Prologue
Nice to Andy Birdsong before the game. He coached many of the Minnehaha kids in summer ball for the past few years and is now a graduate assistant at Florida State. Glad to see him get a chance to his guys play at state. Taylor Hanson is a major matchup problem for Crosby-Ironton as the Rangers have nobody over 6'3. But CI is well-coached and Mark Hoge can play. Should be interesting.
Game Time
Crosby-Ironton starts with their matchup zone and a soft 1-2-2 3/4 court press. Austin Brown sporting a big wrap on his right hand due to February injury. Hoge for 2 and then a steal for 2 more. That cuts the Minnehaha lead to 8-6. Hoge 2 layups, 2nd off Brown turnover and he throws his hand wrap to the bench in disgust. 12-11 Minnehaha inside of 12 minutes left in the half. Hines with his 2nd from the deep beyond at 8:50 and a turnover for a Jack Johnson layup extends the Redhawks lead to 21-15. Erick Forson with a tough 2 and that forces a Crosby timeout. 23-15 Minnehaha with 7;51 left in the half. CI running a UCLA cut into a side-screen roll/double screen combo as their base "motion" offense. Joel Reinhardt with a bomb against the zone and a Johnson tip pushes the lead to 13. Minnehaha with a 14-5 on the glass before Hoge stops the bleeding. Hanson with 2 offensive boards for a conversion to force another CI timeout. 30-17 Minnehaha with the lead after an 18-6 run. Hanson picks up his second foul in a scramble at the 5:10 mark and he'll have to sit. Minnehaha 8 turnovers or this one could be worse with Crosby shooting 8-25 compared to 12-20 for the Redhawks. Tyler Dickie and Hoge for 3 and Minnehaha wants a timeout up 30-23 at the 4:24 mark. The buckets give Crosby a chance to get back in their pressure which has been effective. Hoge drives for 2 freebies and a bucket at 1:55 to cut the lead to 1. Hanson back in. Hoge goes baseline again for 2 and then a hard cut for 2 free throws. Minnehaha hangs on to lead 35-33 at the half. Hoge goes absolutely nuts for 21 points. Parker Hines with a pair of triples to lead Minnehaha with 8 points. CI finishes the half on a 16-5 run thanks to Hoge. Minnehaha pounding the glass for a 19-9 advantage but they have 11 turnovers that become 20 Crosby-Ironton points.
Matthew Hudrlik with a straight away 3 off screen the screener action and CI has the lead 38-35 with 15:30 left. Dickie for 2 and the foul at 14:10 and CI goes up 41-37. Minnehaha not happy with the officiating so far in the half. Hines jumper around and out, Hoge rebounds and Crosby with a tough putback. Then Brock Tesdahl with a challenged 3 at 11:40 and Minnehaha needs a timeout down 48-40. 15-5 CI run to start the half. Hoge with a pair of buckets to keep the Rangers lead at 8 with 10 minutes left. Then a nice assist to Tesdahl on a screen roll for a double digit lead. Hoge in the lane for 2, a missed defensive assignment for a layup, Hanson misses a bunny and CI is back the other way for a layup assisted by Hoge. 60-48 CI leads with 7 minutes left and Minnehaha takes a much needed timeout. CI stays with their soft press. Minnehaha interestingly doesn't extend their defense. Hoge for 2 and the hack. That puts him over 30 and its the 4th foul on Hines with 6:08 left. Surprised he sits since the margin is 12. Crosby-Ironton killing the clock with THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE. Hanson with a steal for 2 and the foul with 3:58. That cuts the margin to 63-54. Timeout Crosby with 2:28 left and a 64-56 lead. Minnehaha has to go quick but they have a tough time even getting a shot up. Forson hits a couple of late threes but Minnehaha doesn't threaten. CI goes on to win 72-67.
Mark Hoge from CI is the story in this one. Minnehaha can't find an answer for him. He shoots 12-20 and makes 10-14 free throws for a huge 35 point, 5 rebound night. While Minnehaha cut out the 2nd half turnovers, the soft press took them out of rhythm all night. Minnehaha finishes 23-5 on the season. Taylor Hanson leads the way with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Crosby shoots 60% in the second half to 12-29 for Minnehaha. With the win CI moves into a semifinal rematch on Fridayt against Plainview-Elgin-Millville. CI lost the meeting at the TWolves shootout 51-41.
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