When working with student-athletes during a college basketball season it can be very easy to loose focus over a 5 month span of competing for wins, and losses. One thing we attempt to do at Dakota College is to keep a sense "child-like enthusiasm" for a game WE are fortunate to play. Over the past two weeks we have progressively earned a bid into a tournament known as the "Mega-Bowl" (yes, reference to Semi-Pro movie), and successfully won three games this week to become champions. There was a short celebration following Saturday's victory over Trinity Bible. WE are attempting to wire our TEAM to understand the necessity of playing each game as the most important game on the schedule. In order to be a great TEAM we must keep our horizons short while striving to reach our pinnacle at the right time, February and March.
This weekend Dakota College hosted the 1st annual Cobblestone Classic held at "The Woodshed".
GAME 1 vs Northland Technical and Community College: Final Score 92-52 (Win)
The first half seemed to be a defensive battle as the score was 36-23 after 20 minutes of action. Our TEAM did a tremendous job a playing suffocating defense while rotating out of natural, and designed traps. WE continued to play with great energy on the defensive end coming into the second half as the ball began to fall into the hoop a little more often for our TEAM. Eventually we would break away from the pack with consecutive stops and scores as pressure continued to cause problems. When it was all said and done four players found themselves in double figures led by back up point guard Xavier Cruz who scored 22 points. Freshman guard Jalyn Turner who came to the Lumberjacks from Chicago played aggressively and found himself with 16 points.
GAME 2 vs Trinity Bible: Final Score 101-81 (Win)
This contest was much closer than the score appears as Trinity Bible played us very well and exposed several weaknesses. At half-time the WE held a 7 point lead, but clearly was struggling to execute at a high level. Trinity handled the pressure well limiting turnovers and created confusion with some zone play against our offense. Once again the TEAM seemed to rally down the stretch as they played together on both ends of the floor. WE had 20 assists on 38 baskets (52%), held Trinity Bible to 33% from the field, and shot 40% from the arc (10/25) to separate the last 5 minutes of the game.
Julian Vasquez led the TEAM with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 30 minutes of play. Cruz added 17 to the bunch while Freshman Travis Frye had a solid game scoring 13 points, and collecting 8 rebounds. Our interior play has not been special thus far, but Freshman Wesley Harrison played much more aggressive with 12 points along the way going 5-6 from the field.
COMING UP:
The Lumberjacks are back in action at "The Woodshed" on Tuesday evening against Turtle Mountain Community College. TMCC is located just 45 minutes away so WE expect the atmosphere to be great, along with the competitive nature of the game. Come check the TEAM out as tip-off is at 8pm following the Ladyjacks at 6pm.
Get JACKED UP,
Cory Fehringer
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Jacks Improve to 7-1: Stay Undefeated at Home
The Lumberjack Basketball TEAM improved to 7-1 on the year, as well as defending home court by moving to 4-0 at "The Woodshed". Yesterday evening WE competed against Concordia Moorhead JV squad with the final score being 95-62. Offensively the TEAM came out clicking in the first half shooting 67% from the field and 55% from the arc (6/11) tallying up 56 points. Ultimately WE played an aggressive first half on both ends of the floor allowing us to separate early and never looking back.
Although the TEAM was able to put up 95 points, the most impressive statistic would be the fact WE had 24 assists on 34 made baskets. Anytime a group can assist on over 70% of field goals made a coach begins to believe the TEAM "Trusts the Pass", and puts the "TEAM before self". It was a balanced scoring attack from the Lumberjacks as Travis Frye (Myrtle Beach, SC) set the pace with 17 points (4/5 3FG) to go along with 4 assists. Joining Frye in double digits was Julian Vasquez who tallied 15 points/7 rebounds, Wesley Harrison 11 points/5 rebounds, and Patrick Robinson with 10 points in 13 minutes. Our bench has been extremely productive early in the season and once again came through totaling 52 of the 95 points scored.
Up next for the TEAM is the Cobblestone Classic played at "The Woodshed" this Friday and Saturday (November 22nd and 23rd). Turtle Mountain will be the secondary host team as WE compete against Trinity Bible and Northland Community Technical College. Games will begin Friday at 2pm with Turtle Mountain taking on Trinity Bible. WE will be competing against NCTC at 8pm with the Ladyjacks starting at 6p. On Saturday games will tipoff at noon when Turtle Mountain plays NCTC followed by Ladyjacks and Lumberjacks going against Trinity Bible. OUR TEAM's will begin at 4p with the Men's game at 6p.
Competition begins to tighten up as the first semester is coming to a close. WE look forward to becoming battle tested, but this group is playing several stretches of 3 games in 4 days. Our mission is to maintain focus on becoming a better TEAM, sacrificing for the TEAM, and committing to TEAM concepts and strategies regardless of the opponent as we prepare for conference play.
MON-DAK PLAYER OF THE WEEK: XAVIER CRUZ
Cruz has been a tremendous addition the Lumberjack TEAM and we congratulate him for this accomplishment.
Get JACKED UP (and come support your HOME TEAM!),
Cory Fehringer
Although the TEAM was able to put up 95 points, the most impressive statistic would be the fact WE had 24 assists on 34 made baskets. Anytime a group can assist on over 70% of field goals made a coach begins to believe the TEAM "Trusts the Pass", and puts the "TEAM before self". It was a balanced scoring attack from the Lumberjacks as Travis Frye (Myrtle Beach, SC) set the pace with 17 points (4/5 3FG) to go along with 4 assists. Joining Frye in double digits was Julian Vasquez who tallied 15 points/7 rebounds, Wesley Harrison 11 points/5 rebounds, and Patrick Robinson with 10 points in 13 minutes. Our bench has been extremely productive early in the season and once again came through totaling 52 of the 95 points scored.
Up next for the TEAM is the Cobblestone Classic played at "The Woodshed" this Friday and Saturday (November 22nd and 23rd). Turtle Mountain will be the secondary host team as WE compete against Trinity Bible and Northland Community Technical College. Games will begin Friday at 2pm with Turtle Mountain taking on Trinity Bible. WE will be competing against NCTC at 8pm with the Ladyjacks starting at 6p. On Saturday games will tipoff at noon when Turtle Mountain plays NCTC followed by Ladyjacks and Lumberjacks going against Trinity Bible. OUR TEAM's will begin at 4p with the Men's game at 6p.
Competition begins to tighten up as the first semester is coming to a close. WE look forward to becoming battle tested, but this group is playing several stretches of 3 games in 4 days. Our mission is to maintain focus on becoming a better TEAM, sacrificing for the TEAM, and committing to TEAM concepts and strategies regardless of the opponent as we prepare for conference play.
MON-DAK PLAYER OF THE WEEK: XAVIER CRUZ
During three wins last week he scored 49 points shooting
53% from the field, had 13 rebounds, 8 assists and 11 steals. Xavier is from Miami, Florida and he played
his high school basketball at Coral Gables High School.
Cruz has been a tremendous addition the Lumberjack TEAM and we congratulate him for this accomplishment.
Get JACKED UP (and come support your HOME TEAM!),
Cory Fehringer
Monday, November 18, 2013
Jacks Move to 6-1: 3-0 on the Week
This past week the Lumberjack Basketball TEAM began what some like to call a "winning streak". From what I'm told it happens when a TEAM wins consecutive games without losing one in between. Our program has won the past three games by defeating Dawson CC (NJCAA D1), Presentation JV, and Hibbing CC (NJCAA D3). The TEAM is now 6-1 as WE prepare to play 3 more games this week.
GAME 1 vs Presentation JV
The final score was 91-60 with our TEAM shooting 60% from the field, winning the rebound battle 48-27, and creating 11 steals through pressure defense. During the first half the guys did a great job of causing havoc with defensive traps and hard rotations, but we definitely had moments where TEAM focus was not present. WE expect our players to play the possession instead of the score, and with having many young players this TEAM has a tendency to take plays off. The Presentation team did a great job of playing the second half at a higher level and causing problems. 7 of our players reached double digit scoring, but was lead by Xavier Cruz with 14 and Wesley Harrison who dropped in 12.
GAME 2 vs Hibbing CC
I'm not sure if an "Over-time Thriller" would be the best description of this contest, but our TEAM was lucky enough to skate away with a win 81-72 in OT. This game was self-destruction on both sides as we turned the ball over 20 times, but was fortunate Hibbing CC had 30 turnovers. It was a positive win for the program because we were forced into a corner, and pulled together at the right time to hold onto a win. OUR defense held Hibbing CC to less than 40% from the field, we won the rebound battle 48-44, had 9 steals, and 10 less turnovers.
I am confident in our player's ability to score the ball, but interestingly enough we shot only 17% from the arc (4-23) and 55% from the FT Line (17-31). Once again if there was a silver lining from an OT victory outside of the win column, it's fairly easy to win games when the ball goes in the basket but how does your TEAM respond when shots are not falling? WE answered that question through defense and rebounding. A great TEAM has the guts to defend and the guts to rebound every game.
Top performer once again was Freshman Xavier Cruz who filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 assists. Cruz had a tremendous week for our TEAM, and continues to give us great balance behind Engel. Sophomore Julian Vasquez had a solid outing with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Vasquez would be the first to admit his play has not been extraordinaire of late, but he continues to rebound and make our TEAM better.
Action picks up tomorrow evening at "The Woodshed" as the Lumberjacks take on Concordia-Moorhead JV team. It should be an interesting event as the Concordia team will bring a style we have yet to see.
Thank you for following and see you at The Woodshed!
Get JACKED UP,
Cory Fehringer
GAME 1 vs Presentation JV
The final score was 91-60 with our TEAM shooting 60% from the field, winning the rebound battle 48-27, and creating 11 steals through pressure defense. During the first half the guys did a great job of causing havoc with defensive traps and hard rotations, but we definitely had moments where TEAM focus was not present. WE expect our players to play the possession instead of the score, and with having many young players this TEAM has a tendency to take plays off. The Presentation team did a great job of playing the second half at a higher level and causing problems. 7 of our players reached double digit scoring, but was lead by Xavier Cruz with 14 and Wesley Harrison who dropped in 12.
GAME 2 vs Hibbing CC
I'm not sure if an "Over-time Thriller" would be the best description of this contest, but our TEAM was lucky enough to skate away with a win 81-72 in OT. This game was self-destruction on both sides as we turned the ball over 20 times, but was fortunate Hibbing CC had 30 turnovers. It was a positive win for the program because we were forced into a corner, and pulled together at the right time to hold onto a win. OUR defense held Hibbing CC to less than 40% from the field, we won the rebound battle 48-44, had 9 steals, and 10 less turnovers.
I am confident in our player's ability to score the ball, but interestingly enough we shot only 17% from the arc (4-23) and 55% from the FT Line (17-31). Once again if there was a silver lining from an OT victory outside of the win column, it's fairly easy to win games when the ball goes in the basket but how does your TEAM respond when shots are not falling? WE answered that question through defense and rebounding. A great TEAM has the guts to defend and the guts to rebound every game.
Top performer once again was Freshman Xavier Cruz who filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 assists. Cruz had a tremendous week for our TEAM, and continues to give us great balance behind Engel. Sophomore Julian Vasquez had a solid outing with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Vasquez would be the first to admit his play has not been extraordinaire of late, but he continues to rebound and make our TEAM better.
Action picks up tomorrow evening at "The Woodshed" as the Lumberjacks take on Concordia-Moorhead JV team. It should be an interesting event as the Concordia team will bring a style we have yet to see.
Thank you for following and see you at The Woodshed!
Get JACKED UP,
Cory Fehringer
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Jacks Split at LRSC: Give #8 Iowa Western a Run for the Money
Over the weekend our TEAM traveled to Lake Region State College to compete against Jamestown College JV, and Iowa Western. WE played well enough to come home with one win and one loss on our way to a 3-1 start to the 2013-2014 season. So far this TEAM has shown moments of outstanding offensive fluidity to go along with tremendous stretches of TEAM defense to create fast paced scoring. Although coaches and players are saying it's early in the season WE have too many glimpses of poor execution, miscommunication, and lack of physical rebounding.
The final score against Jamestown JV was 74-52. WE had a 20 point lead at halftime while shooting 80% from the field, and forcing 18 turnovers in the first twenty minutes of play. During the second half we did not sustain are defensive prowess, began taking contested shots, and proved we have much work to do regarding our consistency of TEAM philosophy. I'm sure several spectators would assume WE are being too critical as our guys did play hard, but it is HARD WORK to become a great TEAM.
Going into our second game with Iowa Western I believed we clearly needed a reality check, because our guys started to have a false confidence toward our individual and collective ability to play basketball with a couple of wins under our belt. Iowa Western is currently ranked #8 in the nation at the NJCAA DI level. The final score was 99-88 as we came up short. At halftime the score was 43-39 in favor of Iowa Western, and with 10 minutes to play it was a two point game. Free throws (or lack there of), rebounding effort, and poor passing down the stretch was the difference. Most importantly our TEAM was disappointed in the outcome because WE did not give Iowa Western our best shot. It was a learning lesson versus a strong opponent as well as an eye opener demonstrating the "potential" this TEAM may have if we begin taking ownership over our preparation, execution, and readiness to play BEFORE the ball goes in the air.
Julian Vasquez played extremely well delivering 30 points and 5 assists in only 26 minutes due to foul trouble. Vasquez has struggled to find a balance between aggressive offense and distributing the basketball to teammates early in the season. Freshman PG Xavier Cruz was also instrumental in keeping us competitive coming home with 17 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. He has been very effective coming off the bench for Billy Engel, and continues to change the game immediately upon checking in.
Our next game is tomorrow, November 11th against Dawson Community College with tip-off at 8p. WE will attempt to get back on track. Get to "The Woodshed" and support your Ladyjacks at 6p followed by or Men's TEAM at 8p.
Get Jacked UP,
Cory Fehringer
The final score against Jamestown JV was 74-52. WE had a 20 point lead at halftime while shooting 80% from the field, and forcing 18 turnovers in the first twenty minutes of play. During the second half we did not sustain are defensive prowess, began taking contested shots, and proved we have much work to do regarding our consistency of TEAM philosophy. I'm sure several spectators would assume WE are being too critical as our guys did play hard, but it is HARD WORK to become a great TEAM.
Going into our second game with Iowa Western I believed we clearly needed a reality check, because our guys started to have a false confidence toward our individual and collective ability to play basketball with a couple of wins under our belt. Iowa Western is currently ranked #8 in the nation at the NJCAA DI level. The final score was 99-88 as we came up short. At halftime the score was 43-39 in favor of Iowa Western, and with 10 minutes to play it was a two point game. Free throws (or lack there of), rebounding effort, and poor passing down the stretch was the difference. Most importantly our TEAM was disappointed in the outcome because WE did not give Iowa Western our best shot. It was a learning lesson versus a strong opponent as well as an eye opener demonstrating the "potential" this TEAM may have if we begin taking ownership over our preparation, execution, and readiness to play BEFORE the ball goes in the air.
Julian Vasquez played extremely well delivering 30 points and 5 assists in only 26 minutes due to foul trouble. Vasquez has struggled to find a balance between aggressive offense and distributing the basketball to teammates early in the season. Freshman PG Xavier Cruz was also instrumental in keeping us competitive coming home with 17 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. He has been very effective coming off the bench for Billy Engel, and continues to change the game immediately upon checking in.
Our next game is tomorrow, November 11th against Dawson Community College with tip-off at 8p. WE will attempt to get back on track. Get to "The Woodshed" and support your Ladyjacks at 6p followed by or Men's TEAM at 8p.
Get Jacked UP,
Cory Fehringer
Monday, November 4, 2013
Lumberjacks Score 239 points in Two Games at Thom Classic
It was an exciting weekend at "The Woodshed" for the Lumberjacks fans. Our TEAM scored a combined 239 points in two games against Canadian Mennonite University and University of Winnipeg. The Lumberjack players were able to trust the pass, stay aggressive in transition, and force easy baskets off of turnovers. Going into the weekend WE wanted to create an intense environment through our defensive pressure in order to create scoring opportunities for our offense. Our ability to play a deep bench allowed us to continue pressuring the opponents offense without showing fatigue.
The first game was played against CMU with the final score tallying 122-72. Freshman Travis Frye of Myrtle Beach, SC was nearly perfect from the arc going 7-8 from deep finishing with 28 points to go along with 9 boards and 5 assists. Backup PG Xavier Cruz from Miami, FL also a freshman came through with 20 points, 6 boards and 4 assists. Justin Musgrave (FR) had 16, and Julian Vasquez (SO) scored 15 to finish out the double digit scorers. Every player who suited up scored at least one basket. Scoring is typically considered the excitement of the game but more importantly our TEAM won the battle of the boards by 25 total rebounds (58-33). This statistic will forever be our source of success and failure.
Game 2 versus Winnipeg brought about much of the same scoring pace as the TEAM did a great job of distributing the basketball to the open man. The final score was 117-87, but the guys emphasized our ability to attack the rim rather than settle for open 3's. Six players reached double figures lead by Julian Vasquez with 15, Kobli Selby (SO) out of Faith, SD went 4-5 from the arc to score 14, point guard Billy Engel (SO) was 9-10 from the FT to help get to 13, Gilberto Shojgreen (FR) caught a few alley-oops and reached 13 points while Jalyn Turner (FR) finished with 11 points. Once again the rebounding battle went to our TEAM 44-30. We were not as consistent on the defensive end or on the defensive boards, but the ball pressure provided several opportunities to capitalize on transition baskets.
Probably our greatest highlight of the weekend is the fact all players were able to score in each game. We are a balanced group who enjoys celebrating our teammates accomplishments. As a coaching staff and a TEAM we were pleased with the results, but far from satisfied. Several areas of concern will need to be addressed moving into next weekend.
Our next game will be played at the Lake Region Classic against Jamestown College JV with a 6:30p start on Friday, November 8th. Saturday will be the toughest test early in the year as WE square off with Iowa Western (#5 NJCAA D1) at 2p.
Thank you to all who were in attendance over the weekend. It was a great environment.
Get Jacked UP,
Cory Fehringer
The first game was played against CMU with the final score tallying 122-72. Freshman Travis Frye of Myrtle Beach, SC was nearly perfect from the arc going 7-8 from deep finishing with 28 points to go along with 9 boards and 5 assists. Backup PG Xavier Cruz from Miami, FL also a freshman came through with 20 points, 6 boards and 4 assists. Justin Musgrave (FR) had 16, and Julian Vasquez (SO) scored 15 to finish out the double digit scorers. Every player who suited up scored at least one basket. Scoring is typically considered the excitement of the game but more importantly our TEAM won the battle of the boards by 25 total rebounds (58-33). This statistic will forever be our source of success and failure.
Game 2 versus Winnipeg brought about much of the same scoring pace as the TEAM did a great job of distributing the basketball to the open man. The final score was 117-87, but the guys emphasized our ability to attack the rim rather than settle for open 3's. Six players reached double figures lead by Julian Vasquez with 15, Kobli Selby (SO) out of Faith, SD went 4-5 from the arc to score 14, point guard Billy Engel (SO) was 9-10 from the FT to help get to 13, Gilberto Shojgreen (FR) caught a few alley-oops and reached 13 points while Jalyn Turner (FR) finished with 11 points. Once again the rebounding battle went to our TEAM 44-30. We were not as consistent on the defensive end or on the defensive boards, but the ball pressure provided several opportunities to capitalize on transition baskets.
Probably our greatest highlight of the weekend is the fact all players were able to score in each game. We are a balanced group who enjoys celebrating our teammates accomplishments. As a coaching staff and a TEAM we were pleased with the results, but far from satisfied. Several areas of concern will need to be addressed moving into next weekend.
Our next game will be played at the Lake Region Classic against Jamestown College JV with a 6:30p start on Friday, November 8th. Saturday will be the toughest test early in the year as WE square off with Iowa Western (#5 NJCAA D1) at 2p.
Thank you to all who were in attendance over the weekend. It was a great environment.
Get Jacked UP,
Cory Fehringer
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