GATOR GIRLS BASKETBALL

Yesterday the Gator Girls Basketball team won against KCC. The varstity game was 83-51.

Young Gators Finish Eighth

By: Ryan Bergeron

                Coming off of a consolation championship at the Sertoma tournament in Grand Forks the previous weekend, a young Gator team looked to keep working hard, as they faced their toughest test of the year at the 35-team annual Big Bear tournament in Cass Lake, MN on December 14-15. Coach Bergeron commented on his young team’s nice eighth place finish, “With eight of our fourteen Gators competing in their first Big Bear tournament, I thought many of them gave a good effort and we will definitely be a team that will continue to improve as the year goes on.” The Gators wrestled extremely hard, getting some big wins and suffering some tough losses along the way and finishing in a solid eighth place. The four Gators to place in the top eight of the tournament were Tomm Ingle(160), finishing second, Wyatt Becker (113), placing third, John Westman (170), finishing seventh, and Jake Jenson (145), placing eighth.

                The Gators’ only finalist of the tournament, senior Tomm Ingle, picked up two pins and major decision en route to the semifinals. In the semifinals he took on Coach Bergeron nephew, Blake Bergeron of Crookston, controlling the match throughout to a solid 6-1 victory to advance to finals against a familiar opponent in TRF’s Holden Nelson. In a back in forth affair, featuring two ranked wrestlers, Tomm fell behind 6-4 midway through the third period and eventually escaped later in the match. His last second chance at a winning takedown came up just short though, falling to Nelson by a 6-5 score but still obtaining a solid second place finish and going 4-1 on the weekend.

                The Gators’ next highest placer, sophomore Wyatt Becker, took home a nice third place finish, his second consecutive such finish at the Big Bear tournament.  Wyatt picked up a pin, major decision and decision en route to his semifinals, falling to Bemidji’s Brian Maas (ranked #2 in AAA) by a 7-0 score. Wyatt responded and finished the tournament out strong, picking up a first period pin and then getting hard fought 4-1 victory over familiar foe, in TRF’s Stephen Holecek, to finish with a 5-1 record over the weekend.   

                The third Gators placer, senior John Westman, finished his roller coaster weekend off on the right track, picking up a second period pin over Gregor Fraser of Hutchinson and finishing the weekend with a 4-2 record. Gator junior Jake Jenson completed the weekend with a 3-3 record and picked up a good eighth place finish in his own up and down weekend, highlighted by a second period pin over Josh Becker of Staples-Motley to get into the placing round.

                Nick Kaml (120), Trevor Undeberg (126), Brandon Waage (132), Dakota Gullikson (138), Gunner Gust (152), and Ethen Daignault (195) wrestled hard, but didn’t place, going 2-2 on the weekend, with Kaml, Waage and Gust falling just one win short of placing. Beau Blumer (182), Doug Peterson (220), Cody Olafson (285) also competed on the weekend, finishing with 1-2 records during the tournament.

                The young Gator team should be proud of their eighth place finish, many of them competing in their first Big Bear tournament. They also know there is room for improvement, and will surely get back to the practice room and work extremely hard, facing Mahnomen-Waubun on Tuesday, December 18 in Mahnomen, and then in a tough triangular at Bemidji  on Thursday, December 20 against Moorhead and Bemidji, two solid triple A teams. The Gators will need to keep improving and come together as a team,  many looking to not only start or finish their high school career’s positively but continue the proud tradition that is Gator wrestling. GO GATORS!!!             

Big Bear Tournament Final Team Standings:

1. Hutchinson/Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 213.0

 2. Willmar 164.5

 3. Thief River Falls/Goodridge 151.5

 4. Bemidji 148.0

 5. Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus 147.0

 6. United North Central 126.0

 7. Barnesville 123.5

 8. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 118.0

 9. New York Mills 113.0

 10. Fergus Falls 110.0

 11. Big Lake 109.0

 12. MAHACA 108.0

 13. Crookston 97.0

 14. Champlin Park 94.5

 15. Detroit Lakes .0

 16. Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 80.0

 17. Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena 78.0

 18. Aitkin 78.0

 19. Mahnomen/Waubun 64.0

 20. Park Rapids Area 63.5

 21. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley/Nevis 63.5

 22. United Clay Becker 60.0

 23. Crosby-Ironton 54.0

 24. Staples-Motley 53.0

 25. Hibbing 52.0

 26. Roseau 45.0

 27. Nashwauk-Keewatin/Greenway 45.0

 28. Fertile-Beltrami 44.0

 29. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 30.0

 30. Deer River 27.0

 31. West Marshall 24.0

 32. Wadena-Deer Creek 22.0

 33. Red Lake County Central 21.5

 34. Robbinsdale Cooper 18.0

 35. West Central Area/Ashby/Evansville 16.0

 

GATOR BOYS LOSE TOUGH ROAD BATTLE

Playing the second night of back to back games the BGMR Gators were unable to overcome some poor shooting from the field and free throw line and lost a tough 48-43 decision to the Kittson Central Bearcats.

BGMR found themselves in some early foul trouble but still managed to hold a 22-19 halftime lead. The Gators however struggled getting their engines going in the second half and the youthful energy of the Bearcats prevailed.

Despite falling down by as many as 10 points the relentless Gators hustled their way back and made it a 4 point game with just under 3 minutes to play. The Gators however were unable to hit some crucial free throws, as they went 2 for 11 from the foul line in the second half, or a big shot when they needed it most.

Offensively the Gators managed to land three individuals in double digits. Nick Rodriguez and Aaron Dostal had 11 points each and Alex Rhen contributed 10 points. Dostal also ripped down 11 rebounds. Offensively the Gators hurt themselves by turning the ball over 23 times. Limiting turnovers will obviously be an area of emphasis for the Gators.

BGMR will return home for the last home game before the holiday break. The Gators will take on the Rebels from Red Lake County. BGMR beat the Rebels earlier in the year so a grudge match will be in store. BGMR will need to clean up its play a bit but the Gators have been working hard and this teams looks like it will continue to improve. Take some time out of your busy holiday schedule and catch the Gators in action.

Gators Capture Sertoma Consolation Championship

 

The Gator Varsity and JV traveled to Grand Forks to take part in the 39th Annual Seratoma Tournament held at Grand Forks Central HS on December 7th and 8th. The Gator Varsity started the tournament out with a heart breaking loss to Jamestown HS 41-31, the Gators let some close matches slip away and also gave up too many bonus points to come back. This would set up a match up between Section 8 A foes the Gators and the Falcons from Fertile-Beltrami. The Gators were coming off a disappointing loss to the Blue Jays of Jamestown and were looking for some redemption. The Gators did just that as they rolled to a 60-7 dual victory. Key high light in that match was Nick Kaml’s solid victory over last years state entrant Mitchell Lundeen, Nick pulled away with a 4-2 victory. The Gators finished Friday’s action with a 1-1 dual mark heading into Saturdays competition. While the Varsity was wrestling in one gym the Gator JV was battling in another on Friday. The young Gators had a solid night as they finished with a 21-19 record and some young wrestlers gained some very valuable experience. JV results went as followed Brody Rasmusson 0-2 DNP, Dakota Gulllikson 3-0 1st, Daron Sikorski 2-2 4th, Sebastian Vanderport 0-2 DNP, Luke Nelson 3-0 1st, Jacob Berger 1-2 4th, Ely Novacek 0-2 DNP,Collin Berard 2-1 2nd,Hunter Gullikson 2-1 3rd,Nash Sovde 3-0 1st, Ethan Novacek 2-2 4th, Seth Dostal 3-1 3rd, Devin Pries 3-0 1st, Elias Jacobson 0-2 DNP and Trinity Clark 1-2 DNP.

 

 

The Gator Varsity started out Saturday with a very entertaining hard fought victory over a very solid Central Cass team. The Gators won a nail bitter 33-27 to advance them into the Consolation Finals against the Red River Riders. Collecting very important wins for the Gators in the Central Cass Dual were Nick Kaml, Brandon Waage, Jake Jenson, Gunner Gust, Tomm Ingle, John Westman, and Isaak Isane. It was a hard fought match all the way and several Gators showed a lot of heart, especially first year wrestler Douglas Peterson as he battle for the full match losing 11-6 but saving valuable team points staying off his back.

 

 

The Gators finished out the competition by battling a very solid Red River Rider team. The Gators were focused and continued to show improvement as the weekend went on. The Gators walked away with an impressive 45-21 dual victory over the Riders and improved their dual mark over the weekend to 3-1 and 4-1 on the season. Recording victories for the Gators in the Red River dual were Brandon Waage, Jake Jenson, Corey Hasbrouck, Gunner Gust, Tomm Ingle, John Westman, Isaak Isane, Wyatt Becker, and Nick Kaml. John Westman, Tomm Ingle, and Nick Kaml went undefeated on the weekend with 4-0 records, Isaak Isane, Jake Jenson, Gunner Gust, and Brandon Waage had solid weekends going all 3-1, Wyatt Becker, Corey Hasbrouck, and Beau Blumer finished with hard fought battles with 2-2 records, Trevor Udeberg and Cody Olson were 1-3, Adam Lorenson and Douglas Peterson were 1-2 and Ethan Novacek finished 0-1. Overall the Gators finished strong with and over all 34-21 record individually.

 

 

Again on Saturday as the Gator varsity was in action in one gym the Gator 7th and 8th graders battled in another gym. The 7th and 8th graders had a very solid showing as they had an overall 22-5 record and took home 3 individual titles,which looks good for the Gators in the future. Logan Anderson, Trinity Clark and Devin Pries all finished 1st with 3-0 records. Seth Dostal went 2-1 for a 2nd place finish, while Bryce Bergeron, Austin Maurstad, and Jack Peppel finished 3-1 in 3rd and Elias Jacobson also had a solid finish going 2-1 and finished in 3rd place. Hats off to both the Gator JV and JH on solid showings.

 

 

The Gators will get back to the practice room and continue to improve. The Gators next action will be just varsity as they head to Cass Lake for a solid 33 team tournament on Dec. 14th and 15th.

The Gator team would like to thank all the fans that came up to Grand Forks to cheer them on. The fans got a chance to watch some exciting wrestling and get some holiday shopping in as well. Come on out to Cass Lake on the 14th and 15th Dec. in Cass Lake for the Big Bear Classic.

 

--Todd Bergeron

GATORS RUN AWAY FROM REBELS

 

Again using tenacious defense, and solid shooting, the BGMR Gator Boys Basketball Team picked up its second win of the year with a 70-43 victory over the Red Lake County Rebels. The win enabled the Gators to capture the consolation championship of the Northland Community and Technical College Holiday Tournament. BGMR limited the Rebels to 21% shooting for the game and forced the Rebels into 19 turnovers. Meanwhile the Gators shot 49% from the field and limited their turnovers to 12.

 

 

Offensively the Gators were led in scoring by sophomore Aaron Dostal who had 24 points and 7 rebounds. Nick Rodriguez continued his strong offensive play with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Although no other Gator landed in double figures several had solid games. Tyler Bentow picked up 8 points and Darius Watson came off the bench and sparked the Gators with 3 points, played solid defense and controlled the tempo for the Gators.

 

 

After taking the weekend off the Gators will now have 3 days of practice before their next game. BGMR will host Clearbrook-Gonvick on Thursday night. The Gators will have back to back games as the Gators on Friday will travel to Kittson Central to take on the young but solid Bearcat team. The Gators seem to be playing with a great deal of energy and they hope to build on the momentum of two solid tournament games.

Gator Boys First Win of the Year

The BGMR Gator Boy’s Basketball Team was able to pick up their first win of the year with an impressive 69-46 win over the Stephen-Argyle Storm. The Gators used suffocating defense and solid offensive team play in the first half to open up a 31-19 halftime lead. What looked to be a repeat of the first game of the year, when the Gators had a 10 point halftime lead and end up squandering it away, the Storm cut the Gator lead to 7 with just over 10 minutes to play. BGMR however responded to the challenge and cruised to the 23 point margin of victory.

 

The Gators welcomed back senior Jacquan Rhen who had 20 points and 9 rebounds. Rhen who was out the first two games for the Gators was a welcome addition to the Gator line-up. Nick Rodriguez netted 15 points and hauled down 8 rebounds while Aaron Dostal chipped in 10 points. Alex Rhen, and Tyler Bentow contributed 8 points each and Tanner Creviston notched 6 points while playing outstanding defense on Strom sharp shooter Owen Ellefson. Ellefson, who had 26 points the first time these two teams played was limited to 8 points by Creviston and his buddies.

 

The Gators will now move onto consolation championship play of the NCTC Holiday Tournament. BGMR will play Red Lake County at 4:45 today. The Rebels ended the Gators season last year in the first round of the playoffs so today’s game will be a grudge match for the Gators.

Cougars Demolish Gators

Hoping to build on a tough, but hard fought opening night loss, the BGMR Gator Boys Basketball fell victim to a strong Ada-Borup Cougar team with the Cougars taking home a 72-31 victory over the Gators.

 

Neither team seemed willing to win the game in the early going as sloppy play dominated much of the first half. BGMR somehow managed to keep the game close for most of the first half despite committing 20 turnovers and having a miserable night shooting the ball. The Cougars found their groove towards the end of the first half and opened up a 34-19 lead halftime lead. Feeling that if they cleaned up their game at halftime the Gators would be able to make a second half run. BGMR however continued their rugged play and the Cougars pounced on the Gators blistering them for 38 points and holding the Gators to a meager 12 points.

 

All-toll it was a statistical nightmare for the BGMR. The Gators managed to turn the ball over 40 times on the night, shot 29% from the field and 47% from the free throw line. Individually the Gators did manage to land one person in double figures as Nick Rodriguez scored a career high 12 points.

 

BGMR will continue tournament play with a 3:00 game on Thursday. The Gators get to try and avenge the opening season loss to the Storm. The Storm fell to the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons in the first round. BGMR will need to drastically improve its court play if they want to compete and try to make the consolation championship of the NCTC Holiday Tournament.