2010 TWolves Shootout Thoughts

Here are my thoughts from the 2010 TWolves Shootout

Game 1: Orono vs #6AAA Grand Rapids
Tight game at the half before a 12-2 second half Orono run puts them up by 6 with 8 minutes left.  Grand Rapids right back with a 10-0 run to regain the lead.  6'8 post Kevin Rabbers with 6 points in the run, Eric Stark with the other 4 and an assist in the run.  5 point Grand Rapids lead with 1:30 to go in regulation but they can't hold it.  Jordan Smith goes glass and the foul with 54.7 left and Grand Rapids can't snag the rebound.  That's gets putback to cut the lead to 2.  Then 2 missed free throws.  Jeremy Borg (19 and 12 in a big game for him) slips a screen for an easy layup to tie the game and force OT.  Orono gets the 1st 9 of OT and they win 74-65 easily.  Jordan Smith 25 points on 9-21 shooting on my sheet to lead Orono.  For Grand Rapids, Eric Stark 18 points but 6-21 shooting.  Michael Johnson 15 points but was quiet in the 2nd half.  Nice upset win for Orono and its not out of the question that we could see these teams again at state with Orono leading the power rankings in section 5 and Grand Rapids being the favorite in section 7.


Game 2: #4AA Staples-Motley vs #2A Minnesota Transitions
Staples-Motley tries to slow the pace with a 1-3-1 but their bigs still get in foul trouble vs Kevin Noreen despite double and triple teaming.  Jon Bristow with 3 fouls in 7 minutes.  Rodney Owens with a great start for MTS.  He gets a layup and then a steal for 2 more to push MTS to a 6 point lead.  Staples hangs around but Owens with another steal for a dunk and then he finds a cutting Kevin Noreen for a layup.  23-15 MTS with 7:18 left to force a Staples-Motley timeout.  Out of the timeout, MTS holds the ball vs the 1-3-1.  Staples has to go man and this one is over.  Staples-Motley gets 1 field goal in the last 9 minutes.  33-18 MTS at the half.  2nd half, MTS picks apart the man D.  Staples-Motley goes the 1st 7 minutes without a field goal in the 2nd half.  So 1 field goal in 16 minutes across halftime, ouch.  58-36 easy win for MTS in a game that I thought would be very close since both teams had tight losses to Columbia Heights.  Kevin Noreen with 24 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet (officially listed at 12).  Jordan Riewer in and out of the lineup all day as there were issues with blood on his uniform.  Only 3 points for him.

Game 3: #7AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville vs #1AA Crosby-Ironton
A possible state semifinal preview between these 2 teams.  PEM was previously ranked #1, now CI on top.  Interesting 2-3 matchup zone from Crosby-Ironton.  PEM playing 1-3-1 most of the way though they surprisingly went man late.  CI with no size and Cole Olstad was just a beast for PEM.  CI had no answer for him and the Rangers couldn't get any offense besides Mark Hoge.  Very close all the way to the end.  Crosby with many chances late to tie that didn't convert.  PEM hits late free throws for a hard fought 51-41 win.  Mark Hoge 17 for CI.  Cole Olstad 23 for PEM.

Game 4: Henry Sibley vs North Lawndale College Prep (IL)
Paul Bunch, big body inside for NLCP.  But he sat a lot in the 1st half.  When he was in, he was a factor blocking shots.  2nd half story was Jermaine Winfield of NLCP.  He dominated inside on his way to 18 points, most inside in the 2nd half.  50 all with 5 minutes left when Winfield scores inside for the lead.  Sibley then turns it over for 2 free throws.  Rostampour misses a front end and Bunch follows up a miss with a dunk.  That's a 6 point cushion but NLCP pulls the ball out too early and Sibley almost makes them pay.  But 2 Winfield putbacks and a steal finally puts the one out of reacy.  62-54 North Lawndale wins.  Paul Bunch 11 points 7 boards and 7 blocks.  Jake Kreuser with a nice day of 15 pts and 14 boards with 3 blocks.  Mike Rostampour with another interior struggle against good inside talent.  He struggled against Christian Faith Academy's athletes over the holidays and was only 3-14 inside yesterday, but he did have 14 boards.

Game 5: Linn-Mar, IA vs Minnetonka
Fun game here.  Marcus Paige with a floater for a 6 point LM lead early.   Then sharpshooters Matt Bohannon and Cole Stefan trade deep 3s.  Paige wraps the ball around and goes for a layup to get a nice oooh from the crowd.  21-13 Linn-Mar inside of 9 minutes.  But Stefan with a pair of bombs in a 14-5 Tonka run over the last 3:15 of the half.  36-31 Skippers at the half.  2 Tonka turnovers equal layups and then Paige with a 3 for a 55-46 Linn-Mar lead with 11:40 to go.  Stefan and Chad Howard with back to back 3s to cut the lead to 3 with 10:45 left.  Paige for 3 again.  Bohannon with a 3 and its 64-55 Linn-Mar with 8:30 left.   Tor Anderson 2 freebies, Nick Latzke with a block for a Leonard Glass layup and a Stefan layup.  64-61 Linn-Mar with 7:33 to go.  Another Stefan bomb keeps Tonka close 70-66 with 5:40 to go.  Paige with an assist and Bohannon with a foul line jumper.  Stefan inside 2 countered by a Paige pullup.  Stefan from New York City for 3 countered by a Paige drive.  Linn-Mar doesn't let Tonka get back and then make free throws for a 88-71 win.  Cole Stefan with 8 triples from every metro suburb, 16-24 shooting as he goes completely nuts for 40 points.  Linn-Mar is more than Paige (20 pts and 6 assists, 16 and 4 of those in 2nd half).  Matt Bohannon is a nice mid to low-major shooting guard (younger brother of UW's Jason Bohannon).  He finished with 26 points and 4 triples of his own.  Interesting that Minnetonka took Tor Anderson off of Paige in the 2nd half and moved him over to defend Bohannon in the 2nd half.

Game 6: #1AAAA Hopkins vs #8AAAA Champlin Park
This one to me had blowout written all over it with Hopkins losing at North on Friday.  But as I was doing podcast for the 1st half of this one I see Brandon Davis knock down back to back triples from Jasper Duberry to force 1 Hopkins timeout down 11.  Then its 33-19 Champlin Park with 2:57 left in the first half.  Duberry for 3 at the first half buzzer and Champlin Park is up 10.  DJ Peterson with 3 quick fouls and sits for a large part of the half.  Hopkins went deep into the bench with a couple of guys (Selmer, Martin) who normally aren't in the rotation.

2nd half Hopkins awakens with pressure defense and ice cold Champlin Park shooting.  A 26-4 Hopkins run over the 1st 9:10 of the second half puts the Royals up 54-42 with 9:50 left.  Joe Coleman with a 3 and 2 old-fashioned 3 point plays on not smart fouls during the run.  The lead stays at 10-12 points and it looks like Hopkins will just cruise.  But its not quite over.  Duberry a pair of freebies at 3:16, Coleman misses 2 freebies, Brandon Davis 2 freebies, DJ Peterson misses a front end, Josh Pella with a tip.  A tieup goes to Champlin Park and Pella tips in a miss and gets fouled for a 3 point play.  All of a sudden its 70-67 Hopkins with 1:09 left.  But Siyani Chambers makes 4 big free throws to put this one away.  74-69 Hopkins wins.  Joe Coleman with 24 points and a pair of 3s during the game.  Nice to see him shoot the ball better.  Marvin Singleton 20 points as there wasn't a good answer for him inside.  Jasper Duberry leads Champlin Park with 17 points.  Jordan Reibling with 11 points off the Rebels bench as he was 1 of 5 Rebels in double figures.