Day 1 of 2010 Bethel Tourney

To the Gulag
Its day 1 of the 2010 Bethel Tournament.  The 29th year is brought to you by Perkins of Arden Hills.  Just doesn't have the same ring or appeal as Olive Garden.  Pepsi at the concession stand with an average hot dog.  No good music tonight, so from postgame Buffalo Wild Wings trivia we give you this as a fitting representation of my upcoming week.

Song of the Day
Run-Around - Blues Traveler

Sleep Time
Game 1 is Roosevelt vs Maple Grove.  We took a look at Roosevelt last week vs Harding but the competition takes a step up against the Crimson.  Maple Grove already with 5 wins coming into the night surpassing last year's 4 win total.  That includes wins over Buffalo, STMA and Champlin Park for a ranking of #7 in this week's CzarPI.  After the opening Roosevelt basket, MG runs off 11 in a row with Roosevelt going scoreless for 5:30.  The lead balloons to 11 at the 9 minute mark thanks to a triple by soph James Morris.  Roosevelt cuts the lead to 1 before another Morris lead pushes the lead back to 5 with 2:10 left.  Roosevelt holds for those last 2 minutes and can't score.  26-21 Crimson at half.

Calvin Jenkins with only 1 3 (1-5 FGs) and a pair of assists in the first half for Roosevelt, but he gets it going after the break.  He scores the first 7 Roosevelt points of the half.  Add on a Damion Williams bucket for a 30-28 Roosevelt lead, their first since the opening basket.  Jenkins with 1 of 2 FTs and a triple at 12:45 for a 34-33 Teddies lead.  Morris immediately counters with a 3 on the other end to put MG back ahead.  A Karl Wiley putback cuts the lead to 4 with 9:25 left.  Brandon Strickland gets benched just after this for the rest of the night for lack of hustle after a turnover.  That costs the Teddies their 2nd scoring option and they don't make another field goal for the next 9 minutes.  Maple Grove wins the last 12:40 23-4 and gets the blowout win 56-38.  Calvin Jenkins 11 of his 14 in the first 5:15 of the 2nd half.  James Morris leads Maple Grove with 15 points off the bench.  Maple Grove with 3 sophs in the rotation as forward Jake Weineke and point guard Brycen Wojta are starters.  Wojta does a nice job running the club.

Game 2 Centennial vs Bloomington Jefferson.  Lefty center Kevin Handt off to a nice start for Jefferson with 8 points inside in the first 10:28.  15-14 Jefferson at the 8:32 mark.  Mitchell Kuck matching him for Centennial.  He nails his 2nd 3, then 2 free throws and a 3 point play for a 8-0 self run.  A pair of Matt Hovila putbacks keep Jefferson within 28-22 at the break.

Centennial with the 1st 4 points of the second half to force a quick Jefferson timeout.  Jefferson scores 8 of the next 10 as the pace slows to a crawl with both teams playing zone.  Hovila with a backdoor layup to start the run and drive to finish it.  35-30 Centennial with 14:45 to go.  Then Kuck with a 3 point play and triple.  Jared Nelson tacks on a triple.  After a pair of buckets from Jefferson soph Kevin Woebke, Payton Sanders nails another 3 for Centennial.  Then Centennial's Josh Matheson flies down the lane grabs a rebound and sticks it back in.  49-36 Centennial with 10:42 left and coach Evens has seen enough.  He takes timeout and sits his entire on-court lineup for the rest of the night (including Marcus Alipate and 2 other starters) and brings in 5 new guys (2 starters, soph Brian Fritzlar and Handt included).  The new unit doesn't fare any better.  Kuck with a free throw and another bomb, Josh DeWitt inside for 2, Sanders with a steal for a 3 point play, Matheson with a steal for a bucket.  60-38 Centennial with 6:41 left and this one is totally out of hand.  Its a 25-8 run over 8 minutes.  The rest is garbage time.  Centennial rolls 69-50.  Mitchell Kuck 25 points and 4 triples on my sheet (official box gives 3 of those to Matheson).  Payton Sanders and Josh Matheson 10 each

Post-Mordem
Not a pretty night of basketball by any means.  Winners and Losers play each other tomorrow (Tuesday) night.  Maple Grove and Jefferson each have 3 sophs seeing plenty of minutes so there's plenty to build around.  Maple Grove is now 6-1 and go on the road to Armstrong and Osseo in the next 2 weeks in major tests.  Seeing Mitchell Kuck go for 25 when Marcus Alipate was held to 3 of 4 FTs (0-6 FGs on my sheet) was a major surprise.  Alipate needs more shots and production if Jefferson is going to match last year's 7 win total.  Jefferson is now 1-4 with home dates against Eagan and Rosemount after the break.  Centennial improves to 2-5.  Losing by 19 at home to Andover is a bad loss but they gave Blaine all they wanted on the road losing in OT.