Border Battle

Yesterday was the annual Border Battle that has taken place for the past eight years. I've said this before but, this is a great event as it allows people to watch six of the top teams from both Wisconsin and Minnesota and watch it all in one location. In years past there have been some great games and some real great years where games have come down to the wire and the states have split each of the teams and other years one state or the other has dominated and the games have mostly been blow outs. This year was one of the down years with Wisconsin winning all six games and most of them were done with ease. I understand that it is always hard to predict a year in advance what teams will be good but, this year the Minnesota teams just weren't that strong. 

Stevens Point Pacelli 53 Rockford MN 50

I got to this game a little late so it was hard for me to get into the game. Rockford was a team that took very quick shots and if they were falling they were winning and when the shots stopped falling Pacelli was able to take the lead. Rockford played a 1-3-1 zone defense most of the game and Pacelli really did a nice job of moving the ball and finding the open player for three. Pacelli also used their size to control the boards on both ends. I didn't keep scoring in the game because I got there late so don't have the top scorers. 

Waupun 47 Byron MN 42

This game was really a struggle to watch. Both teams struggled to make shots. Byron had no go to player and no one that could consistently score. Waupun's top scorer 6'3 junior Mason Domask couldn't get things going and didn't really look to score a whole lot. Both teams sat back and shot threes and the threes just weren't falling. Domask couldn't hit his shots but, he was able to drive to the free throw line and find 6'8 big man junior 6'8 Jack VandeZande who had a huge day just off Domask assists. 

Milwaukee Pius 65 Simley 48

This was the two man domination in this one. Senior 6'2 Donovan Jackson was the outside man and 6'7 junior Levi Bradley was the inside man. Jackson just couldn't miss in the first quarter and could get anywhere he wanted. Bradley used his quickness to get by fellow big man. Simley 6'3 senior Sam Stensgard did his best to keep his team close knocking down threes but, he ran out of steam late in the game and I think Simley's lack of depth killed them. 

Stevens Point 79 Lakeville North 58

This game was highlighted by the sharp shooting of 6'5 senior star from Lakeville JP Macura. Macura couldn't miss early on and scored the first 18 points for Lakeville, which was also all their points in the first quarter. While Lakeville was a one man team, Point was truly a team effort. In the second half it was a the sophomore show for SPASH, as 6'2 Trevor Anderson and 6'5 Sam Hauser were trading off hitting shots in the second half. It the end it was using four different defenders on Macura until they found the right match up with the 5'11 senior Jon Barnes guarding the much larger Macura. 

Seymour 61 Blake 38

This game was over early as Seymour's 1-3-1 really seemed to confuse Blake, who just wasn't ready to play in this one. 6'6 senior Sandy Cohen really caused problems for the Blake guards out top and the threes just weren't falling for Blake either. Not a whole much to say with this game anyway with the blow out. Cohen had a good game as did fellow senior 6'5 Dakota Oskey who used his athleticism and shooting ability to be the leading scorer. 

Kaukauna 58 Centennial 52

Was the best game of the day wire to wire. Kaukauna was dropping the threes all game long and Centennial kept clawing back into the game. For Kaukauna it was the three guard monster of 6'2 senior Kyle Schalow, and juniors 5'11 Derek Hansen and 6'1 Carter Belling. Centennial countered them with their one guard 6'3 Tyler Peterson. This game got very chippy late and I thought for sure we would see a technical but, never got one. Kaukauna showed a better team game and Centennial took some bad shots late and was forcing things. 

All Tournament team (my personal team) 

Brett O'Sullivan 6'4 senior Pacelli- Really controlled the boards on both end of the court and showed some nice post moves in the post. 

Isaac Elliot 6'0 senior Pacelli- Shot the three real well, as well as the mid range jumper. Always seemed to find the open shot against the zone. 

Brock Deering 6'5 senior Rockford- Didn't it all for them. Didn't score a ton but, did all the little things. Ran the point at times and was the top rebounder in the game. 

Mason Domask 6'3 junior Waupun- Didn't score a ton but, he was the reason that the Waupun big men had a really good game. 

Donovan Jackson 6'2 senior Pius- Was one of the most impressive players on the day. Showed a very smooth touch from the outside, finished at the rim in a variety of ways, and was the quickest player on the court. 

Levy Bradley 6'7 junior Pius- Showed a great ability to get to the rim from the free throw line and ran the court very well. Had a nice facial dunk on the 6'10 guy from Simley. 

Sam Stensgard 6'3 junior Simley- Played with a lot of fire and competitiveness in the game. Shot the three very well. 

Sam Hauser 6'5 sophomore Stevens Point-  Shot the three well, as well as the mid range jumper.

Trevor Anderson 6'2 sophomore Stevens Point- Hardnosed competitive player that runs the point well and looks for his team mates to score. Very good shooter as well hitting the three and the mid range shot. 

JP Macura 6'5 senior Lakeville North- Best player of the day. Could get his shot at any time and that shot could be from anywhere on the court. A guy that knows how to score shooting, driving, or picking up the garbage buckets. 

Dakota Oskey 6'3 senior Seymour- Ultimate competitor. Players extremely hard and can do a little big of everything. 

Sandy Cohen 6'5 senior Seymour- He is very bit of 6'5 and is extremely long. Handles the ball very well, shoot the three, and his best ability is finishing at the rim. 

JR Bascom 6'7 senior Blake- One of the few positives for Blake. Showed a very nice mid range jump shot and is a very good rebounder. 

Kyle Schalow 6'2 senior Kaukauna- Sharp shooter from the outside and is the leader of this team. 

Derek Hansen 5'11 junior Kaukauna- Another great shooter and hard nosed player. 

Tyler Peterson 6'3 senior Centennial- Probably the most competitive player that I saw on the day. Didn't look like it but, was a pretty good player putting the ball on the floor and scoring and could hit the three as well. 

Double Digit Scorers 

JP Macura Lakeville North 36 

Donovan Jackson Pius 30

Trevor Anderson Stevens Point 23 

Sam Stensgard Simley 22

Dakota Oskey Seymour 21 

Levi Bradley Pius 21

Tyler Peterson Centennial 20 

Brett O'Sullivan Pacelli 20 

Sam Hauser Stevens Point 18

Kyle Schalow Kaukauna 17

Isaac Elliott Pacelli 16 

John Veil Blake 15

JR Bascom Blake 14 

Sandy Cohen Seymour 14 

Jake VandeZande Waupun 14

Derek Hansen Kaukauna 13

Tyler Coble Byron 13

Buster Meyer Byron 11

Kevin Grow Centennial 11 

Mason Domask Waupun 10 

Carter Belling Kaukauna 10 

Was a very long day for me but, was well worth it.