Time off does Champlin Park some good

BY NICK CLARK - SUN NEWSPAPERS


The break for the Champlin Park boys basketball team came long before school was out for the holidays.

The Rebels last played Dec. 11 and 12 with a pair of games in Minnetonka, losing to Tonka and Cretin-Derham Hall.

Sixteen days later, they returned to the court with a re-vamped offensive approach that resulted in three victories and an Olive Garden Holiday Classic championship at Bethel University.

"The time off really helped because we used it well," said head coach Mark Tuchscherer. "We put in an additional offense where we take advantage of our athletic ability, and it allowed us to use our depth some more."

No question the change in philosophy worked. Over the course of the three victories, six different players ended up scoring in double figures, as the Rebels topped St. Anthony 82-34, Minneapolis Washburn 77-66 and Centennial 67-65.

Brandon Davis (16 points), D'Andre Williamson (14) and Kyle Zimmerman (10) led the way against St. Anthony. Josh Pella had 22 points, Zimmerman 17, Davis 16 and Jasper Duberry 14 in the win over Washburn. Pella scored 15 more, Jordan Reibling had 14 points and Dillon Hager finished with a dozen in the championship victory over Centennial.

"We were able to go 10 deep and get contributions from a lot of different guys," said Tuchscherer, whose team also beat White Bear Lake 70-44 Jan. 2 to improve to 5-2 on the year.

"We wanted out guys to get to the basket and attack, and we were able to do that the entire tournament. I was real pleased with how we played."