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Flack sparks comeback

By Walker Orenstein, MN Basketball Hub, 03/23/12, 9:20AM CDT

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After a sub-par first half, Lakeville North charges back to advance to first state title game


Lakeville North's Tyler Flack went to the floor with Eden Prairie's Sander Mohn as Flack drove to the basket. Marlin Levison, Star Tribune

Although Tyler Flack started slowly along with the rest of his team, he exploded in the second half of Lakeville North’s 58-41 victory over Eden Prairie on Thursday, March 22, at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

After shooting 1-for-7 before the break, Flack scored the first basket of the second half, turning out a three-point play, and from there he never looked back.

"We talked to him at halftime,” Lakeville North coach John Oxton said after the game. “It was like ‘fellas, we gotta go here...’ we’ve been counting on you all year and you know what it’s time to pound the boards, it’s time to post up. I thought the key was come out of halftime, get a little set play for [Flack] and just get him inside right away. He gets it, and gets a three point play.”

The North Dakota recruit used his big body to take advantage of Eden Prairie’s defense, finishing with 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting. He vacuumed up 11 rebounds and hit all six of his free throw attempts.

“I kinda started a little bit cold so I knew I had to take more of my own shots,” Flack said after the game. “We started out a little bit tentative, we were kind of trying to create our own shots in the second half. We really tried to get everybody the ball, take our own shots the way we’ve been doing the whole season and I think that really helped.

“Once we got a lead, they started to pressure us more and we got a lot of easier shots underneath the hoop and they kind of went over to the ball so we got some opposite side shots.”

Late in the game, Flack even finished a drive with a thunderous dunk, in a play that seemed to represent the Panthers' entire second half.

“It was a nice way to end the game,” Flack said.

-- Walker Orenstein, MN Basketball Hub staff

Three Stars

1. Tyler Flack, Lakeville North
Flack was a big part of the run that Lakeville North made in the second half. After a bit of a cold start, he heated up quickly, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 4-10 shooting. He ended the first half with 1-7 shooting. He also hit all six of his free-throw attempts.

2. Ryan Saarela, Lakeville North
Saarela was a model of efficiency for the Panthers. He went 4-6 from the field including 2-2 from the charity stripe and 1-1 from deep. He finished with 11 points, eight boards, two blocks, and two assists. He also played 29 minutes, which was the most on Lakeville North.

3. Sander Mohn, Eden Prairie
Mohn carried what offensive effort Eden Prairie had. He scored seven points in the first half and finished with 15. He shot 6-10 including 3-5 from downtown in 33 minutes. He was the only player for the Eagles to score double digits.

-- Walker Orenstein, MN Basketball Hub staff

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