ECI SPRING PREVIEW

April 19-20

NDSC Fieldhouse
Wahpeton, ND

Bracket

A Tough 4th Place Finish

Minnesota Xplosion traveled to North Dakota to play in the NCAA Division 1 Certified Spring Preview hosted by ECI.  The 16U bracket consisted of 8 teams, three ECI teams, Dakota Schoolers, Team Train, Minneapolis Gamblers, Minnesota Xplosion and the Magic 15U playing up a level.  Ahead of our game and on the other side of the bracket, the Dakota Schoolers and Team Train both advanced to the semi-finals along with the Minneapolis Gamblers.

Xplosion was up for the challenge and took the court against the ECI West team.  The first half was led by Michael Rovansek (8 first half pts) and Jordan Reibling (7 first half pts, 7 steals total in the game) as the Xplosion took a 17 point lead into the second half.  The second half of the game continued much like the first with a huge rebounding effort from Josh Pella (12) and an offensive display put on by the big man, Eric Sandstad.   Eric Sandstad finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.  Michael Rovansek had 11 points, 4 assists.  Josh Pella just missed a double double with 8 points, 12 rebounds.  Andrew Kuledge and Rick Starck both finished with 8 points a piece also.

After watching some of the Minneapolis Gamblers game earlier in the day, Xplosion new they had to bring their "A" game if they were to advance to the finals.  The Gamblers had an arsenal of talent led by Jordan Hughes of Patrick Henry and Junior guard Quincey Bethea of Robbinsdale Cooper, two players that took their respective high school teams to the state tournament and received honors throughout the season.  The Gamblers came out quick with 8 three pointers. Five 3's from Bethea and 3 more from Hughes.  Jordan Reibling hit 3 shots from beyond the arc for the Xplosion in a struggle to keep the team in the game.  After getting down 20 points in the first, Xplosion fought back to get within 12.  Halftime score:  39-27.  The comeback continued in the second half with Josh Pella grabbing rebounds and getting to the basket including a big dunk over a big man.  Rick Starck worked hard under the basket as he was a huge contributor.  Michael Rovansek was instrumental in getting the ball to the open man or taking it to the rack.  Xplosion took the lead with 5 minutes left but Jordan Hughes became the go-to man for the Gamblers as he had 12 points in the half. In the end, the Gamblers pulled it out with a 73-66 win and advancing to the finals.  Rick Starck finished with 16 points, Michael Rovansek had 15 and Josh Pella missed another opportunity for a double double with 13 points, 9 rebounds.

Sunday Xplosion played for 3rd place against Team Train Elite.  A very quick, fast team with a strong big man in the middle.  Shots wouldn't drop for Xplosion and Team Train continued to move the ball quick and find the open shot.  Xplosion adjusted and the Xplosion big man had to go to work.  Eric Sandstad went 7-7 under the basket finishing strong and keeping the "X" in the game.  Down by 5 at half, 38-33, it was time to step it up.  The second half was a battle with Josh Pella taking the game into his own hands. With 6 minutes left in the game, Xplosion took the lead and pushed it till they were up by 6.  Then foul trouble.  It seemed that every call was against Xplosion and one by one, the players fouled out.  First it was Michael Rovansek, then Rick Starck and finally Andrew Kuledge.  With ball handlers fouled out and a quick press by Team Train, the lead faded.  With 1 second on the clock, a weak call was made under the basket and Team Train hit both free throws to win 69-67.  After just missing 2 double doubles in the previous games, Josh Pella concluded the tournament with a double double, 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals.  Eric Sandstad had an outstanding performance and overall weekend with 16 points.  Rick Starck and Andrew Kuledge finished with 8.  On a side note, Xplosion was 1-9 from beyond the arc (11%).

Overall, the tournament had some high caliber competition and was a great warm-up for the upcoming Minnesota Magic AAU Super Regional to be held at Bloomington Jefferson.