O'G Heartbreak: BV Loses all Four

A Game:
Brandon Valley 25, O'Gorman 27

B Game:
Brandon Valley 29, O'Gorman 34

C Game:
Brandon Valley 30, O'Gorman Knights 37

D Game:
Brandon Valley 36, O'Gorman Knights 39

Lynx Maul the Tigers with Three Dominating Victories

A Game:
Brandon Valley 61, Harrisburg Tigers 31


(Harrisburg, SD)--The Brandon Valley Lynx made a rare visit to a non-ESD and non-Sioux Falls league opponent as they traveled to Harrisburg to take on the Tigers. In an amazing gym, complete with huge murals of Tigers on two walls, the Lynx walked in a little taken aback by the glamor of the gym. On one wall, was a huge Tiger that was about to pounce. Across the far wall, were glaring Tiger eyes, seemingly staring right at you as you entered. Huge bleachers on both sides of the court gave it a high school-like feel. The players were wide-eyed walking in: "I thought the gym was really neat. The court had to have been at least twice the size of our court in Brandon," said a confused Nic Peterson. The glitz and glamor of the court quickly proved to be a non-factor as the game got underway. Right from the start, the Lynx showed they would not be intimidated by the huge Tiger murals. With seemingly endless energy, the Lynx broke the game open right away, ending the first quarter with an 18 to 4 lead. The second quarter was more of the same, with steal after steal resulting in a 32 to 10 halftime lead. In the locker room at halftime, with such a large lead, there was not a whole lot for Coach Bisbee to cover basketball wise. "Instead, we all took out some homework and worked on our studies," said Klumper. As the studious Lynx opened up the second half, it would soon prove that the Tigers were going to have just as miserable of second half as they did in the first. However, midway through the third quarter, during a uncharacteristic lapse in effort by the Lynx, Harrisburg made a little spurt to get the deficit under 20 points. At this point, it was time for Nic Peterson to make good on his prediction. "Before the game, on the bus on the way over here, Nic said he was going to score a lot of points" commented Klumper, "he kept telling everyone that he was going to be on fire, but nobody was really listening; he even told the bus driver." Peterson made good on his prediction in third quarter, however, and began draining shots and taking the ball the basket, finishing with a game high 14 points. After several of his body-bending drives to the basket, he would be seen running back on defense yelling "oh yeah! who's the man now?" Peterson's strong effort proved costly, though, because he got so tired in the game that he had to sleep in a little bit and was late for practice the next morning. Another notable happening in the game was the A team debut of Cole Julius. Julius had proven himself worthy in the last few B games, so he was given a shot on the A team. "Julius did a nice job," said Bisbee, "he played hard and contributed to the victory." The fourth quarter drifted by like a leaf blowing in the wind on a summer day, and the Lynx had their dominate victory, 61-31. Along with Peterson, Cole Albertson and Ryan Immeker led the Lynx in scoring with seven apiece. Eric Ode and Trey Lee made their presence known on the boards with 6 and 5, respectively. Jacob Adams used his quick hands to garner 4 steals. The Lynx will next play on February 16th, 2010 against O'Gorman in Brandon, SD.

B Game:
Brandon Valley 50, Harrisburg 11


(Harrisburg, SD)--The A team put forth what looked to be a dominating performance, but compared to what the B team did, the A teams' game was a nail bitter. The Harrisburg Tigers could find absolutely nothing that would work on offense against an overwhelming defense scheme of the Lynx. In the end, in a game that was over after the opening tip, the Lynx were victorious 50-11. The game started out as a mirror image to the A game, with defense resulting in countless fast break layups. However, the B team stepped up their defensive intensity even more. In the second quarter, the Lynx held the Tigers without a single point, taking a 26 to 3 lead into the halftime. Like in the A game, there were not a whole lot of X and O type things for Coach Bisbee to draw up, so instead, the squad played a very rigorous game of duck-duck-goose. "Derek Johnson tweaked his hamstring a little trying to catch Cam," said Klumper, "but Derek brushed it off and played through the pain in the second half." The Harrisburg Tigers did manage to score in the second half, though only a paltry 7 points compared to the Lynx outburst of thirty. Though the game itself was void of real excitement, Derek Johnson game the audience something to cheer for. As Johnson was sprinting, trying to track down a loose ball, he quickly came up the wall. In what one crowd member described as "awe-inspiring," Johnson actually scaled the wall about mid-way up to save himself from running into it. The crowd's attention was also captured at the very end of the game as the second ticked down to zero. For some unknown reason, Cam Holmes had a sudden surge of aggression and actually pushed a kid down right during the game at mid-court. "Yeah, not sure what happened there, I mean, he just pushed the kid down for no apparent reason," said Klumper. The clocked finally reached zero and the Lynx had their huge win. Leading the way for the Lynx in the scoring column was Ryan Sjoberg with 10 and Devan West, Cam Holmes, Derek Johnson and Luke Bauske with six apiece. West also led in rebounding, collecting 8 for the game. The Lynx will play next against O'Gorman on February 16th, 2010 at Brandon, SD.

C Game:

Brandon Valley 42, Harrisburg 9


(Harrisburg, SD)-- The finale of the night in Harrisburg, like the two previous games, had little excitement as the game turned into a huge blow-out rather quickly with the Lynx winning 42-9. The only interest in this game was whether or not Brandon Valley would be able to pull off a rarity in basketball: a shut out. In the opening quarter, the Lynx held their ground scoring 15 points and holding the Tigers to zero. With the shut out still on, the second quarter opened up with more of the same: scoring by the Lynx, no scoring by the Tigers. However, the hopes and dreams of the Lynx faithful were dashed as the Tigers threw up a desperate attempt and scored, which ended any chance for a shut out. Dejected, coach Klumper had to rally his troops to continue to play hard despite the fact that Harrisburg scored. "I told them, 'so what if they scored! Now our new goal is to hold them under 10 points for the game.'" The Lynx responded and returned to the court with renewed enthusiasm and vigor. Steal after steal, the Lynx continued to pour it on. The Tigers were left helpless, their only option on offense was to start launching shots as fast as possible before the ball got stolen by the Lynx. At times, the Tigers would be barely past half court and they would launch a shot. Some of the shots, especially the ones that were shot from 30 feet away, looked more like a game of "500" than a basketball shot. The Lynx achieved their goal at holding the Tigers to under 10 points, securing the win 42 to 9. Leading the balanced scoring attack for BV was Alex and Antony Pacheco and Lucas Lunstra with 6 points. Jacob Meyers had a great day on the boards, grabbing 9. The Lynx will next face the O'Gorman Knights on February 16th, 2010 in Sioux Falls, SD.

Lynx Travel to Watertown, Win One; Lose Two

A Game:
Brandon Valley 43, Watertown Arrows 35

(Watertown, SD)—The Lynx of Brandon Valley made the trip to Watertown to face possibly their toughest opponent all year. Unlike the teams BV has already played, Watertown had some kids with solid basketball skills. During warm-ups, it was clear that Watertown was not going to be a walk in the park like the teams BV has faced thus far. The coaches tried to make that point crystal clear as they gathered the players before the game. Coach Bisbee drove home the point that they were going to have to come out and play a very tough defense and a high level of intensity in order to win the game. The Lynx took their coaches advice and defeated the Arrows by eight points, 43 to 35. Right from the beginning, it was clear that this game was not going to follow the script of the previous games, as both teams started strong and closed out the first quarter tied at nine. As the second quarter opened up, both teams picked up where they left off, only the Lynx were beginning to show they wanted it more. BV used their supreme athleticism to get some easy fast break buckets and feisty defense to overwhelm the Arrows. Still, Watertown was not going to go away easy, closing the second quarter on a positive note by closing the gap to three points. As the teams went into halftime, Coach Bisbee continued to stress that they needed to maintain the level of play the Lynx were at thus far in the game. During the middle of the half-time speech, however, as the players were gathered around Bisbee in the locker room, a mystery arose as nobody knew where Cole Albertson was. “I was talking and all of a sudden Cole was missing,” said Bisbee, “so I had my assistant, Coach Klumper, go try to figure it out.” Despite the fact that Klumper is a below average detective, he was able to find Cole. “It was actually quite easy,” said Klumper, “there was a special halftime show with a dance line, so I knew Cole would in the gym watching.” Sure enough, as Klumper entered the gym, there was Albertson sitting in the front row with a huge Perma-grin (permanent smile) on his face. “I was like, ‘Cole, what are you doing?’ “ said Klumper. Cole, still in awe of the dance team’s performance, could only respond with “that was the best thing I have ever seen.” As the Lynx shook off the half-time show, they regained their focus on the basketball game and began to pull away from the Arrows. In the third quarter, the Lynx put up their best effort of the game, only allowing Watertown two points, which they poured in eight, taking a nine point lead into the final frame. Though the Arrows continued to fight, the Lynx did not back down or let up and finished the game with a very solid victory, 43 to 35. “I am very proud of our kids tonight,” said Bisbee, “they played very hard and never quit.” For the Lynx, Nic Peterson played a very steady game for the Lynx at point guard, getting steals and getting the offense set up. “I just wanted to do my best because my sister came to watch me and I didn’t want to let her down,” said a jubilant Peterson. Ryan Immeker also was out to impress because he had a sibling in the stands as well. “My brother was here with his girlfriend and I really wanted to impress her,” said a grinning Immeker. Overall, all the Lynx played a very solid game. Dominic Nealy turned in some highlight material plays with two alley-oop put backs on fast breaks. “I was going to dunk, but then was like, “oh, man, I can’t dunk!’” Leading the Lynx in the statistical columns were Nealy with 13 and Jacob Adams with 12. Adams also led in rebounding with 9, while Eric Ode had 7. Peterson dished out the most assists with 8 to go along with his 5 steals. The Lynx will face the Harrisburg Tigers on Thursday, February 4th in Harrisburg, SD. Go Lynx.

B Game:
Lynx Watertown

(Watertown, SD)--

C Game:
Lynx 23, Watertown 46

(Watertown, SD)--

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

(Pictures/Video Coming Soon....)

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.

Game Summaries and Video coming soon....

To the followers of Lynx Hoops: With two games this week, I will be doing the articles and videos at the end of the week after all games are played. These will be posted Friday or Saturday. Thank you.

Lynx Shell the Kernels with Impressive Three Game Sweep

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.

Welcome to LynxHoops 2010....Get Ready.

Lynx Hoops Preview from Dan Klumper on Vimeo.

The 2010 Brandon Valley Lynx 8th grade basketball season is upon us. I would like to welcome all to Lynx Hoops, the blog that will provide everything you need to know to stay up to date with this year's team. Lynx Hoops will provide game summaries, action pictures, highlight videos, game results, and commentary by me, the Blog author.
As the season is about to get underway with the Lynx traveling to Mitchell, SD on Tuesday, January 12th, it is a fitting time to discuss the upcoming season and offer a preview on this year's 8th grade Lynx. Earlier in the year, the 8th grade football season had a very anti-climactic end. Just as the football teams were hitting their stride offensively and defensively, mother nature erupted in six straight days of rain, canceling 3 out of the last 4 games. "Frustrating. That's the perfect word for the end of the year. Frustrating." said 8th grade football coach Klumper. With that bitter taste still lingering from the football season, these athletes are ready to explode out of the gate and compete on the court. The 2010 Lynx basketball squad will be built around speed, athleticism, and toughness. With the make-up of the team the way it is, the Lynx will look to fast break on offense, pressure the ball on defense, and rebound like no team has ever rebounded before. Indeed, there is a lot of excitement in the air as the season gets underway. Last year as 7th graders, these kids did not lose a game, so coming into this year, one can only assume that expectations will be high, which they should be for this talented groups of kids. However, last year is in the past. Last year's undefeated record will get us zero wins this year. The Lynx will have to go out and earn every victory. At this point, however, talk of going undefeated is no where to be found. The Lynx can not be focused on going undefeated. They need to be focused on going undefeated on Tuesday, January 12th; their first game. "We just take one game at a time," said Head Coach Bisbee, "we can not look past opponents and take them for granted. If we do that, we will not be ready to play and get beat." The only game that needs to be in the minds of the Lynx is the next one. Excitement indeed swells as the year begins. The best thing about looking forward to this season, though, as coach Klumper points out. "We just have a great group of kids out for basketball. They try hard, listen, give 100%. They are just a lot of fun to be around." And that is the goal this season: To have fun and compete.

Good Luck to the 2010 Lynx. Go Lynx!

BV Lynx Finish Strong, Sweep Axtell Park

A Game

BV 52, Axtell Park 36

(Sioux Falls, SD)--Monday night's match-up between Brandon Valley and Axtell Park was unique for more than one reason. First, it was the last game of the year for the Lynx and secondly, Coach Klumper was not able to be at the game. C Team Coach Reese was unable to coach, leaving Klumper to attend to the C and D teams in Brandon. However, Klumper cleverly set up a web cam in the Axtell Park gymnasium to make sure he could keep an eye on the A and B teams, thus enabling him to write an accurate description of the last games. So in reality, Klumper was able to watch all four games for the first time all season. Due to the web cam, the events being foretold will carry a high level of accuracy. To the game...

Despite being ranked last in the Sioux Falls league, The Axtell Park Lions showed up with their "A" game for the visiting Lynx. Tight through the first quarter, the Lynx struggled making any shots. "I am pretty sure the rims are a little smaller on our end of the court," observed Chase Marso. Immediately, Marso was tackled to the ground by a sprinting Trevor Tobin, angered about hearing such a ridiculous comment. Adam "The Baller" Bauer responded with irritation: "The rims are smaller on both sides!" After yet another scuffle, the Lynx began to play with confidence and poise. At halftime, the Lynx held a comfortable 12 point lead. Tobin, who has been one of the best shooters all year, was not finding any success from beyond the arc. Tobin may have been a little off to start the game because he took the absence of Klumper especially hard. In fact, he was balling like a baby the entire bus trip to Axtell Park. Midway through the first quarter, Tobin was laying down behind the bench, pounding his fists on the floor, still weeping over the loss of Klumper. Coming out of the half, the Lions of Axtell Park caught fire and began to "roar" back from the deficit. Hitting three, after three, Axtell tied the game and actually overtook the Lynx towards the end of the third quarter. As the fourth quarter opened up, the Lynx found themselves down by 33 points. "Well, at least we aren't down by 34 points," quipped the ever-optimistic Jacob Bruget. During the between quarters time, Coach Bisbee gave his best speech of the year, igniting a spark to get these Lynx going. In fact, he actually breathed real fire and some of the Lynx shorts started on fire. After the distinguisher calmed things down and after employing the stop-drop-and roll method, the Lynx came out ready for a comeback. The fourth quarter was all Lynx, as everything they threw up went in. Tobin regained his composure, snapping out of his depression and started knocking down shots. Luke Hyronimus had his best game of the year, leading all scorers with eleven. Colin Lloyd finished the game with ten points. The Lynx came all the way back and ended the game victorious, defeating the Lions soundly, 52-36. "It was a great game," said Bisbee, "We are starting to come together and should have a great second half of the year." At this point, Tony Tripp reminded Coach Bisbee that this was, indeed, the last game of the year. It was a total team effort for the Lynx as they finish the season 8-5. Jarad Bakker was disappointed because due to the absence of Klumper, no pictures were taken, thus no chance of Bakker getting another picture of him touching the net. Nate Winter not only won in the game, but also in the stands as a girl actually asked him out afterwards. Great job, Nate. Congratulations to the 2008-2009 BV Lynx A team on finishing their season with a win. Go Lynx.

A- Game

BV 49, Axtell Park 19

(Sioux Falls, SD)--Perfect, Perfection, Without Flaw, Flawless, unspoiled, complete, whole, champion, greatness, distinguished, celebrated, majestic, astonishing, remarkable, heroic, grand, magnificent, incredible, extraordinary. All words used to describe the GOATS of Brandon Valley. Yes, it was truly a magical night as the GOATS proved their name true and made history, going 13-0. The BV Lynx now can add their name to the list of other great teams: '72 Dolphins, '76 Indiana Hoosiers, Birds' Celtics, Magic's Lakers, Jordan's Bulls, '27 New York Yankees, '07 New England Patriots, '08 BV Lynx 8th Grade football team and on and on....This historic season ended in an anti-climactic way, as the Lynx pummeled the Axtell Park Lions 49-19. In a game that could have been 150-0, the Lynx showed class and sportsmanship as they ran a stalled offense instead of running the score up. "It just shows what kind of kids we have on this team," remarked Klumper via web cam. Leading the balanced Lynx scoring attack was Zach Van"Vern"Ede with 10 and Jared (I think) Mulder with eleven, respectively. Despite the fact the game was not exactly edge-of-your-seat entertainment, there was something done on this occasion that has never been done in the history of sports. The visiting team actually had a "Parent's Night" on the other teams court. Before the game, all of players on the Lynx that are in 8th grade (Marso points out that they are all in 8th grade) came down to the middle of the court and met their dad with a hug and their mom with a rose to thank them and show them how much they have appreciated their support throughout the undefeated season. It was an emotional moment as even Klumper teared up via web cam. Actually, one of his tears hit the web cam in Brandon and caused it to short-circuit, shooting an array of sparks in every direction. Once it was back up and running, Klumper witnessed his team finish the season with a win. "The call came to me late Sunday evening about missing the B game, it was bitter sweet. I was excited about getting to coach the C and D games, but devastated I would not be there for my teams last game, being able to celebrate with them on a perfect season," said Klumper, "All the credit in the world goes to the kids. They achieved their perfect season. It was all them." There were numerous notable performances to end the year: Adam Guthmiller, Garret Martinmaas, and Philip Volk played with their usual "faster-than-everybody-else" style, completely overwhelming the lowly Lions. Trey Ethreim, Cole Vanderbeek and Brandon Hintz controlled the perimeter on offense and defense, consistently making great passes and steals. The Mulder Twins continued their assault on the record books for shot attempts and played defense as if they had jet packs on their back. Thomas Gardner and Zach VanEde dominated the post with smoothness, finesse and skill we are only accustomed to seeing in College. It was a great season and a great team, a team that this blog author will miss dearly.

C and D Games are coming soon...

Axtell Park Game Summaries, Final Thoughts, Coming Soon

Lynx B, C, D Wins, A Falls to Whittier

A Team: Lost
B Team: Won
C Team: Won
D Team: Won

(You may be wondering about the lack of description for the four games. Reason: The A team is/was too painful to write about as they dropped a close one that they should have won. The B game went pretty much like every other game this year, 30 point win. The C and D team games I did not witness and their coach had to take his child to the hospital and was unable to write anything. I apologize for the let down on game summaries. However, Lynx Hoops will end with a bang as there is one game left, as well as the "Season Wrap-Up")

BV Lynx Take 3 out of 4 from Patrick Henry

A Game:

BV 32, Patrick Henry 38

(Sioux Falls, SD)-- Coming off three straight wins a week ago, the Brandon Valley Lynx "A" team was looking to keep their winning streak rolling. It was not to be on this night, however, as they dropped a heart breaker to the Patrick Henry Panthers. The theme for the first half was lack of scoring on the Lynx part. BV only managed to put up three points in the entire first quarter. Missed layups and turnovers resulted in scoring woes. The second quarter witnessed some improvement as they Lynx found a rhythm and put up twelve points to take the lead at half-time. In the second half, it was more of the same as the Lynx struggled to find any lasting rhythm and the refs struggled to find a consistent approach to officiating. The normally relaxed coach Klumper had this to say after the game: "I couldn't believe some of the calls that we were not getting. I mean, its not a good sign when I have to use all the gauze bandages in one game because of our players getting hacked so badly." Despite the poor officiating, the Lynx players did a decent job of not letting it affect them. Nothing can be done once a call has been made and the Lynx have gotten better at letting things go and focusing on things they can control, like their effort and attitude. Still, one must wonder when a Lynx player would drive to the basket and come out with a compound fracture in their arm and no foul call. So it goes... In the fourth quarter, offensive sluggishness hit again, as the Lynx only managed 4 points, which proved to be their undoing on this occasion, losing to Patrick Henry 32-38. Despite the fact that Patrick Henry did not run an offensive play the entire game, their wild, just-drive-to-the-basket-and-throw-up-some-horrible-shot-and-hope-for-a-miracle-that-it-goes-in style of play annoyed the Lynx just enough to beat them. It could also have been attributed to the fact that the court was extremely small and tiled. But excuses are not what this team is about, they know they had their chances and no outside factors cost them the win. The trip was not without highlights, however. As the Lynx were walking into the school when they arrived, a collection of 8th grade girls from Patrick Henry let out a few whistles towards the manly Lynx. Nate Winter was pretty sure that those whistle were for him: "Hey guys, I am pretty sure they were whistling at me. I did comb my hair differently today, that must have been it." Winter, excited that a girl whistled at him, kept asking coach Klumper if he thought they would still be there after the A and B games. "I simply, calmly explained to Nate that those girls would not stand outside for two hours while we played the game," explained Klumper. A dejected Winter found comfort in the huge PowerAde that his dad brought him and forget all about it. Leading the Lynx in scoring was Chase Marso with 13 and Adam Bauer with 7, respectively.



B Game (It's called the "B Game" but we are actually A-)

BV 56, Patrick Henry 28

(Sioux Falls, SD)-- The A game left a bad taste in the mouths of all the GOATS as they watched their good friends lose a close one. They definitely wanted to avenge that loss and make sure we at least left Sioux Falls with one victory. "I could see the fire in the eyes, they were really ticked off," said a scared Klumper. The GOATS have been earning respect all season with their tough style of play. In fact, as the GOATS arrived at Patrick Henry Middle School, the Patrick Henry students actually made a tunnel for the GOATS to walk through, entering the gym. It was a special moment. The always alert Trey Ethreim quipped, "I think a girl almost looked at me while we were walking through the tunnel." The gesture was nice, but still the GOATS showed no mercy as they pounded the P.H. Panthers 56-28 for their eleventh straight win and their eleventh straight game reaching the fifty point mark. Coach Klumper was a little nervous to start the game, "I was nervous because during warm-ups, I saw Jared Mulder flashing his huge wad of money all over instead of shooting." Klumper's nervousness soon dissipated as the Lynx began the game with the same fiery intensity that has been the staple all season long for these dudes. Thomas Gardner turned in a Buffalo-in-the-middle-of-a-pasture-of-bunnies-like dominant performance, filling up the scoring column with 16 points. Adam Guthmiller also hit double digits with 12 points. Individual accolades are nice, but these GOATS are only worried about one state, the big "0" in the L column. If they finish out their last two games with the same intensity and effort they have displayed all season long, a perfect record will be theirs. The summary of the actual game is something like this: the Lynx got a bunch of steals, scored a bunch of points and crushed another opponent by almost 30. The key to tonight's game was the warm-up song "Eye of the Tiger" which, you may not know, has a direct connection to Coach Klumper. It got the players and Klumper very pumped-up for the game. The video is below and will not work at School since it is YouTube.

The C Game

BV 35, Patrick Henry 20
(Wire Reports from Matt Reese)

(Brandon, SD)--Leading Scorers: Forrest Hanisch 9, Dylan Tibke 7, Nick Wilde 6
Free throws (team) 6 for 10
P-H attempted to slow the pace of the game to a crawl by employing an attempt at the Princeton offense. The C-team was not phased by this attempt to set basketball back 30 years, and with the help of swarming defense and much improved free throw shooting were able to over come a slowed pace to emerge victorious. In a total team effort each player contributed with solid defense, timely rebounding, and solid shooting.

The D Game

BV 47, Patrick Henry 9
(Wire Reports from Matt Reese)

(Brandon, SD)--Leading Scorers: Jack McCann 12, Sawyer Barth 8, Derek Bose 6 (and four others with at least 4 points)
Free throws (team) 3 for 11
The BV D-team dominated from the tip racing out to a 17-2 lead and never looking back. Sawyer Barth started the first quarter run by hitting consecutive 3's and the rout was on. Nine of eleven players scored for the night. The D-teamers hustled all night, diving for loose balls, scrapping for rebounds, and fast breaking at every opportunity. P-H was drastically over matched and BV called off the dogs in the fourth quarter and coasted to the victory.


On a side note, this may have been the best managed game of the year by the Lynx managers. My hat goes off to their stellar performance. They have been very consistant all year and do a great job.

Sioux Falls Rocky

Great Week in BVMS History: 8th Graders go 10-1, put stamp on the Record Books

To all my avid readers, I apologize for the tardiness of the game summaries from our previous games. Having three games in a row makes it difficult to keep up with Lynx Hoops. Thank you for your understanding. I appreciate your readership.

The A Team:

BV 53, Memorial 48

(Brandon, SD)-- The BV Lynx A team faced three tough opponents last week. The Lynx faced Memorial Middle School, Yankton, and Edison Middle School in three straight days. Three games in three days may make things difficult for some teams, but not for these Lynx who are starting to find their stride offensively and defensively. Despite the challenging opponents, the A won all three games, usuing strong defense and teammwork that has really come around. In game one of the week, the Lynx defeated the previous #1 ranked school in Sioux Falls Memorial Mustangs 53-48 behind the sizzling shooting from the Lynx guards. The lynx hit nine 3-pointers in the game, setting a school record. Leading the 3-point barage was Trevor Tobin, making 4 out of 33 attempts. Tobin credits his big night to some adjustments he made during warm-ups: "I knew I had to 'play the wind.' It was just a matter of aiming a little to the left. I knew the wind would bring it over." The Lynx played a steady game offensively and defensevly and would not be rattled by the poor attitudes of the Memorial Middle School players. The Lynx would not let the constant cheap shots and profanity get to them as they focused on their goal of winning. The Mustang did have great athletisicm, but nothing special compared to what the Lynx showed Wednesday night. Chase Marso led all scorers with 17 points. After the game, post player Jarad Bakker had this to say to coach Klumper, "Hey Mr. Klumper, did you get another picture of me touching the rim?" Klumper responded, "No."

BV 43, Yankton 33

(Brandon, SD)--Game two of the week for the A team was against ESD rival Yankton. The Lynx once again played team basketball and kept their focus on the game despite the huge Hot dog feast awaiting them after the game. A lesser-disiplined team would have let the sweet smell of hot dogs boiling in water distract them. Although assistant coach Klumper was eating hot dogs during the A game, the BV players still were able to keep focus on the action and on winning. Guard Luke Hyronimus almost gave in to the temptation, asking Klumper on several occasions if he could just have one bite. Said Hyronimus: "That hot dog looked really good. I just really wanted to eat one, or two." Klumper held his ground, "It was in the best interest of Mr. Hyronimus to not eat the hot dog. After all, he asked me for it while he was shooting free throws. I didn't want to take the risk of him getting ketchup on the basketball, especially since the basketball was brand new." Chase Marso pointed out, "The hot dog goes in the hot dog bun." As far as the game went, the A team did their customary routine of getting a big lead, then letting the other team come back. However, on this night, the Lynx were able to withstand the comeback efforts of the Bucks, holding on for a 43-33 win. Chase Marso and Trevor Tobin once again led the Lynx in scoring, tallying 10 points and 11 points, respectively. Nine of Tobin's eleven points came way of the three-ball.


BV 62, Edison Middle School 30

(Brandon, SD)--The finale of the week turned into a laugher as the Lynx pounded the Edison Whatever-they-are by thirty-two points. This game was unique for the Lynx players as Coach Bisbee had to be away, lowly assistant Klumper had to take the reigns. "I was pretty nervous. I know the guys don't like me very much, I wasn't sure if they would listen to me or not," said Klumper. "I wanted to impress the players so I looked up a bunch of plays on the internet and told the guys that I made them up. Don't tell them I didn't that." remarked Klumper. The new plays were not needed, though, as the Lynx used suffocating defense and precision offense to carve up the Edison Whatever-they-are all game long. "It was a lot of fun to watch. They played great," said a relieved coach Klumper. Chase Marso continued his pursuit of the season scoring record for an 8th grade with 21 points. Jarad Bakker also chipped in with his season-high 14 points. The game was getting slightly boring until Jacob Bruget almost got a technical foul and was nearly ejected from the game for aruging with the referee. Bruget was yelling at the ref that people are suppose to put two lines of ketchup on their hot dog, not one. Apparently Bruget was still thinking about the Hot dog Feed. The ref was not amused, screaming back during game-play, "I can put one line of ketchup on my hot dog if I want to!" Other notes: Nate Winter continued his steady season with 12 rebounds and 7 assists. "Winter has been very consistent all season in the post. His hard work and consistency is greatly appreciated," said Klumper after the game.



The A- Team (B team)

BV 52, Memorial Middle School 31

(Brandon, SD)-- The GOATS came into the week with an undefeated record, looking to add three more tallies in the win column. The Lynx knew all three games were definately winnable, but since the Lynx took over the #1 ranking in the state, they have had a bullseye on their back all year. "We get everybody's best effort," commented Trey Ethreim, "To our opponents, the chance to play us is like their Super Bowl." Marso was quick to point out, "The Super Bowl is football." Memorial came into this game with a lot of athletisicm and a lot of attitude. Memorial hung around until late in the second quarter when the GOATS started to open things up. Every member of the Lynx scored in the game, which shows the type of teammwork and balance that these Lynx have. The Lynx managed to hit the 50-point mark for the 8th straight game, a new single season record for any 8th grade BV team. "The record is pretty cool," said Hintz, "Almost as cool as I am." These Lynx are not focused on records, though. They have one-track minds: winning (and the hot dog feed after the Yankton game.) "All my guys care about is playing their best and playing together. That combination breeds wins, and they know it," said a pleased Klumper after the game. Leading the well balanced scoring attack for the Lynx was Philip Volk with 11, Garret Martinmaas with 9 and Thomas Gardner with 9.


BV 61, Yankton 24

(Brandon, SD)-- This game was a rematch from earlier in the season. When these two teams played early in the year, the GOATS were just kinda good. Now they are super good. With that being the case, there was a chacne things could get out of hand very quickly for the Yankton Bucks. The players could barely even hear Klumper's meaningless stories as both teams prepared for the showcase game of the night. As the ball was tossed in the air for the jump to start the game, the student section was as rowdy as ever. The A team players were especially enthusiastic, but their enthusiasm stemmed from the looming Hot Dog feed afterwards. At one point, as the crowd began to settle down, a very excited Trevor Tobin yelled at the top of his lungs: "I love hot dogs and I want to eat them." As the game got underway, the Yankton players looked like deer in head lights, as they knew at any moment the Lynx would spring from their "litter" and pummel the Bucks. It was quite the opposite, however, as the game was scoreless midway through the first quarter. The lynx got open shots whenever they wanted but the shots were just not falling. "I was not concerned with our lack of scoring in the first quarter, we were getting shots and I knew they would start to fall. Also, I had a new play to show the guys. We called it "new play" and I knew it would work great. I saw it in an NBA game. The T-Wolves ran it," said a winded Klumper as he tried to have the longest quote of the season. Klumper's confidence in his team proved to be justified as the GOATS unleashed the fury on the Bucks, taking a 15 point lead almost instantly. Philip Volk's weekend operation to add two more arms allowed him to get even more steals. "I was surprised to see Volk came back after the weekend with four arms, now he will get even more steals and will easily break the 8th grade steals record. Although there will be an asterick by the record since he has four arms now," said Klumper. The Bucks looked miserable as the GOATS attacked the ball handler in waves, completely overwhelming the guards. In fact, after the game two of the Yankton guards asked their coach if they could have a wrestling sign up sheet. The GOATS had broken the lead wide open, but did not play satisified. They played how they always play with a lead: looking for more. The one thing this team never does is start to relax with big leads. Even when the lead reaches 20 or 30 points, they continue to play as hard as they can. The action was stopped momentarily in the third quarter, however, as the ref saw blood on the jersey of Jacob Mulder. Actually, Mulder snuck over to the Hot Dog feed during halftime and polished off 3 hot dogs with extra ketchup. The red substance on his jersey was not blood. It was ketchup that had spilled all over. "Yeah, I can't say I'm surprised, Jacob really loves hot dogs. I could tell he was just itching to get over to the Feed," said a relaxed Klumper. The Lynx finished out the game in true GOATS fashion, hitting the 60 point mark for the first time all year. "It was a great game, they played very well. Everybody scored for the second game in a row. Up and down the roster, everybody played hard," said Klumper. Leading scorers for the Lynx was Philip Volk with 15, Jared Mulder with 9, and Adam Guthmiller with 8. Klumper tried to give a post-game speech, but as the buzzer sounded, his players had disappeared-the Hot Dog Feed had finally arrived. Chase Marso pointed out after the game that "Four plus three plus four equals eleven."

BV 51, Edison Middle School 30

(Brandon, SD)--Total Domination.

The C Team

BV 40, Memorial 35
BV 40, Memorial 24
BV 41, Yankton 17

(Brandon, SD)--The Lynx came out and dominated the Yankton Bucks right fromt he tip-off. The combination of fast break and in-your-face defense was too much for the unprepared Bucks. Dylan Tibke and Harlan Smouse led the game in scoring with 8 and 7 points, respectively.

BV 42, Edison 32

(Sioux Falls, SD)--
Leading Scorers: Cole Hensley 10, Forrest Hanisch 9, Dylan Tibke 6, and Spencer Smith 5
Shot 7 for 24 from the free-throw line (29%)
The C team never trailed during the game; the guys rebounded well and played great help defense.

BV 29, Edison 30

(Sioux Falls, SD)--
Leading Scorers: Andy Waterfall 6, Zach Flannigan 6, Jack McCann 4, and Dylan Kasma 4.
It was a tight game that went back and forth the entire time. Edison scored the go-ahead basket with 4 seconds to go. We got off a last second shot, but it clanged off of the back of the rim.

Hot Dog Feed Highlights BV Sweep of Yankton

(Brandon, SD)-- Due to overconsumption of probably the finest hotdogs ever made in boiling water, there will be a slight delay in game summaries for this week.

Thursday, Feb. 19th:
A Game: BV 43, Yankton 33
A- Game: BV 61, Yankton 24
C Game: BV 41, Yankton 17


Wednesday, Feb. 18th:
A Game: BV 53, Memorial Middle School 48
A- Game: BV 52, Memorial Middle School 31
C Game: BV 40, Memorial Middle School 35
D Game: BV 40, Memorial Middle School 24

BV B and D Teams Victorious, A and C Fall to O'Gorman

A Game: BV 42, O'Gorman 47

(Sioux Falls, SD)-- The opening game in the Sioux Falls league saw high intensity action between Brandon Valley and the Knights of O'Gorman. The action was back and forth throughout the entire first half. As has been the case all year for the Lynx, inconsistency plagued them early on. The Lynx would break out into the lead, only to see the Knights come marching back. For the Knights, #3 gave BV fits all first quarter long. An ingenious coaching move by Coach Bisbee assigned Tony Tripp the task of shutting down #3. Tripp's defense put an end to any success the Knights sharp-shooter experienced in the first quarter. Tripp used his superior athleticism and toughness to make things miserable for the "could-explode-at-any-moment" #3. Coach Bisbee was pleased: "Tony did a great job shutting down there best player." On this occasion, the fans would see this game come down to the wire as neither team refused to quit in the third quarter and into the fourth. The Lynx found themselves behind by 6 to 8 points most of the way through the fourth quarter. Trevor Tobin, who struggled in the first half shooting the ball, kept his confidence and hit a big three with under a minute to play to tie the game. "That shot was huge!" exclaimed a exhilarated Bisbee. The coaches never lost faith in Tobin's ability to hit the big three. Bisbee also added, "I just knew he was going to hit a big shot eventually, I never doubted it for a second." In fact, when Tobin hit the momentum-changing three-pointer, Bisbee was so excited he turned to his assistant, Coach Klumper, and punched him in the shoulder, exclaiming "I knew it! I knew it!" Klumper's shoulder went numb, as if it had been injected with 7 syringes of Novocaine. Holding back the tears, Klumper, displaying the toughness of a 6 year old girl, remained on the bench for the remainder of the A game. After Tobin's big shot, O'G came down the floor and turned the ball over, which led to Chase Marso putting in a bucket to give the Lynx a two point lead and all the momentum in the world. O'G, down by two with the ball, could not muster up any half-way decent shot resulting in the Lynx taking over, seemingly in control of the game. It would come down to free throws for these ferocious felines. The Lynx stepped to the line, up by two, with 10 seconds remaining in the game, with a chance to ice the game. Two misses later, the Knights charged down the court and tossed up and made a miracle shot at the buzzer to tie. Overtime was needed on this afternoon to decide a very tough fought battle. In the overtime period, the Lynx got off to a slow start, allowing the Knights to build a sizable lead. That proved to be costly, especially in an overtime that is only two minutes long to begin with. The Knights managed to control the game and come away with the victory. For the Lynx, the loss was bitter. Free throws proved to be the undoing of a sure-thing victory. In the fourth quarter alone, the Lynx shot 4 out of 11 from the charity stripe. Despite the loss, a few Lynx turned in impressive performances. Other than Tripp's stifling defense, Chase Marso tallied a game high and season high 20 points. Marso got his 20 by dead-eye shooting from the three-point arc and penetrating moves to the basket. The Lynx will have a week off as parent/teacher conferences begin for Brandon Valley. They better get their rest, however, as they try to get back on the winning track when they play three games in three days on Feb. 18, 19, 20. All homes games, by the way. The Lynx fall to 4-3 on the season.



A- Game: BV 39, O'Gorman 29

(Sioux Falls, SD)-- The finale of the night on the campus of O'Gorman saw undefeated Brandon Valley, 6-0, facing off against the undefeated O'Gorman Knights, 17-0. The student section, decked out in their khakis pants and blue polo shirts, were ready to see their Knights slay the Fire-Breathing Lynx. Through some cunning scouting by coach Klumper during warm-ups, the Lynx learned that O'G pummeled Yankton by 20 earlier in the season. "It was actually pretty easy," said Klumper about the scouting, "I just asked some kid what their record was and who they have played." As the game got underway, coach Klumper took his spot on the bench with his arm in a sling from the earlier mishap (a.k.a punch). Phillip Volk was inspired by the display of courage from his coach: "I have never been so inspired as I was when I saw Coach Klumper get back from the ER and take his spot on the bench with us, a truly memorable moment in the history of my life." After hearing the quote, Klumper responded, "Thanks Phillip. You can be a starter for this game for saying that." The pre-game speech was all business, as Klumper knew that the Lynx could not take O'G for granted. "I knew these Knights were not going to show us any 'chivalry' tonight. I knew their 'armor' would be tough, their swords would be sharpened and their thirst for victory overflowing." Trey Ethreim responded, "What is he talking about?" The first half was all the game was cracked up to be, as the half-time score was 21-18 in favor of the Lynx. For BV, turnovers proved costly as they began to pile up in their high-paced style. Always looking to fast break, the Lynx came up against a team that could almost stick with them, causing bad passes and mis-handles. Klumper decided to scale back the attack and actually run some offense. "I knew we could dominate them in the paint. They simply let us get it in the post and from there, Garrett Martinmaas, Adam Guthmiller, Thomas Gardner and Zach Van Ede just dominated King Arthur and Lancelot," explained Klumper, using another cheesy reference of real knights. Ethriem again chimed in, "He basically is the only one that laughs at his jokes." As always, the defense of the Lynx was outstanding all game long. The most consistent thing for the Lynx during their seven game winning streak is their effort and defense. They need to keep that ball rolling as they begin to face tough opponent after tough opponent. The Lynx began to pull away in the second half, using solid free-throw shooting to keep the Knights from catching up. Unlike the A team, the GOATS dominated the free throw line in the fourth quarter, hitting 11 out of 12 from the line. Tom Gardner had ice water running through his veins as he did not miss a free throw the entire game. Garrett Martinmaas also hit big free throws as the Lynx won their seventh game of the year, improving to 7-0. Leading the Lynx in scoring was Martinmaas with 13 and Jared Mulder with 8. "It was a good test for us tonight," quipped Klumper, "It was good to face a quality team and to see where we stack up. We definitely passed the test tonight and anxiously await our next opponent."

C Game: BV 48, O'Gorman 51
(Wire Reports from Coach Reese)

(Brandon, SD)--High scorers were: Kain Koepp with 13, Forrest Hanisch with 11, and Dylan Tibke with 9. We shot 6 for 20 from the free-throw line. The theme from the first half for us was inconsistent play and too many unforced errors on our part. The kids got things together and played much better in the 2nd half. We were down by 8 at half-time and the guys chipped away at the lead, and we actually took the lead late in the 4th quarter. We traded free throws at the end and they forced over time. Kain had some nice steals that he took coast to coast, Forrest Hanisch played good defense on their leading scorer, Spencer Smith had a nice 3 point play, the kids did a nice job of feeding the post, and overall the team played very hard. In the end we missed too many free throws and too many layups.

D Game: BV 41, O'Gorman 16
(Wire reports from Coach Reese)

(Brandon, SD)--High Scorers were: Nick Wilde with 10 points, Zach Flannigan with 6 points, and Dylan Kasma with 6 pts. 10 of 11 players scored. The theme for the game was run, run, run. We ran out to an early lead and kept running all game long. We were up 23 to 5 at half time. The kids played good defense, we had multiple steals, and the kids ran the floor fairly well. Nick Wilde displayed solid skills finishing from both sides of the basket with either hand. Flannigan and Kasma played well down low. Overall the team played well as a group.

BV Can't Dull the Arrows, drop 2 out of 3

A Game: BV 41, Watertown 46

(Brandon, SD)--In a match up to decide who would take over first place in the ESD conference, the sharp arrows of Watertown proved too much for the dull fangs of Brandon Valley. The fans got their money's worth, however, as excitement was the name of the game at Brandon Valley Middle School. The Lynx came out strong, opening a sizable lead midway through the first quarter. As they did all night, Watertown responded, shooting their way back into. Again, in the second quarter, BV went on another run, opening up a double digit lead. Lead by the volatile #10, Watertown again climbed its way back, tieing the game at half time. "It was a game of runs. We would go on a run, then they would answer," stated Coach Bisbee. Consistency was the name of the game for the Lynx in the second half, since that was totally lacking in the first half. Again, each team went on runs, as the back and forth action reached a feverish level. "We played hard, I will say that, we simply turned the ball over too many times," said Bisbee. In the second half, the normally lethal Trevor Tobin couldn't seem to find his shooting touch, as two of his shots went way right, missing everything. "Yeah, there was a stiff cross breeze in the gym tonight. It kept blowing my shot to the right," said Tobin. Chase Marso was quick to point out, "It was not windy. There is a roof on this gym." A rather heated exchange between Tobin and Marso ensued, each arguing their point of whether it was windy or not in the gym. Coach Klumper had to step in once the argument reached who could text message faster. "I had to step in, it was getting pretty ridiculous," said a relieved Klumper. The fourth quarter saw two teams desperately fighting for the victory. In the end, it was the Arrows who outlasted the pressure defense of the Lynx, holding on for a 6 point victory. Marso led BV in scoring with 10. Tony Tripp and Adam Bauer each had 9, respectively. The Lynx will travel to Sioux Falls to face undefeated O'Gorman in the opening game of the Sioux Falls League.




A- Game: BV 53, Watertown 26

(Brandon, SD)-- In the most anticipated game of the year for the GOATS, BV showed why they are in first place in the ESD conference. Before the game started, players, coaches, and fans were treated to a very special performance by Trevor Tobin singing the National Anthem. "I thought he did a great job singing," said Klumper, "however, he missed a few notes in the middle and sounded a little pitchy towards the end." Tobin was satisfied with his performance, however: "It felt good. I have a passion for singing that is unparalleled by anything else, though the wind carried my voice a little bit, I think."
The first half saw close action, both teams finding success offensively. The Lynx found themselves in unfamiliar territory--a close game. They had to dig in and rise to the occasion as the Watertown Arrows would not back down. The Lynx played their style of basketball as usual, but Watertown had some kids that could play as well. At the half, the score was 21- 18, Lynx holding a slight advantage. A half-time speech that was without jokes, emphasized the need to play even harder. The Lynx came out for the second half with a different strategy for the pesky Arrows. The Lynx employed a trapping style of defense that gave the Arrows fits all third quarter. Rarely did the Arrows even get the ball inside the three-point line before a BV steal would be going the other way for a fast break lay-up. The defensive pressure applied to Watertown was the most intense it has been all year. On one occasion, the Lynx were fast-breaking led by Jared Mulder, who spied a wide open Garrett Martinmaas under the basket. Mulder hit Martinmaas with a pass that went through the defender's legs. The crowd went wild with excitement. Girls were screaming as Mulder ran past the crowd, waving to his adoring fans. "Our guys just flew around the court. They trapped Watertown everyone. It was an impressive display of defense," commented Coach Klumper. The defense of the Lynx broke the game wide open in the third quarter and the Lynx did not look back, finishing the game with an exclamation point. They totally dominated the second half. "Everybody played awesome. Their effort was exactly what I was looking for. The game went as I expected it to go," complimented Coach Klumper. Watertown only scored 8 points in the entire second half. Leading the scoring for the Lynx was Jacob Mulder with 11 and Garret Martinmaas with 8. Coach Klumper tried to do something new for this game as he had the mangers try to keep track of steals, assists, and rebounds. "We were trying to get detailed statistics. However, we continued to get so many steals, assists, and rebounds that the pencils wore out and we could not keep up," stated Klumper. Final Statistic line for Team totals: Points: 53, Steals: A LOT, Assists: At least 30, Rebounds: All of Them. The Lynx continued their offensive explosion, reaching the fifty-point mark for the 6th straight game. For Klumper, it was a game of vindication as Watertown beat Klumper in his middle school coaching debut two years ago, 61-6. (despite the large margin of victory, Watertown continued to full court press into the fourth quarter, something that Klumper has not forgotten). "I absolutely love beating Watertown," stated Klumper. The Lynx will face a tough opponent, as they travel to O'Gorman on Friday for a clash of the two most prominent programs in the State.


C Game: BV 40, Watertown 46

Brandon, SD)--The Lynx put their undefeated record on the line against the equally talented Waterown Arrows Tuesday night at Brandon Valley Middle School. In an exciting game from start to finish, Watertown defeated the Lynx by 6 points. The first half was a display of two evenly matched teams fighting hard for the upper hand. Cole Hensley did a great job of pushing the ball up the court, forcing the action, and scoring lay-ups. Kain Koepp controlled the board for the Lynx in the first half. Dylan "The Kaz Man" Kasma displayed strength that is unmatched in 8th grade anywhere in the tri-state region as his defense overwhelmed and frustrated the Arrows. "Dylan did a great job playing defense and going after loose balls," said Klumper, "I was really impressed with his effort." Kasma is no stranger to playing defense, however, as he was unblockable last fall in football. The exciting first half ended with the Arrows holding a slight lead. During half-time, as the Lynx were preparing their second half strategy in the locker room, Trevor Tobin put on a shooting showcase that "wow-ed" the audience and left Bisbee and Klumper wondering where this was during the game. "Mr. Marso asked me if I would do the half-time show for the C game and I was like, 'sure, I'll go out and swish some turn around jumpers, no problem,'" said a giddy Tobin.
As the second half got underway, the Watertown Arrows began to build a sizable lead. However, the feisty Lynx would not go away quietly, storming back in the fourth quarter. The comeback was led by the guard tandem of Forrest Hanisch and Hensley scoring, Kain Koepp getting rebounds and Dylan Kasma getting steals. It was a very exciting turn around for the Lynx, as they came back to cut the deficit from 15 points to only 6 towards the end of the fourth quarter.
With a little under a minute to play, Watertown hit a big three-pointer. Hensley answered with a layup but the Arrows again came up with a bucket on their end. The Lynx turned the ball over with thirteen seconds to go in the game, sealing the victory for the Arrows. Despite the loss, the Lynx did a great job not giving up and continuing to play hard all the way to the end. Kain Koepp led all scorers with 11, while Hanisch chipped in 9. The Lynx will open the Sioux Falls League Friday night at Brandon Valley Middle School.

Important Notice: Due to the format of the Sioux Falls league, I will not be able to watch the C and D games because the A and B teams will be playing at the same time at a different location. As a result, the game write-ups will be shortened due to the fact I will not be able to witness the games.)

BV Claws Brookings in ESD Cat Fight

A Game: BV 48, Brookings 39

(Brandon, SD)--In a rematch of the opening game of the season, the Brandon Valley A team used its defensive prowess and offensive precision to handle the Brookings Bobcats, 48-39. The Lynx team that showed up tonight was a vast improvement from the first game between these two schools. The biggest struggle facing the Lynx thus far has been consistency. Tonight, they seemed to solve that problem, putting together two solid halves of basketball. In the first half, the BV defense was solid, containing Brookings' all-American #52 to only four points. The offense was executed well, resulting in open shots and drives to the lane. It was a game that was very satisfying to watch for the fans, coaches, and scouts. "We played a great game tonight," commented Coach Bisbee, "We finally played a whole game the way we are capable of playing." In the second half, it was more of the same for the Lynx, who would not be denied a solid victory. It was a complete shut-down of the Bobcats offense in the third quarter. The BV defense held the Bobcats to only three points, and as Chase Marso pointed out, "I can count all their third quarter points on one hand cause I have 5 fingers on one hand and five is more than three." The game would not end without moments of anxiety, however, as #52 started to get hot, leading the Bobcats on a mini-run midway through the fourth quarter. Showing the poise of a team used to exciting finishes, the Lynx kept their composure and finished the game with a victory. "I am just exuberant," exclaimed Bisbee after the game, "I had a grand time watching these kids play tonight." The paint was controlled by the post play of Jacob Bruget, Nathan Winter, Jarad Bakker and Colin Lloyd. They were able to keep #52, who averages 33 points and 17 rebounds a game, from dominating the action down low. On the perimeter, Adam Bauer, Luke Hyronimus, Chase Marso and Tony Tripp showed the defensive intensity that the fans of BV expect to see.
Trevor Tobin played a solid game, though he had to shake off early nervousness due to his sister being in the crowd. "I really wanted to play a great game for my sister, who came all the way from Robert Bennis to watch me play," stated Tobin. After the game, Tessa Tobin was asked what the key to victory for the A team was: "They all had really nice shoes on." Chase Marso and Colin Lloyd led the way in the scoring department with 16 and 9 points, respectively.
The Lynx will next face Watertown on Tuesday at Brandon Valley Middle School on "Bob McNamara" court. It will be a stiff test for the Lynx. Watertown boasts an undefeated record and a line-up of 4 players over 6'5" Will the Lynx be up to the task? Come watch on Tuesday to find out.




A- Game: BV 52, Brookings 24

(Brandon, SD)--Once again, the GOATS of Brandon did not disappoint, as they trounced the humbled Brookings Bobcats 52-24. The Lynx opened the game with their signature pressure defense, flying around the court double teaming at any and every moment. That defensive pressure attributed to countless steals and fast break points. Actually, I did count the steals-41 to be exact. The double-teaming that was being applied to the Bobcats was so effective because of the flawless strategy: the Lynx would have 2 guys doubling the ball, 3 guys taking the middle of the court away, and 3 guys protecting the basket in the paint. The Bobcats had literally no place to go with the ball. A typical Brookings possession went like this: 1. Brookings would inbound the ball after a Lynx bucket. 2. The Brookings point guard would bring the ball up the court and cross half court. 3. The Lynx players would start sprinting towards the point guard to double team. 4. The Brookings point guard would let out a shriek of horror as the Lynx approached. 5. The Brookings point guard would throw the ball up in the air and run back on defense. "I was really pleased with our defensive pressure tonight," stated Coach Klumper, "but, I must say, I still believe we can apply even more pressure. After all, they did score 24 points, which is 24 more points that I want to give up." The Lynx continued to run offense like they were getting paid to do it, relentlessly driving to the basket or feeding the post. Garret Martinmaas exhibited Zeus-like strength in the post offensively and defensively. "Once Garret gets the ball in his hands, nobody is going to steal it," said Klumper, "He is scary-strong." The Bobcats found absolutely no success inside the paint due to the presence of Zach Van Ede, Thomas Gardner, Adam Guthmiller, and Martinmaas. "Our posts completely shut down the paint, it was amazing," stated Klumper. The guard play was also exceptional for the Lynx thanks to Philip Volk, Trey Ethreim, Cole Vanderbeek, Brandon Hintz and the Mulder Twins. Despite the lopsided victory, there is still room for improvement, and that thought alone strikes fear in the hearts of every upcoming opponent. "I would like to see us do a better job of feeding the posts," said Klumper, "I do not allow our posts to have after-school snacks on game days because I want them to stay hungry for the ball down low." Trey Ethriem was not impressed by that joke: "What a dumb thing to say." Despite the hurtful words from Ethreim, Klumper was very proud of his team tonight, "We continue to play at a very high level, its great to watch." Trevor Tobin's cousin was also at the game tonight, and when asked about the B game, Cassidy Wethor stated, "They were really fast and they worked together, but the coach was overdressed." The Lynx will next face rival Watertown next Tuesday.


C Game: BV 57, Brookings 40

(Brandon, SD)--The finale for the night showcased two undefeated teams with a lot of team speed facing off in a blockbuster showdown in the ESD. First half action was close, both teams finding success in a high-scoring first half. For the Lynx, nicknamed R.A.G.S (Run And Gun Shooters), Andy Waterfall appeared to be a step faster than the Bobcats. Brookings could not stop Waterfall, they could only hope to contain him. The Lynx did a great job penetrating the lane and finishing the shot or kicking it out to a wide open teammate for a three-pointer. Levi Vanderweide, Harlan Smouse and Nick Wilde played stellar at the guard position, coming away with multiple steals and baskets. In the post, Spencer Smith and Dylan Tibke, among others, forced their will upon the opponents by grabbing every rebound in sight. The Lynx began to slowly pull away as their pressure defense and fast breaking was too much for the Bobcats. With every steal for the Lynx, came a full court pass to a wide open teammate under the basket for an easy two points. Towards the end of the fourth quarter, Dylan Tibke darted across the lane and blocked a shot so hard that the ball chipped some of the brick off the wall. Jared Mulder, sitting by Coach Klumper in the stands, was impressed as he yelled, "Oh yeah! He tasted leather on that block." Actually, it was Mulder who was tasting leather. He meant to grab a piece of beef jerky from his house, but instead grabbed his brother's leather bookmark from the counter and hadn't yet noticed that it was not actually beef jerky that he was chewing on. Tibke had a stellar game on offense as he was basically unstoppable, scoring 19 points. Nathan Welch chipped in with 8. The Lynx will take on Watertown next Tuesday, which promises to be the epitome of excitement.