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 By Steve Morris
If there was a shot clock in Minnesota high school basketball, the North Branch boys team might be in trouble.
Against the Totino-Grace Eagles, the boys methodically jumped ahead to
a 10-2 lead, running head coach Bill Baumann’s offense to near
perfection. However, they couldn’t sustain the momentum for the length
of the game and eventually fell to their knees, 52-46.
Right:
North Branch guard Deon Farr squared to the basket for a three-point
attempt during the Vikings home game against the Totino-Grace Eagles
Feb. 12.
The Vikings offense got Totino-Grace head coach mad, as he yelled to
his players not to trail the cutter. (The Vikings scored several lay
ups in the first half by finding the open cutter under the basket.)
At the end of the first half, North Branch had built a six-point cushion.
“We played a very good first half as we controlled the game. We had
some excellent possessions ...,” head coach Bill Baumann said.
In the second half, the Vikings sang a different tune as their offense
stalled. The Vikings went the first 10 minutes of the second half
without scoring a field goal. Senior Eric Sampson scored the teams
first field goal at the 10.03 mark of the second half.
From there, the boys were unable to get back on their feet from the deadly blow.
“We did not execute and we forced a lot of the action. We struggled
from the free throw line and gave up some key offensive rebounds,”
Baumann said.
Jake Chambers led the team in scoring with 12 points, followed by John Lindstrom with nine points.
North ßranch 28 18 46
Totino Grace 22 30 52
Jake Chambers 4-11 3-9 12; John Lindstrom 2-6 3-4 9; Ryan
Norman 3-8 0-0 7; Deon Farr 2-3 0-0 5; Kyle Grote 1-5 1-2 4; Dan Ginal
1-1 0-0 3; Bryce Hunter 1-2 0-0 2; Mike Dahl 1-1 0-0 2; Eric Sampson
1-2 0-0 2; Kirk Dahle 0-2 0-0 0; Totals 16-41 7-15 46.
3-point goals-North ßranch 7-23 (John
Lindstrom 2-5; Ryan Norman 1-4; Deon Farr 1-2; Kyle Grote 1-3; Dan
Ginal 1-1; Jake Chambers 1-5; Kirk Dahle 0-2; Bryce Hunter 0-1), Totino
Grace 3-8 (Totino 3-8). Fouled out--North ßranch-None, Totino Grace
-None. Rebounds-North ßranch 21 (Ryan Norman 3; Kyle Grote 3; Jake
Chambers 3; Eric Sampson 3) , Totino Grace 33 (Totino 27).
Assists-North ßranch 11 (Kirk Dahle 4), Totino Grace 0 . Total
Fouls-North ßranch 19, Totino Grace .
Irondale
Against the Irondale Knights, their North Suburban Conference rival, the boys lost 75-44.
The Viking started the game strong, but their lead was slowly taken away by a swarming Irondale attack.
Chambers finished with 18 points followed by Dan Ginal with nine points.
“Right now we are trying too hard and when you try too hard things
become tougher. We need to relax and just execute. The last three
quarters we have played have not been a thing of beauty. We need to get
back to what made us successful earlier. All we can do is keep working
hard and eventually good things will happen,” Baumann said.
Irondale 39 36 75
North ßranch 25 19 44
Jake Chambers 6-12 3-5 18; Dan Ginal 3-4 0-0 9; Ryan Norman 1-6 3-3 5;
Eric Sampson 2-2 0-0 4; Aaron Good 1-1 1-2 3; Deon Farr 1-1 0-0 2; Kirk
Dahle 1-3 0-0 2; Mike Dahl 0-2 1-2 1; Dan Schoess 0-0 0-0 0; Kyle Grote
0-2 0-0 0; Jake Grandahl 0-0 0-0 0; John Lindstrom 0-4 0-1 0; Bryce
Hunter 0-1 0-0 0; Alex Sundly 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 15-38 8-13 44.
3-point goals-Irondale 9-18 (Irondale 9-18), North ßranch 6-22 (Dan
Ginal 3-4; Jake Chambers 3-7; Ryan Norman 0-2; Kyle Grote 0-1; John
Lindstrom 0-4; Kirk Dahle 0-2; Mike Dahl 0-2)
Fouled out--Irondale-None, North ßranch-John Lindstrom, Eric Sampson.
Rebounds-Irondale 30 (Irondale 22) North ßranch 23 (Jake Chambers 4).
Assists-Irondale 0, North ßranch 10 (Ryan Norman 4). Total
Fouls-Irondale 20, North ßranch .
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