Kyle RatkeSpecial to Timberwolves.com
Editor's Note: The 17th annual Timberwolves Shootout will be held Saturday, Jan. 5 at the Target Center with four games featuring top-ranked high school teams. The Shootout will feature eight of Minnesota's top boys basketball programs along with two of the top college prospects. Check Timberwolves.com throughout the day for results from each of these match ups.
Game 1: Onalaska (WI) 77, Lakeview Christian 62
The Lakeview Christian Lions and the Onalaska Hilltoppers (WI) kicked off the 17th Annual Timberwolves Shootout on Saturday morning at the Target Center. The Hilltoppers, led by senior forward Matt Thomas, were able to recover from a slow start and clinched a 77-62 victory in Game 1.
Thomas, an Iowa State recruit, started the game 1-for-7, but came back to form in a hurry, leading all scorers with 43 points. The forward fell just one point short of Rick Rickert’s record of 44 points set back in 2001 as a player for Duluth East.
He also added a game-high 14 rebounds.
Lakeview Christian, ranked No. 6 in Class 1A, has a star of its own with senior guard Anders Broman, but the Lions weren’t able to keep up with the fast-paced play of the Hilltoppers.
Broman led the Lions with 13 first half points, but the Lions trailed 43-32 at the break and shot just 11-for-31 from the field. The Hilltoppers, the defending Division II champion in Wisconsin, shot 18-for-38 in the first half. Nine of those baskets came from Thomas.
The second half didn’t get any easier for the Lions, as they were outscored 34-30.
Despite the high-scoring, both teams struggled from the 3-point line. The Lions finished 5-for-21 from deep, while the Hilltoppers finished 4-for-22.
Broman finished the game with a team-high 26 points, while his little brother, Bjorn, added 21 points.
Following Thomas in the scoring column for the Hilltoppers was senior forward Dustin Gordon, who finished with 12 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field.
Game 2: Blue Valley Northwest (KS) 57, DeLaSalle 52
In Game 2 between the DeLaSalle Islanders and the Blue Valley Northwest Huskies (KS), the Huskies flexed their defensive muscles early on against the Islanders on their way to a nail-biting 57-52 victory.
A game that many thought would be a high-scoring affair, proved to be just the opposite in the first half. At halftime, the Huskies held the Islanders to just 19 points and scored just 24 themselves. Eleven of those points came from Iowa State recruit Clayton Custer. The junior guard also added six early rebounds.
Junior forward Reid Travis had 14 of DeLaSalle’s first half points. No other player on the Islanders made more than one field goal before the break.
The Huskies and Islanders struggled early on from the field, shooting 39.1 and 30.4 percent, respectively. The teams struggled from the 3-point line as well, shooting a combined 2-for-15 from deep.
The second half, though, was a different story.
Both teams shot above 50 percent and traded blows in the final 18 minutes.
With 50 seconds left in the game, the Huskies held a 52-50 lead. Junior guard Vince Fritz made two free throws with 39 seconds left to put the icing on the cake.
Custer led the way with 26 points for the Huskies. Junior guard Ben Richardson added 14, while Fritz added 10.
Reid, ESPN’s No. 29 ranked prospect in the class of 2014, finished with a game-high 29 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Senior guard Luke Scott added 13 points for DeLaSalle.
The win gave Blue Valley Northwest head coach Ed Fritz 500 for his career.
Game 3: West Des Moines Valley (IA) 69, Roseville Area 53
The West Des Moines Valley Tigers (IA) and the Roseville Raiders faced off for Game 3 on Saturday and the game was certainly exciting one. The Raiders did their best to stick with the Tigers, but in the end, senior forward Peter Jok led West Des Moines Valley to a 69-53 victory.
Jok, an Iowa recruit, scored a game-high 34 points and kept fans on their feet throughout the game.
The Raiders, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, were able to keep the deficit to single digits throughout the first half and trailed just 30-26 at the break, but they weren’t able to take the momentum away from the Tigers.
Jok led the Tigers with 14 points, going 6-for-9 from the field at halftime.
The Raiders had a balanced attack in the first half, with three players scoring five or more points, but the team shot just 29.2 percent from the field. Senior center Jordan Burich was well on his way to a double-double after the first 18 minutes, scoring nine points and hauling in nine rebounds.
The game was tied at 38-38 with 13:15 left in the game, but the Raiders didn’t have enough in the tank to make the comeback effort successful.
West Des Moines Valley, ranked No. 6 in class 4A for Iowa, is coached by former Iowa Hawkeye standout Jeff Horner. Horner was a well-rounded player in college, and it seemed to rub off on Jok, who finished with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Senior forward Clint Boffeli added 16 points, while senior center Cale Truhlsen finished with 10.
Roseville was led by senior guard Logan Brown, who finished with 20 points. Burich finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Game 4: Apple Valley 80, Robbinsdale Cooper 70
In one of the most anticipated games of the year, the final game of the Timberwolves Shootout between the Apple Valley Eagles and the Robbinsdale Cooper Warriors didn’t disappoint.
ESPN’s 2014 No. 1 recruit Tyus Jones was set to face off against 2014’s No. 10 recruit Rashad Vaughn.
In the end, Jones led Apple Valley to a second half surge and an 80-70 victory.
Robbinsdale Cooper led at halftime 36-35 behind 15 points from Vaughn. No other player for Cooper scored more than six points, but the team did shoot an outstanding 61.5 percent from the field to start the game.
Jones, whose status was uncertain coming into the game because of a back injury, had nine points, shooting 4-for-5 in the opening 18 minutes. He also added five assists.
While a lot of attention was paid to Jones, the difference makers in the game were his teammates in the second half. With 7:20 remaining in the game, senior Apple Valley guard Dustin Fronk nailed a 3-pointer, tying the game at 56-56.
The game would go back-and-forth until senior guard Harry Sonie hit a 3-pointer to giving Apple Valley a 63-61 lead. From then on, it was all about the Eagles.
Apple Valley No. 2 in Class 4A, shot 62.5 percent in the second half.
Junior forward led Apple Valley with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Fronk added 21 points.
Jones finished with 18 points and eight assists.
Vaughn ended the game with 35 points and seven rebounds. No other player from Cooper scored more than 10 points, though.
University of Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams and Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg were on hand to witness the highly anticipated game.