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Champlin Park 57 Anoka 68
Late Rally Comes Up Short - December 19th,
2006
by Sam Thurn
 The Boy's Rebels lost a tough game to Anoka at Champlin
Park High School.
Although the Rebels were close at the end, Anoka never lost their
composure
and pulled out the 68-57 victory. Anoka had a huge lead at halftime
where
they jumped out to a fifteen point lead. The officials were criticized
for a
few of their calls and this is what could have caused the first half
drought.
"The referees were definitely one-sided in the first half, they were
really
bad," said Zerrick Fuller (10). Fuller was called for two offensive
fouls in
the opening minutes of the game.
Although the officials may have been one cause of the Rebels first half
struggles, Fuller said that part of it was the team just not stepping up
in
the first half as much as the second.
"If we would have played well, the referees wouldn't have mattered,"
said Pat Freeman (12).
At the beginning of the second half, Freeman came out firing, scoring at
will on the Anoka defense. They cut the lead to less than five, and
Freeman attempted to pump up the team after a three point play. As he
clapped his hands emphatically when they were about to cut the lead even
more, Zach
Debeltz (12) of Anoka went down and drained a three."I was trying to get
the team pumped up," Freeman said. "We had momentum and I was trying to
keep it going." As the Rebels tried to make another run, Debeltz
made another three and all but sealed the deal.
After missing last weeks game, Keith Smith (12) scored 19 points and
added 11 rebounds.
"It felt great to be back and playing with the guys," Smith said.Smith
ended up with cramps after the game and was wearing an ice pack on his
knee.So, although disappointing for the Rebels, they can carry the
second half momentum into the tournament next week.
Photography Courtesy of
Sue Van Voorhis |
