Week Review: Lynx A and B win two Apiece, Lynx C Comes Up Short

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This week, all Lynx teams were looking to shake off some rust after yet again a long delay without games. Mother nature unleashed her annoying power and caused more canceled practices and canceled games. Since this season began on December 16th, the Lynx had only played one game all year, which was a dominating performance against Mitchell. So when the week started out with a snow day on Monday, it appeared as if it we were going to get a "here we go again" week with snow and cancellations. Luckily, after the late start on Tuesday, the weather cleared up enough for Yankton to make the trip to Brandon on Tuesday and for Brandon to make the trip to Brookings on Thursday. So with the weather clearing up, the Lynx were able to take on two opponents this week. Below you will find a quick recap of the week.


A Games
Brandon Valley 44, Yankton Bucks 40

(Brandon, SD)—The Lynx A team was the first team to come out and prove to the ESD that the multitude of cancellations have not effected them. Yankton was able to make the trip to Brandon to set up a much needed game for both squads. Cancellation after cancellation did nothing but cause the Lynx to be hungrier than ever to get out and compete. Though in control most of the way, Yankton made a little run at the end, but BV was able to hang on for the victory 44-40.
The game opened up the same way the Lynx first game did: with a strong start for BV. At the end of the first quarter, the Lynx held a solid seven point lead, thanks to tough defense. Though the Lynx didn't portray the level of intensity that is expected, they played well enough in the second quarter to maintain their lead at the half. "At some moments, it appears as if we are going through the motions," said Coach Bisbee, "we need to play to our level, not stoop to the level of our opponent." The Lynx exploded out of the locker room for the third quarter and totally dominated the Bucks. A balanced scoring attack in the third quarter produced the Lynx expanding their lead to fifteen points. Defense improved as well, holding the Bucks to only 2 points in the entire third quarter. As the fourth quarter got underway, the roles were reversed as the Bucks began to find offense and the Lynx began to sputter. The Bucks scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to the Lynx total of 9. Despite the strong fourth quarter by Yankton, the Lynx were able to hold on for a 4 point win, 44-40. "We did not end the game like I would have liked to see," Said Bisbee, "but we got the win. We just need to see how a team can come back if we don't finish games strong." Cole Albertson and Jacob Adams led the scoring for the Lynx, with 11 and 10 points respectively. Defensively, Ryan Immeker and Nic Peterson led the way with 8 steals each. On the boards, Eric Ode and Michael Horst had 10 rebounds apiece.

Brandon Valley 61, Brookings Bobcats 24

(Brookings, SD)--The second game of the week for the Lynx turned out to be a one-sided laugher as the Lynx traveled to Brookings for another ESD match-up. Brandon proved to be way too much for the Bobcats as they turned in a dominating performance, winning 61-24. The only bright spot for the Bobcats was winning the tip, and from there it was all Lynx. Brandon started fast once again, gaining a 19-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was much of the same as the Lynx took a 37-14 lead into the half. Using intense defense and relentless fast-breaking, the Lynx pulled away as the game went on. Brookings failed to score any points in the third quarter, but managed to score 10 in the fourth quarter to bring the final score to 61-24, in favor of the Lynx. It was not a pretty sight, folks, as the Bobcats could not find one thing that worked on offense or defense. Again, a balanced scoring attack was led by Jacob Adams with 14 points, which mostly came from fast break lay-ups. Dominic Nealy made his presence known with a solid 13 point performance. Ryan Immeker was not far behind with 11 points. Cole Albertson made Steve Nash-like passes to tally 8 assists and Trey Lee led the way with 13 rebounds.
Next Game: February 2, 2010 @ Watertown, SD.



B Games
Brandon Valley 44, Yankton Bucks 16

Brandon Valley 44, Brookings Bobcats 12

(Brandon, SD)—After witnessing the A team hang on to a close victory, the B team sought a blow out. After pummeling Mitchell by almost 30 in their first game of the year, these Lynx wanted to prove that the lopsided victory against Mitchell was no aberration. As everyone quickly found out, these Lynx are for real, dominating the Yankton Bucks 44-16. The B team has figured out that the recipe for success is stifling defense and fast break lay-ups. Leading the way for the Lynx against Yankton was Luke Laycock with 7 points and Kevin Peterson with 6. Peterson was also a machine on the boards, totally 17 rebounds. The Bucks were out matched against the Lynx athletically, mentally, and academically. The second game of the week for these Lynx was basically a mirror image of the first, with the Lynx again dominating 44-12 over the Brookings Bobcats at Brookings, SD. "Different opponent, same result: domination," commented Klumper. The Bobcats struggled to do anything offensively and their defense was a sieve, causing them to get blown out. Brookings did not even score in the first quarter. Shutting out an opponent for a quarter is a rare thing in basketball. In the second quarter, the Bobcats only managed to come up with 3 points and from there, didn't get much better. The extremely low point total for the Bobcats is a credit to how hard the Lynx played on defense. It was absolutely swarming. At times, it looked like the Lynx at seven players on the court. In the scoring department, the Lynx were led by Cole Julius with a whopping 14 points and Derek "DJ" Johnson with a solid 6. Luke Laycock and Kevin Peterson led the way on the boards with 6 and 5 respectively. Ryan Sjoberg had 6 assists.
Next Game: February 2nd, 2010 @ Watertown, SD.

C Games
Brandon Valley 17, Yankton Bucks 34
Brandon Valley 21, Brookings Bobcats 23

(Brandon, SD)—While the A and B teams were playing their second game of the year, this C team took the court for the first time all year. Due to high numbers for BV and low numbers for all other ESD opponents, the C teams rotate games. Due to weather issues, this C team had not had a game yet. The Lynx started strong with some aggressive defense, but could not produce enough scoring, falling to the Yankton Bucks 34-17. Leading the way for the Lynx was Mason Mitzel with 5 points and Aaron Hauck and Matthew Pearce with 4 points each. "I thought the kids played hard," said Klumper, "we just had too many missed shots. We have to work to score when we get the ball close to the basket." The Lynx are not making excuses for the loss because of lack of practice time, but they are looking forward to having some time to get some things straightened out. In the second game of the week for the C teams, the other C team traveled to Brookings to take on the Bobcats and try to extend their record to 2-0. However, these Lynx will have to wait until next week to try and get their second win because the Bobcats pulled out a 2 point victory over the Lynx, 23-21 in an absolute nail bitter. The whole way through the game was close, each team would take the lead at one point, only to fall behind the next moment. The teams were evenly matched, which Klumper knew would be the case: "I watched a lot of film on Brookings and new they had some talent," said Klumper. In fact, Brookings had a great deal of size, with three players over 6 feet tall. "Their tall players made it difficult to finish lay-ups which we usually depend on for our scoring," said Klumper. At halftime, the Lynx held a slim 2 point margin, 8-6. As the third quarter opened up, it was Brookings that had the momentum, opening up a 5 point lead. The fourth quarter got underway and the Lynx were looking for a comeback. As time winded down, trailing by 3 points, Jacob Meyers made the steal and drove in for a lay-up. Meyers was fouled on the shot, so he went to the free throw line for two shots. Meyers made the first shot, closing the margin to two points. The only problem was that the Lynx were down by two points and Meyers only had one shot, so even if he made it, the Lynx would still lose because there was only 6 seconds on the clock. Klumper called a time out and put in motion a rare strategical move. He instructed Meyers to miss the second shot on purpose and for the other guys to crash the boards like crazy and get the offensive rebound. So when Meyers took his second shot, he was looking to miss it. It actually worked, Meyers missed the shot on purpose and Luke Nordmeyer got the rebound. Nordmeyer turned to shoot and was hammered by the Bobcats, but the fouls were not called and time ran out. "Very disappointing. Very disappointing," said Klumper, "he was fouled by 3 guys and they didn't call anything. The refs called the game tight the whole way and then just decided to not call anything on the most crucial moment in the game." Leading the Lynx in scoring was Lucas Lunstra with 10 and Jacob Meyers with 5. Nordmeyer did a great job on the boards with 8.
Next Game: February 2nd, 2010 @ Watertown, SD.