2007 MBI Champions

The 2007 Mr. Basketball Invitational featured 32 prep boys all-star teams from 10 states and Canada. The MSB Roadrunners from Minnesota came out on top, winning their first Mr. Basketball title. Congratulations to all the players for a job well done!

B-ball’s Best

By BUCK MAHONEY, Hub Sports Editor

07/9/2007

KEARNEY — The Iowa Barnstormers ran out of momentum and energy, and the MSB Roadrunners had just enough depth to take advantage.

Holding the Barnstormers to 25 points in the second half, the Roadrunners claimed the Mr. Basketball Invitational championship with a 71-60 victory Sunday at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Health and Sports Center.

“I’m just happy for the guys to have won something like this,” said Roadrunners coach Mitch Ohmstead.

His team is made up of players from the same high school conference that encompasses the southeastern suburbs of Minneapolis. The team was the runner-up at the recent AAU Midwest Super Regional and has qualified for the AAU national tournament.

“They really came together this weekend. … We came in here with the idea we had a chance to win because in our area, we’ve played some of the best competition in the country,” Ohmstead said.

The Roadrunners fell behind early, but tied the score at 35-35 at halftime. Then they dominated the second half.

Mark Weiloch led the Roadrunners with 21 points, while Carlton Starr added 13, Johnie Sanders 12 and Alfred Jaryan 11.

The Barnstormers, who became a crowd favorite after post player Brady Zantingh collapsed in the team’s first game, had three of its six remaining players score in double figures. Eli Groenendyk and Cliff Warner had 16 points each, while Alex Walker scored 15. All 16 of Warner’s points came in the first half, Groenendyk was held to six points in the second half.

“Our guys are pretty unselfish and we got away fro that in the middle of the second half,” Barnstormers coach Kirk Walker said. “We didn’t move the ball as much and we were standing around, but that’s what happens when you get fatigued. … We even had trouble catching the ball.”

The Roadrunners beat SWD Select of Kansas, 70-54, in the semifinals, while the Barnstormers had to hit a partially blocked 3-pointer to send the game into overtime where they beat the Alegent Crusaders I of Omaha, 83-81.

Creighton recruit Antoine Young of Bellevue West led the Crusaders with 30 points. Young, the leading scorer in the tournament, had three games of 30 or more points.

The Kearney Bearcats and the Runza Slamfest Stars were eliminated Saturday night in a pair of 3-point losses. The Kearney Bearcats lost to Minnesota Magic, while the Slamfest Stars lost to Midwest Trailblazers, another Nebraska team.

In the Miss Basketball Big Show, also played over the weekend, the Kansas Belles defeated the Minnesota Metro Stars 54-42 in the championship game.

A local team, Team Runza, lost in the quarterfinals to the Metro Stars, 69-43.

Ashley Axmann of Pleasanton and Katie Sokolowski led Team Runza with 10 points each.

In the tournament, Frankie Peterson of Cambridge averaged 10.8 points per game, while Axmann averaged 9.3.

MR BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL

Championship

MSB ROADRUNNERS 71, IOWA BARNSTORMERS 60

MSB ROADRUNNERS — Mark Weiloch 7-13 2-2 21, Carlton Starr 5-12 1-5 13, Johnie Sanders 3-13 5-6 12, Alfred Jaryan 4-13 2-2 11, David Berthene 2-4 0-0 5, Tim Sauer 2-4 0-0 4, Nick Ramsay 1-2 1-1 3, Jordan Gross 1-3 0-0 2. Total 25-63 11-16 73.

IOWA BARNSTORMERS — Cliff Warner 5-11 2-2 16, Eli Groenendyk 8-10 0-0 16, Alex Walker 5-12 2-2 15, Mike O’Neil 3-3 0-2 6, Shawn Keizer 1-4 2-2 4, Jake Hughes 1-5 1-2 3. Total 23-45 7-10 61.

3-point goals — Roadrunners 10-26 (Weiloch 5-10, Starr 2-4, Jaryan 1-4, Sanders 1-5, Bethene 1-2, Gross 0-1), Barnstormers 7-18 (Warner 4-8, Walker 3-7, Keizer 0-2, Groenendyk 0-1).

 

Grade Ht. Player Hometown High School Tourn PPG
11 5-9 ALFRED JARYAN BLOOMINGTON, MN JOHN F KENNEDY 7.5
12 6-4 JACK RAMSAY NORTHFIELD, MN   0
11 6-2 CARLTON STARR BLOOMINGTON, MN JOHN F KENNEDY 12.5
12 6-0 JORDAN GROSS ROSEMOUNT, MN 3.3
12 6-4 NICK RAMSAY LAKEVILLE, MN SOUTH 8.8
12 6-3 JAKE VANDELIST LAKEVILLE, MN NORTH 0.5
12 6-3 MARK WEILOCH ROSEMOUNT, MN EASTVIEW 11.8
11 6-3 JOHNIE SANDERS APPLE VALLEY, MN EASTVIEW 12.3
10 6-7 DAVID BERTHENE LAKEVILLE, MN NORTH 7.6
12 6-8 TIM SAUER ROSEMOUNT, MN   4.9