High-end collision goes to Champlin Park

BY NICK CLARK - SUN NEWSPAPERS
Published: Saturday, March 20, 2010 3:21 PM CDT

The main gym inside Rogers High School was overflowing well before Champlin Park and Cooper took the floor for their highly anticipated Class 4A, Section 5 boys basketball final Friday, March 19.
With high-energy showdown of two teams running up and down the court at a pace few high school clubs can match up with, that type of draw was expected.

But in the midst of what was a frantic finish to a stacked section tournament, there was something else being played out, something that ended up resembling that of an old-fashioned game of Chicken.

"We were going to go right at them," said Champlin Park head coach Mark Tuchscherer. "We knew they'd come at us, so we wanted to attack them right back. We weren't going to back down."

And so they attacked, as it was Cooper that ended up blinking first with a costly first half controlled by Champlin Park in what finished as a 77-70 Rebels victory and a spot in this week's Class 4A state tournament.

An upset according to the section seeds, second-seeded Champlin Park (24-5) put it's depth to work, taking out top-seeded Cooper (25-4) with an offense that came in waves from a starting five that accounted for every point.

Brandon Davis scored eight of Champlin Park's first 13 points on his way to finishing with 25. Josh Pella got his night started by banking in a pair of first-half three's, before ending it with a pair of buckets in the final two minutes that left him with 22 on the night.

In between, Kyle Zimmerman went at Cooper's 6-foot-8 intimidator Calvin Godfrey for 15 of his own points, while holding the lengthy center to just 11 points on the other end.

"Kyle played man-to-man against probably one of the best centers ever to play in this state," said Tuchscherer. "Eleven points for him, that is pretty darn good man-to-man defense."

Mors so, it caught Cooper off guard.

"Most teams have not been able to defend us like that," said Cooper head coach David Johnson. "Their strength wore us down, especially inside. That is what hurt us the most, and Zimmerman really hurt us. It seemed like every time we made a run, he would come down and get down low and get a shot off."

When it mattered most, Pella delivered the most serious blow. Champlin Park was up by 11 at the break, and then 18 after Davis, Zimmerman and Jasper Duberry accounted for an 8-0 run that gave the Rebels a 66-48 lead with just over eight minutes to play.

Cooper stormed back though, and they were within three (73-70) with 1:23 to go after a Godfrey block led to a Terry Glass put back. But on their next trip down, Pella attacked the rim for his final two points, and Cooper wouldn't score again.

"We were not going to be denied," said Pella. "That is what we said all night. We were going to have the power to get to state, and that's what we did."

Champlin Park's only other trip to the state basketball tournament came in 2005. That year, the Rebels lost their only state tournament game in school history, falling to Tartan 48-33 in the Class 4A state semifinals.

Hopkins won the big-school title that year, and the Royals enter this year's field at the No. 1 overall seed.

Champlin Park was named the No. 3 seed in the tournament, and they were scheduled to open up against St. Cloud Tech (25-4) at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 24 at Target Center.

A loss there would end the Rebels season, but the lingering thought in Rogers last Thursday was of unfinished business on the Target Center floor.

Back in early January, Champlin Park had a 10-point lead on Hopkins at the half in the Timberwolves Shootout. The Royals came back to win 74-69 then. If they are to meet again, it wouldn't be until the state final, on that same court.

And in the mass of white-clad Champlin Park students celebrating with the Rebels Thursday, the possibilities of a rematch came up more than once.

"You have to take it one game at a time and worry about whoever we play first, but obviously we'd like another shot at Hopkins," Tuchscherer said. "We feel like we let that last one against Hopkins get away."

Thursday, that wasn't an issue.

"We set three goals at the beginning of the season," Pella said. "We've taken care of two of them by winning the conference and section. Our third goal is to win it all, and now we have a chance.