On a cold blistery night in which Minnesota had its first significant snow of the season, Kyle Zimmermann had a warm welcoming for the Moundsview Mustangs. The Rebels who have been itching and waiting for their first game of the season opened the game with 12-3 run and you could tell things where only going to get worse for the Mustangs. Clicking on all cylinders the Rebel pushed the score to a 19-8 lead with 7 minutes left in the 1st half which forced the Mustangs to call a timeout. This lead caused the beginning of some mass substitutions that would continue thru-out the game. Behind Zimmermann, the Rebels continued to make things happen and end the 1st half 31-17.
 

The Rebels bench looked even deeper tonight as they played 11 players. The Rebels had three other players reach double digits after Zimmermann’s 24 point 9 rebound effort (see box below) as the first unit worked well together though Williamson struggled and was replaced a few times with Hager.
 

The Mustangs where led by junior Jordan Van Eps who scored points 24 as he single handedly brought the Mustangs back in the 2nd half on a variety of shots. The Van Eps Zimmermann match up was as good as the one they had during the summer when Van Eps’ 43 Hoops team took Zimmermann’s summer team TNL into overtime before losing that game. Van Eps showed that he is clearly one of the best juniors in the state.