Champlin Park 70 - Maple Grove 67 / 9-8

The Battle For 2nd Place!
After watching Jordan Nelson score on the Crimson’s first 4 of 6 possessions, the Rebels quickly fell behind and looked as if they had no answer for the big man. Falling behind by as much as 14 points, the Rebels were able to go into the locker room only down by 11, 39-28.

The game, which was poorly officiated from the opening tip, started to take a turn in the Rebels favor as the 2nd half started. The Rebels came out blazing, getting baskets inside (Emeka Okafor, 11 points) and out (Scott Theisen, 15 points). Kyle Zimmermann (12 points) who was not a factor in the 1st half came to life with a number of slashing cuts to the basket as he and Calvin Nolte (9 points) got the Crimson’s bigs in foul trouble, the two shot 18 free throws for the game. The Crimson’s leading scorer and rebounder, Josh Pedretti, who was allowed to use a hook move all game long could not convert inside and spent most of the 2nd half on the bench in foul trouble before eventually fouling out.

Though the Rebels scored 42 points in the 2nd half, it was their defense that got them back in the game and eventually won it for them. Guards Zerrick Fuller (12 points, 5 assists) and Jasper Duberry (4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) kept the Crimson’s Alex Geisonhoff (6 points) in check before he fouled out with a couple of minutes to go. In the teams earlier meeting this year, Geisenhoff scored 25 points.

The win pushed the Rebels into sole possession of 2nd place in the conference at 7-3, as well as put their record on the positive side (9-8) for the first time this year.

The Box: Whitehead 3, Fuller 12, Duberry 4, Nolte 9, Jesinoski 4, Theisen 15, Okafor 11, Zimmermann 11.