There are 128 Class 2A high school boys basketball teams in Minnesota. This past weekend the Annandale Cardinals proved they are near the top of their class. The Annandale Cardinal boys basketball team came home with the third place trophy from the Boys Basketball State Tournament, held March 20 to 23 at Target Center and Concordia University in the Twin Cities.
In the quarterfinals, the Cardinals defeated the Byron Bears 56-42, on Wednesday, March 20, In the semifinals the Cardinals lost by 12 to the eventual 2013 champions, the Minnehaha Academy Redhawks 91-79 on Friday, March 22. In the game for third place, the Cardinals defeated the Esko Eskomos 59-58 on Saturday, March 23.
This is only the second time an Annandale boys basketball team had advanced to the state tournament and the first time it advanced to the semifinals.
Two Cardinals, senior Brett Ahsenmacher and junior Matt Miller were honored and named to the All -Tournament Team.
Annandale 56, Byron 42
The Cardinals’ quarterfinal game was played at 8 p.m. Wednesday night, March 20, at the Target Center. The Cardinals got off to a slow start in their game against the Byron Bears.
Some fans were nervous when the Cardinals were down 8-0 three minutes into the game. "Byron started out hot, like a lot of teams seem to do against us," said head coach Skip Dolan.
"The two wolves up front, Brett (Ahsenmacher) and Brett (Fobbe), stole a ball on an offensive rebound that led to our first basket. That got us going and allowed us to get into our press," Dolan said. "I felt we had them playing faster than they liked," Dolan added.
With nine minutes left in the first period, the Cardinals took the lead 17-16. The Bears never regained the lead.
"We had a very complete first half, everyone contributing," Dolan said. Tanner Olean and Chase Knickerbocker came off the bench and each hit a three. "You don’t know how difficult that is for a long range shooter and have the coach expect you to go on the floor and hit a twenty foot shot, after sitting for while. Tanner and Chase both come up big," Dolan said.
In the second half the Bears made an offensive adjustment. "So now we had our 5-foot 10- inch and 6-foot guards on their 6-foot 8-inch kid. The Bears went to him three times and cut our lead to four. We then made the decision to switch off the big guys, that helped us to neutralize them and allowed us to get back into control," Dolan said.
Scoring
In the Byron game, the Cardinals shot 46.3 percent, 27.3 percent from three point range and 68.8 percent from the free throw line.
Senior guard Brett Fobbe had a very strong game with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals. "Brett hustled the entire game, making big plays, hitting threes and leading out on our fast breaks," Dolan praised.
Early in the second half, a Byron player, frustrated with the pressure put on by the Cardinals, came through high with an elbow and caught Brett Fobbe in the face. Fobbe had a bloody nose and was dazed for awhile.
"In today’s day, we were very concerned about a possible concussion. Brett was having no part of it, by the time they got the blood cleaned up, he was back in the huddle saying he was ready. I had to tell him to sit down, for awhile, until we knew he was OK. He is one tough kid," Dolan said.
John Kalthoff battled all game against the Byron big guys, even taking a fist to the face, leaving him with a fat lip. "He was frustrated because he fouled out, but I told him if he isn’t being physical, he isn’t being effective. John is our emotional leader, and I love that about him," Dolan praised. Kalthoff had three rebounds and one assist in the Byron game.
Matt Miller had 16 points, five rebounds, one assist and two steals in the Byron game. "Matt is so possessed all the time with getting rebounds and attacking the rim. He has to be a nightmare to prepare for," Dolan praised.
"Miller took some big kids to the paint and schooled them in pump fakes and moves. Matt was up against guys 6-foot 6-inches and 6-foot 5-inches, but his hands were above theirs on most rebounds," Dolan added.
Ahsenmacher had an excellent game, scoring 12 points, two rebounds and four assists. "As always Ozzie controlled the whole game with his point guard leadership, distributing the ball, harassing on defense and still getting double digit points," Dolan said.
Coach Dolan did not think that the Annandale players were overwhelmed by the Target Center or the situation of being in a state championship tournament. In the locker room after the victory over Byron, "We had many kids sit down and say, ‘can you believe where we are and that we are advancing to the TV games?,’" Dolan recalled.
Minnehaha Academy 91, Annandale 79
High school basketball fans watching on TV or at the Target Center Friday night got to see what Annandale Cardinal basketball fans have known all year; win or lose the Cardinal boys play exciting, fast paced and never give up basketball.
"It’s funny, you can always hear great compliments after a win, but I have never had so many people come up to me after a loss, people that had nothing to do with Annandale or Annandale basketball, and say how impressed they were with our comeback and how much they enjoyed watching our kids play the game," Dolan said.
The Cardinals opponent in the semifinal game was the number one seed, and eventual champion, Minnehaha Academy Redhawks. The game was played at 6 p.m. Friday, March 22, at the Target Center.
A very slow start
To say that the Cardinals got off to a slow start, would a big understatement. The Cardinals were down 32-6 with 8:47 left in the first period. "The Redhawks came out on fire. The percentage they shot in the first period was 60 percent, but in the first eight minutes, it had to of been over 80 percent," Dolan stated.
Dolan heckled
"We had to listen to a Redhawks fan constantly yelling things like we’re out of their league, and we could not stop them. All of a sudden he was not saying much and then he turned on his own team, yelling at them to stop us. After the game, he yelled down to me, ‘Coach you have a great team’. I said thank you. That is what is so great about high school sports," Dolan said.
"You would think, a team coming into an emotional situation like the state tournament and falling behind 32-6, would have been totally deflated and just mailed it in. Not this team, we took some timeouts and regrouped," Dolan said.
Never give up
But in typical Cardinal fashion the team battled back to within 10 points at the half, down 42-32. During that eight minute period Brett Fobbe made two three-pointers; Kyler Fobbe made a three-pointer, a layup and two free throws; Ahsenmacher made a jumper, a layup and two free throws; Kalthoff made two jumpers, a layup and one free throw. Fort added a layup. "It was so much fun hearing the Target Center rock," Dolan said.
In the second half, the Cardinals cut the lead to seven with 14 minutes to play. "If we could have gotten at least four more points shaved off the lead, we would not have had to take so many chances. All of our gambling led to easy baskets for the Redhawks, but we had no choice," Dolan explained.
Team scoring
In the Minnehaha Academy game the Cardinals shot 40.3 percent, 37 percent from three- point range and 62.5 percent from the free throw line.
John Kalthoff had a good game with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and three blocked shots.
Matt Miller had 17 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Kyler Fobbe had nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Brett Fobbe had nine points, four rebound and four assists.
Chase Knickerbocker had three points, two rebounds and one assist.
Andrew Fort had three points and three rebounds.
Tanner Olean had one rebound and one steal.
Fever and pain
Brett Ahsenmacher had 24 points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Starting the Friday night game Ahsenmacher was not feeling 100 percent. Thursday night he came down with a fever and was diagnosed as an ear infection and bronchitis. Ahsenmacher made the trip to the doctor and was given the OK to play on Friday.
Eight minutes into the Minnehaha game, Ahsenmacher landed wrong on his left hand, severely spraining it. Ahsenmacher is left handed. It is the same hand that he broke in the 2011-’12 season.
"It was all swelled up on the top and black and blue on the bottom. He played through the Minnehaha game and the Esko game without complaining or missing a beat, that was some toughness. Brett played well enough to be selected to the All Tournament Team, I think that is pretty good," Dolan said.
Redhawk’s Carter
Top scorer for the Redhawks was senior guard Kaharri Carter, who scored 29 points in the game. Kaharri’s father is Randy Carter, former basketball player for the University of Minnesota. Carter is also a Redhawks assistant coach.
After the game
In the locker room after the game, the team sat slumped down in their chairs, not a word said, heads down, some tears flowing.
Then coach Dolan spoke, "I refuse to be down tonight, we gave it everything we had. We fought back from adversity that hardly anyone has done before in that kind of setting. I am very proud of this team and we will not be down. We will not hang our heads as we walk out of here; we will walk out proud, heads held high."
Dolan then told a personal story, "Back in the 70s, I played at Williams Arena when it was only an eight team tournament. We had only 52 kids in our graduating class. We went down there to win it all, but we got beat in the same semifinal game that you guys lost today. I have regretted my whole life, not showing up for the third place game and finishing fourth. We were the better team, but were so down about not being in the championship, we just did not play well. I am not letting this happen to our team, if I can help it."
Annandale 59, Esko 58
The Cardinal and Esko game for third place took place at Concordia University at noon Saturday, March 23. Esko came into the tournament with a record of 26-4. The "Eskomos" defeated the number three seeded Hayfield 60-54 in the quarterfinal round and were defeated by Litchfield in the semifinals, 72-47.
Before the game
"I walked into the locker room a little earlier than usual before we started the game. I am walking around thinking what I was going to tell the team and emotions overtook me. Getting towards the end of my coaching career, I was thinking what a wonderful trip we have all been on, and all the great kids I have had the privilege to coach in Annandale and all the great parents and adults I have been able to get to know. So what do I say to this wonderful group of young men?" Dolan recalled.
The team came in and Dolan quickly reviewed the the assignments and then they took their 30 second moment of silence. With tears in his eyes, Dolan told them, "This isn’t about the state tournament, this isn’t about playing for the third place in the state. This is about us, summer tournaments together, at the cabin together, games together. I just want to do this one more time with this group, the way we always do it, fast and furious with speed. Don’t back up, don’t back down."
Fast start
"This time Esko did not know what hit them," Dolan said.
The Cardinals got off to a fast start. With 6:57 to play in the first period, Annandale led 19-6.
But then the Cardinals got into foul trouble. Brett Fobbe had three, Kyler Fobbe had two and John Kalthoff had two. "That is why we play a lot of kids all year; to make sure they feel good about being out there in big moments. Our bench held us in the game," Dolan said.
By halftime, the Cardinal lead had shrunk to four points, 25-21.
In the second half, the Cardinal’s lead dwindled. Three three pointers by Esko’s Marc Peterson and five by Kory Deadrick made it a very close game. At 9:44 left to play in the game, the Eskomos took the lead 39-38.
16 seconds to play
The Cardinals found themselves down 58-57 with 16 seconds to play. "Ozzie took the inbounds pass, they went to trap him to get it out of his hands, but he found Matt (Miller) on the side line and Matt beat the first kid in front of him. I was right there on the side line as he started to explode up the floor. I thought to myself, ‘Good luck Esko stopping Mr. Possessed.’He was going to the rim and nobody was going to stop him," Dolan recalled.
The only way the Eskomos were going to stop Miller was to hammer him, and they did. Miller went to the free throw line. Miller had gone to the line seven times in this game, but only made three of those attempts.
Dolan recalled what happened next, "Matt stepped up, took his dribble. He shut his eyes, like he always does, relaxed and shot. Swish! The Esko coach takes a time out to try to freeze Matt for his second shot. During the timeout I did not say anything to Matt, but I have told the kids in practice, ‘Free throws in a game are not the tough ones, it’s the thousands you have to get out of bed to shoot in the off season that are hard. Just relax.’ After the time out, Matt steps up and like the champion competitor that he is, he knocked the second one down to take the one point lead with eight seconds left."
Eight seconds left
Dolan took a timeout. "I told Kyler and Brett Fobbe to not let 11 (Peterson) or 31 (Deadrick) touch the ball, if we could, but we can’t foul. I also told them, a two or three we lose, so make them shoot something from at least twenty feet." Dolan said.
Dolan recalled an out of bounds play from the Holy Family game, Jan. 25, a play that sent that game into overtime. "I said to myself, I am not going to let that happen again," Dolan said.
"Sure as heck, Esko had 11 take it out of bounds just like Holy Family, I yelled to Kyler (Fobbe) ‘He does not get it back’ and moved Kyler way up. They wanted to get it in and pass it to him on the run, Kyler did not let that happen. They tried to curl 31 on the other end, but he could not get open. We stopped there penetration and forced a freshman (Jaxson Turner) to fire an out of control three-pointer. Game over!" Dolan recalled.
Scoring
In the Esko game the Cardinals shot 52.9 percent, 27.3 percent from three point range and 62.5 percent from the free throw line.
Matt Miller, besides scoring the winning point, had a very strong game. Miller put up 27 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals. "What can I say about Matt Miller in this game, he just was not going to let us lose. That is tremendous leadership for a junior. He is so respected by everyone on our team," Dolan praised.
Brett Ahsenmacher had nine points, two rebounds, one assist and four steals. Ahsenmacher, a left hander, played 34 minutes in this game with an injured and swollen left hand.
Brett Fobbe had eight points, two rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.
John Kalthoff had three points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Kyler Fobbe had eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
Andrew Fort had two points and three rebounds. Chase Knickerbocker had two points and one rebound. Tanner Olean had one assist.
Third in the state
"I told the kids after the game that very few athletes in any sport ever get to celebrate their last game with a huge win. So to say the least, we celebrated and extremely enjoyed our one last time together. What a group, what a year." Dolan said.
Following the game the team and coaches met with parents and fans in the lobby. "It was very emotional. This is truly what makes the sports world special. I doubt anybody does it better than Annandale right now; from the school district, to the student body, to our community, assistant coaches and especially to our players. Thanks to all for life-long memories," Dolan said.
All tournament team
Right after the game, the team headed over to the Target Center where Litchfield was playing Minnehaha Academy for the 2A championship. Minnehaha came out on top, 56-54.
Following the championship game, 10 2A players were honored as the 2013 All Tournament Team. The team is selected by the media attending the tournament.
Annandale’s Brett Ahsenmacher and Matt Miller were included in that ten. "It is a much deserved honor and both of them would be the first to say that it is because of their teammates this has happened," Dolan said.
Also named to the All Tournament team were Marcellous Hazzard, Thomas Gedion, Kaharri Carter and Jesse Johnson from Minnehaha Academy. From Litchfield, Riley Pater, Zach Kinny and Zach Whitchurch. And from Esko, Kory Deadrick
The net
When the team got back to the high school, late Saturday afternoon, they went to the gym and cut down the net they wanted to cut down all year.
"We had a net on a side basket that the ball would never come through. Drew Fort had asked me, "Coach if we win the state can we cut that net down so we don’t have to jump up and get it on every shot? You bet," Dolan said. The Cardinals lost their second game, so they were not going to win state. "When we were getting ready for the third place game Andrew asked, ‘Coach, how about if we place third? We laughed and said, you got it!"