VCC wins consolation trophy
It was Central Lakes that cost the Vermilion Ironmen the division championship and a top seed for the state community college basketball tournament.But it was the Ironmen who had the last laugh.Barely a week after an overtime defeat to the Raiders in the regular season finale, the Ironmen turned the tables on their Northern Division foe in the consolation finals at the state tournament.Vermilion bounced back from an opening round loss, downed Mesabi in the consolation semifinals and pulled out a 98-88 double overtime win over the Raiders Feb. 27 at Minneapolis.The Ironmen brought home the state consolation trophy and finished the season with a record of 17-12.“It was nice because with both Mesabi and Central Lakes we had split with them during the year,” said Vermilion Head Coach Paul McDonald. “To win the series with both, taking two out of three was a feather in our hat. Overall, we had a very good season.”Sophomores Jameel Koonce and Aaron Overby finished their tenures in a Vermilion uniform with monster games.Koonce had a whopping 25 rebounds to go with 20 points, while Overby drained four three-pointers and scored 30 points.Freshman guard Anthony Anderson had a triple-double, with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.The Ironmen led 33-27 at the half, but the Raiders came back and forced overtime.VCC had opportunities to win both at the end of regulation and the first overtime, but couldn’t sink a game-winning shot.The Ironmen pulled away in the second extra session.“In the second overtime, Koonce, Overby and Anderson took over,” said McDonald.Freshmen Gavin Erickson (13 points) and Zach Smith (10) also reached double-digits for the Ironmen.Leonard Langdon led the Raiders with 27 points.In the Feb. 26 consolation semifinals, the Ironmen let it up in the first half and rolled to an 85-67 win over Mesabi.Vermilion nailed 11 three-pointers in the game, including five by Overby, who had a game-high 25 points.Overby’s hot hand helped the Ironmen to a 51-34 lead by halftime, and Mesabi never recovered.Koonce scored 20 points, Anderson poured in 13 and both Erickson and Smith finished with 10 for the Ironmen.Mesabi got 18 points from William Maupins and 15 from Alex Mason.Vermilion was cold from the floor in the opening round and that cost them dearly in an 86-79 loss to Fergus Falls.The Ironmen went just two-for-23 from three-point distance and shot 36 percent overall.“We just didn’t shoot it well enough on Friday night,” said McDonald. “The thing about it is, it seemed like half were halfway down and then came back out. And they had two guys shoot the lights out that haven’t before.”The Spartans took a 47-40 lead through the first 20 minutes and held on in the second half behind a combined 45 points from John Botch and Andy Parochka.Anderson scored 27 points in a losing cause, with Koonce (19) and Overby (15) next in line.• Overby, who led the Northern Division in four statistical categories (scoring, three-point shooting, free throws and assists) was named to both the All-Northern Division and All-State teams, as was Koonce and Anderson.• Minneapolis beat Ridgewater for the state title while Fergus Falls edged Northland 88-84 for third place. The top three-finishers all took part in the regional tournament last weekend.
