2011-2012 Season Highlights

Here is a sampling of highlights from the 2011-2012 season

Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 5-3 (ranking as of date of game)

• 12/16 - Home Win - 106-81 - Bismarck State (NJCAA Division II - #8)
• 12/30 - Home Loss - 72-67 - Dakota County Tech (NJCAA Division II - #16)
• 1/7 - Home Win - 82-81 - *North Dakota State College of Science (NJCAA Division I - #18)
• 1/18 - Home Loss - 74-55 - Central Lakes (NJCAA Division III - #1)
• 1/25 - Home Win - 75-73 - Rochester (NJCAA Division III - #10)
• 2/11 - Road Win - 69-65 - Central Lakes (NJCAA Division III - #1)
• 2/25 - Road Win - 71-67 - **Dakota County Tech (NJCAA Division II - #8)
• 3/3 - Home Loss - 65-51 - ***Central Lakes (NJCAA Division III - #5)

*NDSCS rose as high as #9 in the NJCAA Division I poll and finished the regular season #11
**DCTC finished the regular season ranked #10 in NJCAA Division II
***MCAC/Region XIII semifinal game, Central Lakes went on to win the Region XIII title

Winning Streaks

• 8 games: November 12 - December 16
• 7 games: January 25 - February 15

Defense

• Opponents shot under 40% 18 times
• Highest FG% allowed was 45.6% (February 11th in win over Central Lakes)
• Opponents scored under 70 points in 8 of the final 10 games including the last 5 games
• Allowed a season-low 52 points in win over United Tribes (January 6th)
• Recorded 9 blocked shots three times (November 12th vs NIACC; November 21st vs NIACC; January 25th vs Rochester)
• Recorded at least 5 blocked shots 17 times
• Recorded at least 6 steals 26 times; never had less than 4 steals in a game
• Allowed less than 1.000 point per possession 18 times (16-2 in those games)
• Allowed less than .900 points per possession 10 times (10-0 in those games)
• Allowed less than .800 points per possession 3 times (3-0 in those games)
• Held opponents to .876 points per possession in the first half of games

Offense

• Scored a season-high 106 points in win over Bismarck State (December 16th)
• Made a season-high 46 field goals in win over Bismarck State (December 16th)
• Made season-high 11 three-point field goals twice (January 18th vs Central Lakes; January 30th vs Western Tech)
• Recorded season-high 23 assists in win over NIACC (November 21st)
• Pulled in season-high 22 offensive rebounds vs Riverland (February 4th)
• Scored at least 1.000 point per possession 16 times (15-1 in those games)
• Scored less than .900 points per possession four times (0-4 in those games)

Miscellaneous

• Seven different players lead the team in single-game scoring at least once
• 14 times with at least four players in double figure scoring
• Season-high six players scored in double figures vs Bismarck State (December 16th)
• 10-2 record in games decided by 5 points or less

Final Season Statistics

Final 2011-2012 Statistics

MCAC/Region XIII Tournament Third Place

Overall Record: 22-8
MCAC Southern Division: 8-4 (tied for 2nd)

Home Record (including MCAC tournament): 14-4
Road Record: 8-3
Neutral Site Record: 0-1

Statistic                      Anoka-Ramsey                      Opponent
Field Goal %               .444 (836-1883)                    .372 (739-1986)
3FG %                        .316 (186-588)                      .295 (186-630)
Free Throw %             .589 (375-637)                      .645 (434-673)

Points Per Game           74.4 (2232)                           69.93 (2098)

Offensive Rebounds      14.03 (421)                           15.13 (454)
Defensive Rebounds      30.03 (901)                           25.5 (765)
Total Rebounds             44.07 (1322)                         40.63 (1219)

Personal Fouls               18.8 (564)                             17.37 (521)

Assists                           11.57 (347)                           9.2 (276)
Turnovers                      15.77 (473)                           14.23 (427)

Blocks                            4.87 (146)                              1.7 (51)
Steals                             8.17 (245)                             8.6 (258)

Game Recap: Big 2nd Half Leads to Victory in Season Finale

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men's Basketball team concluded their season with a victory in the 3rd place game of the MCAC/Region XIII tournament on Sunday afternoon.  The Golden Rams defeated Rochester 83-56 after previously falling to Central Lakes in the semifinal game the night before.
It was a tale of two halves offensively for the Golden Rams.  In a first half that saw neither team shoot the ball well, the Golden Rams big second half led to the win.

Neither team could find a rhythm on offense in the opening period as both teams shot below 30 percent for the half with Anoka-Ramsey taking a slight 27-26 lead into the break.

The second half saw an explosion of offense for Anoka-Ramsey, and the same stingy defense that came to define the team this season.

A quick burst to start the half propelled the Golden Rams to a double digit lead early in the half.  Combined with an effective zone defense, Anoka-Ramsey outscored Rochester 56-30 in half number two.

The Golden Rams pushed their lead to 20 for the first time with six minutes remaining and Rochester was never able to get the deficit back under 12 for the remainder of the game.

Anoka-Ramsey shot 66.7 percent (20-30) in the second half to finish at 46.3 percent (31-67).  Rochester managed just 28.2 percent for the game (20-71).

The Golden Rams held a 53-45 edge in rebounds and made nine three point field goals compared to just three for Rochester.

Five players scored in double figures for Anoka-Ramsey.  Lucas Barraud finished with a career-high 19 points on 6-13 shooting and 5-5 from the free throw line.

Michael Stephens scored a career-high 16 points on 6-12 shooting.

Lemuel Doe finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

David Hicks and J.J. Butler rounded out the double-figure scorers with ten points apiece.

Jimmy Sauser scored eight points and pulled in a career-high eight rebounds.

Henry Breedlove led the Golden Rams with 11 rebounds.

Anoka-Ramsey finishes the season with a 22-8 overall record.  It's the second year in a row the Golden Rams finished 22-8.

Game Recap: Golden Rams Advance to Semifinals

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men's Basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the MCAC/Region XIII tournament with a 73-61 victory over Hibbing Community College.

A poor shooting (or good defensive) first half saw neither team take control as Anoka-Ramsey led just 25-23 at the break after a last second jumper by Michael Stephens.

In the second half, the Golden Rams put together an early run thanks to the three-point shooting of J.J. Butler and Lemuel Doe.

Each hit threes early in the half as Anoka-Ramsey built a 12 point lead with about six minutes remaining.  Hibbing put together a short run to keep things close but were never able to get within striking distance.

Anoka-Ramsey shot just 37.3 percent for the game but held Hibbing to 35 percent.  The Golden Rams made seven three-point shots in the second half and made 22 free throws to just 14 for Hibbing.

Anoka-Ramsey also held a 46-41 edge in rebounds.

Doe finished with 22 points on 4 of 9 shooting and 11 of 12 from the free throw line.

Butler finished with 20 points (18 in the second half) including 4 of 8 from the three point line and six rebounds.

Chris Harmon tallied 16 points and seven rebounds.

Henry Breedlove pulled in a team high ten rebounds.

The Golden Rams face Central Lakes in the semifinals at 4:00pm Saturday at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.