Sabes Invitational Friday Action

An interesting Friday night at the Sabes Invitational. No programs at the event so we'll see how good my research turns out to be.

Game 1 of the night was the MN Comets Elite vs Dakota Schoolers. Out of the gate, Nate Wolters (St. Cloud Tech) vs Mike Felt (Redwood Valley). Felt and the Schoolers struggling vs the Comets pressure man. Wolters getting his hands on everything. Schoolers take their 1st lead 22-21 with 6:30 to go in the 1st half, but the Comets stretch it out to 41-30 at the half. Wolters with 17 pts, 4 stls and at least a half dozen other deflections. Felt with just 3 FTs (3-3 FTs when fouled on a 3) in the 1st half. Cody Larson of the Schoolers with 11 in the 1st half.

Felt starts out the 2nd half hot with back to back 3s and its a 11-0 Schoolers run over the 1st 3:40 of the 2nd half to tie it at 41 . Wolters with nothing in the half so far but with 8 minutes to go in the half he gets 2 buckets, kicks to Alex Hanks for 3 and then scores 2 more to be a part of 9 straight Comets points. The Schoolers are matching him and after that 2 minute Wolters spurt, its 54-50 Comets. 2 Larson FTs and a stl to a 3 from Chad White tie it at 58 with 2:47 to play. Larson continuing to play well in the 2nd half as he gets a 3 pt play with 1:46 left to make it 63-60 Schoolers. Wolters misses a triple, but Larson inexplicably takes and misses a triple with 1 minute left. This leads to Wolters knocking down a clutch 3 to tie at 63 with 47 seconds left. Both teams miss chances late and we go to overtime.

In the 1st overtime, the Comets lead by 1 with 40 seconds left and have the ball. But the Schoolers get a steal and recover a Larson miss. Tony Fiegen makes 1 of 2 FTs with 6.7 left and we go to double overtime tied at 69. Trevor Gruis (Ellsworth) gets a deuce to tie it at 73 with 1:30 left in the2nd OT. Larson misses a chance to tie the game with 35 seconds left and Wolters knocks down 2 FTs with 31.2 left to ice it. Final Score 78-73 MN Comets win in 2 OT. Nate Wolters with 30 pts for the winners and was a force on the defensive end vs Mike Felt. Felt with a quiet 11 for the Schoolers. Cody Larson with 22, including 3 triples for the Schoolers.

Game 2 was the HP White 16U squad vs All Iowa Attack. Pulley led 42-31 at the break but did not do a good job getting out to shooters as the Attack were staying the game with triples and outworking Pulley. Pulley finally stretches it out late as it was 65-54 with 4:30 to go, but Evan McMillan (SPA) puts the icing on the cake with a big throwdown late and Pulley wins 75-57.

Game 3 was suppossed to be the showcase of the evening with the All Iowa Attack 16U squad taking on the HP Black 17U squad. Come to find out, no Harrison Barnes, no AJ Derby and 2 other players missing from a limited roster so there were low expectations. But Jake Sullivan had his squad ready to play and the Attack were hot from 3. 14-13 Attack with 8:49 left in the 1st half when the Pulley stars finally come in (White, Williams Jr, Tankson, M. Williams). But the 3s rain down all half. Michael Weber with a couple of 3s to make it 24-17 Attack with 6:20 left in the half. HP trying some 3/4 quarter 1-2-2 pressure, but the Attack are taking care of the ball and they lead 39-30 at the break. Riley Stuve with 8 pts and 6 rebs. Zach McCabe with just 3 pts. Trevor Hook with 10 pts. Royce White 5 pts and 5 rbs for HP. Mike Broghammer with a nice half of 8 pts and 4 rebs.

To the 2nd half, a couple of Rodney Williams dunks make it 42-34 Attack. Then a White triple, a pretty ball fake and layin by Marcus Williams and a stl and dunk by White start a 27-7 Pulley run to make it 61-49 Pulley with 7 minutes to play. Stuve hits a 3 to make it a 9 pt game with 3 and half to play but the big run has the 2nd half never in doubt. Pulley wins 86-71 over an undermanned and very game All Iowa Attack 16U squad. Royce White with 14 and 10, Seantrel Henderson was a manchild inside with 12 pts and the rest of HP squad very balanced. Zach McCabe with 13 and Riley Stuve with 19 and 8 for the Attack.

The Attack are definitely a team I'll be checking out again tomorrow to see if they have their full roster. Harrison Barnes definitely sounds like a player I don't want to miss. Also looking forward to seeing the KC Pump N Run 16 and 17 squads with Michael Dixon and company.