Burmeister

pleased by

intensity in

Eagle loss

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Despite the seven-point 55-48 loss to St. James Tuesday night in South Central Conference basketball, New Ulm High coach Pat Burmeister was pleased with his team's effort against the Saints after a lackluster performance against United South Central in their previous game.

"We came out with some intensity," said Burmeister, whose team will host Blue Earth Area Friday. "We hit our first couple of shots and that helps the confidence and get the energy going. We got out to a 9-0 lead. But they started to press us at that point and we did not give up any points off (our) turnovers, but we did not get into our offense once we broke the press. We were forcing shots and making bad decisions on offense. The last four minutes of the first quarter, we only scored two points. That gave St. James some energy and they started to take the ball to the basket. We sent them to the free throw line 17 times in the first half."

NEWMAN HITS DOUBLE FIGURES: One player who has been quiet so far this season has been 6-foot-4 senior Mark Newman. But in the St. James game, the post player had his best game of the season scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds.

"Mark did a nice job and we did a better job of going to our post players inside," commented Burmeister. "Both Mark and Charles (Ganske) did a nice job. We got them a few touches."

Burmeister said the effort the Eagles had Tuesday night "gave us a chance to be successful on both ends of the floor. We did a nice job of boxing out on the boards. We outrebounded St. James, but we have to make sure that we execute and play hard for 32 minutes. We had some breakdowns and mistakes that gave them the opportunity to get the win."

Burmeister said he was not pleased with the defense in the first half. "In the first half we did not stop basket penetration. We got whistled for 15 fouls and sent them to the free throw line a ton of times."

FIRST HALF SPELLS DIFFERENCE FOR HOUNDS: New Ulm Cathedral coach Dan Wolfe said "the first half was not a good one for us (against the Cedar Mountain/Comfrey Cougars, who beat the Hounds 72-52).

Cathedral had topped the Cougars by 15 in their first meeting.

"I have to give Cedar Mountain's kids credit," Wolfe said. "They were really getting up and down the floor. The first half, they beat us in every way possible -- they beat us on the fast break; (Ryan) Steffensmeier scored inside (11 points) and they hit some long-range 3s. When you get down by 19, 20 points in the first half, that really makes it difficult to come back."

Wolfe was pleased with his team's performance in the second half. "We played better then. Steffensmeier did not score in the second half. They still hit the 3s and shot the ball well. We did better in our transition defense and we cut the lead into single digits and part of that was due to Dave Groebner (15 points) being successful especially in the third quarter scoring from the post position. We also got Steffensmeier in foul trouble."

Wolfe said that Groebner, Billy Schreiber and Brandon Reinarts "played with a lot of intensity. But we need that intensity from all 11 kids on our team. We did not have that Tuesday."

Wolfe said early in the game, the Hounds went inside "because of how they were playing defensively, they allowed us to go inside. But we did not convert in the first quarter. We got one shot in the post and they got the rebound and, boom, they were off down the floor. The got way too many layups and easy baskets.

"We cannot give up (72) points. We have not done that very often this year but when we have done that, we have lost the game. ... I don't know if we came in overconfident or not because we beat them (by 15) earlier in the season. They had lost 2 or 3 in a row. But they were the better club last night."

CHARGER STREAK REACHES 11: The Minnesota Valley Lutheran boys basketball express kept on rolling with a 74-47 win over Sleepy Eye St. Mary's Tuesday night.

"We jumped off quick (17-4 ) ... we went inside a little bit more," said MVL coach Craig Morgan. "Plus, we had some good pressure from the guards. We had our starters out by the fourth quarter."

And the balanced scoring continued for MVL with five players reaching double figures led by sophomore Jacob Firle who scored 12 and had five rebounds.

"That (five in double figures) is through three quarters," added Morgan.

Danny Liggett, Jesse Pfeifer and Jason Lohmiller all had 11 with Dan Unke scoring 10 points and gathering seven rebounds.

"I was happy with the offense, but Danny (Liggett) and Jake (Firle) -- we have to work on their defense," said Morgan. "But Jake had five rebounds and Tom Metzger, who scored only seven points was possessed on the boards with 10 rebounds."

Morgan feels the MVL and city of New Ulm scoring records that Unke was within reach of "has taken a back seat to the success of the team. He does not care how many points that he gets as long as the team wins. If his job is to pass the ball or play defense, he will do it. He has said many times that he does not care how many points he scores as long as the team is successful."

Morgan has been happy with the play of Liggett at point guard. "He has been averaging close to nine, 10 points a game. I would like to see him to penetrate more and to dish off more. He is looking to shoot quite a bit and as a point guard I would like to see him dish the ball off a little bit. too."

POST PLAYERS CAN INTERCHANGE: MVL also has the luxury of three post players in Jason Lohmiller, Firle and Pfeifer. "We have to continue to work to the inside," Morgan said. "We went inside more. We need to establish that inside game to open up the outside game. Otherwise, we're just going to throw up the first shot from the 3-point arc or closer and anyone can do that. I told our team that we have to establish that inside game."

MERSETH PACES MVL: With senior Sarah Gronholz out indefinitely (she had an MRI on her left knew yesterday), sophomore Jessica Merseth really played big in the three-point win over Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, scoring 21 points, grabbing nine rebounds and collecting six steals.

"We are finding our way and seeing what we can and cannot do without Sarah in the lineup," said Chargers coach Dave Biedenbender. Gronholz is being recruited heavily, despite the injury, by Southwest State, Minnesota State-Mankato and St. Benedict.

"We did not change anything with Sarah out," Biedenbender said. "We stayed with our motion and flex offense. We had Angie Unke play Sarah's spot and she did a nice job there."

MVL had a 10-point lead in the first half, but the Knights fought back to cut the lead and eventually get the lead. "(St. Mary's) picked up the pace defensively, and from our standpoint, we did a lot of standing around and not enough motion in our motion offense."

Biedenbender said Merseth, who is becoming one of the dominant players in the area as a sophomore, "is a player who wants the ball in her hands when the game is on the line. She wants the ball and made some hoops that were kind of amazing. But that is what we expect of her. She played well in a tough situation."