BLOOMINGTON SOUTH, MN: Opening Night in Minnesota
16 teams, 121 players and countless numbers of fans packed the gym at Bloomington South on Wednesday night to welcome the start of the Fall 2011 season. There were new players and teams, as well as longtime mainstays, who were trying to make a new impression on the league or were trying to re-assert their dominance.
Adding to the excitement of the evening was the Gold Cup presentation to the 2011 Fall Champion Rebels before their game against the Timberpuppies.
Here is a recap of all the action:
Blue Chips vs. Panthers
The Blue Chips let me know before the game what they thought about my prediction of their team finishing 3-5. In my defense, I made the prediction when the status of Keilon Riddley was up in the air, but neverthless, the Chips felt disrespected.
Their first chance to prove me wrong came in Game 1 against the Panthers, who were playing their inaugural game in Ultimate Hoops. The Panthers took the lead a couple of times in the first half, but the veteran Chips took the 13-point win.
The return of Riddley proved to be huge for this team. He scored 28 points on 19 shots, grabbed 9 rebounds and finished with a PPR of 31.2. New additions Sam Halverson added 20 points and 10 rebounds and Peter Mortensen added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Blue Chips GM Erik Bohn asked me after the game if this win made me change my mind about his team. I told him no. Winning games you are supposed to win isn't going to change anyone's mind. Of course, Keillon Riddley might.
Final Score: Blue Chips 76 - Panthers 63
The Bulls vs. Thundercats
The Thundercats sure seem a lot like last year's Bobcats. Except with no Joe Epple, no Danny Simmer and no John Bryan, they are certainly missing some pieces. Still, seeing Ben Boeding return from his injury was nice; Kevin Mayer is a fantastic role player and is widely regarded as one of the best teammates in all of rec basketball; and Noe Mendez, Derek Batiste and reigning-MVP Chris Maher are all high caliber players.
Still, having only five players - no matter what five players they are - is tough, especially against a team like The Bulls.
Romaro Nelson - who plays for the Bulls team in Fridley but was a Blue Chip up until this season - led The Bulls with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Mike Wiskus added 15. Yet, The Bulls lost by 14 points by shooting 13% less than the Thundercats (51% to 38%) and by being outrebounded by 4.
Boeding had a double-double in his return (10 points and 16 boards) and Noe Mendez led the Thundercats in scoring with 24, despite Maher being held to only 11 points after missing all 4 of his three point attempts.
Final Score: Thundercats 71 - The Bulls 57
Tropics vs. Blazers
Another one of Bloomington South's new teams, the Tropics, went up against a team with years of UH history in the Blazers. The Blazers, who were predicted by many analysts to finish as a playoff team, started off the game strong. Thanks to a nice game from Jackson Eddy, the Blazers led by 10 at the break (39-29).
After the break, it was a different story. Mitch Hanson scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds and Michael Bundy had 13 off of the bench, which led to a 29-13 edge in the second half. The Tropics ended up winning by 6 and Anton Martynenko's team has its first franchise victory.
Final Score: Tropics 58 - Blazers 52
Clem's Kidz vs. Thunder
Benjamin Wagner of Clem's Kidz had one of the best individual performances of the night with 28 points, 19 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Unfortunately for Wagner, the rest of Clem's Kidz went 13-of-46 (28%) from the field. The team was down only 2 at half, but were outscored by 30 in the second, and wound up losing by 32. Mike O'Brien had a rough night, shooting only 1-of-11 from 3 with 6 turnovers.
The Thunder had four players in double figures, including John Hohenstein with 28 and Jonathan Christenson with 22. Kory Dirnberger added 15 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
Final Score: Thunder 88 - Clem's Kidz 56
Lakers vs. Huskies
One of the most hyped teams in Bloomington South, the Huskies, played their inaugural game against the Lakers. Junius Ho and Heath Stoll are two of the more vocal members of the UH community, Tommy Ng is the Target Center coordinator and Lawrence Barnes is one of the best scorers in the league.
Unfortunately, their team started off slowly and were down 39-31 at the half. The Lakers ended up winning by 9 in a game that they controlled nearly from the outset. It was a balanced scoring effort, led by Justin Martin with 20, and Kevin Craft had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds.
The Huskies shot only 6-of-22 from three - Barnes went 1-of-7 - and turned the ball over 11 times. A bright spot was the play of Ronnie Olson, who had an efficient performance and looks to be one of the best rookies this season.
Final Score: Lakers 84 - Huskies 75
Rebels vs. Timberpuppies
Prior to this game starting, the Rebels - minus their coach/GM Joe Neuenfeldt - received their Gold Cup trophy and ceremonial net and Paul Ferber received an Ultimate Hoops hat for winning MVP.
Their first test of this season were the beefed up Timberpuppies, who have added Mike Byrne and Mike Wolf to their already-impressive front court.
Unfortunately, this game did not exactly live up to the hype. The Rebels made quick work of the T-Pups with their stellar guard play and stifling defense. They only shot 45% from the floor and sent to the Pups to the line 19 times (they only made 13), but this one was never really in doubt from the tip.
Justin Montzka and Patrick Magnuson each had 15 and Dustin Dupont had 5 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Mike Byrne led the T-Pups with 13.
Final Score: Rebels 66 - Timberpuppies 47
Raptors vs. Inception
The Matt Messina-led Inception came into tonight's game with largely the same roster as last season but are looking to improve upon those results. They started out with a game against the Raptors, who are made up of a mixture of Rainbow Warriors, Nets, D.Y. Nasty and Wolfpack.
For two teams that have low expectations in terms of season record, this one was a very entertaining affair. Daniel Whiteside had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Lance Buscher added 22 points off of the bench. Meanwhile for Inception, Cardell Poe had 21 and Tramon Van Leer had 17 points and 8 rebounds.
The game turned in the 4th quarter with the Raptors up one and about 15 seconds left. Cardell Poe, who had gone 3-of-5 from three til' that point, hit the shot from downtown and was fouled by Michael Fee on a late closeout. The Raptors could not get a last second shot off, and despite a nice effort, lost by 1.
Final Score: Inception 67 - Raptors 66
St. Baul vs. Riddlers
The other two top teams in Bloomington South - St. Baul and the Riddlers - faced off in the nightcap. The Riddlers were missing team leader Nick Roell but welcomed the return of Peter Clark and Mark Buettner. St. Baul was missing James Pinkett and Mark Lewer.
This was a back-and-forth affair between two squads who both play great team basketball. 10 of the 12 players involved scored in double figures and Peter Clark scored 9. Mark Buettner, who only played 33 minutes, scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. John Ebling scored 13 points and had 9 rebounds, but a late technical foul was damaging for the Riddlers.
The game wound up tied after Ryan Samuelson cut through the lane and hit a beautiful tear drop layup. The ball was stolen by St. Baul off of the inbounds pass, and after what looked like a clear double-dribble was not called, Greg Regenscheid shot a three. The ball hit the back iron, bounced up, and dropped back into the hoop for the three points and the win.
Regenscheid's teammates mobbed him, the Riddlers walked off disgusted with the officials and with the outcome, and St. Baul won by 3.
Final Score: St. Baul 77 - Riddlers 74
Next week, we'll see great matchups between the Riddlers and Blue Chips, the T-Pups and The Bulls, and the Thunder and Huskies.
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