Well, I spent the weekend down in God’s country (OK, it was Saturday, January 4) at the Breakdown Southern Minnesota Hoops Fest, taking in all or part of seven games at Rmchester John Marshall, Kasson and Byron. (On Friday night, January 3, I saw Cannon Falls fall from the ranks of the unbeatens at Zumbrota 77-75. There’s a separate post about that one.) There were a couple of good girls’ games on Saturday, won by White Bear Lake and Delano, and I’ll report on those games in a separate post. But, the 2 best games were boys games. Faribault beat Park of Cottage Grove 92-88 at the lid-lifter in Kasson, while Benilde-St. Margaret’s squeaked by Byron 49-46 in the finale at Byron. I’m also going to report the Benilde-Byron game in a separate post, but here I’m going to be starting with Faribault vs. Park.
Some of you may know that I grew up in Faribault, though it’s true that I packed my bags and got out of town right after high school and never looked back. Still, it’s my hometown and I have many friends there. Most of you also know that Faribault has not been a basketball hotbed for many years, maybe since Faribault’s Mitch Ohnstad won Minnesota Mr, Basketball back in 1996. So, when I read that Faribault was rated in the top 10 (Class AAA) and 6-10 junior post Ryan Kreager was #4 in his class, I had to check them out. Saturday was the first opportunity for me to do so.
Park, coming in at 4-3, looked a little like a sacrificial lamb but if that was the idea, they didn’t get the memo. They came out ready to compete. With guard Miskir Esayas making his 1st 3 3-pointers, Park took a 15-10 lead at 11 minutes, then extended it to 30-22 at 1:42 on his 4th 3 of the 1st half. Park led 38-32 at the half, and extended it again to 57-42 at about 13 minutes.
But Faribault roared back with a 19-3 run and took the lead at 61-60 on a jam by Kreager at 6:44. Game on! Oddly, that was Kreager’s only bucket in that 19-3 run. Guard Mohamed Madey scored 7, guard Braden Schulz scored all of his 5 points for the day, and forward Breuer Wolff scored 4.
Esayas responded with his 6th 3 to tie the game at 66, but then he did 2 things he hadn’t done before, at least in this game. One was that he scored a 2 on a dribble drive and the second was an air-ball 3. The latter came at 2:30 and left the score tied at 73. Faribault guard Madey scored the Falcons’ last 9 points of regulation and Kreager blocked Park’s last FG attempt of regulation, and so they headed into OT at 79. Madey scored half of his 32 points in the last 13 minutes of regulation.
In OT, Faribault’s bigs, Kreager and Wolff, scored 11 of their 13 points while Esayas made just 1-of-3 3s, and Faribault was able to hang on.
Park was and is led by a pair of small quick guards. Esayas, the 3-point shooter, is a 6-2 senior, while the playmaker, penetrator and rim attacker Anthony Giadyu, is a 6-0 senior. Esayas finished with 32 points, 21 of them on 3s. Giadyu finished with 28 points, 9 boards and 3 assists, on 9-of-18 shooting and 6-of-8 throws.
Faribault is known for its size. Kreager did not disappoint. He scored 27 points with 13 boards and 4 blocks on 13-of-17 shooting. Wolff is an even later bloomer than Kreager and is of course 3 inches shorter, but it is altogether possible that he will be as good as Kreager someday. He scored 23 with 7 boards on 10-of-17 shots. But Faribault’s secret weapon is Madey, a 6-4 senior guard. He gave Park matchup fits with that size and wingspan on the perimeter and especially when he penetrated into the lane. He scored twice on steals, three times off the offensive glass, on 2-of-7 3s and 6-of-9 throws. I was told by a Faribault fan that Madey is the 1st Somali immigrant to gain notoriety as a Falcon hoopster, and that the Somali student body for the 1st time is coming to the games in numbers. They’ve learned all the wacky basketball vernacular and cheers, and they’re bringing a raucous spirit to Falcon home games, in a good way. Madey himself is a little bit raw but, again, his size and wingspan and athleticism make him a hand full. He finished with 32 points on 10-of-14 2s, plus those odd-numbered scores. He added 13 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Falcons are rated in the #8, #9, #10 range in Class AAA. They’re now 7-1 with just a 2-point loss at similarly top 10 rated Byron. In light of Byron’s 3-point loss last night to Benilde, that makes the 2-point loss by Faribault, on the road, a good loss. Of course they play in the weak Big 9 where they’re 4-0, with 3 home wins and a win at Winona. They’ll get tougher tests against Rochester JM at home next Saturday (Jan. 11), then at Maple Grove; and then at Mankato East, Stewartville, John Marshall and Owatonna, all on the road, all in February. Whether they’re truly a contender in Section 1AAA remains to be seen.