Fraser Wins District Opener
Fraser’s Ken Pham (22) and Shawn Jackson (21) hug after their win over L’Anse Creuse Monday March 9th, 2015.
March 10, 2015
The Ramblers came into Monday night’s game looking to win the opening round of Districts and win their 5th game in 6 tries. With the team playing their best basketball of the year right now, it’s hard to stop this Rambler team. Coach Wandrei said to miprepzone that he has been very impressed with his team since their blowout loss at home to Dakota.
“They played as hard as they could and we’ve carried that kind of battle level forward ever since. We’ve said that we wished we played Dakota at little bit earlier because since that game the way we’ve played has been significantly different,” Wandrei said.
Fraser had to battle throughout the game as they put themselves in a tough situation early against L’Anse Creuse. Down 11-0 the Ramblers looked like they were headed for a blowout, but soon recovered to finish the first quarter down 15-9.
The second quarter was one that featured a strong offensive showing from the Ramblers as they scored 18 points in the half. This helped them to gain their first tie of the game and go into the half tied at 27 with the Lancers. The game was tied on a Trevor Fudge rebound and put back shot with 19 seconds to go in the second quarter. He recorded his first double double of the season: scoring 18 points to go along 10 rebounds. He talked with miprepzone after the game on the strides his big man has made over the last couple of seasons.
“It’s a magical story,” Wandrei said. “We put him on JV because we wanted him to be on the floor a lot. It’s almost like a line graph — a little bit better all the time. This was his best game so far. He’s been trending upward for a while. We’re glad he’s on our team.”
Last year Trevor played on junior varsity to get playing time and to get accustomed to the game. He’s come a long way since then and has been an instrumental part in the team’s success these last few weeks.
The second half started off at light speed for Fraser as they went on an 11-3 run to take an 8 point lead with 3 minutes left to go in the third quarter. Through the first 5 minutes of the half, it seemed that Fraser was about to pull away as they made defensive stop after defensive stop. Nobody could get inside to score and they forced themselves to settle for bad shots or contested 3 pointers. L’Anse Creuse coach George Woods agreed. Miprepzone talked with him after the game about what happened with his team offensively.
“We played a little too much one-on-one. said coach Woods. We got away from the concept of our offense. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t. Tonight it didn’t.”
The Ramblers started the fourth quarter up 42-38. The Lancers went on a 9-2 run early in the fourth, to take a 1 point lead. The go ahead basket was scored by L’Anse Creuse’s Tavin Allison with 3 minutes to go. The teams traded baskets and free throws, finding themselves tied at 50 with a 1:54 to go in the game. Shawn Jackson made his first of two free throws, but missed his second. Senior guard Matt Harper grabbed the rebound and put up the shot that would go in and give Fraser a 53-52 lead with 40 seconds to go. Fraser recovered the ball and senior Shawn Jackson was immediately fouled. All he had to do to give his team a 3 point lead was to hit both free throws: he did. Sebastian Tavilieri hit the final two free throws of the game to clinch the win for the Ramblers. Fraser won 57-52 and now move on to the next round of Districts.
The Lancers were led in scoring by their varsity quarterback and point guard Tavin Allison who scored 19 points. Small forward Max Cook has 11 points including three 3 pointers while starting center Terrell Perkins had 7 points. L’Anse Creuse season is done as they will finish the year at 8-13 under coach George Woods.
Shawn Jackson led all scorers with 20 points. While Trevor Fudge came off the bench to score 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first double double of the season. Fraser plays Chippewa Valley at Chippewa Valley high school Wednesday night at 7pm. The winner will advance to the District Championship and look to keep their season alive. Be there to support the Ramblers in their pursuit for the District title.
