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North turns the tables in hoops rematch with 1A champs

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 01/24/16, 10:23PM CST

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For the second consecutive season, the Minneapolis North boys’ basketball team carried a No. 1 ranking in Class 1A into a Saturday matinee at Rushford-Peterson, a longtime small-school basketball power located about 50 miles southeast of Rochester.


Minneapolis North's Tyler Johnson

This time, the Polars were ready.

For the second consecutive season, the Minneapolis North boys’ basketball team carried a No. 1 ranking in Class 1A into a Saturday matinee at Rushford-Peterson, a longtime small-school basketball power located about 50 miles southeast of Rochester.

Having experienced a sound thumping at the hands of the eventual 2015 Class 1A champs, the top-ranked Polars were fully prepared for what awaited them Saturday. They ran out to an 18-point halftime lead, effectively neutralizing a potentially boisterous sold-out Rushford-Peterson crowd, and cruised to a 61-45 victory. Junior guards Isaac Johnson and JaQuan Sanders-Smith led Minneapolis North in scoring with 18 and 13 points, respectively Senior Tyler Johnson, a University of Minnesota football recruit, scored 12 points and added two highlight-reel dunks, including a one-handed alley-oop in the second half that stemmed a Rushford-Peterson rally.

North improved to 16-3 on the season but all three of the Polars’ losses have come at the hands of teams from much larger schools: Pebblebrook (No. 6 in Georgia’s largest class, 6A), Champlin Park and Hopkins (both 4A). It doesn’t get any easier for the Polars this week. The host No. 6, 4A Wayzata at 7 p.m. Monday.

A look at some of the best games this week:

Boys’ hockey

• Tuesday: Minnetonka vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (at St. Louis Park Rec), 7 p.m. Must-see No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. The Skippers moved into the No. 2 spot in 2A on Wednesday, fell to Wayzata 4-0 the next day but bounced back with a balanced effort in a 5-2 victory over Edina on Saturday. Meanwhile, Benilde-St. Margaret’s (No. 1, 2A) remained undefeated (17-0-1) with victories over Farmington and Bloomington Jefferson.

Girls’ hockey

• Tuesday: Hill-Murray at North/Tartan, 7:30 p.m.

• Friday: Edina at Blake, 6 p.m.

Boys’ basketball

• Thursday: DeLaSalle at St. Croix Lutheran, 7:30 p.m. This will be the second matchup in a 10-day span between two No. 1-ranked teams. Last week, Hopkins (No. 1, 4A) defeated Minneapolis North (No. 1, 1A) 98-96. DeLaSalle (No. 1, 3A) has won eight games in a row. St. Croix Lutheran (No. 1, 2A) had a 10-game winning streak ended last Monday in a 76-55 loss to Wayzata.

• Friday: Wayzata at Hopkins, 7 p.m.

Girls’ basketball

• Thursday: Eastview at Lakeville North, 7 p.m.; Minnetonka at Elk River, 7 p.m.

• Friday: Orono at Hutchinson, 7:30 p.m.

Boys’ swimming

• Saturday: True Team State Meet, at U of M Aquatic Center. Class 1A, 1 p.m.; Class 2A, 6 p.m.

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