“I really liked the campus and the coaches up there,” Zimmerman said. “I have a couple of friends who go up there, so that was part of it too. It just seemed like a good fit.”
Click here to read the entire article.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Zimmermann To Attend St Johns
“I really liked the campus and the coaches up there,” Zimmerman said. “I have a couple of friends who go up there, so that was part of it too. It just seemed like a good fit.”
Click here to read the entire article.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Duberry & Zimmermann Academic All State !
Congratulations to Jasper Duberry and Kyle Zimmermann for making the 20 member 2009-10 Academic All-State Team.
Monday, April 19, 2010
NWSC Awards!
Channel 12 Announces Their Sports Jam All-Area Boys Basketball Team
John Jacobson and Jay Wilcox cap the winter sports season with highlights from the state boys basketball tournament as the Hopkins Royals win their second straight Class AAAA title. Plus we name the annual Sports Jam all-area teams in boys and girls basketball and hockey.
Click here to see the show.
2010 SPORTS JAM BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM
MARQUEL CURTIS, ARMSTRONG
PETER CRAWFORD, BENILDE-ST. MARGARET'S
FREDDIE YOUNG, BROOKLYN CENTER
JASPER DUBERRY, CHAMPLIN PARK
JOSH PELLA, CHAMPLIN PARK
KYLE ZIMMERMANN, CHAMPLIN PARK
CALVIN GODFREY, COOPER
DARRY JONES, COOPER
JOE COLEMAN, HOPKINS
D.J. PETERSON, HOPKINS
MARVIN SINGLETON, HOPKINS
JAY HIGGINS, MARANATHA
AARON ANDERSON, OSSEO
HONORABLE MENTION
ANDY SEIDLITZ, ARMSTRONG
ANTONE DARRINGTON, BROOKLYN CENTER
BRANDON DAVIS, CHAMPLIN PARK
TERRANCE AVERYHEART, COOPER
NICK PARKHURST, HERITAGE
SIYANI CHAMBERS, HOPKINS
SAVAUGHN JORDAN, MARANATHA
DARIAN PITTMAN, MARANATHA
CHRIS MCMORRIS, OSSEO
JOHN ROWLAND, OSSEO
JOEY SONNENFELD, OSSEO
JUSTIN CASEY, PARK CENTER
JORDAN LYNN, PARK CENTER
TEREZ VANPELT, PARK CENTER
ERIC ROBERTSON, WAYZATA
MICHAEL LINDBERG, WEST LUTHERAN
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Press & News - Champlin Park shocked in state quarterfinals ...
Champlin Park senior Brent Walker buries his head in his hands as the clock winds down in the Rebels' 55-51 Class 4A state basketball quarterfinal loss to St. Cloud Tech Wednesday, March 24, at Target Center. (Photo by Nick Clark)
Click here for the entire article.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Champlin Park shocked in state quarterfinals
Published: Sunday, March 28, 2010 10:03 AM CDT
Standing on the stairway leading up the Champlin Park locker room at Target Center, Mark Tuchscherer still couldn't get over one number relating to what was a season ending loss for his boys basketball team in the Class 4A state quarterfinals Wednesday, March 24.
Surprisingly, it wasn't the 55 points St. Cloud Tech finished with in sending the Rebels home with a 55-51 defeat.
It wasn't the 11 free throws Tech senior Alex Hanks knocked down to all but finish off the Rebels either.
And it wasn't even the 30.8 field goal percentage his team clanked its way to in what turned out to be less of a surprising upset over the course of the next few days.
Rather, it was the 26 turnovers Champlin Park forced Tech into, and how in the world the Rebels pick-pocketed the Tigers to that extent, and still managed to lose.
"There is no way you could have told me we'd force that many turnovers and lose," Tuchscherer lamented. "No way."
Click here to read the entire article.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Rebels fall in tournament opener
Champlin Park's boys basketball team struggled to make shots all day and couldn't overcome that in a 55-51 loss to St. Cloud Tech in the state Class 4A quarterfinals. Tech built a lead of 16 points in the first half before Champlin Park rallied to within six at halftime.Champlin Park tied the game at 44 in the second half and had several chances to take the lead, but it was Tech hitting back-to-back threes to regain the lead at 50-44 on the way to the win. Champlin Park finishes with a 24-6 record.
Click here for video hi-lite replay.
Jay Wilcox reporting
jwilcox@twelve.tv
Tigers get jump on Rebel forces
By Tom Elliott • telliott@stcloudtimes.com • March 25, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS — They were loose, confident and not too caught up in seeds or rankings.
Heck, they played Lightning during their morning shoot-around.
They said they felt Champlin Park presented a favorable matchup, and the Rebels did.
It added up to a 55-51 state Class 4A quarterfinal win for the St. Cloud Tech boys basketball team.
"We knew we could play with them," Tech senior guard Scott Nystrom said. "We knew we could beat them."
St. Cloud Tech's Thomas Korf (left) tries to rip the ball away from Champlin Park's Kyle Zimmermann in the second half Wednesday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. (Jason Wachter, jwachter@stcloudtimes.com)The Tigers, however, certainly made things interesting.
Third-seeded Champlin Park (24-6) rallied from a 16-point deficit to tie it up a couple times in the second half, the last at 44-44.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Boys basketball: Tech advances in state tourney, 55-51
Unseeded Tech (26-4) plays second-seeded Eden Prairie (26-3) at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Target Center. Eden Prairie beat Owatonna 61-46 in another quarterfinal today at Target Center.
It's the third straight state semifinal appearance for Tech, which has taken third the past two seasons.
The Tigers led 36-30 at halftime over third-seeded Champlin Park (24-6), which was ranked second in the state. The Rebels were led by Kyle Zimmermann. The 6-foot-3 senior post had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Rebels hold off Orioles in section boys' basketball
(Created: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 4:35 PM CDT)
Champlin Park defeated Osseo for the third time this season in a 69-62 Section 5 semifinal thriller March 16 at Rogers.
The Orioles played a strong first half and built a seven-point lead midway through the half. But the Rebels put on a late run to cut Osseo's lead to 29-28 at halftime.
The Rebels began to exert their physical style of play and carried the momentum into the second half. They began dominating the boards, took over the lead and the Orioles could not rally.
"We played very well in the first half but in the second half Champlin Park exploited our weak post defense," Osseo coach Tim Theisen said.
Osseo did not have an answer for the Rebels' senior center Kyle Zimmerman, who dominated the second half.
"Zimmerman did a really good job at taking our post players outside and posting them strong inside," Theisen said. "He scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half."
Osseo senior John Rowland (right) drives to the basket against Champlin Park. (Photo by Nick Clark)
The Orioles never quit and hung within five, six points most of the half, but on this night they could not rally because their shots were not falling.
"Every time we played them this year, Champlin Park slowly built up five, six point leads with five, six minutes to go," Theisen said. " It was exactly the same in the section semifinal. Unfortunately, we didn't step up and hit shots when we needed to."
Theisen had said when the season began that his team is one of the best shooting team in school history and would depend on outside shooting to win games. But the Orioles could not find their shooting touch against the Rebels and shot just 29 percent from two-point range and 25 percent from beyond the three-point arch.
Senior Chris McMorris led Osseo with 15 points, junior Joey Sonnenfeld had 10, senior Aaron Anderson and eighth grader Ian Theisen each had 9, senior John Rowland had 7, and seniors John Bailey and Dalton Graff each had 6.
Click here to read the entire article.
It's all for one and one for all as a well-balanced and cohesive group of Champlin Park seniors heads to state.
Last update: March 23, 2010 - 7:19 PM
Champlin Park boys' basketball coach Mark Tuchscherer knew his guys were stinging from a 74-69 loss to Hopkins on Jan. 9, but he encouraged them by pointing out the game's larger significance.
The Rebels vs. Royals was one of six games played in the Gatorade Timberwolves Shootout, a one day basketball showcase held at Target Center -- the same venue that houses the Class 4A state tournament.
"Coach said to us, 'This won't be the least time we're here,'" senior guard Dillon Hager said. "We all believed him."
And here they are again. The No. 3 seed Rebels (24-5) open play at 4 p.m. Wednesday against St. Cloud Tech (25-4). Champlin Park owes its return trip to downtown Minneapolis to a group of seniors whose talents are rivaled by their teamwork. These Rebels are not drones who carry out assigned tasks. They are individuals with unique strengths and a collective goal.
Click here to read the entire article.
Up Next St Cloud Tech
The 3rd seeded Section 5 champion Rebels (24-5) will be taking on the Section 8 champion St Cloud Tech Tigers (25-4) at 4pm Wednesday March 24th at the Target Center in the state Class 4A quarterfinals.The Tigers, who are currently on a 9 game winning streak, are not very big but are very good shooters from the outside and get most of their points from their perimeter players. They like to push the ball up the floor and then spread you out so that they can quickly take shots from the perimeter. They do nothing fancy and just play good sound fundamental basketball.
The Tigers are led by a very physical guard in Alex Hanks who is averaging 19 points and 6 rebounds a game. They have a very talented point guard in Scott Nystrom who is scoring 18 points a game and is a very good shooter. Thomas Korf is also averaging double digits (11 ppg) and is the team’s leading scorer. In the Tigers section championship game (they defeated Buffalo 51-45) these three players scored ALL but 6 of the teams points.
Team Captains Josh Pella, Jasper Duberry & Kyle Zimmermann
The two team’s common opponents are Osseo and Maple Grove. The Tigers defeated Osseo 62-54 back in December and Maple Grove in the section quarter final game 82-70.Which gets us to our well balanced Rebels. In the teams thrilling section championship game win, Brandon Davis was the man as he scored on a variety of shots to lead the way with 25 points. Josh Pella was stellar as he poured in 22 points (two 3 pointers in the first half) and made the game clinching shot as he attacked the basket and scored with less than a minute left. Kyle Zimmermann was phenomenal (15 points & 8 rebounds) as he handled and completely outplayed arguably the state’s best post player, Calvin Godfrey. Jasper Duberry who also scored in double digits (12) had a great floor game but was huge in dictating the games tempo and combating the Hawks ball swarming and full court pressure. Dillon Hager (3 points) had another one of his games that didn’t show up in the box score. It was Hager that kept the Hawks from running their offense, getting into a flow or letting the deep talented Hawk guards take over the game. Oddly enough, Hager is the team’s best 3 point shooter (46%) and free throw shooter (77%) and will score if he has to as he has been in double digits for half of the teams games.
Look for the defensive minded Rebel wings Brent Walker and Jordan Reibling to play some key minutes in this game as the Tiger guards are the team’s primary focus. Walker who rebounds well will cause Tiger guards problems shooting with his length. Look for Reibling to get his hands on a number of balls and give the Rebels another shooter from the perimeter. Rebel post players TJ Okafor and D'Andre Williamson will be ready, willing and able to help out on the boards.
The Rebels will be dominant inside as it doesn’t look like the Tigers have an answer for Zimmermann. I think another key to the game will be who the Tigers decide to guard Pella with. Pella, who is too quick for their post players and too strong for their wings, will be a match up nightmare for the Tigers. Hank’s, who is the team’s leading scorer but seems like the best answer, would have a long night and wouldn’t be as effective on offense. I also don’t think the Tigers want an up tempo game with the running Rebels. If the Rebels are able to get around the screens the Tigers will set and keep Hanks and Nystrom under control, they should advance to the quarter final round.
The Rebels put up 77 points on a tough defensive Cooper Hawk team in their last game and are averaging 70 points a game. They have won 22 of their last 25 games and a win would give the school their 1st ever win at the state tournament.
Tipoff at the Target Center is set for 4pm.
Boys state basketball tournament previews
By Minnesota State High School League
The coaches have selected the top seeds of the two largest school classes — St. Paul Johnson in Class AAA and Hopkins in Class AAAA.
Hopkins is the only school returning to defend its 2009 Class AAAA title. If the Royals win it would be their second consecutive and sixth overall title.
Three teams are making first appearances: Mesabi East of Aurora in Class A; Jordan in Class AA; and Orono in Class AAA.
This is the 14th year of the four-class format, and the seventh with all games being played in Minneapolis. It's also the third year that the top four teams in Class AAA and Class AAAA were seeded and their opponents determined by blind draw. The head coaches of the 16 schools logged onto a special page of the League Web site and each coach ranked the other teams 1 through 7. The highest and lowest rankings for each team were discarded, leaving five rankings for each team. From those rankings, the top four seeds were selected. In conference calls with all eight head coaches of each class, League Associate Director Kevin Merkle announced the top four seeds. A coaches association representative then conducted a blind draw of the four remaining teams to establish the opponents for the seeded teams.
The 2010 State Boys' Basketball Tournament starts Wednesday, March 24. Quarterfinal games will be played at Target Center on Wednesday, March 24, and at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis on both Wednesday and Thursday, March 24 and 25. Semifinals will be played at Target Center on Thursday March 25 and Friday March 26. The championship games of all four classes will be played at Target Center on Saturday March 27. Third-place games will be played on Saturday at Concordia University in St. Paul.
Detailed statistics provided by qualified teams are available on the League's Web site — www.MSHSL.org — as a Media Guide link under Tournaments, then Winter, then Boys' Basketball.
Class AAAA Preview
(Section 7) Forest Lake (24-4) vs. (Section 6 & No. 1 Seed) Hopkins (27-2): The Rangers of Forest Lake return for their fourth appearance, but first since 1999. They were ranked No. 8 in this year's final MBN poll. Forest Lake outscored its opponents by 10 points this year and also shot 45 percent from the field. Senior Zach Riedeman, who has more than 1,000 career points, leads the Rangers with 23.7 points per game. Senior Doug Sewall set a school record for most rebounds in a single season (284) and he averages 9.8 per game. The Royals of Hopkins return to defend their 2009 title. This is their second consecutive and 17th overall appearance. If they win it would be their sixth championship; in addition to last year, they also won in 1952, 1953, 2002, 2005 and 2006. The Royals were No. 1 in the final MBN poll. They average 87 points per game this season and shoot 60.2 percent from the field. Junior Joe Coleman scores an average of 25.2 points per game for Hopkins and junior Marvin Singleton adds another 18.5. Singleton also leads the Royals with 9.9 rebounds per game.
(Section 3) Eastview, Apple Valley (18-10) vs. (Section 4 & No. 4 Seed) Henry Sibley, Mendota Heights (21-4): Eastview is making its first appearance since 2005 and its second overall. The Lightning were not ranked in the final MBN poll. Henry Sibley, which lost in the quarterfinals of the 2009 tournament, is making its third consecutive and overall appearance. The Warriors were ranked No. 4 in this year's final MBN poll. Neither team provided team or individual statistics.
(Section 1) Owatonna (21-7) vs. (Section 2 & No. 2 Seed) Eden Prairie (25-3): Unranked Owatonna returns for its fifth tournament appearance and first since 1991. The Huskies won previous titles in 1989 and 1990. This year's team shoots 35.4 percent from three-point range and defeated its opponents by an average of 10.5 points. Junior Vaughn Thada averages 16.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and junior Tyler Supalla adds 10.4 points per game for the Huskies. The Eagles of Eden Prairie, who were No. 6 in the final MBN poll, are making their second appearance; their first was in 2003. Eden Prairie did not provide team or individual statistics.
(Section 8) St. Cloud Tech (25-4) vs. (Section 5 & No. 3 Seed) Champlin Park (24-5): The unranked St. Cloud Tech Tigers, who placed third last year, are making their third consecutive and 11th overall appearance. The Tigers averaged 73.9 points this year and shot 48 percent from the field. Seniors Alex Hanks and Scott Nystrom average 19.2 and 18.8 points per game, respectively. They also both average 6.1 rebounds per game. The Champlin Park Rebels, ranked No. 2 in the final MBN poll, return for their second appearance. Their last was in 2005. The Rebels, who shoot 46 percent from the field, outscored their opponents by an average of 10.9 points per game this season. Senior Kyle Zimmerman paces the Rebels with 13.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Seniors Brandon Davis and Josh Pella each add 12.8 points per game.
The Class AAAA Quarterfinals Schedule — Wednesday, March 24
10:00 a.m. — Forest Lake vs. Hopkins at Target Center
12:00 p.m. — Eastview vs. Henry Sibley at Target Center
2:00 p.m. — Owatonna vs. Eden Prairie at Target Center
4:00 p.m. — St. Cloud Tech vs. Champlin Park at Target Center
Ticket Information
Tickets will be available at Target Center and Williams Arena. Quarterfinal tickets cost $12.00 for adults and $8.00 for students. Quarterfinal wristbands, which are good at both venues on Wednesday only, are $17.00 for adults and $11.00 for students. Semifinal and championship tickets will be available at Target Center and are $12.00 for adults and $8.00 for students per session. Third-place tickets will be available at Concordia University and are $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for students.
A visit to any participating Wells Fargo metro location can yield you a $2 discount coupon for students 13 and younger.
All semifinal and championship games will be televised live by KSTC TV, Channel 45, and streamed live and free on the Web at www.45.GrandStadium.tv. Live statistics will also be displayed on the League Web site.
Click here to read the other class reviews.
Boys Basketball: Class AAAA state tournament preview
Champlin Park's the #3 seed in the AAAA state tournament.
(Photo: Dan Hinrichs)
The last of the winter sports comes to an end this weekend with the boys basketball state tournament in the Twin Cities. The Class 4A quarterfinals begin on Wednesday at the Target Center, with the semifinals taking place Thursday night. The championship game is scheduled for 8pm Saturday, also at the Target Center.
The four quarterfinal matchups:
Champlin Park (24-5, Section 5 champs, #3 seed) vs. St. Cloud Tech (25-4, Section 8 champs), 4pm:
Champlin Park had arguably the toughest road to the state tournament, as they had to defeat #7 Osseo and #3 Robbinsdale Cooper in the Section 5AAAA playoffs to earn their trip to state. The Rebels, seeded third despite ending the season ranked #2 in the polls, average 70.1 points per game and have won 17 of their last 18 contests. They've played seven games against teams ranked in the 4A top 10, winning four of those games including three against conference rivals Osseo. Champlin Park's making their second trip to state; their only other trip came in 2005.
St. Cloud Tech spent a week at #1 earlier in the season after starting the year 10-0. Back-to-back losses knocked the Tigers out of the top spot, but they were able to regroup and win their last nine games to make their 11th trip to the state tournament. The Tigers were tested in the Section 8AAAA playoffs, as they survived a one-point game against St. Michael-Albertville in the semifinals and then defeated #9 Buffalo by seven to win their third straight section title. St. Cloud Tech's the eighth-highest scoring team in Class 4A, averaging 71.3 points per game.
Click here to read about the other three games.
Class AAAA Boy's Basketball Tourney Preview
The Class AAAA boy's basketball tournament starts Wednesday at the Target Center. Defending champion Hopkins returns as the Royals hope to win their fourth title in six years. St. Cloud Tech and Henry Sibley are also making back to the state tournament for the third straight year. GoldenSports.Net will cover all the action this week. The following is a look at the Class AAAA matchups.
4:00 #3 Champlin Park (24-5) vs. St. Cloud Tech (25-4) Champlin Park started the season 7-4 before winning 17 of their last 18 games. The Rebels won 14 straight contest before losing their regular season finale to Andover 77-73. They are veteran team with their top eight scorers all being seniors. They have four double figure scorers, led by Kyle Zimmermann with 13.4 points per game. He is joined on the scoring side by Brandon Davis ((12.8), Josh Pella (12.8), Jaspaer Duberry (11.8) and Dillon Hager (8.1).
St. Cloud Tech started the season 10-0 and were ranked #1 in the state after Hopkins lost two straight games. However, the Tigers lost three of their next five games. They rebounded to win their last nine games and 15 of their final 16 contests. The Tigers defeated Buffalo 52-45 in the section finals after losing to them 55-52 in the regular season. They had to replace Nate Wolters, who averaged 10.1 points per game for South Dakota State and eight of their top ten scorers from a team that finished third in last year’s Class AAAA Tournament. They also to replace head coach Randy Jordan, last year’s Class 4A Coach of the Year. He left to coach Stillwater. The Tigers are led by senior Alex Hanks, who is headed to Mankato State and is averaging 19.3 points per game. Scott Nystrom, a 6-foot-2 senior who transferred from Kimball, is adding 18.8 points.
Click here for the other match ups.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Champlin Park downs Cooper for spot in state boys tourney
Jay Wilcox reporting
jwilcox@twelve.tv
Monday, March 22, 2010
After almost upsetting Cooper in last year's Section 5AAAA boys basketball semifinals, the Champlin Park Rebels wanted another shot at the Hawks this season.
Though Cooper had a whole new lineup compared to a year ago, the Hawks came in as the No. 1 seed and carrying a 25-3 record. No. 2-seed Champlin Park was 23-5.
The Rebels played a strong first half, putting together a late run to take a 44-33 halftime lead. Champlin Park's lead grew as big as 18 before Cooper came storming back to within three late in the game.
The Rebels held on to win 77-70, advancing to the state tournament for the second time in school history.
Champlin Park was seeded No. 3 for the state Class AAAA tourney. The Rebels meet St. Cloud Tech in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Target Center.
Click here to see the hi-lites.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Boys basketball: Tigers, Flyers face tests at state
St. Cloud Tech gets a team that plays like itself and it can match up with in Champlin Park.
Little Falls faces a team quite unlike itself in Minneapolis DeLaSalle.
Tech and Little Falls learned their opponents for the state boys basketball tournament Saturday morning in a seeding meeting.
Unseeded Tech (25-4) plays third-seeded Champlin Park (24-5) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the TargetCenter in Minneapolis in the state Class 4A quarterfinals.
Unseeded Little Falls (20-9) plays second-seeded Minneapolis DeLaSalle (24-4) at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Williams Arena.
“It’s not a shock,” Tech head coach Mike Trewick said of being unseeded. “(Tech) couldn’t get higher than fourth last year and was 31-1. So, we’ll take it.”
Tech, like Little Falls, avoids having to see the top seed until the final. Champlin Park is a smaller, quicker team like Tech, with no starter over 6-foot-4, though the Tigers do start 6-foot-6 sophomore Kevin Heysse.
Hopkins got the top seed and faces Forest Lake. No. 2 Eden Prairie plays Owatonna and No. 4 Henry Sibley faces Eastview of Apple Valley.
Little Falls, led by 6-8 Dan Kornbaum, faces DeLaSalle, which is led by Jonah Travis, a 6-6 junior, Jalen Jaspers, a 6-3 senior guard, and Bretson McNeal, a 6-0 junior guard.
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.
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