"You'll never get ahead if you don't take care of what you have." - Doris Waddell, RIP

The late Ralph E. Williams with "Heidi" - morris mn

The late Ralph E. Williams with "Heidi" - morris mn
Click on the image to read Williams family reflections w/ emphasis on UMM.

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Boys hoops 2-3 as of Christmas

First I wish to share with y'all a letter I received a few days ago:
  
"Thank you for your gift of $1,000.00 in memory of Ralph and Martha Williams, which we received on 12/20/2022. We appreciate your generosity and as you have requested, the above amount has been designated for the Morris Area Public School Foundation."
 
So I ask you not to dismiss yours truly as some sort of Ebenezer Scrooge who lives alone out on Northridge Drive. Heaven forbid. 
I don't know if West Central Initiative listens to priority recommendations for a $ gesture like this. I specified two, for what it is worth. You can easily guess one: music. Maybe you could guess the other too, because media has essentially been my life. No. 2 is the "YouTube geniuses." So I don't know if these suggestions carry weight and I told WCI that I wasn't going to be following up. So I just wish a hearty "good luck" to those who will apply this. 
I wrote a total of four charity gift checks and this is how I mark Christmas. I have no family. 
I write this as we're in the strange netherworld of between Christmas and New Year's. It's a little window of time where we might forget who we are, what day it is or what we're supposed to do. I made two trips into town Monday to no avail and I discovered various institutions were closed: that's their observance of Christmas when the 25th falls on a weekend. 
So I guess the Meals on Wheels recipients are just not supposed to eat! I know the people at the kitchen and I think if it were up to them, they would have been "at it" on Monday. That's because they care. I remember when Barry Goldwater spoke out in opposition to the proposed MLK holiday: "It's just another day when the mail doesn't get delivered." 
I hope we all come out of this peculiar annual funk soon. Next week? Will this be like a holiday again? Be prepared if you can take it anymore. 
Good therapy for yours truly will be to write about the last two MACA boys basketball games. The game dates were December 19 and 20 so I'm a little late. But writing about basketball gives me a sense of normalcy. Normality? 
The BBB Tigers played at 'Waska on Monday, December 19. We crushed the Lakers 69-31. On Tuesday we were not so fortunate: a home loss by three, 57-54, to those Silver Streaks of Osakis. Damn, I can never remember if "Silver Streaks" is one word or two. Just like "Thunder Hawks" of Montevideo. I'm not taking the time to look it up again. 
We are learning that the sports team nickname in Moscow, Idaho, is "Vandals." That's for the University of Idaho. Damn, I thought for a while that the Moscow college was a branch of the main U, like what we have in Morris with UMM. Wait a minute: the big city of Boise is not home to U of Idaho, it's "Boise State." So I scratch my head. 
Looks like Moscow is THE home to University of Idaho whose sports nickname is the "Vandals." The "Vandals?" You've got to be kidding me. I did research to see if there was some sort of alternative definition of the term. But no, it's all about being destructive. Good grief, come up with a new name. Law enforcement can't even solve crime out there, the way it looks.

Tigers 69, Minnewaska 31
Thanks to the Tiger coaching staff for continuing to post stats on the "Maxpreps" site. Great service. We see that the roof fell in on 'Waska in the first half. MACA took command 40-16. We mopped things up in second half, up 29-15. 
The Tigers shot 55 percent on 27 of 49. Three on our orange and black squad scored in double figures: Riley Asmus (17 points), Tyler Berlinger (11) and Drew Huebner (10). Owen Anderson contributed eight points. Drew Storck and Jack Tollefson each added six to the mix. Then we see Kyle Fehr 4, Cowan Mortenson 3, Derek Waldbeser 2 and Max Lietz 2. 
Our 3-point numbers were quite acceptable: eight of 17 for 47 percent. Asmus made three of his six long-range tries. Anderson made both of his. Other 3's came from Berlinger, Fehr and Mortenson. 
Our freethrow numbers were seven of 13, 54 percent. Huebner was a perfect four of four in this department. Storck was two of four and Fehr one of two. Rebounding! We snared 40 total, 10 offensive. Three Tigers led the way, each with six boards: Berlinger, Asmus and Storck. 
Berlinger supplied five of the team-total 16 assists. And Berlinger was a terror in picking up steals as his total was seven! Asmus blocked a shot. The Tiger had ten turnovers.
 
Osakis 57 Tigers 54
Truly a tale of two halves with this game. The Silver Streaks got going very strong: a lead of 36-21 at the half. The Tigers recovered but not enough. We must have made adjustments because we outscored Osakis in second half play, 33-21. The final horn sounded with Osakis on top 57-54. Our W/L record was left at 2-3. 
Our shooting performance was 24 for 58, 41 percent. Again Riley Asmus set the pace in scoring with 21 points. Berlinger came through with 13 and Huebner with 12. Then we see Storck with four, and Anderson and Waldbeser each with two. 
Asmus made three of ten tries from 3-point range. Freethrows were pretty minimal: three of eight, 38 percent. Huebner was two of six. Rebounding! We collected 22 of which nine were on the 'O' boards. Tops in this department were Huebner and Storck each with five. 
Berlinger had three of the team total nine assists. Again he made hay with steals, accomplishing the team-best five. He also had our only blocked shot.
The year 2023 is beckoning!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

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