A very quiet day 1 at this year's qualifier. The top seeds went 10-2 with the MN Magic taking out Howard Pulley White for 1 of the 2 upsets The other "upset" and a significant near miss in 17U below. Here are my thoughts from the 2 sessions.
Session 1:
The top 2 MSB teams in action. In 17U they took on Magic Blue. Magic Blue off to a 7-0 start in the 1st 2 minutes. Then Elvis left the building. A 27-5 run over the next 10 minutes settles this one. MSB wins easily 79-46.
In the 16U game, MSB vs MN Fury Blue in an important pool C game for the #2 spot. Ladario Sorrell with 8 quick points and Fury is up 15-7 at the 2:50 mark of the 1st quarter. MSB fights back to even the score at 17 just after the start of the 2nd quarter. The rest of the quarter is back and forth with Fury taking a 35-34 lead to the break. Sorrell goes bagel in the quarter but still leads the way for Fury with 8. Brett Rasmussen and Alec Jensen with 10 points each in the half for MSB to keep them in it.
40 all with 4:15 left in the 3rd when MSB goes on a 12-3 run over the next 3+ minutes. 54-46 MSB going to the 4th. Sorrell gets his 1st points since the 1st quarter with a 3 at 2:35 and TJ Gist makes 1 of 2 FTs to cut the lead to 64-60 with 1:37 left. But MSB makes 7 of 8 FTs down the stretch for a 74-65 win. Fury beat themselves with too much dribbling and 1 on 1 offense during that 12-3 run. Sorrell finishes with at least 17 points for Fury. Brett Rasmussen with 18 interior points (8 in the 4th) for MSB.
Session 2:
43 Hoops Gameli vs TC Elite White in a 15U game. This Gameli squad plays up from 14U and they start 7th grader Ian Theisen in the middle. Add in Xavier Hall as a very good wing and Mack Johnson's In the Building range. Not to mention their athletes that 43 Hoops always has and 6'10 Carson Shanks who's legs are ridiculously long. He's an interesting project.
43 holds TC Elite to 1 FG in the 1st quarter for a 11-4 lead. TC Elite White makes a late 1st half comeback and stays within 27-18. Meanwhile the MN Heat Elite 15s hold off MN Fury 57-48, but the story brewing is MN Fury Gold leading TC Elite in 17U. (BTW, 43 Hoops Gameli won, score below). Nice to take the 4th quarter of this one in with a couple of Mounds Park Academy kids who were rooting on their Tri-Metro comrades from St. Anthony.
2nd spot out of 17U Pool C on the line in the game. Fury Gold 30-21 with 3:41 left in the half but TC Elite closes to 33-32 at half. 50-46 Fury going to the 4th and they get the 1st 2 buckets of the 4th. The 2nd is a putback for a 54-46 lead with 6:45 left. Josh Pratt concludes a 9-1 run over 3:30 with a triple and 2 FTs. Tied at 55 with 3:15 left. Derek Wolhowe for 3 and TC Elite is finally back on top, 62-59 with 1:15 left. The teams trade possessions and Joe Conley misses a 3 with 35 seconds left. On the other end, Pratt looks and then goes left baseline. He hangs and gets banged for a huge 3 point play with 17.7 left, dagger! Conley for 3 at the other end and after some clock confusion, we have 7 seconds left. David Rademacher knocks down 2 FTs for the 67-62 TC Elite come from behind win. TC Elite not moving on would have been a noteworthy upset.
Friday Scores
15U: Heat over Fury 57-48, Magic over Howard Pulley White 69-53, 43 Hoops over TC Elite White 55-37.
16U: Heat Black over Mpls Gators 75-37, MSB over Fury Blue 74-65, MN Wrath 70-58 over TC Elite, Fury Gold 68-51 over Magic Blue
17U: 79-46 MSB over Magic Blue, Fury Elite 76-32 over River City, TC Elite 67-62 over Fury Gold, 77-46 Heat Elite over Wear Out The Net.
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