Monday, November 17, 2014

VIDEO: Highlights vs. Dakota College-Bottineau


Game Recap: Poor Shooting Dooms Golden Rams

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men's Basketball team hit a cold spell in Wahpeton, ND on Sunday night, falling to NDSCS 84-64.

The normally hot shooting Golden Rams (50.8 percent FGs the previous game) had a reversal of fortune against the host Wildcats and only managed to connect on 30 percent of their field goals.

Anoka-Ramsey managed to keep the game tight throughout the opening period, trailing 25-24 with 6:36 left in the first half.  A 12-4 run by the Wildcats pushed the lead to 37-28 with 1:39 remaining.

Each team exchanged a fully of three-point field goals before the half ended with NDSCS ahead 43-36.

The Wildcats jumped on the Golden Rams to open the second half, scoring the first six points as part of a 13-5 run to open a 59-41 lead with 15:35 left in the game.

Anoka-Ramsey would continue to chip away at the deficit, eventually cutting the score to 68-58 with 7:22 remaining.

But some costly errors over the next four minutes on both ends of the floor allowed NDSCS to put on a 9-0 run and the Golden Rams never threatened again.

The Golden Rams had no answer for NDSCS sophomore shooting guard Johnny Woodard who dropped in 42 points on the night.

Kashif Hayes (Fr, St. Louis Park) scored a career-high 19 points.

Justin Casey (So, Park Center) scored 15 points.

Trenton Pollard (So, Prairie Seeds Academy) scored 13 to round out the double-figure scorers for Anoka-Ramsey.

The Golden Rams fall to 1-3 on the season and will travel to the St. Paul Salvation Army on Wednesday for a 7:00pm tip vs. Dakota County Tech.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Game Recap: Golden Rams Secure First Victory

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men's Basketball team secured their first victory of the season 96-83 over NJCAA Division II opponent Dakota College-Bottineau on Day 1 of the Bayport Inn Classic in Wahpeton, ND.

The Golden Rams trailed 14-11 early in the game but took their first lead at 19-18 and would never trail again.

Anoka-Ramsey pushed their first half lead to 44-29 with 2:49 left in the half, but a series of turnovers and missed shots allowed the Lumberjacks to end the period on a 8-0 run, trailing the Golden Rams 44-37 at the break.

Bottineau scored the first five points of the second, extending their run, to close within 44-42.

After trading baskets with the Lumberjacks, the Golden Rams hit consecutive three-point shots; one by Chris Byrgiotis and the other by Trenton Pollard to take a 52-44 lead.

Pollard would also score the next five points (a layup and another three-point field goal), pushing the lead to 57-44 with the 11-0 run.

The Golden Rams still lead 67-52 when Bottineau began to chip away at the deficit.

A 22-9 run over the next eight minutes cut the margin to 76-74 in favor of Anoka-Ramsey.

After two free throws by Pollard, and a basket by Bottineau, and Justin Casey would score and get fouled, converting the free throw, to push the lead back to 81-76.

The Lumberjacks would convert their own three-point play to make the score 81-79 with 5:36 left in the game.

A mini 8-2 run by the Golden Rams would stretch the lead to 89-81, and the game would be sealed by another Pollard three-point field goal, and a driving layup by Kashif Hayes with just over a minute left to play.

Anoka-Ramsey finished the game shooting 50.8 percent from the field including a 59.3 percent mark in the second half.  The Golden Rams knocked down seven of their 17 three-point field goal attempts (41.2 percent) and held the Lumberjacks to just two of 15 from beyond the arc.

Anoka-Ramsey held a 51-34 edge in rebounds; hauling in 17 offensive rebounds to offset committing 21 turnovers.  The Golden Rams converted 25 free throws to just 13 for the Lumberjacks.

Anoka-Ramsey was lead by Trenton Pollard's 32 points, 27 of which came in the second half.  Pollard finished the game shooting nine of 18 from the field, three of six from the three-point line and making 11 of 12 free throws.

Justin Casey recorded his second straight double-double with 19 points and ten rebounds.

Chris Byrgiotis and Kashif Hayes each scored 14 points on a combined nine of 16 shooting from the field.  Hayes also had five rebounds.

Robert Ben hauled in ten rebounds, while Brandon Hixson cleaned the glass with eight rebounds.

The Golden Rams are now 1-2 on the season and face host North Dakota State College of Science at 6:00pm Sunday.

The game will be live-streamed at www.NJCAATV.com

Monday, November 10, 2014

Game Recaps: Golden Rams Drop Two in Opening Weekend

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men's Basketball team dropped their first two games of the season last weekend at the Tri-State Classic in Ironwood, Michigan.

On Friday afternoon, the Golden Rams faced Madison College and took an 34-20 lead with about seven minutes remaining in the opening half.

The Wolfpack went on a 19-7 run to close within two 41-39 at the break.

The second half saw seven lead changes and six ties as both teams fought back and forth for control, however neither team was able to pull away with Madison ultimately prevailing 85-80.

The Golden Rams were lead in scoring by Kashif Hayes (Fr, St. Louis Park) who came off the bench with 18 points on 4 of 7 shooting and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line.

Anthony Brama (So, St. Anthony Village) chipped in with 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Trenton Pollard (So, Prairie Seeds Academy) scored 16 points to go with four assists, and Chris Byrgiotis (So, Melbourne, Australia) scored 13 points, pulled in seven rebounds, and chipped in five assists.

Justin Casey (So, Park Center) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points.

Overall, the Golden Rams shot 45.8 percent from the field but committed 19 turnovers.

On Saturday afternoon, Anoka-Ramsey looked to bounce back against Milwaukee Area Tech.

The Golden Rams struggled shooting the ball in the opening period, while Milwaukee was able to establish a tough inside game.  Anoka-Ramsey shot just 39.3 percent in the opening period to Milwaukee's 53.8 percent, however the Golden Rams only trailed by nine 40-31 after the first 20 minutes.

Anoka-Ramsey quickly scored the first six points of the second half to close within three, but Milwaukee was able to keep the Golden Rams at bay throughout the second half and held on to win 82-77.

Anoka-Ramsey finished the game shooting 47.5 percent, but allowed 52.7 percent shooting from the Stormers.

Chris Byrgiotis (So, Melbourne, Australia) finished with a team-high 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field.

Justin Casey (So, Park Center) recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Trenton Pollard (So, Prairie Seeds Academy) scored 15 points, and Brandon Hixson (Fr, Champlin Park) chipped in with 11 points.

The Golden Rams are 0-2 and will travel to Wahpeton, ND this Saturday and Sunday to face Dakota College-Bottineau (Saturday 4:00pm) and North Dakota State College of Science (Sunday 6:00pm).

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Golden Rams Open Season Friday

The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men's Basketball team will open their season on Friday, November 7th and Saturday, November 8th at the Tri-State Classic.

Games will be held on the campus of Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, Michigan.

The Golden Rams will face Madison College at 4:00pm Friday, and Milwaukee Area Technical College at 12:00pm Saturday.

This is the third year of the Tri-State Classic with the Golden Rams holding a 4-0 record overall.  They enter the opening weekend ranked #7 in the first NJCAA Division III National Poll of the season.

Anoka-Ramsey finished the 2013-2014 campaign with a 24-10 overall record, a Region XIII championship, and a sixth place finish in the NJCAA Division III National Tournament.