Posted: 3/19/03

Holy horse power ñ Mustangs beat FL

Berk Brown
Sports Editor

What was the difference between the Rangers winning and losing in the Section 6AAAA championship game Friday night? About 19 feet, 9 inches.

Mounds View made nine shots from that distance ñ 3-point range ñÝwhile Forest Lake made just one as the Mustangs used that 24-point advantage from long range to take a 70-47 victory over the Rangers.

The Mustangs, in fact, hit nearly all their shots, regardless of distance. Besides going 9 of 14 from 3-point range (64.3 percent), Mounds View finished the game 29 of 45 from the field (64.4 percent).

Not only were the Mustangs hot from the outside, but from the inside as well. Mounds Viewís Travis Busch, a 6-3 sophomore forward, finished the game 12 of 13 shooting from the field and dominated the inside.

ìIt really boils down to the inside game,î Forest Lake coach Chuck Gunderson said. ìThe thing we could do against Centennial (in the semifinals), we couldnít do against Mounds View. And that was sag off their high post.

ìMounds View has good shooters and (Friday night) they were hitting their shots.î

Mounds Viewís hot shooting helped enable the Mustangs to go on an 18-2 run in the second quarter ñÝturning a 17-15 Forest Lake lead into a 33-19 deficit ñÝto take control of the game.

A Kevin Keto basket with 7:23 left in the second quarter gave Forest Lake a 17-15 lead.

Bobby Harris, though, then took over the game for the Mustangs. His 3-pointer with 7:09 left in the first half gave Mounds View the lead for good at 18-7 and he added another basket with 6:15 left to help kick-start the 18-2 run. When Mounds View junior Joe Osterbauer hit a 3-pointer with 4:25 left in the first half, the Mustangs went ahead 26-17.

A Tom Frericks basket with 3:29 left in the half stopped a 13-0 Mounds View run, but it didnít stop the Mustangsí scoring spree as they outscored Forest Lake 9-2 in the final 3:08 of the half to take a 37-21 lead after two periods.

Gunderson said when Harris ñ who finished with 22 points for the Mustangs ñÝgot rolling early, it spelled trouble for the Rangers, who finished the season 18-8.

ìThat loosened everybody else up, too,î Gunderson said of the Mustangs. ìEveryone else are pretty good shooters, too, and they were making them.

ìWhen you shoot like they did, it forces you to stretch your defense and that opens up the middle.î

After trailing by 16 at halftime, Forest Lake was unable to pull any closer than 15 points in the final 16 minutes of the game, as the Mustangs continued to hit nearly everything.

A Joey Ryan 3-pointer got Forest Lake within 43-28 with 4:14 left in the third quarter, but Mounds View answered with a 7-0 run ñÝwith Harris getting five of those points ñÝto pull out to a 51-28 advantage.

Forest Lakeís last attempt at a comeback came at the start of the fourth quarter.

Trailing by 20 points, the Rangers started the final quarter on a 7-3 run with five points coming from Ryan.

That run allowed Forest Lake to pull within 57-41 with 7:01 left in the game after a Noah Lawson basket.

Following a Mounds View time out, however, the Mustangs were able to work the clock and Busch on the inside while shots quit falling for the Rangers, who were outscored 13-6 in the final 6:06 of the game.

Gunderson credited Mounds View with playing tremendous, switching man-to-man defense, but said his team had opportunities in the game but simply didnít capitalize on them.

ìWe had some open shots, we just couldnít get them to fall,î Gunderson said. ìWhat are you going to do?î

Forest Lake hit just one of 11 shots from 3-point range, but still finished the night 20 of 44 from the field (45.5 percent).

Forest Lakeís hopes of reaching the state tournament with a win took a big hit late in the first period when Ryan went down with an injury.

Ryan, Forest Lakeís leading scorer, went hard to the basket with 2:54 left in the first quarter and came down hard after missing the shot. Ryan lie on the ground in pain afterward and left for the bench with the Rangers trailing 12-11.

He returned with 5:34 left in the second quarter and Mounds View leading 22-17. Ryan struggled in his return in the first half and didnít score a point in either of the first two quarters.

Ryan finished the game with 12 points on 5 of 14 shooting while Kevin Keto finished the night with 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field and a perfect 5 of 5 from the line.

Frericks, Lance Overson and Lawson each finished with four points while Lucas Anderson, Alec Framke and Steve Korthals each chipped in two.

In the semifinals on Tuesday, March 11, Forest Lake held off a late Centennial charge to take a 64-58 victory over the Cougars.

Centennial pulled within 60-58 on a deep 3-pointer from Dan Dewitt with :38 left in the game, but Frericks and Ryan each hit two free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Ryan was 10 of 18 shooting against Centennial and finished with 29 points and five rebounds while Keto had 13 points, five boards and eight assists.

Overson finished the game with five points and a team-high six rebounds.

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