Heelan top St. Paul Johnson
By Steven Allspach sallspach@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Saturday, December 20, 2008
For the St. Paul Johnson boys basketball team, it was just another day in the life of a prep team that travels far and wide to tangle with the best competition.
Friday morning, the team left the Twin Cities for a five-hour bus ride to Sioux City, defying heavy snow and sometimes treacherous road conditions for a duel with Bishop Heelan, Iowa's No. 1-ranked Class 3A club.
The going was pretty rough, too, after Coach Vern Simmons squad arrived and Heelan racked up a convincing 68-56 win to improve to 4-0.
Tanner Ferguson, gunning in five three-pointers and 19 of his 26 points in the first half, carved up Johnson's pressure defense beyond the arc.
Also, 6-foot-9 University of Iowa recruit Brennan Cougill added 23 points for the Crusaders of Coach Tom Betz while 6-7 junior Zach McCabe, before fouling out with just over four minutes left in the game, was superb with a triple-double -- 13 points, 14 rebounds and 12 of his team's 21 assists.
"Zach was a little frustrated, but I told him he did all the little things necessary for us to win a game like that,'' said Betz. "He was the mismatch with size against their quickness and pressure.''
Cougill raked down 11 missed shots.
"Since I played at Morningside and have several relatives here that I visit quite often, I don't think I've ever seen this much snow in Sioux City,'' sighed Simmons, a 1983 Morningside graduate who hails originally from Michigan City, Ind. "The trip and the snow didn't bother us that much.''
It was sort of a day at the office for the Governors. They're from Minnesota doncha know.
Johnson, a 79-73 winner over Heelan in St. Paul last season, also carried a No. 1 state ranking into the contest. The Govs got the top nod Friday morning after handing the previous top 3A Gopher State team, Minneapolis Washburn, an 86-83 setback Tuesday night.
Johnson suffered its first loss after three wins.
The Govs were also scheduled to play today at North, but that game was canceled.
"We'll leave sometime Saturday and take our time going home (St. Paul),'' said Simmons. "Playing in this kind of environment, tough gym, noisy crowd, it was good for us.
"We have to learn to compete in these conditions, but Heelan is very good. McCabe really was the difference in handling our pressure and Cougill, well, I've heard he might not be able to handle the Big Ten. I'm not one of those folks.''
The Minnesotans turn right around and play two games Monday and Tuesday in Milwaukee against Lutheran and Washington.
Johnson's Lamar Anderson opened the game with a three-point bucket, but Heelan scored eight straight points and never trailed after the run. It was 40-25 at halftime and Ferguson scored 13 second-quarter points.
"I found a favorite spot on the floor and the guys kicked the ball back out to me for some good looks,'' said the 6-2 Ferguson. "With teammates like Brennan and Zach, it makes it a little easier for the rest of us.''
A 9-0 run by Johnson, 21-7 last season, cut the big Heelan lead to 53-46 midway in the final quarter, but the Govs could creep no closer. Maxie Rosenbloom, a 6-4 junior, led the visitors with 15 points, but touted sophomore point guard Estan Tyler was limited to two.
The Crusaders offset 21 turnovers with with torrid shooting, sinking 24 of 35 shots from the field.
Cougill's scoring output raised his career total to 1,208, sixth all-time in Sioux City. He surpassed 1965 Central High grad Dan Smith (1,194).
Heelan also had its game with West, slated for Saturday, postponed indefinitely.
ST. PAUL JOHNSON (56)
Maxie Rosenbloom 6-9 3-5 15, Mike Talley 3-4 3-6 9, Lamar Anderson 3-8 0-0 7, Estan Tyler 1-5 0-0 2, Dion Suggs-Young 1-16 2-2 4, Donta Warlick 0-1 0-0 0, Khalil Battle 0-1 0-0 , Demitri Conwell 3-4 0-0 6, Otis Harris 4-7 0-0 8, Anthony Lee 2-4 1-2 5. Totals 23-58 9-15 56.
BISHOP HEELAN (68)
Zach McCabe 5-8 3-5 13, Sean Geary 1-2 0-0 2, Brennan Cougill 9-10 5-8 23, Ben Rickord 0-1 0-0 0, Tanner Ferguson 8-10 3-5 26, Alex Malloy 1-1 1-2 3, Christopher Rickert 0-3 1-2 1, Chaz Kennedy 0-0 0-0 0, Joel McCabe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-35 15-23 68.
St. Paul (Minn.) Johnson 9 16 21 10 -- 56
Bishop Heelan 20 20 15 13 -- 68
3-point shots --- Johnson 1-13 (Anderson 1-2, Warlick 0-1, Harris 0-1, Rosenbloom 0-3, Tyler 0-2, Suggs-Young 0-4), Heelan 5-10 (Ferguson 5-7, Rickord 0-1, McCabe 0-2). McCabe. Rebounds -- Johnson 30 (Harris 6), Heelan 35 (McCabe 14, Cougill 11). Turnovers -- Johnson 13, Heerlan 21. Totals fouls -- Johnson 24, Heelan 17. Fouled out -- McCabe. Officials -- Rich Larson, Von Bornholtz, Jeff Wright.
Friday morning, the team left the Twin Cities for a five-hour bus ride to Sioux City, defying heavy snow and sometimes treacherous road conditions for a duel with Bishop Heelan, Iowa's No. 1-ranked Class 3A club.
The going was pretty rough, too, after Coach Vern Simmons squad arrived and Heelan racked up a convincing 68-56 win to improve to 4-0.
Tanner Ferguson, gunning in five three-pointers and 19 of his 26 points in the first half, carved up Johnson's pressure defense beyond the arc.
Also, 6-foot-9 University of Iowa recruit Brennan Cougill added 23 points for the Crusaders of Coach Tom Betz while 6-7 junior Zach McCabe, before fouling out with just over four minutes left in the game, was superb with a triple-double -- 13 points, 14 rebounds and 12 of his team's 21 assists.
"Zach was a little frustrated, but I told him he did all the little things necessary for us to win a game like that,'' said Betz. "He was the mismatch with size against their quickness and pressure.''
Cougill raked down 11 missed shots.
"Since I played at Morningside and have several relatives here that I visit quite often, I don't think I've ever seen this much snow in Sioux City,'' sighed Simmons, a 1983 Morningside graduate who hails originally from Michigan City, Ind. "The trip and the snow didn't bother us that much.''
It was sort of a day at the office for the Governors. They're from Minnesota doncha know.
Johnson, a 79-73 winner over Heelan in St. Paul last season, also carried a No. 1 state ranking into the contest. The Govs got the top nod Friday morning after handing the previous top 3A Gopher State team, Minneapolis Washburn, an 86-83 setback Tuesday night.
Johnson suffered its first loss after three wins.
The Govs were also scheduled to play today at North, but that game was canceled.
"We'll leave sometime Saturday and take our time going home (St. Paul),'' said Simmons. "Playing in this kind of environment, tough gym, noisy crowd, it was good for us.
"We have to learn to compete in these conditions, but Heelan is very good. McCabe really was the difference in handling our pressure and Cougill, well, I've heard he might not be able to handle the Big Ten. I'm not one of those folks.''
The Minnesotans turn right around and play two games Monday and Tuesday in Milwaukee against Lutheran and Washington.
Johnson's Lamar Anderson opened the game with a three-point bucket, but Heelan scored eight straight points and never trailed after the run. It was 40-25 at halftime and Ferguson scored 13 second-quarter points.
"I found a favorite spot on the floor and the guys kicked the ball back out to me for some good looks,'' said the 6-2 Ferguson. "With teammates like Brennan and Zach, it makes it a little easier for the rest of us.''
A 9-0 run by Johnson, 21-7 last season, cut the big Heelan lead to 53-46 midway in the final quarter, but the Govs could creep no closer. Maxie Rosenbloom, a 6-4 junior, led the visitors with 15 points, but touted sophomore point guard Estan Tyler was limited to two.
The Crusaders offset 21 turnovers with with torrid shooting, sinking 24 of 35 shots from the field.
Cougill's scoring output raised his career total to 1,208, sixth all-time in Sioux City. He surpassed 1965 Central High grad Dan Smith (1,194).
Heelan also had its game with West, slated for Saturday, postponed indefinitely.
ST. PAUL JOHNSON (56)
Maxie Rosenbloom 6-9 3-5 15, Mike Talley 3-4 3-6 9, Lamar Anderson 3-8 0-0 7, Estan Tyler 1-5 0-0 2, Dion Suggs-Young 1-16 2-2 4, Donta Warlick 0-1 0-0 0, Khalil Battle 0-1 0-0 , Demitri Conwell 3-4 0-0 6, Otis Harris 4-7 0-0 8, Anthony Lee 2-4 1-2 5. Totals 23-58 9-15 56.
BISHOP HEELAN (68)
Zach McCabe 5-8 3-5 13, Sean Geary 1-2 0-0 2, Brennan Cougill 9-10 5-8 23, Ben Rickord 0-1 0-0 0, Tanner Ferguson 8-10 3-5 26, Alex Malloy 1-1 1-2 3, Christopher Rickert 0-3 1-2 1, Chaz Kennedy 0-0 0-0 0, Joel McCabe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-35 15-23 68.
St. Paul (Minn.) Johnson 9 16 21 10 -- 56
Bishop Heelan 20 20 15 13 -- 68
3-point shots --- Johnson 1-13 (Anderson 1-2, Warlick 0-1, Harris 0-1, Rosenbloom 0-3, Tyler 0-2, Suggs-Young 0-4), Heelan 5-10 (Ferguson 5-7, Rickord 0-1, McCabe 0-2). McCabe. Rebounds -- Johnson 30 (Harris 6), Heelan 35 (McCabe 14, Cougill 11). Turnovers -- Johnson 13, Heerlan 21. Totals fouls -- Johnson 24, Heelan 17. Fouled out -- McCabe. Officials -- Rich Larson, Von Bornholtz, Jeff Wright.
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bb wrote on Dec 21, 2008 5:54 PM:
Cogs wrote on Dec 20, 2008 5:02 PM:
Lenny Brazzil wrote on Dec 20, 2008 10:09 AM: