Adidas Super 64 (July 24th – July 29th Las Vegas, NV)

Adidas Super 64 (July 24^th – July 29^th Las Vegas, NV)
2-3 Tournament Record, 33-13 overall record

Box Scores:

Game 1 MN Fury Ramey vs. Elite Nation 56-58 (L)
Game 2 MN Fury Ramey vs. Castle Knights 70-75 OT (L)
Game 3 MN Fury Ramey vs. New Zealand Ballers 46-43 (W)
Game 4 MN Fury Ramey vs. Texas Dream 66-55 (W)
Game 5 MN Fury Ramey vs. EFT 44-73 (L)

NY2LA Tournament (July 11th –July 14th – Milwaukee, WI)

NY2LA Tournament (July 11^th –July 14^th – Milwaukee, WI)

4-3 Tournament Record (2^nd place Gold Division), 31-10 overall record
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: N/A at the time of posting

Coaches Thoughts: Great weekend in Milwaukee.  While I would have liked a shot at a few of the teams in the Platinum bracket, I was thoroughly impressed by our run to the championship game of the Gold bracket.  I believe that the Semi-Finals game against the Wisconsin Swings’ top team was the best game that we have played all season.  Keep in mind that WI Swing beat Comets Stanfield and Comets Stanfield beat D1 15s, the team that we lost to last week in GPA in St. Cloud.  Comets Stanfield has also played Fury Johnson tough.  From a purely subjective point of view, this tells me that if Fury Ramey brings the same consistent, hard working, and unselfish play to every game, we will be very tough to deal with.   But we still need to eliminate those slow starts – sometimes it happens offensively, but it should never happen on the defensive end.  That is all a product of effort and something that I know our guys will correct. 

Unfortunately this weekend we had two very tough shooting games – once against Quad City Elite and once in the Gold championship game against the Milwaukee Spartans.  In both games, we found the ball very difficult to get into the post – Quad City Elite was due to quick, tenacious post defenders and the Milwaukee Spartans was difficult due to the 2-3 zone.  We have spectacular shooters on our team, but even good shooting teams like us have an off shooting game here and there – but as I said the old cliché in the huddle: “live by the three, die by the three” and we settled for too many threes on an off shooting game.  As a team, we need to move the ball even quicker on the perimeter to take advantage of the drive openings that reveal themselves as a result of the defense shifting.  And our passes into the post need to be quicker as the quicker posts were going around our guys as they fought for position while our guards struggled to pass in the ball.  This is easily fixable and will be fixed for our remaining two tournaments. 

Despite the poor shooting effort in the championship game, I want to point out that with a bigger, taller (and I would argue, more physical team), we were beat on the boards against a Milwaukee Spartan’s team playing a 2-3 zone defense.  This should never happen.  I believe that we had too many guards standing around the wings not crashing the boards after our shots (which often resulted in long rebounds).  This is a challenge to my guards to board, board, board!  Also, our inability to attack the zone defense with the drive and from the post resulted in our mental attitude to become passive.  I give a lot of credit to the other team as they were quick, tenacious, and could shoot the lights out, but against competitors, this only lights the fire of passion to win even more.  I know we have competitors on our team and next time I out I expect to crash the boards, move the ball even quicker and find and attack weaknesses of the other team – not only in one aspect of the game (i.e. the zone) but in every aspect of the game. 

Also, Coach Meier and my volleyball skills were unmatched this weekend – although the Nielsen’s are asking for a rematch on grass courts, which we will gladly oblige at a later date.  Thanks again for the great weekend!

Box Scores:
Game 1 MN Fury Ramey vs. WI Blizzard -Schneider 61-64 (L)
Kevin McKiernan – 8pts, 1reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1steal, 1blk
John Swanke – 10pts, 3reb, 3TO
Sam Skoyen – 9pts, 5reb, 2ast, 1TO
Austin Heidecker – 12pts, 8reb, 1ast, 1steal
Garrett Ober – 0pts, 3reb, 2TO, 2blk
Jake Meyen – 6pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1steal
Joe Morris – 2pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1TO
Matt Morse – 10pts, 1reb, 5ast, 5TO, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 0pts, 5reb, 2ast, 2TO
Max Lynch – 6pts, 3reb, 1TO, 1steal, 7blk

Game 2 MN Fury Ramey vs. WI Swing - Smith 70-63 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 15pts, 3reb, 3ast, 1steal
John Swanke – 2pts, 1reb, 1TO, 1steal
Sam Skoyen – 12pts, 1ast, 2TO
Austin Heidecker –9pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1TO
Garrett Ober – 2pts, 3reb, 1steal, 3blk
Jake Meyen – 5pts, 3reb, 1TO
Joe Morris – 3pts, 3reb, 1TO, 3steal, 1blk
Matt Morse – 12pts, 3ast, 3TO
Craig Nielsen – 7pts, 5reb, 3ast, 2TO, 1blk
Max Lynch – 4pts, 5reb, 1TO, 3blk

Game 3 MN Fury Ramey vs. Quad City Elite 46-56 (L)
Kevin McKiernan – 8pts, 2reb, 3ast, 1TO, 1blk
John Swanke – DNP - Injury
Sam Skoyen – 6pts, 2reb, 2TO
Austin Heidecker –6pts, 9reb, 1ast, 2steal
Garrett Ober – 0pts, 2reb, 1TO, 2steal, 2blk
Jake Meyen – 6pts, 3reb, 1ast, 2TO
Joe Morris – 6pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1steal, 1blk
Matt Morse – 12pts, 2reb, 2ast, 7TO, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 2pts, 3reb, 1TO
Max Lynch – 0pts, 2reb, 1ast, 3TO, 2blk

Game 4 MN Fury Ramey vs. WI Blizzard - Boots 60-52 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 13pts, 5reb, 2ast, 2TO
John Swanke – DNP - Injury
Sam Skoyen – 13pts, 1reb, 1TO, 1steal
Austin Heidecker –14pts, 7reb, 1ast, 2TO
Garrett Ober – 2pts, 5reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 2pts, 2reb, 1ast, 4TO, 1steal, 1blk
Joe Morris – 5pts, 2reb, 1ast, 3TO, 1steal
Matt Morse – 9pts, 1ast, 1TO, 5steal
Craig Nielsen – 2pts, 4reb, 1ast, 1steal, 1blk
Max Lynch – 0pts, 4reb, 4ast, 1steal

Game 5 MN Fury Ramey vs. MN Magic Blue 64-56 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 11pts, 2reb, 2ast, 1TO, 1steal
John Swanke – DNP - Injury
Sam Skoyen – 5pts, 3reb, 3ast
Austin Heidecker –12pts, 3reb, 1reb
Garrett Ober – 0pts, 5reb, 1TO, 1steal, 4blk
Jake Meyen – 10pts, 8reb, 2ast, 1steal
Joe Morris – 4pts, 6reb, 1ast
Matt Morse – 16pts, 4reb, 5ast, 3TO, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 4pts, 6reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1steal, 1blk
Max Lynch – 2pts, 9reb, 2ast, 1blk

Game 6 MN Fury Ramey vs. WI Swing 67-55 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 8pts, 3reb, 2ast, 4TO, 1blk
John Swanke – DNP - Injury
Sam Skoyen – 13pts, 5reb, 2ast, 1TO
Austin Heidecker –8pts, 5reb, 2ast, 2steal
Garrett Ober – 6pts, 7reb, 1steal, 4blk
Jake Meyen – 8pts, 3reb, 1ast, 2TO
Joe Morris – 2pts, 6reb, 2ast, 1TO, 1blk
Matt Morse – 11pts, 2ast, 6TO, 1steal, 1blk
Craig Nielsen – 7pts, 2reb, 2ast, 1TO
Max Lynch – 4pts, 1reb, 2ast, 1blk

Game 7 MN Fury Ramey vs. Milwaukee Spartans 47-62 (L)
Kevin McKiernan – 13pts, 1reb, 1ast, 2TO
John Swanke – DNP - Injury
Sam Skoyen – 4pts
Austin Heidecker –4pts, 1reb, 1steal
Garrett Ober – 5pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1TO, 2blk
Jake Meyen – 6pts, 3reb, 1ast
Joe Morris – 4pts, 2reb, 3TO
Matt Morse – 2pts, 2reb, 4ast, 2TO
Craig Nielsen – 9pts, 2reb, 1TO, 1steal
Max Lynch – 0pts, 6reb

Great Plains Alliance Tournament (June 27th – June 29th – St. Cloud, MN)

Great Plains Alliance Tournament (June 27^th – June 29^th – St. Cloud, MN)
3-1 Tournament Record, 27-7 overall record
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: Matt Morse, John Swanke

Coaches Take: MN Fury Ramey played well this weekend.  What I really like to see is that we are learning from past tournaments and improving steadily.  Case in point - we had limited turnovers this weekend, were getting shots that we wanted, and playing decent defense.  The biggest areas that we need to grow in are still communication on defense and quicker movement on offense (both swinging the ball and off-ball movement).    Once we have these two points mastered, we will be the most difficult team to play against.  

While we exhibited some rust in our first game against Dakota Schoolers, which was to be expected after a few weeks of not playing in any tournaments, we ended up winning a hard fought showcase game.  They were by far the toughest and most physical opponents that we played all weekend long and it was good to pull out the win.
The next two games were relatively easy, though both teams could shoot very well and we all know good shooting teams are only a few buckets away from a comeback.  We exhibited good poise and close-out ability, handling ECI Select and Comets Phillips by 32 & 26 point margin of victories, respectively.

The first game against championship bracket play was against MN D1-15's, which we knew would be a quality opponent.  The scouting report was essentially simple - prevent Amir Coffey from touching the basketball, front the post and force others to beat you.  It was a good game plan, but not when the entire D1-15s shoot 70-80% in the first half and MN Fury Ramey shoots 20-30%.  We were getting the shots that we wanted, they just weren't going in.  The D1-15's were phenomenal from the 3pt line, but they were getting some easy post touches and actions off the post, which only added to the quality shooting barrage.  Despite our defensive efforts, we quickly found ourselves 25 points down.  But MN Fury Ramey doesn't go down without a fight.  Despite our worst initial shooting performance to date, we battled back to being down only 16 at the end of the first half, 46-30.  Just as the D1-15's were going to go on their scoring runs, I knew that we were poised to go on our run.  The 2nd half onslaught was started by the quality perimeter shooting of our guards, the tenacity of our posts - both defensively and offensively - and the awesome pick and roll game between Matt Morse and Max Lynch.  We had the momentum and got within 6 points.  But anytime you get in a 25 point hole against a quality opponent, the comeback will be insanely difficult, if not possible.  D1-15s went on their run too during the 2nd half and though we chipped away as best we could, we ended up losing the game by 13 points.  

What do we learn from this game?  Coach Meier and I will be doing some thinking, but I think the lesson is two fold: 1) What do we do to come out hard and fast against the best competition?  Is it mindset?  Offensive sets?  Defense?  I think it is a combination of many items, but in large part it is having the mentality that from start to finish, we give our best efforts - physical and mental.  We have the physical - there is no doubt about that, but we need to know that we can and we will compete with any team they put against us.  2) The 2nd part is when our shots aren't dropping, we need defense.  Our defense was ok, but again, some communication was lacking and as a challenge to my posts, so was our physicality in the post.  D1-15s were getting whatever shots they wanted, whatever positioning, and that is something we cannot and will not allow in our remaining tourneys.  

The most important question is always - did I give my best effort out there?  I believe so, but this can only be answered one game, on play, one player at a time.  Hold your head up high fellas, I'm proud of you and you should be too! - Coach Ramey

Box Scores:
Game 1 MN Fury Ramey vs. Dakota Schoolers 56-53 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 6pts, 4reb, 1ast, 2TO, 3steal
John Swanke – 4pts, 5reb, 4ast, 3TO, 2blk
Sam Skoyen – 11pts, 1reb, 1ast, 2TO, 2steal
Austin Heidecker – 18pts, 6reb, 2ast, 1TO, 1blk
Garrett Ober – 2pts, 5reb, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 2pts, 3reb, 3ast, 2TO, 1steal, 2blk
Joe Morris – DNP
Matt Morse – 7pts, 1ast, 3TO
Craig Nielsen – 6pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1TO
Max Lynch – 0pts, 2reb, 1blk

Game 2 MN Fury Ramey vs. ECI Select 76-44 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 16pts, 3reb, 3ast, 1TO, 3steal
John Swanke – 15pts, 7reb, 1ast, 1TO, 2steal
Sam Skoyen – 14pts, 4reb, 1ast, 1steal, 1blk
Austin Heidecker – 0pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1steal
Garrett Ober – 0pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1steal, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 6pts, 7reb, 1ast, 1steal
Joe Morris – 2pts, 1ast, 1TO
Matt Morse – 11pts, 3reb, 3asts, 1TO, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 6pts, 6reb, 3ast
Max Lynch – 6pts, 2reb, 2ast, 2blk

Game 3 MN Fury Ramey vs. Comets Phillips 59-33 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 9pts, 1reb, 1ast, 2TO, 2steal
John Swanke – 16pts, 5reb, 2ast,
Sam Skoyen – 7pts, 5reb, 2ast
Austin Heidecker – 12pts, 8reb, 2ast, 1blk
Garrett Ober – 5pts, 4reb, 3ast, 1TO, 1steal, 2blk
Jake Meyen – 3pts, 2reb, 1ast
Joe Morris – 2pts, 1reb, 4ast, 4steal
Matt Morse – 3pts, 4reb, 1TO, 2steal
Craig Nielsen – 2pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1steal, 1blk
Max Lynch – 0pts, 4reb, 2blk

Game 4 MN Fury Ramey vs. D1-15’s 65-78 (L)
Kevin McKiernan – 6pts, 2ast
John Swanke – 4pts, 6reb, 2ast, 1TO, 1steal, 1blk
Sam Skoyen – 17pts, 1reb
Austin Heidecker – 7pts, 6reb,
Garrett Ober – 4pts, 2reb, 2ast, 1steal, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 0pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1steal
Joe Morris – 7pts, 1reb, 2ast, 1TO, 1steal
Matt Morse – 20pts, 1reb, 2ast, 1TO, 2steal
Craig Nielsen – 0pts, 1reb, 1TO
Max Lynch – 0pts, 1reb, 1steal

NorthStar Hoops State Tournament (May 31st – June 2nd – Minneapolis, MN)

NorthStar Hoops State Tournament (May 31^st – June 2^nd – Minneapolis, MN)
4-1 Tournament Record, 24-6 overall record
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: Austin Heidecker, Sam Skoyen

Box Scores:
Game 1 MN Fury Ramey vs. Heat Schumann 71-58 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 4pts, 1ast, 2TO
John Swanke – 13pts, 8reb, 1TO, 1steal, 1blk
Sam Skoyen – 8pts, 3reb, 2ast, 1TO, 2steal
Austin Heidecker – 19pts, 6reb, 2ast, 2TO, 1steal
Garrett Ober – DNP
Jake Meyen – 3pts, 5reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1steal
Joe Morris – 9pts, 4reb, 3ast, 1steal, 1blk
Matt Morse – 7pts, 4ast, 3TO, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 2pts, 4reb, 4ast
Max Lynch – 6pts, 8reb, 3ast, 3TO

Game 2 MN Fury Ramey vs. MN Magic Red 75-63 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 5pts, 2reb, 1steal
John Swanke – 6pts, 3 reb, 1ast, 1steal, 1blk
Sam Skoyen – 19pts, 1reb, 1ast, 2TO
Austin Heidecker – 1pt, 4reb, 1ast,
Garrett Ober – 0pts, 5reb, 2ast, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 7pts, 8reb, 6ast, 1TO, 1steal
Joe Morris – 11pts, 2reb, 3ast, 1TO, 2steal, 1blk
Matt Morse – 12pts, 2reb, 2ast, 1TO
Craig Nielsen – 8pts, 8reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1blk
Max Lynch – 6pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1blk

Game 3 MN Fury Ramey vs. Get Shook 70-37 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 6pts, 4reb, 5ast, 1TO
John Swanke – 13pts, 1reb, 1ast
Sam Skoyen – 7pts, 1reb, 1ast, 2TO, 1steal
Austin Heidecker – 8pts, 10reb, 3ast, 1steal
Garrett Ober – 7pts, 1reb, 2TO, 2steal
Jake Meyen – 7pts, 3reb, 2ast, 2TO, 2steal
Joe Morris – 6pts, 3reb, 2ast, 1blk
Matt Morse – 8pts, 3ast, 1TO, 2steal
Craig Nielsen – 1pt, 7reb
Max Lynch – 9pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1TO

Game 4 MN Fury Ramey vs. Grassroots 53-31 (W)
Kevin McKiernan – 0pts, 2reb, 3ast, 1TO, 2steal
John Swanke – 9pts, 4reb, 1steal
Sam Skoyen – 8pts, 4ast, 1TO
Austin Heidecker – 10pts, 7reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1blk
Garrett Ober – 0pts, 6reb, 2ast, 1TO, 2steal, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 6pts, 1reb, 2ast, 1TO, 4steal
Joe Morris – 5pts, 3reb, 3TO, 2steal, 2blk
Matt Morse – 4pts, 2reb, 2TO
Craig Nielsen – 6pts, 2steal
Max Lynch – 5pts, 1reb, 1steal

Game 5 MN Fury Ramey vs. Heat Reese 63-67 (L)
Kevin McKiernan – 2pts, 3ast, 3TO, 1steal
John Swanke – 5pts, 4reb, 1TO, 2steal
Sam Skoyen – 14pts, 1ast, 4TO
Austin Heidecker – 16pts, 9reb, 1ast, 2TO
Garrett Ober – 6pts, 3reb, 1TO
Jake Meyen – 0pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1TO
Joe Morris – 0pts, 3reb, 3ast, 1TO
Matt Morse – 6pts, 1reb, 3ast, 3TO, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 10pts, 5reb, 2ast, 2TO, 1steal
Max Lynch – 4pts, 1reb, 1ast, 1blk

Minnesota Fury Tournament (May 17th-May 19th, 2013 – Eagan, MN)

Summary of our First Four Tournaments

Minnesota Fury Tournament (May 17^th-May 19^th, 2013 – Eagan, MN)
5-1 Tournament Record (2^nd Place), 20-5 overall record
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: Sam Skoyen, Austin Heidecker, Garrett Ober, Max Lynch

MN Fury Ramey came out strong in this tournament against an athletic but undersized Heat McKee team.  Though a tied game through the first few minutes of regulation, the MN Fury Ramey started to push to a comfortable lead through the solid post play of Craig Nielsen (Hastings, 6’5”), who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds and his regular season companion Sam Skoyen (Hastings, 6’3”), who chipped in 15 points on the game.  Both were dynamic and played a very good inside-outside game which flustered the Heat McKee squad.  Max Lynch  (6’7”, Edina) also dominated inside as he scored 13 points and was simply unstoppable.  Four players were in double figures for MN Fury Ramey as the squad continued its distributed game play, with 18 team assists for the game.  MN Fury cleaned up 82-57.

The second game versus E1T1 proved to be a more challenged contest.  NorthStarHoopsReport billed this as the marquee game of this pool and it lived up to its billing.  E1T1 was an undersized but deceptively quick team, with the ability to penetrate to the hoop as well as pull up for the three point shot.  MN Fury Ramey had difficulty containing the drive in the first half as the two top players for E1T1 would drive and score or drive and kick.  It was tied 30-30 at half.  The second half was a different story as MN Fury Ramey picked up its defensive pressure and didn’t allow any easy buckets for E1T1.  In addition to its solid defensive play, Sam Skoyen still proved unstoppable and scored 9 of his 13 points in the 2^nd half.  Craig Nielsen chipped in with 12 of his own on 56% shooting.  Jake Meyen (Maranatha Christian Academy, 6’3”) distributed the ball nicely at the PG, dishing out 5 assists.  MN Fury took this one 61-52.

The third game in the pool was against MN Select 16u, coached by former Gopher Steve Esselink.  MN Select had a very good shooting team, with players from each position – PG to PF to Center- able to spot up and hit the three pointer.  This put extra stress on the MN Fury Ramey team defense as the big men, Ober and Lynch, had to move away from the basket to cover their man three point line extended.  MN Select capitalized on this learning curve for MN Fury Ramey as they knocked down five threes in the first half alone.  MN Fury Ramey kept up its own offensive barrage, by attacking the basket strong and drawing fouls.  MN Fury Ramey capitalized by going to the line 10 times in the first half and making 9 of those 10 free throws.  The halftime score was a close one, with MN Fury Ramey clinging to a 3 point lead, 30-27.  But the second half proved that MN Fury Ramey was too much for the tired MN Select squad, which had just finished a triple overtime game against Heat McKee only an hour before.  Fury Ramey poured it on the 2^nd half, scoring 39 points while only allowing 30.  The final score was 69-57, with Austin Heidecker leading all scorers with 11 points, while Joe Morris (Burnsville, 6’3”) had 7 points, 7 rebounds and Garrett Ober added 9 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal.

The first game of Championship play pinned MN Fury Ramey versus Magic Red – rumors had it that is was their second team, but they had added two key pieces – Matt Anderson out of Stillwater and another solid guard from Howard Pulley (name unknown).  Needless to say, they would be tough.  MN Fury Ramey played its solid man-to-man defense as usual, but when Magic Red started bombing threes from NBA range+ and making them, you knew it would be heated contest.  The first half saw some great shooting and good scoring, as MN Fury Ramey took a half time lead of 36-29  behind the solid scoring of Sam Skoyen, Matt Morse, and Austin Heidecker.  The second half provide much of the same defensive intensity as MN Fury Ramey took away the 3 point threat of Magic Red and forced them off the line and into the drive.  Recognizing the mismatches in physicality, MN Fury Ramey pounded the ball inside into Austin Heidecker and Max Lynch.  Heidecker finished with a double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Lynch finished with 4 points and 6 rebounds.  Joe Morris again showed his superior athletic ability not only with a two hand dunk in transition, but also netted 6 points and 8 rebounds.  In addition to this, he classed up the game by passing up a dunk with only seconds left – kudos to Joe on good sportsmanship.  MN Fury Ramey took this game 70-60.

The next game was up against one of the most physical and athletic teams that MN Fury Ramey had played all year long – MN Heat Bui.  MN Heat matched up well against MN Fury Ramey with their physicality and shooting ability – this match up would represent a true test for MN Fury Ramey.  The game started off with baskets hard to come by as both teams were playing lockdown defense.  The refs were making their presence known by calling fouls early and often.  MN Fury Ramey converted 11 of their 19 1^st half free throw attempts and MN Heat Bui converted 8 of their 12 1^st half free throw attempts.    MN Fury Ramey played lockdown defense though, allowing just 17 points in the first half by forcing tough shot attempts.  With its solid defense and continued well-distributed offensive barrage, MN Fury Ramey took a commanding 39-17 half time lead.  2^nd half shots were a bit tougher to come by for MN Fury Ramey and MN Heat Bui started to heat up, but it was too little, too late, as MN Fury Ramey controlled the final outcome, 52-39.

The Championship Game for MN Fury tournament was Fury vs. Fury.  MN Fury Johnson vs. MN Fury Ramey.  Both of these teams are quality competitors and they showed it on the floor.  The game started out hot for both teams as they traded bucket after bucket.  MN Fury Ramey came out hot, grabbing the lead on solid shooting.  MN Fury Ramey was up half way through the first, but then MN Fury Johnson threw on its patented full court man defense.  MN Fury Ramey easily broke through the press, but struggled to get the offense set up in the half court – often times forcing up a quick shot or having a turnover as the result of the pesky recover defense of MN Fury Johnson.  The momentum changed in MN Johnson’s favor with about 7 minutes left in the first and MN Fury Ramey found itself down 31-38 at half.  MN Fury Ramey looked to recover in the 2^nd half, but all engines had run out of steam.  MN Fury Johnson continued its press and MN Fury Ramey struggled to find good shot opportunities, and when they did, they had trouble converting.  MN Fury Johnson took a commanding 14 point lead halfway through the first on their solid 5-out drive attack and kick offense.  MN Fury Ramey mounted a decent comeback of its own, playing full court man trapping defense in the 2^nd, but it couldn’t muster enough turnovers to change the tide of the game.  MN Fury Ramey took 2^nd place overall, with the final score MN Fury Johnson 70, MN Fury Ramey 62

Box Scores:
Game 1: MN Fury Ramey vs. Heat McKee (82-57) W
Kevin McKiernan – 11pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1TO
John Swanke – 8pts, 4reb, 2ast, 1TO
Sam Skoyen – 15pts, 5reb, 3ast, 1TO
Austin Heidecker – 2pts, 5reb, 3ast, 2TO
Garrett Ober – 3pts, 2reb, 1TO, 1steal, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 8pts, 2pts, 1ast, 1TO,
Joe Morris – 6pts, 4reb, 3ast
Matt Morse – 4pts, 3reb, 4ast, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 12pts, 11reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1steal, 1blk
Max Lynch - 13pts, 3reb, 1TO

Game 2: MN Fury Ramey vs. E1T1 (61-52) W
Kevin McKiernan – 0pts, 2reb, 2TO
John Swanke – 0pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1TO
Sam Skoyen – 13pts, 2reb, 1TO, 1steal, 2blk
Austin Heidecker – 8pts, 6reb, 2ast, 2TO, 1steal
Garrett Ober – 4pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 8pts, 5reb, 5ast, 1TO, 1blk
Joe Morris – 6pts, 4reb, 2ast, 5TO, 1steal
Matt Morse – 2pts, 1ast, 2steal
Craig Nielsen – 12pts, 3reb, 2TO
Max Lynch - 8pts, 5reb

Game 3: MN Fury Ramey vs. MN Select (69-57) W
Kevin McKiernan – 5pts, 2reb, 1TO
John Swanke – 5pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1steal
Sam Skoyen – 4pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1TO, 1blk
Austin Heidecker – 11pts, 4reb, 1TO
Garrett Ober – 9pts, 5reb, 1TO, 1steal
Jake Meyen – 6pts, 2ast, 3TO,
Joe Morris – 7pts, 7reb, 2ast, 5TO, 2steal
Matt Morse – 10pts, 1reb, 4ast, 2TO, 2steal
Craig Nielsen – 6pts, 6reb, 2ast
Max Lynch - 6pts, 5reb, 1steal

Game 4: MN Fury Ramey vs. Magic Red (70-60) W
Kevin McKiernan – 5pts, 4reb, 3ast, 5TO
John Swanke – 2pts, 4reb
Sam Skoyen – 17pts, 2reb, 1ast
Austin Heidecker – 19pts, 11reb, 2TO
Garrett Ober – 4pts, 4reb, 2ast, 1TO
Jake Meyen – 2pts, 2reb, 3TO
Joe Morris – 6pts, 8reb, 3ast, 2TO, 1steal, 1blk
Matt Morse – 11pts, 2reb, 2TO, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 0pts, 3reb, 1ast
Max Lynch - 4pts, 6reb, 2ast, 1TO

Game 5: MN Fury Ramey vs. Heat Bui (52-39) W
Kevin McKiernan – 2pts, 1reb, 2ast, 1TO
John Swanke – 3pts, 4reb, 2ast
Sam Skoyen – 9pts, 3reb, 1ast, 2TO
Austin Heidecker – 10pts, 2reb, 1ast
Garrett Ober – 4pts, 8reb, 1ast, 1steal, 1blk
Jake Meyen – 3pts, 3reb, 2TO, 4steal
Joe Morris – 4pts, 3reb, 5TO
Matt Morse – 11pts, 2reb, 3TO
Craig Nielsen – 2pts, 2reb, 2ast, 2TO, 1steal
Max Lynch - 4pts, 3 reb, 1ast, 2TO

Game 6: MN Fury Ramey vs. MN Fury Johnson (62-70) L, 2^nd place overall finish
Kevin McKiernan – 3pts, 3reb, 3ast, 1TO, 1steal
John Swanke – 6pts, 3 reb, 1TO
Sam Skoyen – 11pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1blk
Austin Heidecker – 7pts, 5reb, 2TO, 1steal
Garrett Ober – 12pts, 2reb,
Jake Meyen – 2pts, 3reb, 2ast, 1TO
Joe Morris – 4pts, 1reb, 3ast, 2TO, 1steal
Matt Morse – 3pts, 2reb, 2ast, 4TO, 1steal
Craig Nielsen – 4pts, 4reb, 3TO
Max Lynch - 8pts, 5reb, 1steal, 2blk

MN Fury Tournament (5/17-5/19) 2013 Brackets Available

Here is our pool information: Two games on Friday and one game on Saturday.  I don't know much about the teams that we play except that we can expect press defense from E1T1.  Full brackets can be downloaded here: http://www.minnesotafury.com/boys/2013MNFuryShootout16UPlatinum.pdf

Minnesota Heat Tournament (May 4th-5th, 2013 – Minneapolis, MN)

Minnesota Heat Tournament (May 4^th-5^th, 2013 – Minneapolis, MN)
4-1 tournament record, 15-4 overall record
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: Matt Morse, Max Lynch
For the fourth straight tournament, MN Fury Ramey swept its bracket and advanced undefeated into the championship bracket.  TC Hoops Blog cited the marquee match up of the pool to be the very first game played at 8am - MN Fury Ramey vs. Heat Biwan 15s.  Even though the final score of this game showed the margin of victory was only 7 points – 61-56, MN Fury Ramey was firmly ahead the entire game, including a 38-23 half-time lead.  A late run by the 15u Heat team included increased full court defensive pressure  and good shooting led to the game being closer than it really was.  Most impressive about this victory for MN Fury Ramey was that four players were in double figures for points, which means the ball was distributed very well.  Max Lynch (Edina, 6’7”) led all scorers with 16, Joe Morris added 13, Sam Skoyen added 11, and Matt Morse chipped in with 10.  Quick ball movement by all players involved led to some easy buckets, especially in full court play.
The second game was against Heat Berndt and was not a close contest.  The halftime score was 37-12 and the final score was 69-34.  Solid defense and the trend of again having four players score in double figures was an indication that this MN Fury Ramey team has started to gel and play together.
The 3^rd game was against the Minnesota Comets.  Continuing with the trend of solid defense and distributed offense, the MN Fury Ramey ended the game with a 69-58 final score.  Four players were in double figures for the MN Fury Ramey, with Matt Morse (Apple Valley, 6’1”) leading the way with 15 pts.
In the first game of Championship bracket play, MN Fury Ramey came off all cylinders clicking.  In what was perhaps the best display of solid defense and teamwork, MN Fury Ramey followed the game plan to near flawless level, holding the very good offense-oriented team of All Iowa Attack to 22 pts in the first half, 46 total for the game, while scoring 76 points of their own, with four players in double figures and two more players two points away.  Austin Heidecker (Prior Lake, 6’3”) lead the way with 13 points, while John Swanke (Edina, 6’3”) and Matt Morse Contributed 12 a piece. Side note: In addition to being a solid all around player, Joe Morris showed his great athletic ability as well as he had a thunderous one hand slam over an AIA player looking to block his shot.  More to come from dunk city...
In a marquee match up, the MN Fury Ramey (#8) faced the higher ranked Heat Calistro (#6) team (rankings according to NorthstarHoopsReport.com).  Unfortunately for the MN Fury, the game did not begin as planned as roles were reversed – Heat Calistro came out with guns blazing while MN Fury Ramey struggled to find the bottom of the net.  In uncharacteristic fashion, the MN Fury gave up 44 points in the first half and found themselves down 44-23 at half time.  Though they would go on a slight run in the 2^nd half to pull within 12 points, the game was out of hand and the ending score was 67-48.  Heat Calistro went on to win the tournament, defeated MN Heat Biwan’s 15u (a team MN Fury Ramey had earlier beaten in pool play).

Box Scores: 
Game 1: MN Fury Ramey vs Heat Biwan (61-56) W
Kevin McKiernan-5, John Swanke-2, Sam Skoyen-11, Austin Heidecker-2, Garrett Ober-0, Jake Meyen-2, Joe Morris-13, Matt Morse-10, Craig Nielsen-0, Max Lynch-16

Game 2: MN Fury Ramey vs Heat Berndt (69-34) W
Kevin McKiernan-0, John Swanke-2, Sam Skoyen-12, Austin Heidecker-12, Garrett Ober-8, Jake Meyen-0, Joe Morris-14, Matt Morse-11, Craig Nielsen-2, Max Lynch-8

Game 3: MN Fury Ramey vs. Minnesota Comets (69-58) W
Kevin McKiernan-0, John Swanke-8, Sam Skoyen-10, Austin Heidecker-4, Garrett Ober-4, Jake Meyen-0, Joe Morris-11, Matt Morse-15, Craig Nielsen-6, Max Lynch

Game 4: MN Fury Ramey vs. All Iowa Attack (76-46)
Kevin McKiernan-8, John Swanke-12, Sam Skoyen-2, Austin Heidecker-13, Garrett Ober-5, Jake Meyen-4, Joe Morris-9, Matt Morse-12, Craig Nielsen-0, Max Lynch-11

Game 5: MN Fury Ramey vs. Heat Calistro (48-67) L
Kevin McKiernan-8, John Swanke-7, Sam Skoyen-12, Austin Heidecker-4, Garrett Ober-0, Jake Meyen-3, Joe Morris-4, Matt Morse-5, Craig Nielsen-2, Max Lynch-3