2011 EP Tourney Day 1

Prologue
Off to Eden Prairie for the semifinals of their tournament.  A pair of concession stands in play.  Including 1 with big slices of pizza, very nice.  OK crowds on hand as well.  Eden Prairie students in blaze orange but no Mike Grant to come down on the illegal thundersticks.  Fortunately they didn't get out of hand, though there were some Skittles that ended up on the playing floor.  Tsk Tsk!

Game 1: #1AAA Benilde St. Margaret's vs Waconia
Isaiah Gray continuing his quality play for the Red Knights.  His bucket and 3 assists for layups help BSM jump out to a 16-8 lead at the 11:15 mark.  Sanjay Lumpkin finishes that spurt with a 1 handed dunk on a nice pass from Gray.  Tommy Gove for 3 followed by Alex Chandler on the post.  Waconia only down 22-19 inside of 8 minutes left in the half.  Then Lumpkin to Isaiah Zierden for 3 and a Lumpkin drive.  Zierden a nice cut for a layup and a pair of free throws.  Lumpkin with a putback and the lead is back to double digits.  Gray on the North Carolina secondary break finds Lumpkin off the backscreen.  Then Zierden to Will Dunn for 3.  Zierden 2 free throws and Gray with another assist, this time to Zierden for 3.  45-30 BSM at the half.

Zierden with a drive and a post turnaround from Dunn.  53-34 Red Knights with 13:20 left.  Waconia cuts into the lead with an Alex Schmitt 3 point play and a nice spin from Josh Lenz.  Wylie Ferron converts a turnover into a layup.  BSM turns it over but Schmitt has an inbounds jumper go in and out.  Looks like a big miss as Lumpkin finds Breion Creer for a layup and then goes coast to coast for another easy bucket. to push the lead back to 18.  Alex Chandler inside out for 3 and a Gove steal for 2.  10:12 to go and BSM wants a timeout up 61-48.  That timeout turns out huge as the Red Knights respond with a 17-0 run and hold the Wildcats without a field goal for the next 6:10.  That run is a layup drill and a pair of nice plays from Zierden.  The lead balloons to 30 and BSM wins 86-63.

Waconia gets 13 from Alex Schmitt, 11 from Wylie Ferron and 10 from Matt Rachey.  BSM gets 28 points, 4 3s from Isaiah Zierden.  Sanjay Lumpkin with 18 of his 26 in the first half.  14 for Will Dunn.  Isaiah Gray 4 points but a handful of assists to go with them.

Game 2: Holy Family at #5AAAA Eden Prairie
The first half of this one was ugly.  EP would open up a 20-8 lead inside of the 8 minute mark.  Then see that cut to 9.  Soph wing Andre Wallace gets the rare opportunity for the 4 point play followed by a Sander Mohn 3 and 2 free throws to push the lead to 15.  Holy Family claws back late in the half thanks to senior guard Jake Dryer.  He makes a lefty runner and knocks down a 3 as the Fire cut the Eden Prairie lead to 34-24 at the half.  Holy Family tries to hang around but Wallace gets loose for 1-2 FTs and then on the break signs a poster with a big 1 handed dunk on the break.  50-32 with 10:29 left.  The lead quickly gets above 20 and EP coasts from there to a 72-51 win.  Jake Dryer 14 as the only double figure scorer for Holy Family . Andre Wallace with 17 to lead the Eagles.  He had 3 3s before I left (may have had another).  Scary with his athleticism if his jumper stays consistent.  Sander Mohn with 12 of his 14 in the first half with a pair of 3s.  Center Jordan Peterson 11 of his 13 in the 2nd half.