Friday, 2/22/08 @ Home
Jr. Varsity vs. Spring Lake Park
So many stars, so little space. Park beat a tough Spring Lake Park team, 83-73, with clutch performances from everybody.
First, Alex Koch. Have you ever had one of those games when you’re just feeling it? You’re in a zone, and can’t seem to miss? Me neither, but Friday night Koch was in one of those zones, as usual.
Since Koch was scheduled to play only the first half so that he could play in the Varsity game, he didn’t waste much time in making his presence felt. In the first half, Koch hit a three, then another, made a nice fake in the air on a drive and made the layup, scored on another drive, grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the putback, hit another three, hit another putback off an offensive board, made one of two free throws (why the miss, Alex?), hit another three, then another, and ended his scoring with two of two free throws (that’s more like it).
In all, Koch scored 26 points on 9/13 from the field, 6/9 from three-point land, and 3/4 from the line. Throw in 4 rebounds, and it’s not a bad half (I called it a career when I was playing).
Harry Ullman also had a nice first half, scoring 8 points; Marcus Edwards, Zach Finn, and Tony Keller each added two each.
Leading 40-37 at the half, without their hot shooter, Alex Koch, coach Bol needed a player to step up. They all did.
Spring Lake Park scored the first six points of the second half to take a 41-40 lead, but Mick Sawinski was fouled driving to the basket and hit both free throws to give Park the lead back. Spring Lake Park hit a three, but Sawinski found Keller curling to the basket for a layup to tie the game at 44-44.
Ullman stayed hot with a long three, Isaac Ziman hit two free throws and a left-handed layup, Finn scored on a nice reverse layup, and Sawinski nailed a three to give Park a five point lead, 56-51, and slowly Park started pulling away.
After a Panther basket, Keller hit a three, took a charge, and when the Panther bench complained Ziman one of two free throws on a technical foul.
Ziman scored again on a nice drive to a six point Park lead, Marquealis Edwards hit a three, Ullman scored on a hard drive to the basket and Park lead 67-59 with 6:20 remaining in the game.
Spring Lake Park had one good run in them, and they pulled within four, 67-63, but Jarrod Berven made a slick pass to Ullman for a layup, Keller hit a layup “and one,” Ullman hit another layup, followed by a Marquealis Edwards layup to push the lead back up to 11 with under four minutes left.
Over the last four minutes, Park was sent to the line several times, and they were up to the task with Ullman hitting 3 of 4, and Keller hitting 4 of 4 to put the finishing touches on an 83-73 Park win.
One interesting feature of the game was the rebounding by Park’s sub-six foot players: Ullman grabbed 6, Finn and Marcus Edwards grabbed 5 each, Ziman 4, and Sawinski 1. Sawinski led Park with 2 assists.
Stats:
Alex Koch—26 points, 4 rebounds
Harry Ullmann—20 points, 6 rebounds
Tony Keller—14 points, 5 rebounds
Isaac Ziman—7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Marquealis Edwards—5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Mick Sawinski—5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal
Zach Finn—4 points, 5 rebounds
Marcus Edwards—2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Jarrod Berven—1 assist
_____
Tuesday, 2/12/08
JV vs. St. Francis
Alex Koch had his best all-around game of the season, scoring 30 points (10/16 from field, 4/9 from 3-pt, 6/8 from line), with 12 rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal, leading Park over St. Francis, 56-48.
“[Alex] was good, but his grandfather once scored 36!” remarked one fan (Alex’s grandmother).
Koch scored Park’s first 11 points on three 3-pointers, and a layup, to give the home team an early 11-2 lead. Isaac Ziman, who also had a fine game, had a three point play on a made drive and free throw to extend the lead to 14-2.
St. Francis battle back to cut the lead to 14-10 before Koch hit a lefthanded layup. Koch hit Ziman with a pass for a layup, and a moment later grabbed an offensive board and hit the putback for a 20-12 lead. At this point in the game, Koch had 15 points on 6 for 6 shooting!
Ziman hit two of two from the line, followed by a 5-0 St. Francis run to make the score 22-17. St. Francis had a chance to trim the lead even more, but they missed an outside jumper, Ziman grabbed the rebound, and went coast-to-coast for a layup and 24-17 lead. After a St. Francis three-pointer, Mick Sawinski and Koch each hit one of two from the line and the Park lead at the half was 26-20.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Koch hit one of two free throws and another three-pointer to push the lead to eight, 30-22. Tony Keller hit two free throws, Koch hit a putback off an offensive board, but St. Francis kept answering, and the Park lead kept hovering around 10 for quite a while.
Jarrod Berven hit one of two free throws, Marcus Edwards had an offensive rebound and putback, Ziman grabbed a defensive board and threw a baseball pass to a releasing Koch for a layup, and Berven hit Ziman on a fast break, he was fouled, and made both to give Park a 41-25 lead with 10:00 left in the game.
Edwards hit a nice bank shot, Koch tipped in a miss, Harry Ullman hit Phil Gauthier inside for an easy basket, but St. Francis went on another run, and cut the lead to nine, 47-38, with 5:00 left.
St. Francis was over the foul limit, so Park took the ball hard to the basket on every possession, and their last 9 points all came from the line—two from Gauthier, two from Keller, four from Koch, and one from Ziman.
Though St. Francis finished strong, they simply ran out of time, and Park held on for a 56-48 win.
Stats:
Alex Koch—30 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
Isaac Ziman—12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Phil Gauthier—4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Tony Keller—4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Marcus Edwards—4 points, 6 rebounds
Mick Sawinski—1 point, 2 rebounds
Jarrod Berven—1 point, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Harry Ullman—2 assists, 1 rebound
_____
Saturday, 1/26/08 @ Benilde H.S.
JV vs. Benilde
Park kept the game close, but ran out of gas late, and came up seven points short, falling 66-59.
Marcus Edwards put Park on top 2-0 with a layup, and Phil Gauthier hit a three-pointer a moment later to go up 5-2. Tony Keller scored on a nice drive, and Aaron Ziman hit a bank-shot to go up 9-4. Gauthier hit a layup, was fouled, and made the free throw to put Park up 12-4, but Benilde went on a 10-2 run (Park’s points came on a jumper by Keller) to tie the game at 14-14.
Ziman hit a three-pointer and a left-handed lay-up, Keller hit two free throws, and Marcus Edwards scored on a nice drive midway through the half, but Benilde kept answering back, and took the lead 24-23.
Harry Ullmann hit two free throws and a three-pointer, and Gauthier scored inside, but Benilde was up 35-30 before Alex Koch hit a layup that cut the lead to three, 35-32. Benilde scored the last four points of the half, and led 39-32 at the intermission.
Koch grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a put-back to make the score 39-34 in the opening seconds of the second half, then hit a three-pointer a minute later to cut the Benilde lead to five, 42-37.
Benilde scored seven straight points before Koch hit another three to make the score 49-40. Keller and Marcus Edwards each hit two of two free throws, and Koch made one of two, and Benilde led 53-45 with 4:30 left.
Ullmann hit one of two free throws, then made a great pass to Isaac Ziman for a layup, to cut the lead to six, 54-48 with 3:30 left.
Keller hit a three-pointer and a left-handed hook shot to pull Park within five, 58-53, and after a Benilde basket Koch scored on a nice spin move to the basket to pull the Orioles within five again, 60-55.
After a Benilde basket, Koch hit a three-pointer from an almost impossible angle deep in the corner to cut the lead to four with 38 seconds left, but Keller’s one free throw was the only point Park could score over the last half-minute, and Benilde hit their free throws down the stretch, and the game ended 66-59.
Stats:
Alex Koch—16 pts, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Phil Gauthier—6 pts, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Tony Keller—14 pts, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Aaron Ziman—7 pts, 2 steals
Marcus Edwards—6 pts, 2 rebounds
Harry Ullmann—6 pts, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Isaac Ziman—2 pts, 1 steal
Mick Sawinski—1 rebound
_____
Tuesday, 2/19/08
Jr. Varsity vs. Irondale
Park’s JVs won a thrilling overtime game, 57-52, with Zach Finn leading the way.
Alex Koch, who only played in the first half because he played with the Varsity team, scored on a spin move inside to put Park up 2-0, and Finn and Harry Ullman hit threes to give Park an early 8-4 lead.
Marcus Edwards and Isaac Ziman each hit jumpers, and Koch hit two free throws, before Irondale went on a run to tie the score at 14-14.
Ullman made a three-point play on a driving layup and free throw, then Koch and Finn hit three-pointers to put Park up by three, 25-22. Ziman found Koch inside for a layup, and Koch scored on a drive for a five point Park lead. In the closing seconds, Tony Keller had a monster block, and Park went into the half with a four point lead, 27-23.
Ziman opened the second half with a layup and free throw to push Park’s lead to seven, 30-23. Park did a nice job of moving the ball around the perimeter to find open looks, but the Oriole shooters went cold and Irondale went on a 6-1 run to cut the lead to two points, 31-29.
Keller broke Park’s shooting slump with a jumper off a Mick Sawinski pass; he was fouled and made the freebie and Park led 34-29. Ullman hit two threes and a free throw, and Ziman hit a 15-foot jumper, and Park lead by seven, 43-36, with five minutes left in the game.
Irondale cut the lead to two, 43-41, before Keller hit four free throws on two possessions, to put Park up three, 47-44.
Irondale cut the lead to one with 2:19 to play, and had the ball before the ball ended up on the ground, Jarrod Berven dove on it and called a time out. When play resumed, Ziman was fouled and hit two clutch free throws in the one-and-one to put Park up three.
Finn was fouled with under a minute to play and hit one of two to put Park up by four, but Irondale hit two tough outside shots in the closing seconds to tie the game at 50-50, and force overtime!
In overtime, Finn made the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer with a hand in his face, and Park would outscore Irondale, 7-2, in the extra session.
Berven made a steal, was fouled, and hit one of two free throws to put Park up four, then Keller made two free throws, and Berven hit one of two to end the scoring.
Berven had a block and huge rebound with seconds left to preserve Park’s lead, and the game ended 57-52.
Stats:
Harry Ullman—13 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
Alex Koch—11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Zach Finn—11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Isaac Ziman—9 points, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 rebound
Tony Keller—9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 1 block
Marcus Edwards—2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Jarrod Berven—2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Mick Sawinski—1 steal, 1 assist
_____
Wednesday, 2/7/08 @ SLP HS
Park JV vs. Fridley
Park lost a tough over-time game, 54-53, despite tons of incredible action.
Tony Keller got Park on the board with a layup, and Alex Koch hit a driving layup in the opening minutes, but Fridley was hot from the start and jumped to an early 9-4 lead. Marcus Edwards hit a short jumper, Isaac Ziman scored on a drive, and Harry Ullmann nailed a three (precursor to things to come) to cut the Fridley lead to one, 13-12.
Fridley jumped out to another lead, but again Park battled back. Keller hit a free throw and jumper to tied the game 15-15, tied the game 17-17 with another jumper, Koch hit two free throws to give Park it first lead since the score was 2-0, and Edwards scored off a nice Gauthier pass to put Park up 21-17. Fridley went on a 7-4 run to end the half with Park leading 25-24—Parks last four points came on two Keller free throws, and a nice drive by Koch.
Keller’s hustle led to a rebound and basket to open the second half, Fridley nailed a three to tie the game 27-27, but Ullmann nailed another three to put Park up 30-27.
Over the next few minutes, Koch took over, hitting a left-handed banker, two three-pointers, and a layup off a nice Ullmann pass to give Park a 41-37 lead with 5:00 left in the game.
After Fridley rallied to take a 45-41 lead, Ullmann nailed another three to pull within one. Fridley missed the front end of a one-and-one, but hustled to grab the rebound, and with 1:30 left Fridley looked to be in control.
Park trapped a Fridley guard and forced a turnover but couldn’t convert, and when Fridley hit two free throws with 18.6 second left, Park trailed 47-44.
After a time out, Park found Koch in the corner, but his shot rimmed out. Ziman got the rebound and passed to Ullmann who was 10 feet beyond the three point line, and he nailed the shot with two seconds left to tie game, and after a 30 foot Hail Mary by Fridley that just missed, the game went to a three minute overtime.
After a Fridley basket, Koch tied the game on a nice up-and-under move. Fridley missed two of two free throws, but Park couldn’t scored on their next possession and Park was forced to foul again. This time Fridley hit one of two to take the lead 50-49 with 1:40 left. Again Park couldn’t score, again they fouled Fridley, and the visitors hit two of two to take a three point lead. Two more free throws ran the lead to five with 42.4 seconds left.
Ziman scored a quick basket, and when Park got the ball back off a tie-up, the stage was set for another possible overtime.
Koch just missed a three pointer to tie the game, Ullmann got the ball off the rebound and missed another three pointer, Koch grabbed the rebound and raced back to the three point line where he threw up a desperation shot as time ran out, and Gauthier hit a somewhat meaningless two-point field goal at the buzzer to make the final 54-53.
Stats:
Alex Koch—18 points, 6 rebounds
Harry Ullmann—12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Tony Keller—11 points, 6 rebounds
Isaac Ziman—6 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Marcus Edwards—4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Phil Gauthier—2 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Jarrod Berven—2 rebounds
_____
Tuesday, 1/29/08 @ SLP H.S.
JV vs. North Branch
Park’s excellent free throw shooting in the second half helped them beat a strong North Branch team, 71-62.
Alex Koch nailed a three to open the scoring, Tony Keller hit two free throws, Koch nailed another three, Marcus Edwards hit a lay-up, and Phil Gauthier hit two free throws to put Park up early, 12-3.
North Branch went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to four, 12-8, before Isaac Ziman hit a driving runner and Marcus Edwards hit another lay-up. North Branch cut the lead to 16-12, then Harry Ullmann nailed back-to-back three-pointers, Ziman hit another free throw, and Koch nailed one from behind the arc to push Park’s lead to 26-19.
Gauthier hit the shot of the game on a behind the back prayer to make the score 28-19, then North Branch’s twin towers (both players were about 6’-5”) started scoring inside, and they came back to tie the score at 28-28.
Keller hit two free throws, North Branch scored again inside, then Ullmann hit a 12-foot jumper to put Park up 32-30. Over the last minute of the half, Keller and Ullmann each hit two free throws, and the score at the break was Park 36, North Branch 34.
Park went on a 10-2 run to open the second half—Keller hit a lay-up off a nice Ullmann pass, Marcus Edwards had two steals and lay-ups, Ullman hit a bank-shot, and Gauthier had a steal and lay-up.
Gauthier hit two of two from the line, but North Branch fought back and cut the lead to four, 48-44, with eight minutes left.
Marquealis Edwards came off the bench and hit a big three-pointer to push the lead back to seven, but North Branch hit two straight baskets to cut the lead to three, 51-48, before Koch nailed another three with 7:17 left.
North Branch tied the game at 54-54, but Koch and Gauthier scored the next 10 Park points, the highlight coming on a George “Iceman” Gervin finger-roll by Gauthier.
After Keller hit a free throw to make the scored 65-58 with 2:37 left, Koch hit back to back jumpers to push the lead to 11, 69-58. Ullmann finished Park’s scoring with two free throws, and North Branch hit a shot at the buzzer to make the final 71-62.
Park hit 5 of 6 free throws over the last four minutes of the game, and 18 of 20 in the game (90%).
Stats:
Alex Koch—22 points, 4 rebounds
Harry Ullmann—13 points, 2 assists, 1 steal
Phil Gauthier—12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Tony Keller—9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Marcus Edwards—8 points, 1 steal
Marquealis Edwards—3 points
Isaac Ziman—2 points
_____
Friday, December 14, 2007 @ SLP High School
St. Louis Park Boys Jr. Varsity vs. Totino Grace Eagles
Thanks goodness Park can shoot free throws! Park started out like a house on fire, but had to rely on freebies to put the game away in the closing seconds.
Alex Koch started (and stayed) red hot, scoring Park’s first 10 points on two 3-pointers, a leaner and two free throws. When Aaron Ziman was fouled on a layup and made the free throw to complete the three-point play, Park was up 17-11, and Park cruised to a 25-14 lead at the half. Phil Gauthier and Koch grabbed four rebounds each, and Mick Sawinski came off the bench to grab two rebounds and make one steal.
Koch opened the second half with a three-point bomb, and a moment later nailed another to give Park a 31-16 lead. Harry Ullmann hit a jumper from inside the arc with seven minutes left in the game to give Park a 36-18 lead, and the game looked like it might be a laugher. But….
Totino Grace, who shot less than 40% from the field in the first half, suddenly started hitting shots in bunches. The Eagles battled back to within six point, 40-34, with under four minutes to play. Ullmann hit Koch with a back-door pass for a lay-up to go back up by eight, but Totino Grace hit two free throws to pull back to within six. Then, the fouling began. Aaron Ziman hit two of two, Koch hit two of two, but after a few threes by the Eagles it was a 46-44 game with a minute and a half to play! Koch got the ball in the corner, his sweet spot, and was hacked while throwing up a three-pointer. Of course he made all three free throws, then hit one of two when he was fouled on Park’s next possession. Aaron Ziman hit two of two again to put Park up 52-44, and Koch put the cherry on top of the win by grabbing the rebound on Totino’s final shot as the clock ran out.
Alex Koch led Park with 28 points, Aaron Ziman added 9, Isaac Ziman 6, Marcus Edwards 4, Tony Keller 3, and Harry Ullmann 2. Phil Gauthier led Park with 7 rebounds, Koch added 5. Aaron Ziman dished out 4 assists. The key stat for the game was Park’s free throw shooting, which was 20 for 26 (77%) for the game, but 9 for 10 in the last five minutes (90%)!