Huskies win out in Hoopster Classic

The St. Cloud Huskies men's basketball team is coming into the 2009-2010 season with a mission. That mission is to improve on a 2008-2009 season which ended with a heartbreaking loss to the Augustana Vikings in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The Huskies are ranked favorites to win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), but they're still looking to prove themselves. And they certainly did so this weekend when they played host to St. John's and Michigan Tech in the Radisson Suite Hoopster Classic.

On Friday, the Huskies played a nail-biter against the nearby rival St. John's Johnnies. The Huskies and Johnnies battled back and forth throughout regulation but needed an extra five minutes in overtime to settle the score. Junior guard Taylor Witt scored eight of his 12 points in overtime to help lead the Huskies to a 78-71 victory.

Matt Schneck grabbing one of his 21 rebounds of the season.

Center Jesse Fisher scored 17 points in just 18 minutes but helped the Huskies outscore the Johnnies 48 to 22 in the paint. Center Matt Schneck and forward Andrew Bernstetter grabbed ten rebounds apiece. Six of Scneck's ten rebounds came on the offensive side of the court. Witt lead the team with four assists.

With their win on Friday, the St. Cloud State Huskies advanced to play the Michigan Tech Huskies on Saturday. St. Cloud State took the lead early in the first quarter and held onto it, never letting Michigan Tech get a look of the lead in the game. The Huskies of St. Cloud State went on to beat the Huskies of Michigan Tech by a score of 75-62.

Schneck posted his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and eleven rebounds. Junior guard Nate Phillips matched Scneck's 14 points and added a game-high four steals. Witt and Bernstetter added 13 points and forward Josh Ortmann chipped in ten points to give the Huskies of SCSU five players with double-digit points.

Nearly 8,000 fans attended both games and the majority were very impressed with what they saw. Mike Dunn, a regular spectator from Waite Park, Minnesota said, "this was the best I've seen of the Huskies in a long time and that's saying something considering it's the opening weekend." But Dunn isn't alone. The Huskies are ranked the ninth best team in the NABC/Division II Coaches Poll, the highest ranking the Huskies have ever had. "That's amazing," Dunn added. "I knew they were considered conference favorites, but ninth is pretty amazing."

Members of the St. Cloud State cheer team posing with a few young fans.

The Huskies will try and improve their ranking by traveling to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where they'll take part in the 2009 NSIC Holiday Hoopfest. They'll play the University of Mary Marauders on Nov. 28. On Nov. 29, they'll get the rematch they've been waiting for when they take on the Vikings of Augustana College. The Huskies then come home for the beginning of non-tournament games.