Titans topple Hill-Murray

Prologue
Another trip to the east side for another big showdown.  Tonight its Tartan and Hill-Murray in a battle of 2 of the top teams in the Classic Suburban.  Tartan 1 win behind St. Thomas (who beat Hill-Murray last night) for 1st.  Hill-Murray 1 loss back and tied with Henry Sibley.  Its also the varsity return of Marshawn Wilson after playing at Tartan as a freshman.  No food again due to the lengthy trip but 20 more ounces of red Gatorade.  Plenty of quality music on the public address.  Here's one of the hits of the night.

Song of the Day
Tequila - The Champs  (Czar PSA, drink responsibly and don't drink if you're under 21 years old)

Total Beverage Consumption Counter: 960 ounces  (89 games, 70 days)

• 36 oz Dr Pepper
• 36 oz Sprite 
• 12 oz 7 Up
• 140 oz Red Powerade
• 100 oz Red Gatorade
• 444 oz Pepsi
• 152 oz Coke
• 20 oz Barq's Root Beer
• 20 oz Mug Root Beer

Game Time
Tartan's game plan against Wilson becomes immediately obvious.  They take Eric Winter and have him faceguard.  Then on a Wilson touch here comes the double team.  Tartan finds Brody Jackson at the high post for immediate kickouts to Keenan Bellaphant and Winter for 3s.  19-10 Tartan at the 13:22 mark and the Pioneers need a timeout to talk it over.   Wilson gets his 1st bucket of the night on an inbounds lob to cut the lead to 4.  Then Tartan runs away with the rest of the half.  Frosh Emanuel Humphrey 2 inside buckets, Bellaphant a BLOB 3 and coast to coast for 2 more.  A turnover for 2 pushes the lead to 12 at the 8:31 mark.  Tartan not done as Winter drives for a lefty layup and scores another bucket.  Marlon McCoy for 3, Jordan Horn drives for 2 free throws and the lead is 19.  Then the last 9 of the half to Tartan with Humphrey again inside and the foul (no good FT), Jordan Horn fades for 2 and Jake Lyle at the buzzer for 3.  52-26 Tartan at the half.

Tartan largely got away from the strategy on Wilson in the second half.  But their offense went cold and Hill-Murray was able to apply some pressure.  After making 3 of 4 free throws to push the lead to 29 (55-26), it takes Tartan almost 6 minutes to get their first field goal of the second half.  Wilson for 2 and an Eric Weimar 3, then Wilson for 3 and Sam Westby converts a turnover for 2 more.  Now the lead is down to 61-47 with 10:17 left.  That Hill-Murray run amounts to 21-6 over 5 and a half minutes.  The lead is still 14 after the always ridiculous double foul call complicated by a soft T on Tartan.  Hill-Murray makes 1 of the 2 and can't convert the possession.  Winter backcuts for an easy 2 and a Bellaphant jumper help push the lead back to 19 with 6 minutes left.  Tartan never in any serious danger as the lead never gets under 14.  Tartan wins 85-70.

Post Game
Hill-Murray falls to 11-8 overall and 6-4 in the Classic Suburban.  That's tied for 4th in the league with Simley who just beat them last Friday.  Marshawn Wilson a fairly quiet 25 points on 7-18 shooting on my unofficial sheet.  Sam Westby with 10 of his 15 in the second half.  Alex Ogren with 3 3s that threatened to open up the Tartan defense.  But Hill-Murray could never really generate much good offense.  They are at South St. Paul on Friday before the rematch next Wednesday.

Tartan stays a half game back in the league at 7-2, 14-4 overall.  They will host Mahtomedi on Friday.  Eric Winter leads the way with 18 points.  Keenan Bellaphant adds 17.  Frosh Emanuel Humphrey a very nice outing of 12 points inside.  Played with a physical style like a poor man's Reid Travis.  Fellow frosh Jordan Horn with 13 points before fouling out.  Nice game plan from Tartan to keep Wilson somewhat in check.  They were able to get away from it with the big lead.  I was a bit surprised with their experience and a couple of solid guards in Bellaphant and Horn that Hill-Murray had the amount of success they did with pressure.