Alex Conover
Special to Timberwolves.com
Champlin Park didn’t score for almost three minutes to open today’s Timberwolves Shootout opener against Council Bluffs Lincoln… and then the floodgates opened.
The Rebels shot 52 perfect from the field in the first half, putting together a 27-5 run that gave them a 37-15 advantage. They cashed in on six 3-pointers, including three from senior Aaron Kloeppner. Lincoln struggled mightily from the field, shooting 32 percent in the first half with the coaching staff telling their players to “stop playing scared,” among other suggestions.
For the rest of the game, Champlin went on autopilot and cruised to a 76-45 victory. Four players contributed in double-digit scoring efforts, with Aaron Kloeppner (15 points) and DJ Hunter (12) leading the way. Junior phenoms Theo John and McKinley Wright had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“We stressed patience,” Champlin Park coach Bill Tuchscherer said after the win. “We move the ball around and get good shots. That’s the way we play basketball. I never really panic with our boys; no matter what team it is, we try to play the game the right way.”
The big story for Champlin was Kloeppner. A 6-foot-3 senior, Kloeppner played a bench role on last year’s state tournament team. He’s now starting, and his impact from the perimeter gave the Rebels an early spark.
“He’s a great piece for us, he always has been,” Tuchscherer said of Kloeppner. “He was our sixth man last year. He takes the charges, hits the threes, he does what he has to do for the team. He’s a great team leader.”
Riverside/JM
The Hurt brothers introduced themselves to Riverside University High School in a big way at Saturday’s Timberwolves Shootout.
Senior Michael and freshman Matt scored 15 points each for Rochester John Marshall in the first half, and several sequences looked like what Hurt family driveway games might be like.
Michael would drive and shoot, and Matt would clean up the miss, or vice versa. The duo works in tandem for the Rockets; at one point, both brothers blocked the same Riverside player in the same possession. The first half ended with JM holding a 49-34 advantage, and the brothers Hurt combined to shoot 12-of-18 from the field.