BLOOMINGTON SOUTH, MN: St. Baul stays undefeated and the T-Pups survive the Bobcats

Wednesday night in Bloomington South saw several impressive performances from playoff contenders and teams who are still trying to keep their playoff hopes alive. St. Baul - proclaimed by one prominent UH member to be the best basketball team in Minnesota rec history - stayed undefeated, while Minnesota Rice may have suffered a crushing blow to their postseason dreams.

Timberpuppies vs. Bobcats

While the Bobcats only showed up with four players, they put up a spirited fight and were down only 2 points to end the first half. Credit the Bobcats' 54% shooting (13-of-24) from three-point range for keeping them in the game. Joe Epple had 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Chris Maher added 25.
The T-Pups eventually took advantage of their extra man and their opponents' tired legs. Kyle Wenzel led the team with 35 points and was deadly from downtown (7-of-11). Scott Jenkins was impressive off of the bench, scoring all 15 of his points from the three-point line and adding 4 assists. Sean Ball had a nice all-around game with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Final score: Timberpuppies 93 - Bobcats 77


Inception vs. St. Baul

Even when Johnny Webb is not shooting well (3-of-13), St. Baul is such a deep team that they can find scoring from other places and manage to still win big. Justin Samuelson had an impressive double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds; Ryan Samuelson added 19 points; and James Pinkett added 6 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds off of the bench for an impressive PPR of 18.0.
Inception was only down 10 at the break, but St. Baul quickly made it a blowout in the second half. Cardell Poe led Inception with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting and was the only member of his team who shot above 50% for the game. .
First place St. Baul takes on the second place Riddlers next week.

Final score: St. Baul 88 - Inception 66


Blue Chips vs. Rainbow Warriors

The Blue Chips had to play with five and were missing key big man Jason Briggs, while the Rainbow Warriors had a full squad of 9 guys, but this game became a laugher early and finished with the Blue Chips winning by 41.
There were not many bright spots for the Rainbow Warriors, but it is nice to see Parris Curren playing so well after having knee surgery only weeks ago. Curren had a nice game with 21 points and 4 assists. Santos Rivero added 21 points and 9 rebounds.
Other than those two bright spots, this game was all Blue Chips. Romaro Nelson led the game with 37 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assiss and 5 steals. Keilon Riddley also had a nice performance, despite 5 turnovers, and scored 27 with 9 rebounds and 7 steals. All five players for the Blue Chips had a PPR of 16.5 or above.

Final score: Blue Chips 104 - Rainbow Warriors 63


Inception vs. Supersonics

Playing in their second game of the night, Inception was able to come back from a tough loss to St. Baul and grab the 14-point win over the Supersonics.
Inception was led by Jay-r Ramirez who scored 24 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 30 minutes. Only one other player on the team scored in double figures (Tramon Van Leer with 11), but they held the Sonics to 3-of-15 shooting from three.
The Supersonices had three players score in double figures, led by Neil Olmscheid with 13. The Sonics had to play mostly one-on-one basketball, however, tallying only 3 assists on 20 made field goals.
Inception, at 2-5, is a long shot for a playoff bid even if they win next week against the Unicorns.

Final score: Inception 66 - Supersonics 52


Minnesota Rice vs. Riddlers

It appears now that the 2-1 start for the Minnesota Rice was more a product of the team's schedule (wins over the Rainbow Warriors and Inception) than it was an indiction of the team's talent level. After losing by 30 to St. Baul in week 4, the team has suffered four 20+ point losses in a row.
In last night's game against the Riddlers, Minnesota Rice shot only 25% from the floor. Junius Ho missed his first 9 shots and Noah Caron, despite 20 rebounds, was only 3-of-14 from the floor.
The Riddlers, meanwhile, received strong performances from Andy Steingas (20 points on 9-of-11 to go with 9 rebounds), Isaac Vogel (12 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists) and John Ebeling, who arrived to the game at halftime and still scored 17 points.
The Riddlers have long clinched an at-large bid, but their game against St. Baul next week could have a big impact on their seeding.
Minnesota Rice has a winnable game against the Supersonics next week, and with a victory, could still be in the mix for an at-large bid.

Final score: Riddlers 79 - Minnesota Rice 43


Unicorns vs. Rebels

The Unicorns played a scrappy game and had the lead with only 5 minutes remaining in the first half. The Rebels have more talent, though, and in the end, that talent eventually came through to get them the win.
The Unicorns were led by Peter Mortenson, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Hoyle, who addded 16. Joey Wedlund put in a nice contribution off of the bench with 11 points in 29 minutes.
For the Rebels, Ryan Jansen stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and a block. Dustin Dupont was the game's leading scorer with 20 points and Joe Thomas added 16 from the bench on 7-of-10 shooting.
The Rebels have an all-but-guaranteed win against the Rainbow Warriors next week, which would move them to 6-2 on the season. The Unicorns are 3-4, and while an automatic bid is out of reach, they can lock up an at-large bid with a win over Inception in Week 8.

Final score: Rebels 81 - Unicorns 67