseo 2-0 15. Minnetonka 2-116. Sartell-St. Stephen 4-017. Andover 3-018. Minneapolis South 2-019. Brainerd 3-020. Elk River 3-1

CLASS 2A1. Minneapolis North 1-02. Minnehaha Academy 1-23. Caledonia 3-04. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 4-05. Blake 2-16. Maple River 4-07. Annandale 2-1 8, Sauk Centre 4-0 9. Albany 2-110. Esko 4-0 11. Minneapolis Edison 3-012. Redwood Valley 4-013. Rockford 3-1 14. Fergus Falls 2-115. Lake City 2-116. Pipestone 3-117. Southwest Christian 3-118. Spectrum 2-019. Milaca 3-120. Melrose 2-1

CLASS 3A1. Totino-Grace 1-02. DeLaSalle 3-23. South St. Paul 3-04. Alexandria 4-05. Columbia Heights 2-06. Mankato West 2-07. Princeton 3-08. Benilde-St. Margaret’s 3-09. Austin 2-110. Mankato East 1-211. Hutchinson 2-0 12. Two Rivers 3-013. Delano 2-114. Mahtomedi 1-1 15. Richfield 1-116. St. Paul Johnson 1-0 17. Red Wing 2-218. North Branch 2-119. Stewartville 4-120. Hibbing 2-1

CLASS 1A1. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 5-02. Central MN Christian 4-03. Rushford-Peterson 2-04. Hayfield 3-1 5. Cass Lake Bena 4-06. New York Mills 4-07. Mahnomen-Waubun 4-18. Martin County West 3-09. Fertile-Beltrami 2-110. Mankato Loyola 4-011. Hancock 1-112. Nevis 5-0 13. Ashby 2-014. Southwest MN Christian 3-015. Spring Grove 2-116. Cherry 3-017. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 2-118. North Woods 4-019. Sacred Heart 4-0 20. Mountain Iron-Buhl 3-1


Girls Top 20 TeamsCLASS 4A1. Hopkins 6-02. Minnetonka 6-03. Eden Prairie 5-04. Chaska 3-15. Wayzata 4-16. Stillwater 3-17. St. Michael-Albertville 5-28. East Ridge 3-19. Roseville Area 5-010. Maple Grove 3-311. Shakopee 3-212. Blaine 6-0 13. Edina 6-014. Lakeville North 3-215. Chanhassen 4-116. Centennial 3-217. Prior Lake 3-118. Rosemount 1-419. Spring Lake Park 3-220. Rogers 3-2

CLASS 2A1. Minnehaha Academy 6-02. Providence Academy 3-23. Goodhue 7-04. St. Croix Lutheran 5-15. Hawley 4-06. New London-Spicer 5-07. Proctor 6-08. Pequot Lakes 5-0 9. Fergus Falls 3-110. Lake City 4-211. Rochester Lourdes 4-1 12. Sauk Centre 3-313. Duluth Marshall 4-114. Luverne 5-015. Watertown-Mayer 3-216. Holy Family Catholic 5-217. Albany 2-218. Perham 4-119. Dover-Eyota 5-220. Milaca 2-0

CLASS 3A1. Becker 3-22. Austin 4-03. Holy Angels 5-14. St. Paul Como Park 3-35. DeLaSalle 1-26. Totino-Grace 5-17. St. Peter 5-08. Hill-Murray 2-29. Grand Rapids 7-110. Mankato West 3-111. Mankato East 1-112. Benilde-St. Margaret’s 2-3 13. Marshall 3-114. Hutchinson 4-215. Visitation 4-016. Mahtomedi 3-217. Worthington 4-018. Stewartville 3-219. Alexandria 2-320. Bloomington Kennedy 5-1

CLASS 1A1. Mountain Iron-Buhl 5-12. Minneota 5-03. Cass Lake-Bena 5-04. Mayer Lutheran 6-05. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 8-16. Hayfield 6-07. Hancock 5-08. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 4-0 9. Underwood 5-010. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 5-011. Cromwell-Wright 5-112. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 4-013. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 5-114. GHECTML 3-015. Sleepy Eye 5-016. Ogilvie 4-017. New York Mills 4-118. South Ridge 5-019. Badger-Greenbush-Middle River 2-120. Stephen-Argyle 4-1


Minnesota YOUTH BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP Region Playoffs

GREAT 5-STATE CHAMPIONSHIPSIA • MN • ND • SD • WI

3-4 game guarantee$190/team 30 days prior • $210/team under 30 days

ALL GRADES REFER TO THE 2021-22 SCHOOL YEARTeams may register for more than one region. 4B = 4th grade boys, 4G = 4th grade girls, etc.

Region 1 Site Date Grade/Gender RCTC March 26 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B RCTC March 27 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Region 2 Site Date Grade/Gender MN State-Mankato April 23 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B MN State-Mankato April 24 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Region 3 Site Date Grade/Gender Redwood Falls March 26 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Redwood Falls March 27 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Region 4 Site Date Grade/Gender Mora April 9 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Mora April 10 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Region 5 Site Date Grade/Gender Paynesville April 2 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Paynesville April 3 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Region 6 Site Date Grade/Gender Alexandria April 9 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Alexandria April 10 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B Region 7 Site Date Grade/Gender Grand Rapids April 2 8G, 5B, 7B Grand Rapids April 3 7G, 9G, 4B Mt. Iron-Buhl April 2 4G, 6G, 9B Mt. Iron-Buhl April 3 5G, 6B, 8B Region 8 Site Date Grade/Gender Bemidji April 23 5G, 7G, 9G, 4B, 6B, 8B Bemidji April 24 4G, 6G, 8G, 5B, 7B, 9B

MN State Championships Location Date MIT - MN Invitational Paynesville June 11 State Championship Paynesville June 12 MIT - MN Invitational Paynesville June 18 State Championship Paynesville June 19

Questions? 320.243.7460 • [email protected] • www.pacesettersports.net • Pacesetter Basketball

Boys & Girls Grades 4-92022

Road to the Target Center!

Champions from each regional site will be invited to the MN State Championship. Other top finishers will receive an invitation to the Minnesota Invitational Tournament (MIT).

The MN State Champion and Runner-up in each grade are invited to the Great Five-State Championships at the Target Center in Minneapolis.**Great State games contingent on the Target Center availability.

Or For More Info/To Register: www.pacesettersports.net

Scan Code


Morris star tops dad’s school recordBy Bruce Strand

Kevin Loge’s school scoring record of 1,938 points was broken, after 25 years, two weeks ago, but the Morris area farmer was probably not disappointed.

Surpassing Kevin’s lofty total was his son, Jackson Loge, with a 31-point effort in Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta’s 76-37 win at New London-Spicer on Dec. 7. Jackson, a nim-ble 6-foot-8 forward, got the record with a basket off the left low block early in the second half.

AROUND THE STATE

Mark Torgerson, who’s coached both of them, found an interesting statistic when going over the records later that night: that Jackson broke the record in his 106th game, the same number Kevin played in his career.

About Jackson, who was six points short of 2,000 at this writing, Torger-son observed: “He’s av-eraged a double double (points and rebounds) for four years. Not many players have ever done that.”

Kevin Loge, a 1996 graduate, averaged 18.28 points and 7.98 rebounds in his career. Jackson is averaging 18.44 points and 10.36 rebounds in his career.

The Tigers, who reached the state tournament last year, are 5-0 and ranked No. 4 in Class 2A.

3,000 for MathiowetzMadison Mathiowetz, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s guard who had a 44-point in the state tournament last March, reached the 3,000-point marker while pumping in 48 points last Saturday night, leading the Knights past Red Rock Central 81-59. She had 24 points in each half, taking on more than her usual scoring load with two starters missing.

Shakopee tips WayzataDefending state champion Wayzata had not one but two close losses to other metro powers in the past week. Af-ter falling to Park Center 66-62 at the Tip-Off Classic on Saturday (Page 1), the Trojans were outgunned by Sha-kopee 90-87 on Tuesday evening in Wayzata. Each team had five double digit scorers. For Shakopee (3-0), Cade McGraw scored 17 points, Nick Katona 16, Sam West 15, Issac Snell 15, and Yonis Mohamud 11. For Wayzata (2-2), Carter Bjerke tallied 25, Hayden Tibbits 19, Drew Berkland 14, Spencer Hall 13, and Ryan Harvey 12.

Becker hits 19 triplesThe Becker girls made 19 three-pointers in a 97-29 win over St. Cloud on Monday evening at home. The Bull-dogs were 19-for-33 from long range, with Dani Nuest 9-for-13 on the way to 39 points. Adeline Kent was 5-for-8 and totaled 21 points for the Bulldogs (3-2), top-ranked in Class 3A. The state record is 23, by Waseca in 2014.

Quadruple double by freshmanA quadruple double was achieved by Owen Chervestad, freshman guard for Red Lake County, in a 70-24 win over Climax-Fisher on Dec. 9. Chervestad logged 16 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, and 10 steals, reports coach Steve Philion.

Grid recruit drops hoopsTeigan Martin, who averaged 19.9 points for Mayer Lu-theran last year and 18.6 as a sophomore, is not play-ing basketball as a senior, opting instead to prepare for college football. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound tight end on the Crusaders’ state Class 1A champion football team is signed to play for Liberty Baptist in Virginia. Martin had 1,082 career points.

Como Park nips ProvidenceSt. Paul Como Park handed Class 1A’s top-ranked Provi-dence Academy a 74-72 loss on Dec. 9. Ronnie Porter sank 22 points, and Kaylnn Asberry provided 14 points, eight assists and eight steals, for Como Park (3-3). Provi-dence guard Maddyn Greenway notched 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and post Maria Counts had 18 point and 10 rebounds.

Got a story suggestion for Minnesota Basketball News? Send to [email protected].

Jackson Loge scores against Alexandria in the Tip-Off Clas-

sic, Saturday.


2021-20222021-2022Boys & Girls Grades 3-8

Basketball TournamentsBasketball Tournaments

Mark Your Calendars!

Snowball ClassicsSnowball Classics

Hearts & Heroes ClassicsHearts & Heroes Classics

Holiday ClassicsHoliday Classics

Byron • Jan 22-23 Sat: Boys 3-8 | Sun: Girls 3-8

Paynesville • Jan 29-30 Sat: Girls 3-8 | Sun: Boys 3-8

MLK Classic Mpls • Jan 17* Sat: Girls 3-8 | Sun: Boys 3-8Mt. Iron-Buhl • Jan 9 & 23 1/9: Boys 3-8 | 1/23: Girls 3-8

Mt. Iron-Buhl • Dec 18-19 Sat: Boys 3-8 | Sun: Girls 3-8

Byron • Dec 18-19 Sat: Girls 3-8 | Sun: Boys 3-8

Bemidji • Feb 5-6 Sat: Girls 3-8 | Sun: Boys 3-8

Byron • Feb 5-6 Sat: Girls 3-8 | Sun: Boys 3-8

Mt. Iron-Buhl • Feb 6 & 20 2/6: Girls 3-8 | 2/20: Boys 3-8

Paynesville • Feb 12-13 Sat: Boys 3-8 | Sun: Girls 3-8

Redwood Falls • Feb 20 Sun: Boys & Girls 3-8

Pres. Day Classic TBD • Feb 21* Boys & Girls 3-8

Winter ClassicsWinter Classics

ScheduleSchedule

Questions? 320.243.7460 • [email protected] • www.pacesettersports.net • Pacesetter Basketball

College of St. Benedict

St. Paul • Dec 28-29*

Paynesville • March 5-6 Sat: Boys 3-8 | Sun: Girls 3-8

St. Joseph • March 12-13 Sat: Boys 3-8 | Sun: Girls 3-8

PACESETTER CLASSICPACESETTER CLASSIC

Boys & Girls 3-8 & 9-12 (no MSHSL teams)

*MYAS tournaments: www.myas.org

To Register:www.pacesettersports.net

Rushford-Peterson nips defending champ HayfieldRushford-Peterson knocked off Hayfield, defending Class 1A champion and top-ranked in pre-season, 51-47 on Thursday, Dec. 9. Justin Ruberg, 6-foot-4 senior, pumped in 24 points for the Trojans (2-0), shooting 8-for-8 at the line and 8-for-15 from the field. Grady Hengel added 10 points. For Hayfield (3-1), Ethan Pack sank 17 points and Easton Fischer had 13. Pack was 5-for-5 on three’s in the first half but missed one with five seconds left in the game

that would have given them the lead. Hayfield coach Chris Pack said Rushford-Peterson “really limited (our) number of possessions by being really patient” and had a big edge at the free throw line, going 19-for-22 while Hayfield was 6-for-14. “They have an experienced and talented team,” said Pack. Rushford-Peterson was a new entry on Hay-field’s schedule this year.


North’s Datrell Mccrimmon (5), Mario Sanders (1), Willie Wil-son (4), Rio Sanders (2), and Zashon Rich (13) huddle.

Minnehaha’s Leroy Barnes (left) and Peyton Lange fight for the ball with and

Mpls. North’s Datrell Mccrimmon.

Left: Mathias

Watrington of Nevis

mucles for two against

Mayer Lutheran.

breakdown tip-off snapshots

East Ridge’s Carson Koch gets fouled by Hopkins’ Evan Nelson.

Hopkins’ Tyrell Sap-pington at the free

throw line.Lakeville North’s Hudson Vaith (22) and

Jack Robison stymie Park’s Devren Xiong.

Left: Maple River coach Chad Osterman

greets Aidan Sindelir (25) and Mason

Frank (9) after their win over

Annandale

powers joust at tip-off

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