Rebels take 4th in MSF State Championship!

March 11, 2007

March is here and so is Championship basketball.  The Champlin Park Rebels were awarded the #2 seed in a field of 12 teams in the top division for the MSF State Championship Tournament.  Pool Play would decided the brackets for Sunday and the Rebels pool had Andover and Hopkins in it.

Andover proved to be a great team and gave the Rebels a challenge right from the start.  The Rebels led at the end of the first quarter by 2 but Andover had a 22 point second quarter that gave them a 30-25 lead at halftime.  With determination, Champlin Park went to work not wanting to lose the first game.  The Rebels outscored Andover 18-10 in the fourth quarter.  With a close fourth quarter score and the Rebels up by 2 and 7 seconds on the clock, Andover in bounded the ball and passed it full court to a wide open player.  As he went up for the easy lay-up, Blair Dittrich came out of nowhere leaping up and delivering an unreal block sending the ball into the stands, ending the game and pulling out a 52-50 win.  Brandon Marquardt led all scores with 16 which included 3 "and 1's" as he drove to the hole.  Josh Pella had 15 points which included 2 big three pointers in the fourth quarter.  Jordan Reibling chipped in 8.

The Rebels second game against Hopkins was another battle.  Hopkins kept the game close throughout but the Rebels worked hard both from the perimeter and inside.  Josh Pella lit it up with consistent scoring for a total of 13, Jordan Reibling 12 points and Rick Starck showed a strong presence underneath the basket with 11.  The game came down to the final seconds again.   Playing tight defense, Hopkins was left with no options and tried for a long three ball of which was short.  That proved to be the game as the Rebels advanced to the Championship bracket with the #1 seed in the pool by a score of 60-58.

Sunday came early for the Rebels.  With daylight savings time and the changing of the clocks, athletes from all teams were adjusting.  Our first game was against Brainerd.  After getting off to a slow start and a 24-24 tie at halftime, it was time to turn it up a notch and continue what we came to accomplish.  The Rebels made some halftime adjustments and came out ready to take care of business outscoring Brainerd 24-17 in the third quarter.  Brandon Marquardt scored 9 of his 16 in the third quarter.  Jordan Reibling and Josh Pella both had 11 and Austin Leabo chipped in 9 in a final score of 58-50.

With the win against Brainerd, Champlin Park moved into the semi-finals game against Eastview.  The Rebels came out strong and scored 21 in the first quarter, 10 of which were from Jordan Reibling as he finished the game with 15.  Eastview played a very aggressive game and became even more aggressive as the game progressed.  As the fourth quarter started, Champlin Park had the lead,38-32.  Holding onto the 6 point lead would prove to be even more difficult then the first games.  With Eastview being pushed into a corner, they came out fighting.  The intensity was high and Champlin Park could not score.  Eastview held the Rebels to 4 points, all of which were free throws in the fourth quarter.  With 1:45 left on the clock, Eastview tied the game 42-42 in their drive to come back.  After a missed shot by Champlin Park, Eastview decided to hold for the last shot and either win the game or push it into OT.  With 15 seconds left they started moving the ball around and finally got a look at the basket with 2 seconds left.  From the corner behind the three point line, Eastview threw up a rainbow and with zero seconds on the clock, swishing it for the win, the first lead Eastview had the entire game.  The final score 42-45 in a very intense, hard fought game sending Eastview to the Championship game.  Blair Dittrich finished with 8 and Brandon Marquardt threw in 6.

After giving every bit of energy Champlin Park had to hold off Eastview and try to advance to the championship game, the Rebels were headed for the 3rd place game against Forest Lake.  With the wind out of their sails, motivation was hard to find but they tried.  The Rebels were down 20-19 at halftime but came out flat and were outscored 20-7 in the third quarter.  This time, the team had nothing left to give in trying for another come from behind win.  The fourth quarter consisted of Forest Lake trying to slow the game down and run out the clock but Austin Leabo would not give up.  Austin Scored 6 points in the fourth quarter for a total of 10 points as he tried to lead his team back to a victory.  Josh Pella finished with 7 and Rick Starck had 6.  Final score, 39-48. 

The Champlin Park Rebels finished with a 4th Place medal and will be looking for revenge March 17th and 18th at the MYAS State Championship tournament.