Basketball Doubleheader Goes Osseo's Way

Wins keep Orioles on pace and on top of Northwest Suburban
BY NICK CLARK (Created: Thursday, February 19, 2009 12:23 PM CST)

The rebirth of the girls and boys high school basketball doubleheader was on display Friday, Feb. 13 at Champlin Park High School.

Too bad it had to happen on a night destined to produce a few scares.

Both boys and girls basketball teams from Osseo and Champlin Park did their best to dispel any thoughts of a Friday the 13th melee - the lady Rebels even handed out white roses to their parents in the moments before the first of two games got underway - but it didn't take long for the night to turn into just that.

Champlin Park's Ali Schmidt (32) goes up for two vs. Osseo Friday, Feb. 13, at Champlin Park. Photo by Bill Jones

Turnovers, missed free throws, botched layups - you name it, the four teams fouled it up. Only on both ends, Osseo did just enough to maintain its curse on Champlin Park.

The Oriole girls ran their current win streak over Champlin Park to five with a 57-51 win, while the Osseo boys followed that up with a 57-53 victory, their seventh straight win in the series.

Neither of the wins could be described as pretty, but the Northwest Suburban Conference doesn't have a column for ugly victories, and for a pair of teams sitting on the top of those league standings, that was the rallying call afterwards.

"We'll take any win we can get," said Osseo girls head coach Joey Waters, whose team improved to 17-5 overall and 13-1 in NWCS play with the win. "We are in the race right now for first place, so however brutal it is, we'll take it.

"From Champlin Park's perspective, it wasn't that the Orioles took anything. Rather, the Rebels couldn't shake the feeling that they handed them the win in the girls game.

Champlin Park turned the ball over 25 times, nearly a quarter of which came as the Rebels watched a two point deficit swell to 15 in a 13-0 second-half run from Osseo.

"We had five or six turnovers in that stretch," said Champlin Park head girls coach Carl Pierson, whose team dropped to 18-4 with the loss. "I would like to think with the seniors we have, we are not going to get flustered by their pressure, but it boiled down to who scored off the turnovers. We didn't and they did.

"That was the case both early and late. Osseo grabbed hold in the opening minutes, building a leads of 9-3 and 19-9 before a late Champlin Park run pulled the Rebels to within three at the break.

Osseo opened the second half with five straight points to pull ahead 30-21, and after the Rebels closed to with-in two at 32-30, Osseo went inside to rebuild their cushion, and by the time Champlin Park recovered, it was a 15-point game.

Champlin Park's Tarah Flahavan tries to fight past Osseo's Mikayla Bailey Friday, Feb. 13, at Champlin Park. Photo by Bill Jones

"Defense is our focus, and our defense transitioned our offense tonight," Waters said. "We pressured the ball and boxed out and when we do that well, we win.

"Dani Mangen and Kylie Gottsman paced Osseo in the win, finishing with 12 points each. Champlin Park's Rachel Leitz finished with a game-high 17, and the Rebels also got 16 points from Ashley Witte, who fouled out with 2:38 to play.

Boys Game Decided On D

Osseo boys coach Tim Theisen also said it was his teams effort on the defensive end that made the difference Friday.

In fact Champlin Park head coach Mark Tuchscherer had the same message about his team.

Shots were tough to hit, and points weren't easy to find.

The Orioles limited Champlin Park to just 53 points, nearly 20 below the Rebels average, but Osseo finished with just 57 points of its own, 15 shy of the Orioles typical output.

"We did a great job defensively," Theisen said. "What is frustrating is we are a little stale and stagnant on the offense, and that is something that we have to get better at. We have to make sharper cuts, set our man up, make ball fakes - all of the above.

"That could start with senior Sam Dower. The 6-fot-9 Gonzaga University recruit struggled to get open, and when the ball did reach his hands, most of the time it was kicked right back out.

Dower still managed a team best 14 points, but he had been averaging 25 a night heading in.

"Give Champlin Park credit, they did a great job defending Sam," Theisen said. "They played physical on him and wore him out, and some of our other players stepped up on the second half and hit key shots for us. That his what we are capable of.

"Typically, so is Champlin Park (12-8, 8-4), but the Rebels got very little to fall. Scott Theisen struck for a game-high 15 points, but Champlin Park rimmed out at least six layups, and with point guard Jasper Duberry on bench most of the night with foul issues, the Rebel offense was never in sync.

"If we make a few layups and execute on offense a little better, it's a different game," said Champlin Park head coach Mark Tuchscherer. "We played the way we should on defense, and we always say defense is going to win. We usually have a good offense. We just missed some easy shots tonight.

"Conversely, Osseo (18-2, 11-1) made the easy baskets, and knocked down a couple of late three's to seal the win and keep it's one-game conference lead over Centennial intact.

"We want to win a conference championship, that is goal No. 1," Theisen said. "This is obviously one of the tougher teams in our conference, and we knew it was going to be a battle. It was a good win for us."