Day 2 of the 2010 Catholic Spirit Tourney

The Czar's 2010 Most Excellent Holiday Adventure continues with a trip to the brand spanking new Anderson Athletic and Recreation Center for day 2 of the 2010 Catholic Spirit tournament.  So much for new as the roof springs a leak early in the day and we have buckets in the stands.  Other than that hiccup, a very nice building.  College venue means blah concessions, but a meal deal with Doritos isn't too bad.  No music period between games early.  The silence was deafening.  A high tech scoreboard but we have a stopwatch for the official timer to do timeouts.  Kinda funny that it isn't in the scoreboard.

Game 1: Holy Angels vs St. Agnes
St. Agnes takes a 20-14 lead at the 9:05 mark thanks to a Mario Franco 3.  They keep the lead at 24-20 inside of 6 minutes.  Then Dakari Davison with a steal and a big dunk on the other end but a technical to go with it.  Holy Angels finishes on a 7-2 run to end the half to take a 32-29 halftime lead.  39-37 Holy Angels at the 15:06 mark when they go on a 10-0 run that ultimately puts this one away.  49-37 Holy Angels with 12:12 left.  Antonio McGee cuts the AHA lead to 58-53 on a drive with 5:40 left.  But Holy Angels scores the next 8 thanks to a pair of Danny Sullivan hoops.  Holy Angels wins 68-55.  Parker Bredow with 10 of his 18 points in the second half to lead the Stars.  Damon Woods with a pair of nice splits of double teams to produce points.  He finished with 14 points.  Andrew Johnson 16 points to lead St. Agnes.  Mario Franco 10 of his 13 in the 2nd half to keep the Aggies close.  Dakari Davison all 10 of his points in the 1st half.

Game 2: St. Paul Central vs Minneapolis Southwest
A city showdown in game 2.  Very strange and incomprehensible that Central starts Will McDonough (a scorer by nature) at the 1 and Diallo Powell (a classic pass first point guard) at the 2.  Southwest jumps out to a 9-2 lead thanks to a pair of Rodney Pierce-Tyler hoops.  Then Martin Smith starts to take over inside.  He finds frosh Markus Taylor-Knighten for a layup on the post to post pass.  Then 3 straight putbacks and we're tied at 17 at the 7:20 mark.  A pair of late free throws give Central a 29-26 halftime lead.  Then Central pulls away.  Taylor-Knighten for 2, Smith with a pair of layups, McDonough a putback and drive, Smith with another assist and Taylor-Knighten finishes the run with a postup.  Including the last 2 free throws of the first half, its a 16-2 Minutemen run.  43-28 Central with 13 minutes left.  Southwest will get no closer than 9 the rest of the way.  Central wins 70-58.  Martin Smith with a big day on the glass and inside for 23 points and he had to have double-digit rebounds.  Frosh Markus Taylor-Knighten with 8 points in the starting lineup.  Rodney Pierce-Tyler leads Southwest with 16 points. 

Game 3: Wayzata vs Totino-Grace
These teams met 12 days ago with TG winning 60-54 with 4 players in double figures.  Eric Robertson with 23 points in that one for Wayzata but no one else in double figures.  To the present, we get the Eric Robertson vs Alex Kreuser matchup.  Kreuser's jumper and the foul cuts the Wayzata lead to 17-16 at the 8:08 mark.  Then Eric Robertson gets it going.  He nails a pullup and a triple to force an Eagles timeout.  Then he's on the offensive glass for a pair of free throws to push the lead to 8.  Chris Burt with 7 points in the last 5 minutes as Wayzata stretches the lead to 41-25 at the half.  TG comes out of the halftime break just after the 10 minute buzzer and one can imagine that the coach Seim blistered the paint off the walls.  Eric Robertson with a pair of early 3s to push the lead to 51-30.  Then Zach Robertson with a pair of hoops and then a 3 thanks to big brother.  64-36 Wayzata with 10:30 left and the rout is on.  The Robertsons leave soon after.  Wayzata wins 85-54.  Eric Robertson 18 points with 4 3s, little brother Zach with 11 of his 17 in the 2nd half..  Alex Kreuser with 16 points on 5-15 shooting to lead Totino-Grace.

Game 4: Cretin-Derham Hall vs Hill-Murray
Another viewing of CDH means I have to watch them run some possessions of THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE.  They have Cortez Tillman back after an early season concussion and Taylor Montero was back in the lineup after not playing yesterday due to a rolled ankle.  Hill-Murray's Man Mountain Monster Dave Simmet all over the offensive glass in the 1st half.  His 3 putbacks help keep the Pioneers within 19-15 at the 7 minute mark.  Rob Daul finally gets on the board at the 2:55 mark with a post fadeaway.  31-22 CDH.  Tillman with a jumper off THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE, a running bank and a triple at the end of the half for a 41-26 halftime lead.  Tillman with another 3.  CJ Neumann steps out for a 3.  Raijon Kelly for a pair of 3s. Tillman with a catch in the air and turns and scores the layup all in 1 motion on (you guessed it) and a layup on a turnover.  64-38 CDH with 10:42 left and the rout is on.  CDH wins 79-46.  Cortez Tillman 3 triples and 23 points.  Raijon Kelly 3 triples and 17 points.  Taylor Montero also part of the shooting gallery with 14 points and 2 triples.  Jim Remke 13 points to lead Hill-Murray.  Dave Simmet with 11 points and 11 rebounds on my sheet.  Rob Daul only 8 points for the Pioneers.  While they have a very nice front line, the backcourt is very subject to defensive pressure and will be a major issue for Hill-Murray.