How will the Muskies Look in their First Fall Game?
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH: Week 2 Predictions
By Ken Farmer | Bloomington South League Coordinator
6:30 p.m. - Red Devils (0-1) vs Rebels (1-0)
The Rebels will look to make it two wins to start off the season after an opening-week victory over the Loons. The backcourt combination of Dustin Dupont (15 points) and Cody Heinz (17 points) combined for nine 3-pointers in the game and the Rebels made 13 total as a team. The Red Devils will need to defend the arc and can’t allow the Rebels to get an offensive boost from their perimeter shooting.
The Red Devils made 13 three’s themselves, but it took 36 attempts to do so. The Red Devils will need to be a little more efficient beyond the three-point line against a tough Rebels defense. Ben Davis, who scored 26 points in Week 1, is one player the Rebels cannot let get hot. The Red Devils also turned the ball over 14 times in Week 1 and will be pressured once again this week. Will they be able to handle the Rebels aggressiveness? I think it’ll be close for a long stretch, but the Rebels will start to turn the Red Devils over and create some separation.
Rebels by 10
6:30 p.m. - Lightning (0-1) vs Aardvarks (1-0)
The Lightning started off their campaign with a tough Week 1 loss and will look to turn it around as they face the Aardvarks. Jake Gave, who will be facing some of his former teammates, scored a team-high 24 points for the Lightning in their loss to the Player’s Club. He was also their leading rebounder and will be a key figure for the Lightning this season. Dillion Carlson finished second on the team with 11 points and led the team with 4 assists. They’ll need a better outing from the three-point line, where they made just 4 of their 23 attempts, against an Aardvarks squad that impressed in Week 1.
They assisted on 21 of their 33 baskets and put up 85 points on 49 percent shooting. Adam Hoven was feeding his teammates the ball and collected 13 assists in the game. He also had 17 rebounds, which led the team. Emmanuel Harrison led the scoring with 22 points and made six 3-pointers along the way. I think the Aardvarks will come away with another victory in Week 2.
Aardvarks by 11
7:30 p.m. - Loons (0-1) vs Muskies (0-0)
The Loons made their return to Ultimate Hoops with a tough Week 1 matchup in the Rebels and couldn’t come away with the W. Walt Richard led the team with 19 points and made 3 three-pointers. Mike Ratelle and Tom Allcox each had 4 assists and the Loons made 10 three’s on 28 attempts. Defense has been this team’s calling card, but they struggled on that end as the Rebels shot 52 percent in the game. However, the Rebels also shot 59 percent from beyond the arc so they caught the Rebels on a hot night.
They’ll have to quickly shore up their perimeter defense as their Week 2 opponent are the Muskies, who have long been one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the league. The Muskies had a bye in Week 1 and will be looking to start the season on a good note. Sonny Young-Graves and Jon Christenson are two of the more dangerous outside shooters in the league and the Loons will have to come up with a plan to slow them down. The Loons did a good job on the boards against the Rebels, collecting 6 offensive boards while giving up only 2, and should focus on winning the rebounding battle in this game. In the end, I’m going to give a slight edge to the Muskies with outside shooting.
Muskies by 4
7:30 - Player’s Club (1-0) vs THEM (0-1)
The Player’s Club opened up the season with a strong showing against the Lightning and grabbed win number one. Steven Kelsey (21 points) and Lonnie Thomas (20 points) each put in a good offensive performance and combined to shoot just over 50 percent in the game. Kelsey tied with Gene Perry for the team lead with 6 assists and Tony DeBoer grabbed 14 rebounds to go along with his 17 points. They did an excellent job of moving the ball and were more balanced offensively than a season ago.
They’ll be facing a motivated THEM squad that will be eager to prove they’re better than their Week 1 performance showed. THEM shot just 28 percent in their season-opening loss to the Guerrillas and just 19 percent from beyond the arc. There will be better shooting days for this team and opponents won’t like it when this team catches fire. Jacob Barton and Sam Hanson led the team with 13 points. Look for Devin Stensrude and Nirav Sura to find their rhythm in this game. I think it’ll be a tight contest that will be back and forth and I’ll take THEM to bounce back with a close win.
THEM by 2