8th Grade Lynx Vs. Mitchell Kernels from Dan Klumper on Vimeo.
A Game
Brandon 44, Mitchell 19
(Mitchell, SD)—After much anticipation, the 2010 8th grade basketball season officially began with the first game of the season. After having 3 out of 4 football games canceled at the end of the season and the first basketball game of this season canceled, the Lynx were itching to get out and compete in a game. And compete they did. From the tip, the Lynx dominated in every aspect of the game: scoring, rebounding, steals. You name it, the Lynx dominated it. They even dominated in liquid consumption, downing 22 bottles of Gatorade to Mitchell’s 8 bottles. “That really came back to hurt us, actually,” said Coach Klumper, “At halftime, everybody had to go to the locker room and we ran out of time for instruction.” The Lynx indeed controlled the game from start to finish; breaking open the game with a 21-4 first quarter lead. “Even though I expected it,” commented Klumper, “I was amazed at how intense and aggressive we started the game.” The Lynx completely overwhelmed the Kernels early on, swiping steals on what seemed to be every play. “At the start of the game, I told my team to get every rebound and steal the ball every time. That was our game plan,” said Klumper. And wouldn’t you know it, that is exactly what happened in the first quarter. The Lynx indeed stole the ball from the Kernels every time and they indeed got every rebound. As the second quarter got underway, the Lynx showed no signs of let up and took a 34-8 lead into the locker room. A not so subtle sign of the level of defense the Lynx played at was the half time score of the opponent. The Lynx only allowed 8 points, frustrating the Kernels the entire time. As the second half opened up, the Lynx again applied the type of pressure that would suffocate the Kernels, forcing them to turn the ball over time and time again. With limited practice time since the Winter Break due to snow days, the Lynx offense was not as fine tuned as it should be, but the defensive pressure made up for that in a big way. “I was curious to see if the kids would have a let down in the second half with the big lead,” said Klumper, “But they didn’t. They continued to play very tough and aggressive. That was great to see.” The game ended with a score of 44-9 in favor of the visiting Lynx. Leading the way offensively was Cole Albertson with 14 points and Jacob Adams with 8. On defensive, everybody had about a hundred steals and rebounds. Nic Peterson, though he played a great game taking care of the ball, getting steals, and making accurate passes, will be remembered more on this night for the water bottle episode. During the quarter break, someone tossed a water bottle to him, which was dropped and split open. The water began to gush all over the court and Nic decided it would be best to just keep standing there trying to drink it all before it hit the floor. “I’m not exactly sure what all happened with that. All I know is I got my shoes wet,” said Klumper. The Lynx will face these same Mitchell Kernels a week from Saturday on January 23rd at Brandon Valley Middle School.
B Game
Brandon Valley 55, Mitchell 12
(Mitchell, SD)—After the big win by the A team, the B team of Brandon Valley was looking to come out and dominate as well. As time would tell, that is exactly what happened, even more so than the A team. The first quarter started out rather slowly for both teams, with the score 13-4 in favor of the Lynx. As the second quarter opened up, the Lynx turned it up a notch and blew past the shell-shocked Kernels. At halftime, the Lynx had built their lead to 33-11. In that first half, as was the case in the A game, the Lynx used unbelievably tough defense as their offense. Without a solid offensive flow to lean on, the Lynx used their ball pressure to gain steals and push the ball up the court in a fast break. A good defense is indeed the best offense and these Lynx proved that time and time again. Klumper didn’t have a whole lot to tell the kids at halftime because they were playing so well. “I pretty much told them to keep doing what they’ve been doing. After that, we just watched Devan West do Karate moves, being he’s a black belt and all,” said Klumper. As the second half opened up, the Lynx showed that the first half was just a warm up. In the second half, the Lynx allowed 1 measly point. That is it. “I knew we played great defense, but I didn’t realize we only allowed one point, which obviously was a free throw, so they didn’t even score against our defense in the entire second half,” Klumper pointed out. Defense continued to produce offense as the Lynx pulled away in a big way and never looked back, finishing off the Kernels 55-12. In a very balanced scoring attack, Zach Bingen and Cole Julius led in scoring with 8 points each, respectively.
Next Game: Mitchell Kernels at Brandon Valley Middle School. January 23rd, 2010.
C Game
Brandon Valley 34, Mitchell Kernels 9
(Mitchell, SD)—As the saying goes, “We save the best for last.” On this occasion, that saying has never been truer. After having to sit through two blow-outs, the Lynx of the C team were ready to take the court and show the audience and the world what their team is all about. The game was actually shown on live television on ESPN 8, which means that 2 restaurants and 3 TV outlet stores in Northeastern Canada were showing the game. Keeping with the theme of the night, the Lynx started the game strong and never looked back. Using that same toughness and intensity that was on display in the two games before them, the Lynx actually raised that level of play in this game, holding the Kernels to zero points in the first quarter. “That was great to see. I expected our kids to not allow any points. Shut outs are not common in basketball, but I thought we could do it,” said a confident Klumper. This confidence undoubtedly stems from the speed and quickness that kids on this team possess. “I knew we have fast kids, but I didn’t realize they were this fast,” commented Klumper. The shut out was lost in the second quarter, however, but the Lynx were not phased as they continued to rack up steals, points, and more steals. At halftime, the Lynx took a 20 to 5 lead into the lockeroom. “Half time was great, Alex Maasen told some jokes, Jacob Meyers told us about his vacation. It was a lot of fun,” said a jubilant Klumper. As the second half opened up, the Lynx put all joking aside and continued their aggressive style of play. The Kernels were completely overmatched the entire second half and the Lynx stretched the lead even further. The great thing about this team is even with a big lead, they are not afraid to keep hoisting up three-pointers. “It’s great. We bring the ball down the court and someone launches a three, even if we are up by 20. I tell them, ‘you can’t score if you don’t shoot, so fire away’” said Klumper. As the game came to a close, the Lynx used a great defensive stop to hold the Kernels under ten points, sealing the victory 34 to 9. For the Lynx, Lucas Lunstra led the team with 12 points. Everybody played hard and did a great job, however.
Next Game: January 23rd, 2010 vs. Mitchell Kernels at Brandon Valley Middle School.
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