The Race for Mr. Basketball

<p>How are the Mr. Basketball candidates doing coming into the home stretch?  It’s a mixed bag of results while some of the Top Ten are souring into the finish line.  </p> <p><strong>The Leader.</strong>  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="532350" first="Jalen" last="Suggs"]</strong> leads as he continues on his quest for a 4th straight state title.  Minnehaha Academy breezed through each of their first two section games putting up a 100+ points.  Jalen had a quick 15 before taking a fast seat in the 58 point win over Como Park and then scored 32 points against Columbia Heights in a 101-64 victory.  This Thursday the Redhawks face 5th ranked Totino-Grace at Woodbury High School for the section championship.  </p> <p><strong>Final Five</strong>.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="532352" first="Dawson" last="Garcia"]</strong>.  Garcia’s season ended in the section semi-finals with a Prior Lake loss to undefeated Eden Prairie.  The Eagles defense swarmed Garcia allowing only 6 makes in 25 attempts.  Dawson had 24 points and 12 boards in that last game.  Garcia had a great end to the season averaging 31.6 points and 9.7 boards a contest.  Back to back 40 point games in early February were followed by 34 points against top five ranked Eastview and another 31 versus Minnetonka in section play. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846105" first="Ben" last="Carlson"]</strong>.  Carlson is averaging 24.7 points and 11.7 rebounds a game for the surging Raptors who are currently ranked 5th in the state. Carlson has scored 20 or more in the last 11 games and each of those contests was an East Ridge victory.  The Raptors recently beat Tartan and now must get by 7th ranked Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday to make the state tournament. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846109" first="Drake" last="Dobbs"]</strong>.  The engine of the rolling Eden Prairie Eagles machine has not met a guard in Minnesota this year that can slow him down.  Dobbs had 27 points on 11 shots plus nine assists in a Saturday win over Prior Lake and next up is Shakopee on Friday night for the state tournament.  Dobbs continues to push his squad to the front of the line. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="548395" first="Nathan" last="Heise"]</strong>.  The first highly ranked team to fall out of the playoffs this year was Lake City.  Pine Island knocked the Tigers out of the playoffs in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Nathan missed on 14 of 22 shots and scored 20 points in that loss. Heise finished the season with 29.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.  </p> <p><strong>The Next Five</strong>.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="532358" first="Kerwin" last="Walton"]</strong>.  Walton was one of the more surprising snubs that final five has seen in the last 11 years.  Walton has just went about his business leading Hopkins to the section title game against Cooper after scoring 30 in a comeback win over Wayzata.  Walton is going for a second straight state title. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="721829" first="Noah" last="King"]</strong>.  Caledonia has earned the number one ranking in the state and they’ve steamrolled through sections beating Cotter, Lourdes, and Dover-Eyota on their way to Thursday’s section final with Stewartville.  The local Lake City rival got the final five spot but King and Caledonia have the wins. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846106" first="Gabe" last="Madsen"]</strong>. Madsen and the Spartans are playing for the section final this Friday against Lakeville South.  Gabe had 15 in the win over Century in the semis. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="846104" first="Dain" last="Dainja"]</strong>. Dainja is back on the court and he had 20 against Centennial in the playoff opener.  Dainja and the Pirates face Mounds View in the semis tonight. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="721823" first="Steven" last="Crowl"]</strong>.  Like Dainja, Crowl is playing his second playoff game this evening.  Eastview is ranked 4th and plays rival Apple Valley from down the street this evening. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>