2013 Bethel Tourney 2 Title Games

Prologue
To Bethel for the end of their 4 days of tournament games.  Not the greatest group but a chance to see 4 new teams is never a bad thing.  A steaming hot hot dog and a standard Pepsi round out the day's menu.  The most timely music selection of the year is 50 Cent's In Da Club (clean version of course children).  OK, I'm cheating because I requested it but you can't go wrong with it on any day.  As I tell the Crown Prince all the time, its good to be The Czar.

Game 1 - Roosevelt vs Minnehaha
This one just not fair from the start.  Roosevelt without their best ball handler Demetrius Durant and their best scorer Terry Thomas.  Minnehaha star Kaharri Carter sits the 1st 8:16 but its hardly a fair trade.  Roosevelt scores the 1st 4 points of the game but gives up 19 of the next 21 before Carter enters.   His entry and 1st rest is during a 7 minute drought from the field for the Redhawks.  That allows the Teddies to stay within 20-11 when Carter comes back at the 4:32 mark.  Roosevelt misses a front end and then Carter goes off.  He scores 15 in that 2nd shift and overall 16 of the last 19 points for Minnehaha.  The Redhawks pressure is too much as the lead opens to 38-16 at half.  Carter tacks on 7 more in the second half in the blowout.  Minnehaha wins 66-35 but it wasn't that close.  Carter leads with 23 points in only 13 minutes thanks to 8-13 shooting.  Joseph Gillespie with 13 points, 6 rebounds to lead Roosevelt.

Game 2 - Bloomington Jefferson vs Champlin Park
No scores on the board and Jefferson takes a timeout 33 seconds in.  Then another timeout at the 13:10 mark after an 8-2 Rebels run.  Jefferson counters with a 10-2 run of their own thanks to the extra pass finding Jake Bodway for a 3.   12-10 Jags at the 10 minute mark.  Tim Larson for 3 and Tommy Gathje with 2 free throws and the Jags open a 23-19 lead.  Andrew Aakre makes 2 floaters from the left baseline around a wasted Jefferson timeout to save possession with the arrow.  23 all at the half.

Once again Jefferson coach Jeff Evens takes a timeout to save possession and its their 4th used timeout and there's still 16:07 left.  Kyle Lynch for 3 after Champlin Park missed a pair of layups.  29-25 Jefferson with 14:15 to play.  Then some run and jumps give Jefferson all kinds of problems.  I was surprised the Rebels didn't ratchet that up even more than they did considering the quickness of their perimeter players (Johnson, Smith, Gibson).  Trevor Garrison converts 1 to put the Rebels back on top.  A kickout for an Ian Smith 3 and he adds a steal for 2 free throws.  Aakre with a pair of freebies after a steal. Matt Rosen with a putback for a 3 point play with 7:57 left.  That breaks a Jags drought of 6:18 from the field and a 21-4 Champlin Park run.  Thanks to the 2 timeouts earlier taken by coach Evens solely to save possession (something I think is a total waste because percentages say you won't score on the possession anyway), Jefferson couldn't use their last one to stop the run.  That's critical in a close game and I think it was costly.  46-33 Rebels lead after that run.  A nice skip finds Bodway for 3 with 5:40 left and the Jags are still somehow hanging around down 50-41.  Brennan Witt 3 hoops inside, the last 2 on pretty feeds from Garrison.  56-43 Rebels with 3:25 and that keeps the Jags at bay.  But we're not quite done as a quick 3 missed by the Rebels gives Gathje a 3 with 2:05 left to cut the lead to 56-51.  A mistake whistle could have costs the Jags a chance at a 3 but Gathje makes a freebie.  JT Gibson had a quiet day of 2-11 shooting but he makes a nice cut to the middle and finishes a layup with 1:10 left.  Brian Fritzlar with a great behind the back save right to Lynch for a 3 with 47.1 left and the lead is down to 59-55.  The Rebels miss a pair of front ends late, but a Jags turnover gives Garrison a layup and that's enough to seal it.  Champlin Park wins the title 63-59.  Brennan Witt 18 points and 12 rebounds, 7-14 shooting to lead the Rebels.  Jake Bodway 17 and 6 to lead Jefferson.  Tommy Gathje adds 15 and 8.  Kyle Lynch 3 big 3s for 13 points.  Jefferson has 5 of the 7 pieces from the rotation coming back next season.  With a lack of athleticism and scorers, it was surprising to see them run some dribble drive action.  But it does mesh a bit with their high/low Swing action.


All Tournament Team
Tommy Gathje - Bloomington Jefferson
Kyle Lynch - Bloomington Jefferson
Andrew Aakre - Champlin Park (also the 3 point champion)
Ian Smith - Champlin Park
JT Gibson - Champlin Park
Brennan Witt - Champlin Park (MVP)