BASKETBALL

Elite Blues win title

June 18, 2010

Zeroed in

Maggie Carlson shoots a free throw under the watchful eye of coach Keely Timm Tuesday morning during the Wolverine girls’ basketball camp in the elementary gym.

June 18, 2010

Up for two

Austin Miller shoots a layup as Joseph Wallgren defends during a Wolverine Basketball Camp practice drill Monday at Wadena-Deer Creek High School.

June 18, 2010

Friday Scorecard 3/26

Boys' Basketball Class A State Tournament Sebeka 61, Ellsworth 60 Alex Brockpahler winning field goal with 12 seconds left Brockpahler 16 points John Clark 14 points Joey Cuperus 12 points Cody Pulju 11 points Next: Class A Championship, Sebeka vs. Minnesota Transitions Charter School, Noon, Saturday, Target Center-Minneapolis

March 26, 2010

Thursday Scorecard 3/25

Boys' Basketball Class A State Tournament Sebeka 75, Mesabi East 51 Joey Cuperus 22 points, 7 rebounds Cody Pulju 21 points Next: Sebeka vs. Ellsworth, 2 p.m., Friday, Target Center-Minneapolis

By Brian Hansel , March 26, 2010

Third-ranked Trojans to face unranked Giants in first round

Class A State Boys' Basketball Preview (Section 7) Mesabi East, Aurora (22-9) vs. (Section 5) Sebeka (28-2): The unranked Giants of Mesabi East are making their debut tournament appearance. Jeremy Fleming's team defeated AlBrook 75-66 to win the section crown. Mesabi East has excellent height with 6-6 senior forward Travis Whiting and 6-4 senior forward E.J. Welch dominating the inside. Whiting and Welch combined for 46 points in the victory over AlBrook. Marcus Miranda and Cody West, a pair of 6-1 senior guards are also key men for the Giants. The Sebeka Trojans, who were No. 3 in the final MBN poll, return for their second consecutive and overall appearance. They lost in the quarterfinals last year. This year’s squad wins by an average of 25.1 points per game. The Trojans reeled off 22 straight victories during one stretch this year. Their only regular season losses were to New London-Spicer and Staples-Motley, the finalists in the Section 6AA tournament. Senior Joey Cuperus and junior Cody Pulju, who both have over 1,000 career points, are the top scorers for Sebeka. They average 15.4 and 15 points per game, respectively. Cuperus and junior John Clark grab 8.1 and 8.2 rebounds per game, respectively. The winner of the Mesabi East-Sebeka game will play the winner of the Ellsworth-Hillcrest game at 2 p.m. Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. (Section 3) Ellsworth (25-5) vs. (Section 6) Hillcrest Academy, Fergus Falls (22-2): The Ellsworth Panthers are making their fifth consecutive and sixth overall appearance. They were ranked No. 9 in this year’s final MBN poll and are looking for their third championship. They won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. The team shoots 46.9 percent from the floor and defeated its opponents by an average of 16.8 points per game. Senior Trevor Gruis averages a double-double with 18.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore Casey Schilling adds another 15.8 points per game for the Royals. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy has made two appearances, with the last coming in 2001. The Comets averaged 66.1 points and 32 rebounds per game this year. Senior Jared Schultz was the top scorer for Hillcrest this year; he averages 14.6 points per game. Devon Apgar, a senior, adds 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Comets. (Section 1) Rushford-Peterson (15-14) vs. (Section 2) Springfield (25-1): Rushford-Peterson is making its 10th tournament appearance under this name, but first appearance since 2007. The Trojans were champions in 2006. Rushford has one previous individual appearance, winning the title in 1989, and Peterson appeared individually in 1986. Senior Blake Lea, who has surpassed 1,000 career points, leads the Trojans in scoring at 16.8 points per game and nabs 2.5 steals per game. Senior Kasey Olloff averages 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Unranked in the final Minnesota Basketball News (MBN) poll, Rushford-Peterson averages 54.3 points per game on 40 percent field goal shooting. Ranked No. 7 by MBN, Springfield returns to tournament play for the first time since 1986. With a record of just 3-21 two seasons ago, the Tigers now average 80.9 points per game. The high-scoring, sharpshooting trio of senior Jordan Milbrath (19.2 points per game on 52.8 percent shooting), junior Tyler Marz (17.6 points on 60.5 percent shooting) and Jesse Kieper (13.4 points on 51.7 percent shooting) lead the Tigers. Marz and Milbrath add 8.2 and 7.6 rebounds per game, respectively. (Section 4) Minnesota Transitions Charter School, Minneapolis (27-3) vs. (Section 8) Cass Lake-Bena (26-4): Minnesota Transitions Charter School enters the tournament ranked No. 2 in the final MBN poll. The Wolves are making their third consecutive and overall appearance, losing in the quarterfinal round in 2009. Senior Kevin Noreen is a dominant force, averaging 38.6 points and 16.5 rebounds per game, plus 5.9 assists, 3.9 steals and 3.2 blocks. Junior Kyle Noreen adds 20.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 5.9 steals per game. The Wolves enter the tournament hitting 55 percent of their field goal attempts and scoring an average of 94.3 points per game. The unranked Panthers of Cass Lake-Bena are making their fourth consecutive and sixth overall appearance. They also lost in the quarterfinals in 2009. Senior Martin Wind, who has surpassed 2,500 career points, leads the Panthers in scoring (24.4 points per game) and assists (7.0 per game) and shoots 54.1 percent from the field. Senior Tyler Trosen averages 13.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Cass-Lake Bena scores 83 points per game on 53 percent field goal shooting. Class A Quarterfinal Schedule Thursday, March 25 11 a.m. — Rushford-Peterson vs. Springfield at Williams Arena, U of M 1 p.m. — Minnesota Transitions Charter School vs. Cass Lake-Bena at Williams Arena, U of M 3 p.m. — Mesabi East vs. Sebeka at Williams Arena, U of M 5 p.m. — Ellsworth vs. Hillcrest Academy at Williams Arena, U of M

March 22, 2010

Nuggets knock Wolverines out

The second-seeded Hawley Nuggets unleashed some superior firepower Thursday as they routed seventh-ranked Wadena-Deer Creek 90-48 in Section 8AA action.

By Brian Hansel , March 19, 2010

Thursday Scorecard 3/18

Girls' Basketball Class A State Tournament Parkers Prairie 54, Southwest Minnesota Christian 50 Sari Noga 20 points, 16 rebounds Micaela Noga 14 points Next: Parkers Prairie (27-2) vs. Barnum (29-2) at Target Center, Friday, 2 p.m.

By Brian Hansel , March 19, 2010

Tuesday Scorecard 3/16

Boys’ Basketball Section 5A Isle 57, Barnum 49 Sebeka 68, Nevis 48 Next: Section 5A Championship, Isle vs. Sebeka at Crosby-Ironton, Friday, 7 p.m. Section 6AA New London-Spicer 87, Albany 62 Staples-Motley 57, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 43 Next: Section 6AA Championship, New London-Spicer vs. Staples-Motley at St. Cloud State, Friday, 6:30 p.m. Section 8AA Crosby-Ironton 53, Hawley 46 Thief River Falls 60, East Grand Forks 55 Next: Section 8AA Championship, Crosby-Ironton vs. Thief River Falls at Bemidji State, Friday, 7 p.m.

By Brian Hansel , March 17, 2010

WDC fourth-grade basketball team place third

WDC fourth-grade basketball team place third in the 2010 Wadena-Deer Creek Fourth Grade Basketball Tournament

March 12, 2010

Wolverines top Pelican Rapids cagers 69-60

Tom VanErp’s Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines ended the regular season on a winning note last Friday with a 69-60 victory over Pelican Rapids.

By Brian Hansel , March 12, 2010

Benning, Rebels stop Lady Pirates 64-44

Sierra Benning pumped in 25 points as the seventh-ranked Eagle Valley Rebels ousted 10th-ranked Verndale from the Section 5A playoffs with a 64-44 victory.

By Brian Hansel , March 12, 2010

Wolverines can’t catch Pequot

It was one and out for the Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines as they ran into a red-hot Pequot Lakes team in the Section 8AA tournament.

By Brian Hansel , March 12, 2010

Pirates ousted from playoffs; Meidinger nets 47 points

Marlin Aho and Derek Pihlaja both canned 25 points as the Menahga Braves eliminated Verndale from the Section 5A playoffs Monday with an 87-67 victory.

By Brian Hansel , March 12, 2010

Tuesday Scorecard 3/9

Girls' Basketball Section 5A Sebeka 63, Bertha-Hewitt 55 Barnum 69, Northland 44 Next: Section 5A Championship, Sebeka vs. Barnum at Crosby-Ironton, Friday, 7 p.m. Section 6A New York Mills 58, Norman County East 49 Parkers Prairie 43, Hancock 42 Next: Section 6A Championship, New York Mills vs. Parkers Prairie at UM-Morris, Friday, 6 p.m. Section 8AA Hawley 59, Pequot Lakes 44 East Grand Forks 66, Warroad 30 Next: Section 8AA Championship, Hawley vs. East Grand Forks at Concordia-Moorhead, Friday, 7 p.m.

By Brian Hansel , March 10, 2010