The Chomper

Monday, February 11, 2013

Knoweldge Bowl

By: Stacey Dahl
The GMR Knowledge Bowl team had great success at the Crookston meet February 5^th. Because of poor weather and team cancellations, the GMR team split into three teams so all participants had a taste of the action. Even though there were fewer teams competing with 23 total teams, the competition was still pretty stiff. GMR Black consisted of Nick Wilson, Brady Kilen, Martyn Novacek, Shey-Anne Schroeder, and Amanda Gram, and together they scored 33 points on the written round and had high scoring oral rounds of 9 points, 7 points, 15 points, and 10 points to earn a 6^th place finish and their first ribbon of the year. Nadja Melby, Joe Hlucny, Derek Nelson, and Chase Anderson helped GMR White earn 57 total points and a 16^th place finish. Competing for GMR Green were Hailey Brazier, Erin Foss, Kayla Stanelle, and Tayler Wilson who scored 51 total points and captured 19^th place. Overall, it was a great day for the Gators! Crookston Blue captured first place honors with 108 total points; Ada-Borup Red came in second with 84 points; East Grand Forks White took third with 81.5; East Grand Forks Green were fourth with 79 points; East Grand Forks Red racked up 77.5 points for 5^th place, and GMR Black with 76.5 points rounded out the top 6 at the meet. The Gators will resume competitive action on Tuesday, February 19, at Crookston. May their minds be sharp and their fingers quick on the buzzer!

CARDIAC KIDS LOSE ANOTHER CLOSE ONE

By: Coach Christian

The BGMR Boys Basketball Team has played several close games this year. Unfortunately the Gators have struggled winning the close ones and Friday night’s game was no exception as the Gators dropped a 47-42 decision to the Northern Freeze.

Playing without their two leading scorers the Gators put up a valiant fight early. Unfortunately for the Gators the Freeze speed and power would send the Gators down 32-21 at halftime. The Gators were down by 16 right before half but a 5-0 run would cut the Freeze lead to 11.

BGMR and Northern would trade baskets early in the second half. The Gators would start running on all cylinders trailing by 13 with just over 3 minutes to play. BGMR picked up the defense, created havoc and finally got some shots to fall as they cut the lead to 2 with 20 seconds to play. BGMR had the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead but a critical traveling violation doomed the Gators. Northern would hit their free throws the rest of the way and the Gator record fell to 9-11.

Senior Alex Rhen had a strong night as he had 12 points. Jacob Randall notched his first career double/double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tanner Creviston notched 10 points and although sophomore Aaron Dostal did score he did rake down 11 rebounds.

The Gators will take the weekend off but will return to action on Tuesday when they play one of their two remaining home games. Arch rival Roseau comes to The Swamp and the Gators will be looking to avenge and earlier season loss to the Rams. It should be a great game of two evening matched teams.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Swamp Night!

Thank you all that came a supported our 5th annual Swamp Night!

GATOR BOYS LOSE ANOTHER CLOSE ONE

By: Coach Christian

The trend of the BGMR Gator Boys Basketball Team losing close games continued at the Gators dropped a 46-40 decision to the Warroad Warriors. A huge Ambulance/First Responder Appreciation Night crowd was treated to a defensive struggle as the Warriors used switching defense and their quickness to take the Gators out of anything BGMR was trying to do. The Gators matched the intensity on defense and limited the Warriors to one shot with that shot usually being contested.

BGMR struggled much of the first half and found themselves down 25-17 at halftime. The Warriors would take control of the game early in the second half pushing their lead to 11. BGMR would managed to cut the lead to 2 with just over 2 minutes to play and had the ball but turnovers and inattentive play killed the Gators down the stretch. The Gators missed several key open looks from inside the paint and were a horrible 5-13 from the foul line. With statistics like that it makes it difficult for any team to come out on top.

Scoring wise the Gators were led by Tanner Creviston who had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Aaron Dostal also hit a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Offense however was not a strong point for the Gators on the night as they shot 34% from the field and had an alarming 28 turnovers. Both will be high areas of emphasis as the Gators come down the stretch.

After two days of practice BGMR will travel to Karlstad on Friday night to take on the subsection leading

Northern Freeze. Karlstad is a tough and loud place to play and the Gators are going to have to be at their best to pull home a road victory.

The Gators would like to take this time to thank Sue Lieberg and the area first responders and ambulance crews who were able to attend last night’s game. Lieberg was the mastermind behind the appreciation night and her endless work should not go unrecognized. Also, the first responders and ambulance crews who give of their time to help people and save lives, a great big THANK YOU!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

SWAMP NIGHT TONIGHT!!

Come join us tonight in the Swamp and support all the local EMT's!

GATORS LOSE DOUBLE OVERTIME THRILLER TO DRAKES

By: Coach Christian

There were frigid temperatures outdoors but the Friday night basketball action at The Swamp was hot as the BGMR Gators and Blackduck Drakes treated the fans to a double overtime basketball game. Unfortunately for the Gators the Drakes were able to hit a key basket with just over 14 seconds left to pull out a 67-65 victory.

BGMR and Blackduck showed early that this was going to be a game down to the wire. Neither team was able to have more than a 7 point lead and whenever it looked as if one team might extend the lead the other team would buckle down and create defensive stops and hit big shots. Despite being in some foul trouble the Gators were able to go into halftime with a 2 point 23-21 lead.

The second half was a back and forth affair with each team having chances to bring home the victory. With the game tied and just over 7 seconds to play the Drakes went the length of the court and had a chance for a winning shot but the Gators came up with a big defensive stop and key rebound to send the game into overtime.

The first overtime was an all out war as both teams fought for the victory. The Gators could have put the game away with just over a minute to play as they made two defensive stops but were unable to add to their two point lead. The Drakes would surge ahead by 2 with just over 15 seconds to play. After a timeout and 10 seconds left on the clock the Gators were able to get a shot off that missed. Both teams scrambled for the rebound and BGMR attempted another shot that rimmed out. The Gators got another board and this time, were able to convert as time expired and sent the game into the second overtime.

BGMR again in the second overtime had several chances to put the game away but Blackduck showed that they would not be denied. With just over 14 seconds and the game tied the Gators broke down on defensive and the Drakes converted an easy basket on an inbounds play. BGMR elected not to take a timeout and raced the ball up the court. The Drakes however played good transition defense and the Gators were unable to get off a solid shot thus sending the Drakes home with the win.

Several Gators had solid nights. Jacquan Rhen led the Gators in scoring with 22 points and notched a double-double with 11 rebounds. Nick Rodriguez also had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Tanner Creviston hit double figures in scoring with 10 points and played outstanding defense on Drake guard Trey Volk. Volk ended up with 19 hard earned points. The Gators Aaron Dostal had 9 points and 7 boards and Tyler Bentow had a career high 9 rebounds for the Gators.

Although the Gators played extremely hard it was a tough home loss and a game in which the Gators are going to need to start winning as tournament time gets closer. BGMR will finish up their home stand with a game on Tuesday night against a salty Warroad Warrior team. The Warriors have always been a tough match-up for the Gators but it should be another fans delight as these two teams seem evenly matched this year.