Day 1 of 2010 Pump N Run Spring Classic

Friday night at the Pump N Run Spring Classic at Jefferson.  Once again $2 for the 12 oz Pepsi.  Note to self, I'm bringing as many 24 packs as I can carry and I'm selling them outside the activity center for a buck between 7:30 and 7:45 AM.  (That's a joke, don't expect me to be there at that hideous hour of the day, support the cause and buy the concessions)

Very early 5:30 PM opener this year.  Mostly 15U games between metro teams.  Fury Blue 15U coming off their championship at the Comets Tourney took out the Midtown Kings in a big way 62-42. 

6:40 gets it started for the 17U games.  Call the Gold Guys has its WOTN Gold vs Fury Gold.  WOTN without David Stanley or Lucas Brown from Roseville.  College coaches all over the place for this one.  U of Mary and SW MN State, Augustana, St. Cloud State, St. Olaf just some of the schools looking on.  Tight game throughout the first half with the teams actually playing defense, a rarity in summer ball.  34-32 WOTN at the break.  Then a 7-0 WOTN run to start the half as Fury goes cold.  They do cut the lead to 54-52 on a Justin Casey putback.  But Marcus Alipate gets an assist and then scores on Aaron Ziman in the post to push the lead to 7.  WOTN wins 64-59.

Court 7 for my next game was held up due to a faulty clock so we get bonus hoops over on court 1.  MN Southside taking on Minneapolis GATOR (who?).  56 all with 1:45 to go and Southside turns it over.  Gator turns it over on their end for 1 of 2 free throws from Jalen Albritton.  Gator turns it over again and Joey King converts a layup and then blocks a shot coming back.  Albritton makes 2 freebies and this should be over.  Not quite.  Southside gives up a 2 and then turns it over.  10.9 to go, Gator ball down 3.  They put back a miss for 2 with 2 seconds left and time runs out.  Southside hangs on 61-60 and plays at 10:20 vs RK Elite for the pool crown.  Joey King 25 points in the win.

Back to the main gym for Wrath vs Wisconsin Swing.  Monroe's Brian Tordoff with a respectable game but this one took forever for Wrath to win 69-59.  Wrath up 10 in the first half before Swing cut it to 4 at the 5 minute mark.  12-4 Wrath run to end the half pushes the lead back to double-digits and they weren't threatened.  Heat Elite pull away from Comets Gold 61-41

In the night cap, Fury Blue vs Wisconsin Starz.  We miss Nimrod Hilliard (tiny goggled guard from last year).  After all, without sports who would root for the Nimrods.  Josh Pella, off a visit to Minnesota-Moorhead, joins the shorthanded Fury for this one.  Big city kid but he did enjoy the visit.  Interesting situation there with no coach in place yet after they fired Stu Engen.  Fury start the game on an 11-0 run and it looks like a blowout but the Starz pull to 26-18 at the half.  The second half is a total disaster for the Starz as Fury builds the lead all the way to 53-28 with 6+ left on their way to a blowout win.  Liked a spurt from Starz big Joe Sokovich in the second half.  Starz tried their 1-2-2 trapping zone and just had no success with much of anything they tried in the second half.