By Errol Carlstrom

Thursday, July 9

Gold Division Championship

Our 16 White’s played hard but it wasn’t to be today as we lost to the Martin Brothers (Iowa) 64-45 in the championship game.  The game was tied at 26 at the end of the first-half, but the Brothers took over the game about 5-minutes into the second-half.  We took a lot of good out of this tournament and I think all the players have grown because of it.  Contributions:  Handful Pour 10 points and 2 rebounds; Charles Williams 8 points and 5 rebounds; Terrance Averyheart, Matt Hovila and Adam Thacker 6 points each; Rapheal Cabaniss 4 points 6 assists and 1 rebound; Jacob Peterson 4 rebounds and a blocked shot; Timmy Brown 3 points and 3 assists; Andrew Hansen 2 rebounds and an assist and Chase Bowersox 1 rebounds and a steal.

Semifinals – Gold Division

Our 16 White team is heading to the Gold Division Championship game at 11:30 a.m. after defeating the Midwest Stars of Omaha 52-45.  The team and coaches Reggie Perkins and Dedrick Jenkins are to be congratulated for showing up big time for every game.  This was in every sense of the term, a team victory, although the catalyst was Handful Pour who showed great leadership and finished with 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Charles Williams and Terrance Averyheart also played very strong, with Charles contributing 9 rebounds and 7 points and Terrance 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.  Other contributions:  Timmy Brown 4 points and 2 assists; Jacob Peterson 4 points and 6 rebounds; Matt Hovila 3 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a hell of a defensive game; Adam Thacker 2 points, 2 rebounds and a blocked shot; Rapheal Cabaniss 2 points, a steal and a rebound; Chase Bowersox 2 assists, 2 steals and a rebound and Andrew Hansen 2 points, a rebound and an assist.

Wednesday, July 8

Playoffs – Evening Session

Our 16 White squad is the only Pulley team advancing to the Semifinals after they defeated the Iowa Mavericks 63-38.  Timmy Brown was the leading scorer with 12 points, followed by Jacob Peterson with 11, Terrance Averyheart 10, Matt Hovila 7, Rapheal Cabaniss and Charles Williams with 6 each, Handful Pour 5, Andrew Hansen 4 and Chase Bowersox 2.  The team plays again at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

The 17’s took on the Illinois Wolverines in a great matchup that was contested until the final minutes when we snuck out a 62-57 victory.  We were led by Jacob Thomas with 20 points and 6 rebounds, Chad Calcaterra with 11 points and 6 rebounds and Peter Crawford with 10 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds.  Other contributions:  Marvin Singleton 7 points and 4 rebounds; Malik El-Amin 6 points and 2 assists; Will Patt 6 rebounds and a blocked shot; Darry Jones 3 points and 2 rebounds; Siyani Chambers 3 points and 2 rebounds and Nick Lee 3 rebounds and 2 points.

The end of the road came tonight for our 16 Black squad after they squandered an 11 point lead in the 4^th quarter and lost to the Iowa Attack 74-73.  Joe Coleman was sensational with his 24 points 6 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 4 steals, but his efforts alone weren’t good enough.  Other contributions: Charley Aslesen 13 points; Marcus Alipate 11 points and 6 assists; Clarence Thomas 8 points; Bretson McNeal 5 points; Myles Barnes 4 points and Zach Lofton 2 points.

The 15 Black’s also lost to the Iowa Attack 67-57 to end their tournament run.  The big guns were Isaiah Zierden with 21 points and Zach Stahl with 20.  No one else scored more than 6 points.

It took 3 overtimes but the Madison Spartans and Vander Blue ended the tournament 71-70 for our 17’s in the Quarterfinals.  It was a hell of a battle but the Spartans had too many outstanding athletes and we did not finish plays on numerous occasions.  We were led in this hard fought loss by Jacob Thomas with 30 points, Marvin Singleton with 16, Peter Crawford with 10 points and 6 rebounds and Malik El-Amin with 8 points and 5 assists. 

Playoffs - Early Session

We opened the playoff this morning with a nice win by our 16 White’s who defeated Wisconsin HLC 61-36.  In a great team effort, Jacob Peterson led us with 14 points and 6 rebounds followed by Matt Hovila with 13 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, Adam Thacker knocked down 10 points and 4 rebounds and Andrew Hansen played large with his 9 rebounds and 8 points.  Other Contributions:  Handful Pour 7 points, 3 steals and 2 rebounds; Rapheal Cabaniss 5 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals; Timmy Brown 7 assists and 4 points; Charles Williams 3 points, 3 rebounds and a blocked shot; Terrance Averyheart 2 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds and an assist, and Chase Bowersox 2 steals, an assist and a rebound.  The team advances to the next round this evening.

The 15 Black squad advanced after dispatching the JETS 58-40 in another outstanding outing.  Contributions:  Zach Stahl 18 points, Isaiah Zierden 15, Siyani Chambers 8, Andre McDonald 6, Darrin Hebert 5, and Rashad Vaughn 2. 

After going 3-0 in Pool play, the end of the road came for our 15 White’s at the hands of the Minnesota Suns who totally out player our Panthers.  In the losing effort, Dwight Anderson delivered 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals followed by Andy Jones with 12 points and 2 rebounds.  Other contributions: Ben Glover 8 points; Latrell Love 8 points and 2 rebounds; Jared Noonan 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds; Chad Potas who was in foul trouble from the beginning of the game, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, and Ricky Suggs 4 points, 5 rebounds and a steal.

The 16 Black’s made quick work of the Wisconsin Blaze, winning 83-45 in a game that was settled in the first 2 minutes.  Playing a suffocating full-court press, the Panthers jumped to a quick 20 point lead behind Joe Coleman and Marcus Alipate.  Playing only half the game Joe finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while Marcus added 11 assists, 9 points, 5 steals and 2 rebounds.  Clarence Thomas also played great and finished with 12 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds, as did Zach Lofton with 11 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds.  Other contributions:  Bretson McNeal 8 points and a steal; Charlie Aslesen 7 rebounds, 6 points, 2 assists and 2 steals; Melvin Collins 5 points and 3 rebounds; Rodrick Logan 6 points and 2 rebounds; Evan Battle 2 points and 2 rebounds and injured Myles Barnes 2 rebounds.  The Black’s advance to the next round this evening.

Tuesday, July 7

Evening Session

Trailing most of the game and not playing at the top of their game, the 15 Black’s woke up late and stormed back to defeat the Wisconsin Playground 83-76 in OT.  Leading the way was Isaiah Zierden with 24 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds, Zach Stahl with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist and Darrin Hebert who contributed 18 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.  The team hit 10 three-pointers in the second half to complete their comeback.  Other Contributions:  Siyani Chambers 7 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals; Tyler Vaughan 4 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals; Kyle Washington 4 points; Andre McDonald 4 points and Eric Hedstrom with 2 points and 5 rebounds.  The Black’s finished pool play at 2-1 and gained a 2^nd seed in the 15U playoffs.

Our 16 White’s ran into a hot opponent in the likes of the Grand Rapids Storm and got run over 73-50 in a game that was never really in doubt for the winners.  We were led by Handful Pour with 13 points and 2 steals; Jacob Peterson with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals; Terrance Averyheart 9 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds; Timmy Brown with 6 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds; 4 points each from Adam Thacker andDrew Hansen and 2 points from Charles Williams.  The team finished 1 and 2 in Pool play and received a 3^rd seed in the 16U playoffs.

The 15 White’s finished 3-0 in Pool play and wrapped up a 1^st seed in the 15U playoffs after defeating All Iowa Attack 58-30.  Latrell Love led us this 13 points, followed by Chad Potas with 11; Andy Jones with 8; Dwight Anderson with 7; Jared Noonan and Ricky Suggs with 6 each; Deshun Patterson with 3; Ben Glover with 2 and Damien Reinke with one-point.

In our last game of the day the 16 Black’s defeated the Wisconsin Blizzard 66-53.  After leading by only 2-points at the half the boys kicked it in gear and cruised to victory in the second stanza.  Joe Coleman led his team with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists followed by Marcus Alipate with 15 points, 7 assists 3 steals and 2 rebounds, and Clarence Thomas with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.  Other contributors: Melvin Collins and Evan Battle both scored 4 points; Charlie Aslesen (7 rebounds) and Myles Barnes 3 points each; Bretson McNeal 2 points and Ariel Deloney one-point.  The team finished pool play with a 2-1 record and gained a 2^nd seed in the 16U playoffs.

Morning Session

Our 15 Whites started the day off with an impressive 50-46 win over the Iowa Barnstormers.  Most notable was the 13 rebounds by Ricky Suggs; the 12 points and floor leadership from Dwight Anderson and the tough inside play by Chad Potas.  Ricky also added 8 points and 2 assists, Dwight 5 assists and Chad 4 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  Ben Glover was also a key contributor with his 8 rebounds, 5 points, 3 assists and a blocked shot.  Other contributions:  Damien Reinke 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots; Jared Noonan 5 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds; Latrell Love 4 points 2 rebounds, 2 steals and a blocked shot; Andy Jones 3 points, 2 rebounds and an assist and Deshun Patterson who added 2 rebounds, a steal and strong defense.

Joe Coleman hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat the Martin Brothers 60-59 in the second game of the day.  The 16 Black’s are now 1-1 in pool play.  Joe finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds.  Marcus Alipate was also very instrumental in the victory with his 14 points and 7 assists as was Clarence Thomas with 10 points.  Other contributions:  Evan Battle 7 points and 7 rebounds; Zach Lofton 7 points; Melvin Collins 6 points and Ariel Deloney 2 points.

To finish off the early session our 17’s ran by the Martin Brothers 72-50 to finish pool play at 2-1, their only loss a one-pointer to Meanstreets.  Peter Crawford put in another outstanding performance with his 15 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, as did Jacob Thomas with 15 points 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.  For the second straight game Will Patt showed off his talent with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists.  Marvin Singleton was outstanding with his timely 8 points and 8 rebounds.  Other contributions:  Chad Calcaterra 6 points, 6 rebounds and a blocked shot; Nick Lee 4 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds; Malik El-Amin 3 points and 2 assists; Siyani Chambers 2 points 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds and Darry Jones 2 points 2 assists and 3 rebounds.

Monday, July 6

After losing their opening game of the day by 1-point to the Chicago Meanstreets, the highlight of our 7-games on Monday was the 68-60 victory over the very talented Illinois Heat by the 17’s, a team made up of both the Black & White teams.

After trailing the Heat the entire game, Coach Dedrick Jenkins rallied his troops in the last 10-minutes of the game to come away with an 8-point victory.  Leading the way were Peter Crawford who finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot; Jacob Thomas with 20 points, 6 assists, 3 assists and a blocked shot; Marvin Singleton with 10 rebounds, 9 points and a blocked shot; Will Patt with 8 points, 8 rebounds an assist and a blocked shot and Darry Jones with his 8 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.   Other contributions:  Chad Calcaterra 4 points, 3 blocked shots, 2 rebounds and an assist and Malik El-Amin 2 points, 2 steals and a blocked shot.

Isaiah Zierden had the hot hand in leading the 15 Black’s to a 65-49 win over the Illinois Rising Stars Gold with his 21 points including 6 three-pointers, 4 steals, 2 assists and 3 rebounds.  Zach Stahl also played big and contributed 16 points, 6 rebounds 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots, as did Tyler Vaughan with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.  Other contributions:  Siyani Chambers 6 points, 5 assists, 2 steals and a rebound; Darrin Hebert 6 points 2 assists and 2 steals; Rashad Vaughn 4 points and a rebound and Eric Hedstrom 3 rebounds and 2 points.

The 15 White’s took care of business by dispatching the Illinois Heat 63-48 behind 18 points from Ricky Suggs and 11 points from Andy Jones and 10 from Ben Glover.  Other contributions:  Jared Noonan 8 points; Damien Reinke 6; Latrell Love 4 and 2 points each from Dwight Anderson, Chad Potas and Deshun Patterson.

Our 16 Black’s ran into a buzz saw in their 63-34 loss to the Illinois Rising Stars Gold.  In the loss, the team was led by Evan Battle with 8 points and 2 rebounds; Marcus Alipate 7 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds; Ariel Deloney 6 points and 6 rebounds; Clarence Thomas 6 points and 2 rebounds; Joe Coleman 5 points, 5 rebounds and a blocked shot, and 2 points from Rodrick Logan.

By Rene Pulley

This is an excellent team camp that has a tournament format with champions crowned at the end in four different divisions, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

The teams started with pool play, 17 Black 3-0, 17 White 2-1, 16 Black 2-1 and 16 White 2-1.  The two 17's went to the Platinum Division and 16's to the Gold.  Starting with the 17 Black Team that consisted of Louis Cox, Jordan Hughes, Jacob Thomas, Seantrel Henderson, Chad Calcaterra, Marvin Singleton, Siyani Chambers (f), Tyler Vaughn (f), Darrin Hebert(f) and Zach Stahl (f).  They won the Platinum Division with a 6-0 record and a mixed group of players that could attend the event.  The four freshmen played very well and showed they are more than ready to advance to the next level.

The 17 White Team finished 2-2 after losing in the first round of the playoffs to Madison East, who lost to the 17 Black Team in the finals.  A big shout out to Malik El-Amin, Mark Devine, Darryl Jones, Pengi Mboma, Nick Lee, Will Patt, Charlie Aslesen and freshman Isaiah Gray (pg).

The 16 Black and 16 White teams advanced to the semi-finals of the Gold Division and the 16 White won the contest to advance to the finals and finished second place with a 4-2 record.  The 16 White Team, Tim Brown, Raphael Caboniss, Matt Hovila, Terrance Averyheart, Charles Williams, Handful Pour, Jacob Peterson, Chase Bowersox and Adam Thacker..  16 Black, Marcus Alipate, Nick Latzke, Zach Lofton, Clarence Thomas, Ariel Deloney, Ben Glover (f), Dwight Anderson (f), and Ricky Suggs (f). Black had a mixed group due to players with their High School Teams in this event and others going on this weekend.  They finished with a 3-2 record.

I want to recognize the other Pulley Panthers that were at the event with their High School Teams, Andrew Hansen's Apple Valley team made it to the semifinals in the Platinum Division and Isaiah Zierden, Kyle Washington, Evan Battle, Myles Barnes and Peter Crawford with Benilde made it to the quarter finals in the Gold Division.

I also want to mention the coaches this weekend.  A big shout out to:  17 Black Antwan Harris, 17 White Bo Powell, 16 Black Dedrick Jenkins/Willie Braziel and 16 White Sean Smith.  They did an excellent job being shorthanded and mixing in new players to their teams. 

By Michael Rand, Mpls Star Tribune

The father of two-sport standout Marcus Williams of Hopkins says his son has decided to play football next fall at Division I North Dakota State. Williams, who also played guard for the Royals’ Class 4A champion boys’ basketball team, “will more than likely” try to play both sports as a sophomore, Jeff Williams said.

Marcus, your Pulley family wishes you the very best at NDSU and congratulate you on your decision.

By Rene Pulley

It was a very productive trip this weekend in Cedar Falls, IA.  The 16's and 15's had a chance to bond and continue to build chemistry for the July run during the Open Period with a great fun and games weekend.  As a program we finished 23-1 with the one loss coming in the first game of the 16 white team adjusting to Jabbar Washington, replacing Sean Smith for the weekend but got it together and went 5-0 the rest of the way.  The players that were able to attend were Raphael Caboniss, Tim Brown, Handful Pour, Jacob Peterson, Adam Thacker, Drew Hanson, Gerad Baptist, Matt Hovila and Chase Bowersox.  Coaches MVP - Tim Brown, Handful Pour and Jacob Peterson.

16 Black finished 6-0 in a very dominate fashion with the addition of Nick Lee (Saturday), Joe Coleman and Marvin Singleton.  The games were exciting with a variety of Joe Coleman with high flying dunks, Nick Lee/Marvin Singleton/Evan Battle/Myles Barnes dominating the boards and Marcus Alipate/Roderick Logan/Bretson McNeal running the team and Melvin Collins athletic moves and scoring.  Clarence Thomas was on fire and could not miss a shot and Roderick Logan completely took over a couple of games.  The coaches MVP - Clarence Thomas, Roderick Logan and Joe Coleman.

15 Black was in a zone and hard to deal with in their first 3 games with large victories of 35+.  So we had them play up against the top varsity teams on Sunday like the 16's to give them the challenge they need for the July run.  They dominated them just like the 16's and was very impressive to the UNI coaches.  They finished 6-0 with standout play from the entire team of Siyani Chambers, Isaiah Zierden, Tyler Vaughn, Zach Stahl, Kyle Washington, Andrew Barette, Andre McDonald, Chuckie Smith and Rashad Vaughn.  But the highlites were Rashad (12 yrs old) got 20 points and was unbelieveable, Chuckie Smith and Tyler Vaughn made about 3-5 deeeeep three's each game and Zach Stahl showed his versatile game with a variety of shots inside and 3 point range.  Coaches MVP - Siyani Chambers, Isaiah Zierdan, Tyler Vaughn, Zach Stahl and Kyle Washington.

15 White 6-0 were as dominate as the 15 black team with the addition of Ben Glover/Henry and Isaiah Gray/St John's, Milw-WI.  The total team effort forced us to move them up also to the varsity level and the dominance continued with lopsided victories.  Coaches MVP - entire team of Dwight Anderson, Ben Glover, Jared Noonan, Ricky Suggs, Andy Jones, Chad Potas, DeShawn Patterson, Isaiah Gray, Latrel Love, Damien Reinke and Jason Finkelstein.

Overall it was a great weekend for the Pulley teams.  It was good to see the players from all teams bond together in a relaxed environment without the pressure of having to win and enjoy the moment and have fun. 

By Rene Pulley

Our 15 White team, in front of standing room only crowds, finished third in the State AAU Tournament with a 5-2 record.  It was a total team effort from all ten players: Dwight Anderson, Jared Noonan, Andrew Jones, Ricky Suggs, Chad Potas, Latrell Love, DeShawn Patterson, Damien Reinke, Jason Finkelstein and Will Iverson.  In each game it was a different set of players that stepped up to lead the team to victory.  Congrats to the coaching staff of Dedrick Jenkins and Jeff Mailhot.

Special from Nike Basketball

By Errol Carlstrom

Pulley alum Kyle Kreklow has signed a Letter of Intent to attend and play basketball for the UM-Crookston, where he will play for Jeff Oseth who has been the head coach since the 2002-2003 season.

Kyle, a 3 year veteran of Pulley basketball is a 6’7 guard/forward from Delano High School and a three-year varsity starter and four-year letter winner at both Blaine and Delano.  He was named to the Wright County All-Conference team and was team MVP for Delano H.S.  Kyle averaged 13.6 points per game while shooting 50% from the field and grabbed 8.5 rebounds per game.

“Kyle’s upside is huge,” says Coach Oseth.  “He played the point guard for his high school team, so he has good ball skills.  However, he has the ability to play a multitude of positions. He has great size and length for both the guard and forward positions and he sees the floor extremely well.  Kyle comes from a great basketball family as both his older brothers play college basketball, so he has a great understanding of the game.  We’re extremely excited that Kyle has chosen to join our basketball family here at UMC.”

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Bemidji State University men’s head basketball coach Matt Bowen announced that the team received a national letter-of-intent during the late signing period from 6-7, 185-pound forward Burke Lendl.

Lendl, a 3-year Pulley veteran, is a three-time letter winner for the Rogers Royals basketball program leading his team to a 18-12 record, a section 5AAA championship and a trip to the 2008-09 Minnesota State Boys High School Basketball Tournament.

He averaged 11.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 42.8-percent from the floor (95-222) with 26 blocked shots. Lendl also has three-point range as he knocked down 47 three-pointers during his career. Garnering nearly 400 rebounds during his high school career, Lendl received the Rogers H.S. team award “King of the Boards” after pulling down 185 rebounds (33-152-185) during his senior season. He had 34 double-digit scoring games including seven 20-point games with a career-high 28 points in a 72-59 win over Cambridge-Isanti on Feb. 19, 2008. He also had seven double-doubles during his final two season and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in a 69-68 win over Princeton on Jan. 12, 2008. Lendl was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for basketball at Rogers High School. 

Congratulations Kyle & Burke.  We wish you both the very best at your respective universities.

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The main reason Minneapolis Washburn won the Minnesota 3A basketball title was Cedric Martin.  The 6-3 guard-forward was the player who took it on himself to make the most crucial plays during the second half of the championship game.  Cedric was magnificant...........and now he is taking his game to Lee College in Bayport, Texas, where he will play two-years for heard coach Roy Champagne who enters his 17th year of guiding the Runnin' Rebels.  Cedric is a bigtime player and we all will be hearing his name again.  Good Luck, Ced!!

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By Rene Pulley 

The MDC event was very traditional for Howard Pulley, close but no cigar.  We finished 5-7 and could easily have been 7-3 with two teams moving on to the playoffs. 

Starting with the 17's we lost a very close first game to Boo Williams by 6 points who has three ACC committed players and 6 other Division 1 guys followed by a 7 point loss to a very athletic talented Baltimore Elite team who also has two top 25 players on the squad.  Then we came alive to win the next two games against South Carolina Ravens and the Birmingham Storm to even our record to 2-2 and come home on a winning note. 

The 16's pool was unbelievable, starting with the Arkansas Wings who won the 16U Division Championship along with Team Stat who made the semis and the only win in pool play was against the Tennessee Travelers.  We lost a tough one to The Family (Detroit) in consolation by 3 points to finish 1-3.  Coaches MVP - Nick Latzke

The 15's played outstanding but could not close the deal on two games where we had double digit lead late in the contests.  We opened beating The Family by 21 points then losing to the Houston Hoops and Arkansas Wings by 3 points after leading the entire game until 3 minutes left.  We finished by beating the St Louis Eagles by 3 points in the consolation game to finish 2-2.  Coaches MVP - Entire team

By Errol Carlstrom

This premier basketball event is in the books for the Howard Pulley Panthers.  Although we would have enjoyed a better result, we have to keep in mind that Nike invites only the most talented traveling teams from across the country to its premier tournament.  There is no easy game and if you do not play your absolute best, you will be defeated.  Even if you play at the top of your game, defeat is highly probable.  Our HP players experienced top-notch competition which will make them better players and challenge them to play their best as they continue the 2009 summer season.

I hope you enjoy the new highlight and box score method that I have incorporated for all tournament games.  It is a time saver for me as I try to cover all the kids and all their games.

As he usually does, Rene Pulley will provide a tournament recap after he arrives back in Minneapolis

The 16 Black squad lost its tournament final to The Family 62-59 in a game that could have gone either way.  HP Co-Players of the Game Bretson McNeal and Clarence Thomas helped keep the game close throughout with their aggressive offensive play.  Evan Battle also contributed a game high 10 rebounds.

In a game that had numerous lead changes, the 17 Black team held off the Alabama Storm for a 66-61 victory.  HP Player of the Game, Jacob Thomas sank 7 three-pointers to keep the Storm at bay and allow his team to finish the weekend at 2-2.  Seantrel Henderson and Harrison Barnes also played major roles in the consolation victory.

The 17 Black squad won their final pool game this morning over the South Carolina Ravens 67-65 behind a double-double from HP Player of the Game Seantrel Henderson.  With Harrison Barnes in early foul trouble the team rallied around Seantrel and his big plays on both end of the court which led the Panthers to victory.  Peter Crawford also played a huge role in the win with his points and assists, but more importantly, no turnovers.

In the last game Friday night, our 16 Black took on and lost to Team STAT from Florida 71-60.  In the first half STAT got too many easy baskets and their speed kept the Panthers at bay.  In the second-half we tried to make a comeback and cut their lead to 7 points in the closing minutes.  We were led in scoring by HP Player of the Game Nick Latzke with 23 points.

The heart breaker of the day had to be the 15 Black loss to the Houston Hoops.  After leading most of the game and having an 8-point lead early in the 4^th quarter, the Hoops made some big three’s and we didn’t take care of the ball very well.  Three HP players that need to be recognized for their big hearts and tenacious play are Siyani Chambers, Tyler Vaughan and Isaiah Zierdan.

The 16 Black squad met up with the Arkansas Wings and in a difficult match-up, lost 75-60.  The HP player of the game was Bretson McNeal who tallied a season high 13 points.  The team just gave up too many offensive rebounds to the bigger and quicker Wings.

The 17 Black's didn't fare any better in their 86-70 loss to the B More (Baltimore) Elite.  No stats were available.

Willie Braziel and his 15 Black team, took on The Family from Detroit and came away with a 61-46 victory.  The team played a smothering defense and realized 18 steals.  The Player of the Game was Zach Stahl who delivered 17 points and 13 rebounds.  The Family was hanging around until Tyler Vaughan hit back-to-back 3 pointers that caused a switch in momentum and a quick 20-point lead by the Panthers with 6-minutes remaining.

Minnesota Mr. Basketball Special

Royce White was honored Thursday evening at the Martin Luther King Center in St. Paul as the 2009 Minnesota Mr. Basketball.

It was quite an evening with a capacity crowd on hand to honor this fine young man from Hopkins high school.  His Grandfather, Frank White introduced Royce and he told some amusing stories about Royce during his younger days in basketball.  Frank also singled out A.J. Barker and Cedric Martin (both Pulley alum) who started playing basketball with Royce back in 4th grade.  Royce addressed the audience and thanked everyone that was involved in his basketball development and the crowd in general for attending the celebration. 

Errol Carlstrom & Tony Yazbeck represented Howard Pulley Basketball at this outstanding event and coach Ken Novak (Sr.) from Hopkins high school was the hit of the evening with his stories about Hopkins basketball and what Royce brought to the 2008-2009 Royals.  It was clear that coach Novak has great admiration for Royce. 

Next stop for Royce:  The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Congratulations Royce on all your outstanding achievements in the Minnesota basketball community.  You are the best.

See photo's of the event on our Photo Gallery. Photo's by Michael Much

Special to Howard Pulley Basketball

Concordia Academy's Zach Towle, the No. 9 scorer in Minnesota boys basketball history, has signed a letter of intent to play at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Neb. He finished his career with 2,519 points and holds the record for career three-pointers with 373.

Congratulatiions Zach.
 

By Rene Pulley

It was a great weekend in St Louis with the usual suspects and a few new ones.  Every team was good and there were no cake walks.  The 17 Black squad with Jordan Hughes (16), Louis Cox (16), Peter Crawford (5), Joe Coleman (6), Jacob Thomas (18), Marv Singleton (8), Chad Calcaterra (9) and Seantrel Henderson (7) won the Championship over the St Louis Eagles 59-57 in a exciting game where we led the entire game until the last 3 minutes when the lead changed hands many times.  Jordan hit a 3 pointer with 5 seconds left to win the game just before the buzzer.  We defeated the Tennessee Travelers 87-60 in the semis and were led by Jake Thomas with 39 points including 9 three-pointers.  They finished 4-1 for the weekend.  Jordan Hughes was named Tournament MVP and Jake Thomas All Tournament.  Coaches MVP - All seven players plus Louis Cox and Marcus Alipate who helped a shorthanded crew.

17 White squad finished 0-3 in pool play including 2 nail biters to the Tennessee Travelers and the Iowa Barnstormers.   In their final game against Barnstormers, the team was led by Louis Cox (16), Markus Shaw (4), Malik El-Amin (8), Charlie Aslesen (9), Jalen Jaspers ( 8), Nick Lee (8), D.J. Jones ( 12) and Will Patt (8).  Friday we took a forgettable loss to St Louis Eagles after a long bus ride but settled down on Saturday.  Coaches MVP - Louis Cox.

16 Black lost in the 16U Championship game 77-75 to the St Louis Eagles in a game that St Louis led the majority of the game and up by double digits at times but the Panthers fought back to take the lead down the stretch with the lead changing several times with a chance to win at the buzzer.  We won a double overtime game in the semis over St Louis Primetime 84-81.  It was a great game from start to finish.  Black finished 3-2, Led by Marcus Alipate (15), Bretson McNeal (2), Evan Battle (10), Ariel Deloney (2), Zach Lofton (9), Nick Latzke (21) Drew Hansen (2), Clarence Thomas (11) Myles Barnes (DNP-Injured), Melvin Collins (2) and Rodrick Logan (2).  Coaches MVP - Marcus Alipate, Nick Latzke, Evan Battle, Zach Lofton and Clarence Thomas.   Marcus, Nick and Evan were also named to the All Tournament Team.

16 White was 1-2 and missed playing on Sunday by 5 points during pool play.  In their last game Tim Brown had ( 6), Matt Hovila (5), Handful Pour (5), Rapheal Caboniss (2), Terrance Averyheart (9), Charles Williams ( 6), Adam Thacker (4), Gerad Baptiste (2) and Jacob Peterson (5).  They played hard but weren’t up to the task this weekend.  The coach's MVP - Charles Williams, Terrance Averyheart and Matt Hovila.

It was a great weekend for Howard Pulley and we want to thank the St Louis Eagles for another outstanding event with Quality Officials. 

Game 2 - For the second time in a week, the 2-0 Panthers defeated the Iowa Attack 15s by almost the identical 59-50 score.  The highlights were 10 rebounds each by Andrew Barette and Zach Stahl and 17 points from Isaiah Zierdan.