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Preview of Saturday's Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Border Battle in Prior Lake, Minn.

01/29/2013, 12:00pm CST
By Mark Miller

Six years into the Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Border Battle, little has been decided.

In the 32 games played in the annual event, teams from Wisconsin have won 16 games while teams from Minnesota have also won 16 contests.

Wisconsin went 5-1 in the Border Battle a year ago at Sun Prairie, but teams from the Badger state might find the terrain a bit difficult on Saturday as the seven teams from Minnesota have a combined winning percentage of .834 through games of Monday.

Action in the event at Prior Lake High School in Minnesota is scheduled to get underway at 11:00 a.m. Tickets are $9 for adults and $6 for students and senior citizens and are all good for all seven games.

Following is an in-depth look at the matchups in the 2013 Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Border Battle, which is co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook and The Breakdown:

11:00 a.m. -- Eau Claire Regis (WI) vs. Mahtomedi (MN)

Team Name: Eau Claire Regis Ramblers
Head Coach: Bill Uelmen, 30th year
Current Record: 8-9 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: Unranked
Top Players: Sophomore Billy Wampler (6-4) is ranked No. 21 among sophomores in Wisconsin by WisSports.net and is averaging a team-high 15.1 points per game … Senior Nick Stanke (6-4) is a solid all-around athlete who uses his physical strength and size to score in the lane, but he can also step outside and make mid-range jump shots. Stanke is averaging 12.5 ppg … Freshman Logan Rohrscheib (5-10) is ranked No. 14 among freshmen in the state by WisSports.net and is averaging 9.5 ppg.
Notes: Veteran coach Bill Uelmen has won 485 games during his prep coaching career ... Rohrscheib’s mother, Amy Durand, was a standout player at Durand who later played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin.

Team Name: Mahtomedi Zephyrs
Head Coach: Keith Newman, 7th year
Current Record: 13-3 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: Unranked
Top Players: The Zephyrs are led by sophomore Sean Hjelle (6-8) and senior Zach Lindquist (6-4) ... The Zephyrs’ strength is their inside game and they may be able to take advantage of Regis’ lack of size in the post.
Notes: Mahtomedi is a 4A school and a member of the ultra-competitive Classic Suburban Conference.

12:45 p.m. -- Manitowoc Roncalli (WI) vs. Eden Prairie (MN)

Team Name: Manitowoc Roncalli Jets
Head Coach: Joe Rux, 13th year
Current Record: 13-3 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: Unranked
Top Players: Senior guard Nate Lassila (6-1) is a terrific perimeter shooter who leads the jets in scoring at 18.9 ppg … Lassila poured in 32 points in a victory over Manitowoc Lutheran … Junior Nick Stelzer (6-2) does a bit of everything for Roncalli and is averaging 12.4 ppg … Senior guard Isaiah Bessert (5-10) is a streak shooter from beyond the three-point arc who is averaging 8.5 ppg.
Notes: The Jets lack size, but play strong team defense and share the ball on offense … Stezler’s older brother, Ben, is a sophomore on scholarship in the Michigan Tech men’s basketball program … The Jets are 1-0 against teams from Minnesota this season as they handed Maple River a 66-49 setback on Jan. 19 in La Crosse.

Team Name: Eden Prairie Eagles
Head Coach: David Flom, 12th year
Current Record: 12-4 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: No. 5 among 4A schools by Minnesota Basketball News
Top Players: Junior guard Andre Wallace (6-0) is ranked No. 4 among class of 2014 prospects in Minnesota by The Breakdown … Senior point guard Grant Schaeffer (5-11) is ranked No. 14 among class of 2013 prospects in the state by The Breakdown … Seniors Sam Johnson (6-3) and Caleb Wragge (6-6), along with juniors Anthony Anderson (6-2) and Alex Ihrke (6-2), are also solid players for Eden Prairie.
Notes: Eden Prairie is a 4A school and a member of the Lake Conference.

2:15 p.m. -- De Pere (WI) vs. Hopkins (MN)

Team Name: De Pere Redbirds
Head Coach: Brian Winchester, 6th year
Current Record: 14-2 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: No. 6 among Division 1 schools by WBCA/WisSports.net
Top Players: Senior point guard Adam Beyer (6-6) will attend NCAA Division II Augustana College on a scholarship and is averaging 14.5 ppg … Sophomore Brevin Pritzl (6-3) is ranked No. 6 among class of 2015 prospects in Wisconsin by WisSports.net and has scholarship offers from both Green Bay and Milwaukee … Pritzl leads De Pere in scoring at 16.5 ppg … Junior forward Mitch Winter (6-5) contributes 9.8 ppg.
Notes: De Pere won the Fox River Classic Conference title in each of the past three seasons and finished second in the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament in 2011 ...Pritzl’s older brother, Brandon, is on scholarship at Division II Hillsdale College.

Team Name: Hopkins Royals
Head Coach: Ken Novak Jr., 24th year
Current Record: 13-2 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: No. 3 among 4A schools by Minnesota Basketball News
Top Players: Junior Jake Wright (6-3) is ranked No. 12 among juniors in Minnesota by The Breakdown while senior Jamal Davis (6-2) is ranked No. 22 among 2013 prospects … Freshman Amir Coffey (6-4) is considered the premier collegiate prospect in Minnesota in the class of 2016.
Notes: Hopkins is a perennial powerhouse among Minnesota teams and currently has several graduates competing at the NCAA Division I level, including Marquette University senior Trent Lockett … Joe Coleman (Minnesota), Mike Broghammer (Notre Dame) and Raymond Cowels (Santa Clara) are also Hopkins graduates.

3:45 p.m. Appleton West (WI) vs. DeLaSalle (MN)

Team Name: Appleton West Terrors
Head Coach: Brennan Hussey, 6th year
Current Record: 9-8 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: Unranked
Top Players: Senior Jake Verhagen (6-5) signed a national letter of intent to play college basketball at NCAA Division I Eastern Illinois in November … A good perimeter shooter with deep shooting range, Verhagen leads the Terrors in scoring at 11.8 ppg … Junior Matt Reader (6-5) is second on the team in scoring at 11.4 ppg and has received a scholarship offer from Division II University of Mary … Junior Austin Berlick (6-3) also has an offer from Mary and is averaging 10.3 ppg, but has missed several games with an injury … Senior guard Troy Mielke (6-4) contributes 8.4 ppg.
Notes: The Terrors were projected to win the extremely competitive Fox Valley Association title in the preseason by the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook, but injuries have hindered West.

Team Name: DeLaSalle Islanders
Head Coach: David Thorson, 18th year
Current Record: 13-1 (Through Jan. 28)
Ranked: No. 1 among 3A schools by Minnesota Basketball News
Top Players: Junior Reid Travis (6-6) has received scholarship offers from Iowa State, Minnesota and USC, among many others, and is ranked No. 3 in the state in 2014 by The Breakdown … Sophomore point guard Jarvis Johnson (6-1) currently has scholarship offers from Creighton, Iowa State and Northern Iowa and is ranked No. 3 in the class of 2015 in Minnesota by The Breakdown … Sophomore wing guard Sacar Anim (6-3) is also an outstanding prospect for DeLaSalle.
Notes: Reid Travis is the brother of Jonah Travis, who currently is a sophomore at Harvard playing for coach Tommy Amacker … The Islanders are the defending class 3A state champions.

5:30 p.m. – Hudson (WI) vs. Osseo (MN)

Team Name: Hudson Raiders
Head Coach: Jason Swavely, 7th year
Current Record: 5-10 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: Unranked
Top Players: Junior forward Alex Herink (6-6) leads Hudson in scoring at 17.5 ppg … Herink scored a season-best 27 points in a loss to Menomonie and currently has Division I scholarship offers from North Dakota State and South Dakota State … Senior Stef Smith (6-6) contributes 8.1 ppg for the Raiders while freshman Matthew Sparstead (6-0) contributes 13.9 ppg.
Notes: Senior Ethan Stanchik (6-0) was a starter for Hudson a year ago, but is not on this year’s roster … Hudson is 1-4 against teams from Minnesota this season, beating Hastings and suffering setbacks to Mahtomedi, Minneapolis Washburn, Stillwater and Edina.

Team Name: Osseo Orioles
Head Coach: Tim Theisen, 11th year
Current Record: 14-2 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: No. 4 among 4A schools by Minnesota Basketball News
Top Players: Junior forward Ian Theisen (6-8) is ranked No. 5 among class of 2014 prospects in Minnesota by The Breakdown and is receiving recruiting interest from both Minnesota and Wisconsin, among others … The Orioles’ other top players include senior Bridge Tusler (6-0) and junior Wheeler Baker (6-2).
Notes: Osseo competes in the Northwest Suburban Conference.

7:00 p.m. – Rice Lake (WI) vs. Prior Lake (MN)

Team Name: Rice Lake Warriors
Head Coach: Kevin Orr, 11th year
Current Record: 13-3 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: No. 7 among Division 2 teams by WBCA/WisSports.net
Top Players: Sophomore Henry Ellenson (6-9) is ranked No. 2 in the state among 2015 prospects by WisSports.net and has scholarship offers from Georgetown, Iowa State, Marquette and Minnesota, among others … Wisconsin is also expressing extremely strong interest in Ellenson, who is averaging a team-high 20.4 ppg … Senior Ellwood Ellenson (6-8), Henry’s older brother, is averaging 10.8 ppg for the Warriors. Ellwood Ellenson has an offer from Division II Wingate State … Junior guard Brandyn Christman (6-2) adds 9.1 ppg for Rice Lake.
Notes: Henry and Ellwood Ellenson’s older brother, Wally, is a freshman on scholarship at Minnesota … Ellenson’s father, John, played collegiate basketball at both Marquette and Wisconsin … The Warriors are the defending champions in the Big Rivers Conference.

Team Name: Prior Lake Lakers
Head Coach: Alex Focke
Current Record: 11-5 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: Unranked
Top Players: Senior center Carson Shanks (7-0) is ranked No. 3 among class of 2013 prospects in Minnesota by The Breakdown and has committed to Division I Utah State … Junior Jon Sobaski (6-1) is a talented point guard who is ranked No. 7 among 2014 prospects in the state by The Breakdown.
Notes: Shanks attended Eastview High School before transferring to Prior Lake after his freshman year … Prior Lake is a 4A school that competes in the South Suburban Conference.

8:30 p.m. – Madison Memorial (WI) vs. Apple Valley (MN)
 

Team Name: Madison Memorial Spartans
Head Coach: Steve Collins, 15th year
Current Record: 15-1 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: No. 4 among Division 1 teams by WBCA/WisSports.net
Top Players: Senior Jester Weah (6-4) leads Memorial in scoring at 12.7 ppg and recently gave a verbal commitment to play for coach Paul Chryst and the football program at Pittsburgh … Senior point guard Julian Walters (5-11) contributes 11.7 ppg for the Spartans while junior forward Tyler Lindquist (6-6) adds 8.8 ppg … Junior Darrlyn Willis (6-7) has been playing well of late and contributes 7.6 ppp … Senior guard Brendan Ortiz (6-1), a four-year varsity performer, remains day-to-day while recovering from an injury.
Notes: Memorial has won nine straight titles in the Big Eight Conference and currently sits atop of the 10-team league with a 12-0 league mark … Collins had guided Memorial to nine straight appearances in the WIAA State Tournament and state titles in 2005, 2009 and 2011.

Team Name: Apple Valley Eagles
Head Coach: Zach Goring
Current Record: 15-1 (Through Jan. 29)
Ranked: No. 2 among 4A schools by Minnesota Basketball News
Top Players: Junior point guard Tyus Jones (6-1) is ranked No. 1 nationally in the class of 2014 by Scout.com and basically has his choice of where to play college basketball … Duke, Indiana, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State are all pursuing Jones … Freshman Brock Bertram (6-7) is ranked No. 4 among class of 2016 prospects in the state by The Breakdown.
Notes: Apple Valley’s lone loss came at the hands of Park Center on December 8 in The Breakdown Tipoff Classic … Since that setback, Apple Valley has rattled off 13 consecutive victories.

Tag(s): Border Battle