The Cardinals posted two wins last week, defeating Eden Valley-Watkins and FAIR (Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resource).
The Cards were evenly matched by the highly rated Eden Valley-Watkins team, with the game going into overtime.
The Cardinals are now 5-0 in non-conference play. As of Friday, Dec. 10, MaxPrep.com rankings had the Cardinal boys ranked No. 2 in Class 2A. Barnum was ranked No. 1, Eden Valley-Watkins No. 3.
Although happy with the win over EVW, the team had to be disappointed that Alex Hohenstein reinjured his hamstring. It was the first game Hohenstein was able to play since injuring the hamstring during the Section 5-3A football game against Mora.
Preliminary reports say Hohenstein will be out at least seven weeks. An MRI was scheduled for Monday, Dec. 14.
"It’s really hard right now, but I’m not done yet," Hohenstein said. "I’m going to do everything I can to get back on that court with my brothers."
"We are praying for Alex to get another chance this year," said head coach Skip Dolan. "He is such a quality young man and great competitor."
Annandale 46, Eden Valley-Watkins 43
The Eagles were 4-0 and just coming off a big overtime win against Maple Lake Tuesday, Dec 8. The Cardinals and Eagles are both in Section 5-2A. The Eagles were in a different section last year and lost a close game to Melrose in the championship. Melrose was the eventual state 2A champion.
The Cardinals had a good start and jumped out to a 12-7 lead, but fouls and missed shots soon bogged the game down. The Cardinals led 21-16 at the half, with 13 Eagles’ points from free throws. The Cards did not have a single first-half free throw.
"We need to find a solution for this," said Dolan. "I don’t want to take away from our defensive aggressiveness, but we can’t keep playing without players and letting our opponents shoot free throws."
The Eagles pulled ahead by six points with about eight minutes to play.
"We took a timeout and I pointed out that for the first time we were getting out-hustled to loose balls and rebounds," Dolan said. "From that point on we played much better."
Soon after, Hohenstein suffered the hamstring injury and Brad Weege caught an elbow in the face. Weege had to leave the floor, as the cut on his face was bleeding badly.
With 30 seconds left in regulation, the Cardinals were down by two.
"I took a timeout and set up a play to get Jarod (Wilken) the ball at the elbow, drive Alex Alama’s seam and get him a pass to get a shot off," Dolan said. "Alex hit a huge three to give us a one-point lead with 14 seconds to go."
The Eagles pushed it up the floor and passed it to the corner where their player faked and went baseline for a jumper.
"AJ Hinz blocked it cleanly but the official called him for lower body contact," Dolan said. "So no time on clock, good shooter at the line – makes the first but rimmed out the second. We were still alive."
Overtime
Wilken put the Cardinals up by two with a very nice 15-foot jumper and Hinz went 1-2 from the free throw line to give the Cards a three-point lead.
"The kids made one last great defensive stand and we came away with a very nice win on the road," Dolan said. "I am so very proud of this group. They just keep battling. We proved tonight we could overcome some obstacles and win ugly."
"Wilken and Alama had some big shots for us down the stretch that kept us in the game," Fobbe said. "We battled all night long, but it’s good for us to be in those tight games."
Team statistics
Shots made: 20-56, 35 percent
Three point: 3-15, 20 percent
Free throws: 3-9, 33 percent
Offensive rebounds: 14
Defensive rebounds: 27
Personal fouls: 22
Individual statistics
Points: Wilken 21, Hinz 7, Hohenstein 7, Alama 5, Weege 2, Fobbe 2, Wadman 2
Three point: 1-2, Wilken 1-5, Hinz 1-3, Hohenstein 0-1, Fobbe 0-3, Wadman 0-1
Free throws: Wilken 0-1, Hinz 2-5, Hohenstein 1-2, Fobbe 0-1
Rebounds (off-def): Wilken, 6-9, Hinz, 2-8, Hohenstein 0-0, Alama 2-2, Weege 2-5, Fobbe 1-1, Wadman 1-1
Assists: Wilken 1, Hinz 2, Weege 2, Fobbe 4
Steals: Hinz 1, Fobbe 3, Wadman 1
Blocks: Wilken 2
Turnovers: Hohenstein 2, Alama 1, Fobbe 3, Wadman 1
Personal fouls: Wilken 3, Hinz 4, Hohenstein 3, Alama 3, Weege 4, Fobbe 2, Wadman 3
Annandale 91, FAIR 44
No one was expecting much of a match-up when the Cardinals faced the Falcons on Friday, Dec. 11. FAIR came into the game 0-1, having lost to Rockford 102-47.
"After watching the JV boys and the varsity girls game, I think our varsity boys were a little taken aback that the group they were playing had some basketball skills," Dolan said. "We talked before the game about always taking the game seriously. There is only one way to approach a varsity contest and that is with respect."
Surprisingly, early in the game the Falcons did a decent job of beating the Cardinal pressure, getting in the paint and hitting some nice three-pointers. At one point it was only a 17-16 Cardinal lead.
The Cards were up 27-17 with four minutes left in the first half. At that point FAIR took a timeout.
"I told our kids that we were not going into the locker room only up single digits. We had better be up by at least 14," Dolan said. "To say the least, the next four minutes were quite an explosion."
The Cards had a 49-21 lead by halftime.
"Like we keep saying, our defense will hold us in it and when the shots start going we can separate in a hurry," Dolan said.
Solid performances
"Wilken had a very solid night again, back to back games in the 20s," Dolan said.
Wilken led the Cards with 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks and one steal.
"I was very pleased with the solid minutes I got from two sophomores off the bench tonight, TJ Peterson and Trent Peper," Dolan said. "These two young men, along with Nick Bieniek, could make us very solid and deep by the end of the year."
Team statistics
Shots made: 35-66, 53 percent
Three point: 10-31, 32 percent
Free throws: 11-18, 61 percent
Offensive rebounds: 21
Defensive rebounds: 25
Personal fouls: 11
Bench points: 64
Individual statistics
Points: Wilken 23, Peper 10, Alama 10, Weege 8, Schorn 8, Hinz 7, Peterson 5, Anderson 5, Fobbe 5, Wadman 4, Bieniek 3, Healy 3
Three point: Alama 3-9, Wilken 1-2, Schorn 2-2, Hinz 1-2, Peterson 1-1, Fobbe 0-3, B. Wadman 0-2, Bieniek 1-5, Healy 1-1, J. Wadman 0-1, Hayden Wikan 0-1
Rebounds (off-def): Hinz 4-6, Wilken 4-3, Peper 3-0, Alama 1-1, Weege 3-2, Schorn 0-1, Peterson 1-3, Anderson 1-3, Fobbe 0-1, B. Wadman 0-1, Bieniek 3-1, Kleine 0-1, Hardy 0-1, Howard 0-1, J. Wadman 1-0
Assists: Fobbe 8, Wilken 6, Peper 1, Weege 3, Peterson 2, Anderson 1, Healy 1, Kleine 1
Steals: B. Wadman 3, Wilken 1, Weege 1, Peterson 1, Fobbe 2, Bieniek 1
Blocks: Wilken 3, Hinz 1
Turnovers: Wilken 2, Alama 2, Weege 1, Schorn 1, Hinz 1, Fobbe 1, B. Wadman 1, Hardy 1
Personal fouls: Hinz 3, Wilken 1, Weege 2, Peterson 1, Fobbe 1, B. Wadman 1, Bieniek 1, Howard 1
Up next
■ Tuesday, Dec. 15, away at Dassel-Cokato, 7 p.m. The Chargers are 0-5 for the season.
■ Thursday, Dec. 17, the Cardinals host Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, 7 p.m. at Annandale High School. The Lakers were 1-4, as of Dec. 10.
■ Monday, Dec. 21, away at Spectrum High School 7:30 p.m. As of Dec. 10, the Sting were 2-2 for the season.
"We still need to work hard every practice and every game," Fobbe said. "We’re still learning and putting the pieces together. We have a chance to go on a nice roll here and if we battle through the tougher games, we don’t have to lose all year."
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