Rebel Boys Beat Floodwood, Win Polar League Championship

Click Here For The Complete Game Box Score

Feb 12

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

WILLOW RIVER- Though second year head coach Neil Dickinson may not admit it but his Rebels are playing what could be some of the best basketball in the area in any class. The Rebels continued to show why they are state ranked Friday night as they shot down the Polar Bears of Floodwood by a final score of 78-37.

This game started out very close as neither Floodwood nor Moose Lake-Willow River had a distinct advantage. Floodwood kept the game close with outside shooting from Ross Schminski as he nailed three three-pointers in the first five minutes to keep the game close. The Rebels then got things going as they worked the ball inside to Caleb Koecher, who led the Rebels in scoring in the first half with 11 points at the break.

The inside game with Koecher opened up the outside game and the Rebels took flight as they went on a 28-10 run to close out the first half and lead at the break by a score of 40-22. “We are so much smaller than Moose Lake-Willow River” Head Coach of Floodwood Chris Tommila told Northland Sports Online. “We needed to be patient and work for our shot, but they got out into transition and they pushed the ball every chance they got.”

The Rebels continued to add to their lead in the second half as pressure defense and a transition game that worked to perfection along with some outstanding and creative passes helped the Rebels to the forty-one point win. “The kids had a good practice Thursday,” Head Coach Neil Dickinson told Northland Sports Online, “We have kids missing it seems from every game and it was nice to have Taylor Mattison back as he had been down sick for a while.”

The Rebels were led by Caleb Koecher with 13 points on the night. Trevor Nummela added 11 points, Jake Disterhaupt added 10, Mike Bennett and Tyler Huso each ended with 9, Taylor Mattison added 8, Jeff Hansen finished with 7, Ryan Adamczak added 6, and Andy Olson rounded out the scoring with 5 points for the Rebels.

The Polar Bears were led by Ross Schminski who finished with a game high 22 points on the night. Justin Hall finished with 6 points, Zach Heggedahl chipped in with 5 points for the Polar Bears, Jarred Heggedahl and Jason Myrvold each had 2 points to close out the scoring for Floodwood.

The Rebels improve to 20-2 on the season; with the win they seal the Polar League Championship. The Rebels are on the road Tuesday when they play in Aurora against the Mesabi East Giants. The Polar Bears fall to 7-4 overall and they will host Wrenshall on Friday night.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com