JAG Border Battle

Not sure if this is suppose to be to compete with the "official" Border Battle put on by the yearbook but, the JustAGame Fieldhouse has started running their own Border Battle the last few years. In the past it has typically been teams from Iowa vs Wisconsin with maybe a Minnesota team sprinkled in but, this year was all Minnesota vs Wisconsin. I pretty much missed the first game as I had to work the morning but, Richland Center got destroyed by St Charles and St Charles was up 30 when I showed up at the start of the fourth quarter. St Charles ended up winning 77 to 54.

Marshall 80 Spring Grove 78
This was easily the best game of the tournament and was fast passed and high scoring. Spring Grove was a team that pushed the tempo a little but, really kept things quick because they weren't shy about taking the first available shot and at times forced some shots. When Spring Grove missed those quick shots Marshall was pushing the ball right back at them in transition and typically that led to transition threes for Marshall and they love to shoot the threes. Marshall's defense left a lot to be desired at times but, they didn't seem to concerned. In the first half Marshall was dropping all their threes and Spring Grove couldn't buy a bucket. Through the third Marshall was up double digits but, in the fourth Spring Grove kept chipping away and sophomore Chase Grinde starting knocking down some big threes. Marshall did a little bit of a choke job missing some threes and turning the ball over while Grinde hit the threes. Marshall star 6'3 junior Adam Link went from the goat to the hero in a matter of seconds. Up two Link missed both free throws and Spring Grove game down and scored. On the inbounds pass Link took the ball the length of the court and knocked down the step back shot from the free throw line to get the win at the buzzer.

Top Scorers
M- Adam Wehking 17 Link 16 Andy Lutz 13 Jordan Gomez 11
SG- Chase Grinde 29 Alex Engelbardt 27 Brady Schuttemeier 11

Caledonia 67 GET 63
I had heard a lot of talk about GET and their 1-3-1 defense and too be honest I wasn't that impressed and whether it was simply a bad game or that was their true selves I'm not sure. GET star 6'3 junior Nick Wagner really forced some shots and seemed to settle so much on fade away jumpers and his only basket was a layup out of a bit of a scramble right at the end of the first half. GET defense seemed much better when 6'1 senior Carl Huhn was playing the middle of that defense but, Huhn was in foul trouble the entire game and spent a lot of time on the bench. Thankfully for GET 6'2 junior Noah Hammond was huge off the bench running the point when Wagner was denied the ball and then hitting some big threes. For Caledonia they did a great job of beating the 1-3-1. Early on they were getting the open threes in the corners, then throwing the diagonal pass to the opposite block, and using their height advantage going from the high to low post. Caledonia just kind of methodically beat GET all game long until GET pressed late and forced some turnovers and then Hammond and Wagner started hitting some threes, to make this a game late.

Top Scorers
GET- Hammond 22 Wagner 18 Huhn 11
C- Gavin Schroeder 20 Kyle Sorenson 13 Austin Bauer 13 Owen King 12

Randolph 53 Fond du Lac Ojibwe 51
This game was much closer then what I expected and that may be because Randolph is not the Randolph of old. Randolph doesn't have the height of the past or the players. Hands down the best player by a long shot was Randolph senior 5'6 Duke Vander Galien. Vander Galien could do just about anything he wanted and did a great job of getting to the rim and scoring and knocking down the 15 foot shot. Vander Galien appeared to want to push the tempo but, just didn't seem to have the horses to run with him. This game felt like Randolph had control throughout but, every time you looked up at the score board it was still a close game. The surprise of the game had to be Ojibwe senior Cameron Thompson. Thompson didn't resemple a basketball player one bit but, was a very good outside shooter and then late in the game showed the ability to score in the post with his back to the basket. Randolph was able to hang on but, gave Ojibwe every opportunity to steal one.

Top Scorers
R- Vander Galien 27 Cole Westra 11 Xander Herpel 8
FLO- Thompson 24 Jordan Diver 12 Dexter Delille 9

Top Players 
Adam Link 6'3 junior Marshall- Very smooth point guard that did force shots at times. Can hit the spot up three pointer or hitting the step back mid range shot.

Adam Wehking 6'4 sophomore Marshall- Really did a nice job battling in the post and got nearly ever rebound. Showed the ability to hit the short jumpers and was very tough from the free throw line.

Chase Grinde sophomore Spring Grove- Just a scorer. Was able to just dribble into the three point shot and knock it down with a defender in his face and had the strength to score taking the ball to the rim.

Alex Engelhardt junior Spring Grove- An athlete more then a basketball player. Showed the quickness to get to the rim and finish in a variety of ways and had a nice little post up game in the paint.

Noah Hammond 6'2 junior GET-  Came up huge when Wagner was struggling and a did a good job running the point off the bench. Used a soft touch driving to the rim and didn't miss from the corners shooting the three.

Nick Wagner 6'3 junior GET- No doubt he's a good player but, like to see kids take it to the rim rather then settle for jumpers. Liked seeing him play off the ball with Hammond running the offense. Was able to hit some big deep threes when he was able to dribble into his shot.

Gavin Schroeder 6'4 junior Caledonia- Got to mention a kid that scores 20 points off the bench. High energy kid that ran the court well and was able to get position and score against the zone defense.

Owen King 6'0 freshmen Caledonia- Really a calming factor in the game despite being a freshmen. Didn't take a lot of shots but, when he did he was going to make them. Don't recall him turning the ball over once.

Kyle Sorenson 6'7 senior Caledonia- Just a solid player. Did a great job of catching the ball in the high post and feeding Schroeder, finding the open team mate for three, or knocking the shot down himself. Helped break the pressure defense as well.

Duke Vander Galien 5'6 senior Randolph- Ultra quick lead guard. Could get to the rim and finish at will or stop on a dime and hit the 15 foot jumper. I believe he was also 9-10 from the free throw line.

Cameron Thompson senior Fond du Lac Ojibwe- Money from three point range and was also able to show some nice moves in the post.

Dexter Delille senior Fond du Lac Ojibwe- Very talented player but, some times tried to be a little fancy. Handled the ball very well and was always looking to set team mates up.

Overall was a pretty good day of basketball. May not of been as good as the real Border Battle but, hey for this one it was a 30 second drive for me.