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March 12, 2010

East, West have rough roads back home

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer





It’s been eight years since Mankato West and/or Mankato East did not make it to the championship game of the boys basketball section tournament, but that’s a possibility this season. Both teams are on the road Saturday in the Section 2AAA semifinals, with West playing at No. 2 seed Willmar and East playing at top-seeded Hutchinson.

It might be different if the section semifinals were still played at Minnesota State’s Bresnan Arena, but as a cost-saving measure, only the championship game will be played there. That leaves both Mankato teams with tough road trips.

East (16-11) and Hutchinson (23-3) have already played this season, with Hutchinson winning 72-55 on Dec. 19 at East, just two days after Hutchinson defeated Mankato West 52-51 at Hutchinson.

However, the Cougars are playing much better now, having overcome a 1-7 start to win 15 of the last 19 games. And six of East’s losses have come to West, Winona and Owatonna, who have a combined record of 60-16.

East has the potential of a dangerous inside-outside combo of guard Alex Welter, who hit five 3-pointers in the section quarterfinal win over Worthington, and centers Sam Onsomu and Brody Ziegler.

West’s game at Willmar is trickier to predict, given that the teams had just one common opponent. West (17-8) defeated New Ulm 59-23 early in the season, while Willmar (18-9) downed the Eagles 63-57 in the section quarterfinals.

West is all about defense, allowing only 45.6 points, while Willmar, which won the first 10 games of the season, is scoring 63.4 points. Willmar plays a tough schedule, the equal of the Big Nine Conference.

If West can score, which is sometime a struggle, the Scarlets are dangerous. Preston Brunz, Ethan Tramp and Nick Kaus are all capable scorers, and if another player can chip in eight or 10 points, the Scarlets will be tough. West can score in bunches, and as effective as the defense can be, the Scarlets can put together some nice runs.

The section championship game is Thursday, and Bresnan Arena will be a lonely place if West or East both lose Saturday. History suggests at least one of them will make it.

 

Chad Courrier is a Free Press staff writer. To contact him, call 507-344-6353 or e-mail at ccourrier@mankatofreepress.com or check out his local sports blog at www.mankatofreepress.com

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