Grand View spoils home game for BC
By Terry Hersomthersom@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Thursday, November 20, 2008
Grand View's Jason Jay steals the ball from Briar Cliff's Kyle Semprini, right, Wednesday at the Newman Flanagan Center (Sioux City Journal photo by Jerry Mennenga)
It was a tragic car crash that triggered a major overhaul for the Grand View College basketball team.
Fourteen months later, that's still a painful memory for Coach Denis Schaefer and what remains of his 2007-08 squad.
Nonetheless, the Vikings are heading in a very positive direction, featuring a host of transfers on a team that turned back Briar Cliff 79-73 Wednesday night at the Newman Flanagan Center.
It was Grand View's first win over BC in the programs' last seven meetings and Briar Cliff still maintains a hefty 42-12 advantage in the all-time series.
Make no mistake, though. This may be as strong a team as Grand View has put on the floor in many years. And, the coaches in the nine-team Midwest Classic Conference knew well enough to pick the Vikings second only to William Penn.
"They're going to win a lot of games,'' predicted Briar Cliff Coach Todd Barry, who is in a rebuilding mode with senior guard Brett Ratcliff his only returning starter from a 22-8 campaign.
This was just the second loss in six starts for the new-look Chargers, playing at home for the first time since a season-opening rout of York. However, the hosts weren't to lead again after an early 13-0 Grand View surge erased a modest 4-2 deficit.
The Vikings went on to gain a 26-11 advantage that Briar Cliff whittled down to 35-29 at the half. But every time the Chargers got within striking range, the guests had an answer.
"Grand View made some plays and to their credit that's the sign of a good team,'' said Barry.
Schaefer's team had a difficult 13-17 campaign last winter after starting forward Zach Thomas was one of four casualties in a vehicle returning to Des Moines from the Iowa-Iowa State football game Sept. 29, 2007.
"We had five core guys come back from that team,'' said Schaefer, who brought in a host of transfers to reshape his squad.
Grant Burns, a 5-8 junior guard who tossed in 19 points Wednesday, transferred from Des Moines Area Community College after playing on a state championship team at Prairie City-Monroe -- a squad that also featured Brandon Myers, now Iowa's starting tight end in football.
Schaefer picked up both two former Ackley AGWSR teammates, 6-5 Corey Viet and 6-4 Matt Banzhaf, as transfers from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. Viet, whose older brother, Adam, played his last of four years at Northern Iowa last winter, contributed 18 points in the win over BC and Banzhaf added 12.
In fact, the Vikings nearly enjoyed double-digit scoring from all five starters, getting 13 points from Rohan Greaves and nine from senior guard Jason Jay. Geaves, an Australian who transfered in from Ellsworth Community College for the second semester last season, is also a senior.
Grand View, 5-1, has lost only a three-point verdict to Dordt, one of BC's Great Plains Athletic Conference rivals, and a big factor in Wednesday's win was a near flawless floor game. The Vikings committed just six turnovers to the Chargers' 17.
Michael Dickes came off the bench to lead Briar Cliff with 18 points, hitting seven of nine shots, and Derek Mechaelsen, a 6-7 senior, went 8-for-10 while collecting 17 points. Meanwhile, Matt Geelan dished off 10 assists and was one of three Chargers with six rebounds as BC won the board battle 36-22.
Briar Cliff plays Friday and Saturday in an event hosted by Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant, facing the host school on Friday and NAIA Division I Hannibal-LaGrange on Saturday.
Grand View (79)
Min FG-A FT-A RB A PF TP
Rohan Greaves 32 5 11 3 4 2 1 3 13
Grant Burns 36 7 8 3 4 2 6 2 19
Matt Banzhaf 29 4 7 3 6 3 0 3 12
Jason Jay 31 3 8 0 2 1 0 1 9
Corey Viet 32 6 9 6 7 5 5 2 18
Danny Neville 14 0 2 0 1 4 2 1 0
Greg Schulz 18 2 4 0 0 4 0 1 4
Joey Terpstra 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2
Chris Worcester 4 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 2
Team 1
Totals 200 29 53 15 25 22 14 16 79
Briar Cliff (72)
Min FG-A FT-A RB A PF TP
Chase Vander Feen 32 2 9 0 0 6 2 2 6
Brett Ratcliff 34 4 10 3 3 6 2 1 11
Derek Mechaelsen 25 8 0 1 1 3 0 4 17
Kyle Semprini 24 3 8 0 0 3 0 2 7
Matt Geelan 31 2 3 0 0 6 10 3 5
Morris Smeader 21 2 5 0 0 2 5 1 4
Michael Dickes 19 7 0 4 7 5 0 2 18
Drew Hanson 10 1 3 2 2 2 0 1 5
Casey Morgan 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0
Team 3
Totals 200 29 58 10 13 36 19 18 73
Score by halves:
Grand View 35 44 79
Briar Cliff 29 44 73
Three-point shots: Grand View 6-17 (Jay 3-5, Burns 2-3, Banzhaf 1-3, Schulz 0-2, Greaves 0-4); Briar Cliff 5-20 (Vander Feen 2-7, Geelan 1-1, Semprini 1-3, Hanson 1-3, Ratcliff 0-3, Smeader 0-3).
Techical foul: Semprini.
Fourteen months later, that's still a painful memory for Coach Denis Schaefer and what remains of his 2007-08 squad.
Nonetheless, the Vikings are heading in a very positive direction, featuring a host of transfers on a team that turned back Briar Cliff 79-73 Wednesday night at the Newman Flanagan Center.
It was Grand View's first win over BC in the programs' last seven meetings and Briar Cliff still maintains a hefty 42-12 advantage in the all-time series.
Make no mistake, though. This may be as strong a team as Grand View has put on the floor in many years. And, the coaches in the nine-team Midwest Classic Conference knew well enough to pick the Vikings second only to William Penn.
"They're going to win a lot of games,'' predicted Briar Cliff Coach Todd Barry, who is in a rebuilding mode with senior guard Brett Ratcliff his only returning starter from a 22-8 campaign.
This was just the second loss in six starts for the new-look Chargers, playing at home for the first time since a season-opening rout of York. However, the hosts weren't to lead again after an early 13-0 Grand View surge erased a modest 4-2 deficit.
The Vikings went on to gain a 26-11 advantage that Briar Cliff whittled down to 35-29 at the half. But every time the Chargers got within striking range, the guests had an answer.
"Grand View made some plays and to their credit that's the sign of a good team,'' said Barry.
Schaefer's team had a difficult 13-17 campaign last winter after starting forward Zach Thomas was one of four casualties in a vehicle returning to Des Moines from the Iowa-Iowa State football game Sept. 29, 2007.
"We had five core guys come back from that team,'' said Schaefer, who brought in a host of transfers to reshape his squad.
Grant Burns, a 5-8 junior guard who tossed in 19 points Wednesday, transferred from Des Moines Area Community College after playing on a state championship team at Prairie City-Monroe -- a squad that also featured Brandon Myers, now Iowa's starting tight end in football.
Schaefer picked up both two former Ackley AGWSR teammates, 6-5 Corey Viet and 6-4 Matt Banzhaf, as transfers from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. Viet, whose older brother, Adam, played his last of four years at Northern Iowa last winter, contributed 18 points in the win over BC and Banzhaf added 12.
In fact, the Vikings nearly enjoyed double-digit scoring from all five starters, getting 13 points from Rohan Greaves and nine from senior guard Jason Jay. Geaves, an Australian who transfered in from Ellsworth Community College for the second semester last season, is also a senior.
Grand View, 5-1, has lost only a three-point verdict to Dordt, one of BC's Great Plains Athletic Conference rivals, and a big factor in Wednesday's win was a near flawless floor game. The Vikings committed just six turnovers to the Chargers' 17.
Michael Dickes came off the bench to lead Briar Cliff with 18 points, hitting seven of nine shots, and Derek Mechaelsen, a 6-7 senior, went 8-for-10 while collecting 17 points. Meanwhile, Matt Geelan dished off 10 assists and was one of three Chargers with six rebounds as BC won the board battle 36-22.
Briar Cliff plays Friday and Saturday in an event hosted by Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant, facing the host school on Friday and NAIA Division I Hannibal-LaGrange on Saturday.
Grand View (79)
Min FG-A FT-A RB A PF TP
Rohan Greaves 32 5 11 3 4 2 1 3 13
Grant Burns 36 7 8 3 4 2 6 2 19
Matt Banzhaf 29 4 7 3 6 3 0 3 12
Jason Jay 31 3 8 0 2 1 0 1 9
Corey Viet 32 6 9 6 7 5 5 2 18
Danny Neville 14 0 2 0 1 4 2 1 0
Greg Schulz 18 2 4 0 0 4 0 1 4
Joey Terpstra 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2
Chris Worcester 4 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 2
Team 1
Totals 200 29 53 15 25 22 14 16 79
Briar Cliff (72)
Min FG-A FT-A RB A PF TP
Chase Vander Feen 32 2 9 0 0 6 2 2 6
Brett Ratcliff 34 4 10 3 3 6 2 1 11
Derek Mechaelsen 25 8 0 1 1 3 0 4 17
Kyle Semprini 24 3 8 0 0 3 0 2 7
Matt Geelan 31 2 3 0 0 6 10 3 5
Morris Smeader 21 2 5 0 0 2 5 1 4
Michael Dickes 19 7 0 4 7 5 0 2 18
Drew Hanson 10 1 3 2 2 2 0 1 5
Casey Morgan 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0
Team 3
Totals 200 29 58 10 13 36 19 18 73
Score by halves:
Grand View 35 44 79
Briar Cliff 29 44 73
Three-point shots: Grand View 6-17 (Jay 3-5, Burns 2-3, Banzhaf 1-3, Schulz 0-2, Greaves 0-4); Briar Cliff 5-20 (Vander Feen 2-7, Geelan 1-1, Semprini 1-3, Hanson 1-3, Ratcliff 0-3, Smeader 0-3).
Techical foul: Semprini.
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