Minnesota Playoff Central – 15 Tickets Will Be Punched Tonight
Tonight 15 tickets to the State Tournament will be punched so Playoff Central runs you through what you need to watch for this evening.
The Big Stage. There are two locations this evening with double-headers and they are in Marshall (SMSU) and Rochester (Mayo Civic Center). The biggest names will be in the Caledonia vs Stewartville contest being played at 8pm. Noah King Noah King 6'3" | PG Caledonia | 2020 State #478 Nation MN of Caledonia is a top available senior, Will Tschetter Will Tschetter 6'8" | PF Stewartville | 2021 State #96 Nation MN of Stewartville is one of the elite juniors in the state, and Eli King Eli King 6'2" | PG Caledonia | 2022 State #151 Nation MN of Caledonia is a top five sophomore. Through in a lot of quality players around them and that’s a game many will want to see. PLUS at 6pm in the same building Hayfield faces Blooming Prairie in the Section 1A Class A title game.
Upset City! Melrose defeating Eden Valley-Watkins was more of an upset in ranking and seeding than it was surprise. Don’t get me wrong, EVW was the pick of many to win as they beat Melrose by 20 earlier in the season. But Melrose was the season pick to win the section and they are 23-6 overall so this was closer to a 50-50 game than I think people thought. Six-foot-1 junior Grant Moscho Grant Moscho 6'1" | PG Melrose | 2021 State MN had a game high 18 points.
Right on Schedule. The North Polars are ranked 5th in the state with a 21-8 record and they are right on track with where they need to be. Coach Larry McKenzie has prepared his team with a tough schedule and there have been pitfalls as well as celebrated moments. Last night Davon Townley had another excellent game working around the basket scoring 25 and putting his team in the section final versus Blake.
Tickets Punched. The first ticket punched this season is the one held by the Hopkins Royals. Hopkins is our second ranked team in Class AAAA team and they will enter the state tournament at 24-5. Cooper gave the Royals a run but that Hopkins balance was too much to hold back, and with Kerwin Walton Kerwin Walton 6'6" | SF Hopkins | 2020 State #62 Nation MN not having his normal scoring night the Royals received a really nice game from Cornell Richardson Cornell Richardson 5'11" | PG Hopkins | 2020 State MN .
Tip of the Hat to the Career. Calvin Sisk Calvin Sisk 7'1" | C Rockford | 2020 State MN . The future seven-footer (actually 7-foot-1) continues to take steps as a player and getting a chance to watch him twice this year, it was a chance to see him grow. The cool thing about Calvin is that not only is he a good prospect but he’s a good kid that you cheer for. Rockford lost to Blake but the Rockets had a 21-win season that was fun to follow. It was also good to see Luke Pepin Luke Pepin 6'3" | SF Rockford | 2020 State MN come back from injury and lead this season in scoring was really cool to track.
Where’s the Czar?
Blake def Rockford 68-59 in 2nd 5AA semi. Gabe Ganz 15 with 3 big 3s in 2nd half. Jasper Liu 18, Robert Grace 15. Luke Pepin 19 to lead Rockford. Calvin Sisk 15. No Carter Kuvalik most of 2nd half. Bears play Mpls North Fri night at SCSU for a trip to state
— Twin Cities Hoops Czar (@tchoopsczar) March 12, 2020