Butler, Doe, Harmon, Hicks Named All-Division

Anoka-Ramsey Men's Basketball players J.J. Butler, Lemuel Doe, Chris Harmon, and David Hicks were voted onto the MCAC All-Southern Division team for the 2011-2012 season.  Doe was also named to the All-State team which is comprised of the top 15 players in both the Southern and Northern Divisions.

The All-Southern Division team is comprised of the top 15 players in the Southern Division as voted on by the league's coaches.

J.J. Butler (6'6", sophomore, forward) averaged 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocked shots in the regular season while shooting 46 percent from the field (120-261) and a team-leading 36.9 percent from the three-point line (38-103).  Butler has scored in double figures in 17 of the team's 27 games.  With his shot-blocking ability, he has also altered countless shots this season.

Lemuel Doe (6'0", freshman, guard) averaged a team-best 14.5 points, good for fourth in the Southern Division, to go along with 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.7 steals.  Doe shot 43.6 percent (126-289) from the field, 36.4 percent (47-129) from the three-point line, and 65.5 percent (78-119) from the free throw line.  Doe scored 20 or more points in seven games this season with a high of 30 against Minnesota West.

Chris Harmon (6'5", freshman, forward) averaged 11 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 52.6 percent (103-196) from the field, 34.4 percent from the three-point line (11-32) and 64.5 percent from the free throw line (80-124).  Harmon has recorded three double-doubles on the season in points and rebounds and has had at least seven rebounds in 15 games.

David Hicks (6'1", freshman, guard) averaged 11.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.3 steals (second in the Southern Division) on the season.  Hicks shot 44 percent from the field (113-257) and has connected on 20 three-point shots.  Hicks has recorded a steal in 21 of the 25 games he's played in this season and has at least three steals in 11 games.

Anoka-Ramsey finished the regular season with a 20-7 record, 8-4 in the Southern Division which resulted in a three-way tie for second place. 

By virtue of tie-breaks, the Golden Rams received the #3 seed from the Southern Division in the MCAC/Region XIII tournament to be played March 2-4 on the campus of Anoka-Ramsey Community College.  The Golden Rams will face the #2 seed from the Northern Division Hibbing Community College on Friday, March 2nd at 5:00pm.

MCAC/Region XIII Tournament Details

The Anoka-Ramsey Men's Basketball team received the #3 seed in the Southern Division by virtue of a coin flip tie breaker and will face the #2 seed from the Northern Division Hibbing at 5:00pm on Friday, March 2nd at Anoka-Ramsey.

The Golden Rams finished in a three-way tie for second place with an 8-4 Southern Division record with MSCTC-Fergus Falls and Rochester.  Anoka-Ramsey and Fergus Falls each owned a tie-breaker over Rochester as both Anoka-Ramsey and Fergus Falls split their regular season games with Southern Division Champion Central Lakes, while Rochester dropped both of their regular season contests with Central Lakes.

The next tie-breaker between Anoka-Ramsey and Fergus Falls came down to a coin flip, with Fergus Falls winning and earning the #2 seed from the Southern Division.

The tournament schedule is outlined below and can also be found on the league website www.mcac-sports.com

Friday, March 2nd

Game 1 - 1:00pm - #1N Vermilion vs #4S Rochester

Game 2 - 3:00pm - #2S Fergus Falls vs #3N Northland

Game 3 - 5:00pm - #2N Hibbing vs #3S Anoka-Ramsey

Game 4 - 7:00pm - #1S Central Lakes vs #4N Mesabi

Saturday, March 3rd

Game 5 - 10:00am - Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 2

Game 6 - Noon - Loser Game 3 vs Loser Game 4

Game 7 - 2:00pm - Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2

Game 8 - 4:00pm - Winnter Game 3 vs Winner Game 4


Sunday, March 4th

5th Place Game - 10:00am - Winner Game 5 vs Winner Game 6

3rd Place Game - Noon - Loser Game 7 vs Loser Game 8

Championship - 2:00pm - Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 8


The winner of the Championship game will be the Region XIII representative at the NJCAA Division III National Tournament March 15-17 at Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, NY.

Anoka-Ramsey finished the regular season with a 20-7 overall record.  The regular season included wins over Bismarck State College when they were ranked #8 in NJCAA Division II, Rochester when they were ranked #10 in NJCAA Division III, Central Lakes when they were ranked #1 in NJCAA Division III, North Dakota State College of Science when they were ranked #18 in NJCAA Division I, and Dakota County Technical College when they were ranked #8 in NJCAA Division II.

This is the second consecutive year that Anoka-Ramsey finished the regular season with a 20-7 record and 8-4 in MCAC Southern Division play earning the #3 seed.

Last year Anoka-Ramsey advanced to the MCAC/Region XIII Championship Game falling 74-70 in overtime to eventual National Runner-Up Rochester.

Game Recap: Golden Rams Defeat DCTC

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men's Basketball team finished the 2011-2012 regular season with a 71-67 victory over Dakota County Technical College.  DCTC came into the game with a 22-5 record and #8 ranking in NJCAA Division II.

The physcial game featured a fairly low-scoring first half with both teams suffering long droughts.  The game was tied 23-23 before DCTC finished with half on a 12-3 run to take a 35-26 lead into the break.

The Golden Rams started the second half with two three-point shots from Lemuel Doe and one from David Hicks to get back into the game and it was back and forth from there.

DCTC was able to build the lead back up to nine with about nine minutes to play, but the Golden Rams didn't quit.

A series of good offensive plays and stingy defense allowed Anoka-Ramsey to tie the game 63-63 with about two minutes to play.

A transition jumper by Lucas Barraud from the right corner gave Anoka-Ramsey a 65-63 lead they wouldn't relinquish.  Anoka-Ramsey took a two possession lead, however two fouls on three-point attempts gave DCTC a chance to keep things close, but they only converted two of those six foul shots.

Clutch free-throw shooting by Hicks in the closing minute kept DCTC at bay.

The Golden Rams held DCTC to 34.9 percent shooting while shooting 51.1 percent themselves including an impressive 66.7 percent in the second half (16-24).

Doe finished with a game-high 20 points, 12 in the first half to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals in only 25 minutes of play due to foul trouble.

J.J. Butler finished with 14 points with a clutch three-point shot during Anoka-Ramsey's key run.  Butler also had five rebounds.

Hicks finished with ten points and five rebounds going 5-7 from the free-throw line.

Barraud also finished with ten points on 4-5 shooting.

Chris Harmon led the Golden Rams with eight rebounds.

Anoka-Ramsey finishes the regular season with a 20-7 record.  MCAC/Region XIII tournament play will begin on Friday, March 2nd at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.  More details are available in another blog posting on this site.

Game Recap: Golden Rams Finish MCAC Play at 8-4

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men’s Basketball team defeated Ridgewater College 76-63 on Wednesday to wrap up MCAC Southern Division play with an 8-4 record.

The first half saw neither team come out of the gate quickly as Ridgewater’s zone defense limited Anoka-Ramsey’s opportunities inside, while the bigger Golden Rams didn’t allow much for shots on the interior for the Warriors.

The teams exchanged small leads throughout the first ten minutes of the game.

Despite the slow start, the Golden Rams were able to take control mid-way through the first half with a nine point run and went into the break with a 34-27 lead.

Anoka-Ramsey shot just 34.1 percent for the half including a dismal 4-19 from the three-point line.  However, Ridgewater didn’t fare much better shooting just 25.8 percent.

The Golden Rams were able to slowly pull away in the second half thanks to increased pressure defense and a greater emphasis on getting inside against the Warriors’ zone. 

The lead swelled to as much as 20 before Ridgewater went on a run to cut the lead to just 11 with a minute and a half left.  That’s the closest the Warriors would get.

Anoka-Ramsey shot 52.8 percent in the second half to finish at 42.9 percent.  Ridgewater was held to 36.1 percent in the second half and finished shooting 31.3 percent.

Anoka-Ramsey had a commanding lead on the glass, outrebounding Ridgewater 52-43 and 19-15 in offensive rebounds despite shooting a higher percentage.

The Golden Rams also forced 16 turnovers while committing 14 themselves.

Guard David Hicks recorded his second double-double of the season with 13 points and ten rebounds.  He also led the team with five assists and four steals.

Chris Harmon led the Golden Rams in scoring with 16 points.

Michael Stephens and J.J. Butler rounded out the double figure scorers with 12 and ten points respectively.

Henry Breedlove recorded a season-high 14 rebounds.

The Golden Rams are now 19-7 on the season.  They’ll finish the regular season with a non-conference game vs. Dakota County Tech at 1:00pm on Saturday, February 25^th at the St. Paul Salvation Army.

Details about the MCAC State Tournament will be posted on this site on Sunday, February 26^th after the final conference games are played.

The State Tournament will be held March 2-4 on the campus of Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

Game Recap: Anoka-Ramsey Wins Seventh Straight

The Anoka-Ramsey Men’s Basketball team overcame a slow start with a big second half to defeat Minnesota West 88-75 on Wednesday night.  It was the Golden Rams’ seventh straight victory after losing three straight early in the conference season.

Behind the hot shooting of guard Luke Roddy, Minnesota West jumped out to a ten point lead in the first half before Anoka-Ramsey went on a 10-0 run to tie the score late in the half.

Anoka-Ramsey briefly led by one point but a last second layup by Minnesota West allowed the Bluejays to go into the halftime break with a 36-35 lead.

Behind four three-pointers from Roddy, Minnesota West shot 56.5 percent in the first half, and held Anoka-Ramsey to just 44.8 percent.

Lemuel Doe and Chris Harmon paced the Golden Rams in the first have with 13 and 11 point respectively.

The second half showed a renewed effort on the defensive end from the Golden Rams as they quickly opened up a lead.  Gradually that lead increased to as much as 19 points with about four minutes remaining but Minnesota West wouldn’t go away quietly.

Behind more hot shooting from Roddy (who finished with eight made threes), the Bluejays connected on a few threes, got some timely turnovers and knocked down free throws to cut the Golden Ram lead to single digits with under a minute remaining.

But the Golden Rams held on with made free throws from Antone Darrington, Harmon, and Doe to seal the victory.

Anoka-Ramsey held Minnesota West to just 33.3 percent shooting in the second half as the Bluejays finished at 42.4 percent.

The Golden Rams shot 53.1 percent in the second half to finish at 49.2 percent for the game.

Anoka-Ramsey also held a 40-33 edge in rebounds.

Doe led the Golden Rams with a career-high 30 points on 10-11 shooting including 6-7 from the three point line and 4-4 from the free throw line.  Doe also added three rebounds and four assists.

Harmon finished with 18 points on 7-11 shooting and seven rebounds.

J.J. Butler rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points and eight rebounds while Darrington finished with eight points.

The Golden Rams are now 18-6 on the season, 7-3 in MCAC Southern Division play with just two Southern Division games remaining.  They’ll travel to Rochester Community and Technical College on Saturday, February 18 for a 3:00pm game.

Barrett, Harmon Southern Division Co-Players of the Week

Anoka-Ramsey freshmen Corey Barrett and Chris Harmon were named MCAC Southern Division co-Players of the Week for their efforts in two victories last week.

In the Golden Rams victory over MSCTC-Fergus Falls, Barrett recorded a double-double with ten points and 12 rebounds, shooting 5-9 from the field while adding five blocked shots. 

In the same game, Harmon scored 19 points on an efficient 6-7 shooting and 5-6 free-throws to go along with five rebounds.

Against #1 ranked Central Lakes, Barrett scored 12 points and added eight rebounds and three blocks.

Harmon scored 12 points on 5-5 shooting and added four rebounds against the Raiders.

For the week, Barrett averaged 11 points, ten rebounds, and four blocked shots while shooting 10-17 from the field.

Harmon averaged 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 11-12 from the field including 2-3 from the three-point line.

Game Recap: Golden Rams Defeat #1 Central Lakes

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men’s Basketball team travelled to Brainerd, MN to take on the #1 ranked Central Lakes Raiders on Saturday and came away with a victory 69-65.

It’s the second straight season the Golden Rams have knocked off a #1 ranked team on the road, beating Rochester last season.

A big first half propelled the Golden Rams to the victory as they led 39-24 at the break.

Lemuel Doe scored 19 of Anoka-Ramsey’s 39 first half points on his way to a game-high 23 points.

The Golden Rams shot 53.8 percent (14-26) in the half and held the Raiders to just 40 percent (10-25).

Central Lakes began the second half on a 9-0 run to pull within 39-33.  Anoka-Ramsey was able to stop the bleeding for a little while, but Central Lakes continued to chip away at the deficit, eventually tying the game midway through the half.

Anoka-Ramsey got some timely baskets from Chris Harmon and Corey Barrett inside and stepped up on the defensive end, contesting any three-point shot from the Raiders.

Harmon and Doe combined to knock down some timely free throws late in the game to hold off the Raiders final rally, allowing Anoka-Ramsey to hold on for the win.

The Golden Rams shot 52.2 percent for the game, and held Central Lakes to just 5-19 from the three-point line.  Anoka-Ramsey also made 17-24 free throws compared to 8-16 from the Raiders.

To go with his 23 points, Doe also had four rebounds, four assists, and three steals, making 12-14 from the free-throw line.

Barrett finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, as well as four blocked shots.

Harmon shot a perfect 5-5 from the field in finishing with 12 points.

The Golden Rams improve to 17-6 on the season and pull within a game of the Southern Division-leading Raiders at 6-3.

Anoka-Ramsey faces Minnesota West back at home on Wednesday, February 15^th at 8:00pm.