Day 1 of the 2009 Holiday Tournaments

So after a return from The Old Kingdom where the Crown Prince and I saw one of the top sophs in the country and gambled away the kingdom's wealth (legally, not on the games boys and girls), a 4 AM wakeup call returned me to The Kingdom for day 1 of this year's Minnesota holiday tournaments (for me)

Game 1: St. Anthony vs Champlin Park (Olive Garden Holiday Classic at Bethel)
Story of this one was shooting.  St. Anthony 2-24 FGs in the first half, star Josh Pratt finishes 1-12 after making his last attempt with 12 minutes left.  By that time this one is way out of hand.  Champlin Park rolls in surprisingly big fashion 82-34 after leading by 45-10 at the half.  Aaron McCrossan with 11 points to lead St. Anthony.  Brandon Davis and DeAndre Williamson lead the Rebels with 16 and 14 points respectively.
Catholic Spirit Tournament at Concordia-St. Paul
Game 2: Roseville vs St. Bernard's

Close game for the first 11 minutes before Roseville goes to a 1-3-1 zone that turns the tables.  That gives them a 9 point lead going to halftime.  Roseville tries to blow the game open but 3 straight triples from the left corner by Jake Demarius keep the Bulldogs close.  The lead is 7 with 10 minutes left before Roseville blows this one open for a 80-54 win.  Biggest surprise in this blowout was that the 2nd half result was without Roseville star Lucas Brown.  He was benched with 16:48 left and never returned.  Roseville has 4 starters who are non-seniors.  2 of them gave the Raiders great production.  David Stanley at the point is vastly improved from a year ago.  Despite being listed at 5'11, he challenges shots at the rim, can beat you off the bounce, knock down a triple and get teammates involved.  Soph Emeche Wells with 4 second half steals with a total of 8 points and 7 boards on my sheet in a very productive day.  Ricky Suggs leads the Bulldogs with a double-double of 15 and 10.

Game 3: Minnetonka vs Holy Angels
South Dakota State in the building watching this one.  Tonka out of the gates quickly thanks to junior Andy Jones.  11-0 Skippers 3:15 into the game.  Holy Angels cuts the lead to 19-16 at 9:40 thanks to a pair of Sam Gullickson triples.  Then Cole Stefan backdoor from Tor Anderson for a 3 point play.  Then another 3 point play on a turnover.  Andy Jones and Leonard Glass make 4 free throws conclude the 11-0 run over 2 minutes.  The lead is 14 at halftime.  Holy Angels gets no closer than 10 in the second half.  Minnetonka wins
 78-63.  Nick Latzke and Andy Jones both with 16 points.  Cole Stefan with 15 on 6-16 shooting.  Tor Anderson with a very productive game of 9 points with 6 assists. 

Game 4:Cretin-Derham Hall vs St Agnes

1st St. Agnes FG was at 7:42 of the first half.  By that time CDH had 28 points on the board.  A complete mismatch from the start.  CDH continued their 11 man rotation which I'd like to see them shorten.  Raiders roll 80-30.  Seantrel Henderson leads the way with 17 points.


Game 5: Hill-Murray vs Totino-Grace
A rematch of 10 days ago where Totino-Grace won 64-55 on the road.  TG up 18-13 at the 10:31 mark before Rob Daul goes absolutely nuts for Hill-Murray.  He goes 11-12 in the half for 28 points and adds an assist to push Hill-Murray to a 41-30 lead.  Totino cuts the lead to 43-39 at the break.  In the 2nd half, John Crockett gets the task of guarding Daul.  Kreuser for 3 and Totino leads 52-47 at 13:35.  The lead wavers and then Daul with back to back triples.  70-69 Hill-Murray with 4 minutes left.  Ben Hickman then puts Totino over the top.  He makes 4 free throws and then a nice lefty finish on a drive.  75-70 Totino with 2:45 left.  They go on to win 82-75.  Rob Daul leads all scorers with 37 points after the huge first half.  Alex Kreuser with 16 points.  Tyler Fleming lived on the foul line for 17 points.