2011 Section 4AAAA Semis

Prologue
Once again its off to East Ridge for the section 4AAAA semifinals.  No food tonight as hot dogs weren't ready in the pregame visit to the concession stand.  I thought it might be close to a sellout for the early game with CDH and Roseville, but less than I thought.  Tartan took on Stillwater in the late game.  Today's music comes to us from the public address system and seems fitting for playoff basketball.

Song of the Day
Won't Back Down - Tom Petty

Game 1: Cretin-Derham Hall vs Roseville
David Stanley with a jumper and 3 early for Roseville.  Taylor Montero 2 quick buckets for CDH.  8 all just inside the 14 minute mark.  Then Montero to the left hand and  goes glass, CJ Neumann a pair of putbacks and Montero runs out for a layup.  16-8 at the 11:33 mark and Roseville needs a timeout to stop the bleeding.  Lucas Brown comes out of the timeout and buries a 3, Sam Peterson for 3 and Brown with a layup and its a 8-0 run in less than 2 minutes to tie the game.  CDH on a drought as they take timeout at the 7:49 mark.  Almost 4 minutes scoreless for CDH.  Brown then runs out for a big 2 handed hammer dunk to put Roseville back on top.  Peterson with a nice dive from the high post vs the CDH 2-3 and a Logan Brown 3.  25-20 at the 4:45 mark.  That's a 17-4 Roseville spurt in just under 7 minutes.  Montero cuts into that lead with a 3 before Stanley makes 2 free throws and Brown dunks a turnover just inside the 4 minute mark.  Raijon Kelly has 2 fouls but this will get him off the bench and back in the game.  Good choice there by coach Kline.  Brown blows by Neumann from the foul line and throws down a nasty 2 handed double clutch dunk.  31-25 Roseville at the half. 

Neumann getting it going to start the 2nd half as he scores a reverse layup and then a drive and the extension for a WOW! 1 handed dunk.  He goes for it on the next possession and only a hard foul keeps that from being a poster.  Montero for 3, Connor Quicksell on the post for 2 and a reverse layup.  39-34 CDH and they take a timeout that I didn't like at all at the 11:11 mark.  Thought it might kill the momentum.  Kelly drives for 2 and puts back a miss.  Its an 18-3 CDH run with no Roseville FGs.  Out of a timeout CDH goes to a favorite time killer, THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE.  Brown gets a steal out of that and takes it the other way for a reverse 2 handed dunk.  That dunk at 8:06 is the 1st Roseville FG of the half and 1st since the huge Brown dunk late in the first half.  A Brown 3 with 6:25 left cuts the lead to 6, 49-43.  But Roseville gives up the next to push the lead to 12.  CDH pulls away from there and wins 68-52.  Montero and Neumann with 18 each.  Lucas Brown with 20 and 9 boards for Roseville

Game 2: Tartan vs Stillwater
This one looks like a blowout early.  Darrion Strong with a 3 and jumper as Stillwater really packs in their man defense.  Joel Awich on the post and then 6 in a row from Luke Preiner, last 4 on turnovers.  13-4 Tartan at the 12:19 mark.  Stillwater closes the gap to 20-16 at the 5:50 mark on a Paxton Harvieux drive.  The 2nd drive where he may have gotten away with a pushoff.  Awich scores again inside and then a great drive from the foul line, hard stop and pivot away from the baseline for an easy 2 that looked like Hakeem Olajuwon.    27-22 Tartan at the half despite the game feeling like it should have been much more.

Soph Andrew Duxbury to the left hand for 2 and the foul at the 12:34 mark, 29-25 Tartan leads.  Then the Stillwater offense just goes away.  They don't get another field goal until Harvieux hits a jumper at the 3 minute mark.  By that time the Tartan lead is 18.  During the run Xavier Hall with a jumper and pair of nice drives for 2 and a Kyle Von Schmidt Pauli 3.  Tartan also going to some slow possessions to milk the clock.  Also a bunch of free throws as Stillwater brings back memories of MTS in the state tourney by starting to foul at the 4:30 mark.  That adds on 9 free points before it gets called off outside 2 minutes left.  Tartan wins 51-33.  Stillwater held to 11 points and 3 field goals in the 2nd half.   The Ponies do get 9 players in the scoring column.  Chase Bowersox with 7 to lead the way.  Tartan gets 12 from Darrion Strong, 11 from Joel Awich.


All of this sets up a rematch of last year's semifinal classic between Tartan and Cretin-Derham Hall.  CDH won at the buzzer last season, for a trip back in time, read about it here.