So I was going to be heading down to Kasson and Byron for some Southern Minnesota Hoops Fest action on Saturday (January 4), so I thought I would try to catch another game on Friday night. I settled on Cannon Falls at Zumbrota (technically Zumbrota-Mazeppa) (the boys) because Class AA Cannon Falls was unbeaten and had defeated top-10 rated Class AAA Byron by 11 at Byron. And, Zumbrota, at 7-3, didn’t look like a slouch or anything and, indeed, they did not prove to be a slouch at all. The result was an exciting ballgame that resulted in Cannon Falls falling from the ranks of the unbeaten by a score of 77-75. Now, whether either of them can really compete with Caledonia and Lake City in Section 1AA remains to be seen, but considering that Zumbrota was a home and won by a single 2-point bucket, Cannon Falls would seem to be the more likely of the 2 to make some noise despite their loss.
On the other hand, the overall future looks brighter for Zumbrota because 9 of their top 10 players are juniors and younger, including 6-8 junior post Ethan Miller. Still, 8 of Cannon Falls’ top 10 are juniors or younger, but their top player, 6-5 senior wing Gavin Johnson, is a senior.
It was to some extent a battle of the 2 #23s. Johnson of Cannon Falls outscored Miller (Ethan) of Zumbrota, but just, 24-21 as a result of a half-court -plus shot that made the final score Zumbrota 77 Cannon Falls 75 but, spectacular though it was, it failed to affect the outcome. Johnson is a wiry 6-5 wing who, according to a spectator who said that he helped to coach Cannon Falls’ younger kids, has a brother playing for Jamestown and a sister in D1 somewhere. Johnson is as yet unoffered, but he is a solid offensive player. Late in the 1st half, he scored on 3 straight possessions on an aggressive left baseline drive, a long contested 3, and a back cut off the right wing. He finished with 24 points, according to my unofficial numbers, including that half-court-and-more shot at the final buzzer. He made 4-of-7 2s, 4-of-9 3s and 4-of-6 throws.
With Zumbrota pulling out to a 59-51 lead at about 6:30, Erickson decided that he needed to take over the game, however. He refused to give up the ball on 4 ensuing possessions despite being double-teamed. I mean, Zumbrota could see he was going to take the shot. He missed 4 3s over the next 3 minutes and Zumbrota remained ahead 74-65. Zumbrota made just 5-of-11 FT down the stretch, however, and Cannon Falls guard Ryan Hjellming made 4 3s in the last 6 minutes, the last one at 23 seconds to get within 74-72. Now Zumbrota made 3-of-4 throws, rendering Erickson’s mighty heave at the buzzer moot. Hjellming finished with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Guards Jack Meyers, a 6-footer, and Abram Tennessen, 5-10, combined for 15 points and were relentless on the boards despite their size, combining for 6 offensive and 8 defensive boards.
For Zumbrota, #23 was and is 6-8 junior Ethan Miller, who scored 21 points on 7-of-9 2s, 2-of-5 3s and 1-of-2 throws. He added 12 boards, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots. His help came mostly from guards Grady Streit and Hudson Ohm. The 5-10 Streit didn’t look like much until, well, he did with a pair of 3s around the 7 minute mark of the 2nd half, then 6-of-6 throws down the stretch. They combined for 28 points including 5-of-12 3s. The other star for Zumbrota was 6-2 forward Backster Ahrendt who scored 7 points with 3 boards and 4 assists, but also guarded Erickson effectively through much of the 2nd half.
It was a game of runs as it often is. Zumbrota won the 1st 11 minutes 20-12. Cannon Falls started hitting some shots, and won the next 8 minutes 21-11 to lead 33-31 at the half. Zumbrota opened the 2nd half on a 7-0 run as Karsten Miller, Ahrendt and Ohn scored to force a Cannon Falls timeout. Cannon Falls outscored Zumbrota 18-12 over the next 7 minutes to lead 51-50 but the never led by more than 2. Zumbrota won the next 8 minutes 24-14 as Erickson went cold, to lead 74-65 at one minute. Streit started that run with his 3s and Ethan Miller scored 3 times. Cannon Falls won the final minute 10-3 but it was too little, too late.