Woodbury runs away from Mustangs

Prologue
Off to Woodbury for a 3rd place showdown in the Suburban East between Mounds View and the host Royals.  Winner of this game stays 2 games behind Cretin-Derham Hall for 1st and gets a leg up in section 4AAAA seeding.  Concordia St. Paul and St. Mary's looking on for talent.  No food due to a late arrival but we always keep the beverage counter moving.  This weather is absolutely disgusting so we need something warm to help us out.

Song of the Day
Soak up the sun - Sheryl Crow

Total Beverage Consumption Counter: 940 ounces  (88 games, 69 days)

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

Game Time
Mounds View keeping the game tight from deep early.  James Van Eps with a pair of 3s, Tim Hanson adds another and Nick Justin bombs away.  Woodbury's offense coming from Reid Peters off the bench with a bomb, a drive and a nice assist to Ben Rizzardi.  18-15 Mounds View lead at the 9:45 mark.  Then Woodbury's sniper Matt Ambriz picks up his 2nd foul at the 9:17 mark and has to sit.  Hanson with a layup to keep the Mounds View lead at 25-23 at the 5:30 mark.  Isaiah Coddon bombs away from the left corner off the extra pass, Peters with a runner and a 3 and Coddon to the rim for 2 more.  10-2 Woodbury run forces a Mounds View timeout and propels the Royals to a 40-34 halftime lead.  Coddon with a pair of nasty lefty dunks on the break in the half on his way to 13 points.

Mounds View comes out of the halftime break with a box and 1 on Ambriz.  I loved the idea, but seriously lacking in execution.  Ambriz gets a 3 when his defender mysteriously leaves him.  The box didn't fare much better as it left gaping holes all over the place.  Ryan Kaczynski with a nice cut for 2 and a putback to get Mounds View within 3 with 14:05 to play.  Hanson has to sit with his 4th foul at the 13:16 mark.  Ambriz makes 1 of the 2 free throws and spins by his defender with ease for 2 more points.  Rizzardi with another layup getting feeds off the drive and kick.  Mounds View back to straight man but no answer for dribble penetration in this one.    Kaczynski dunks a turnover and grabs a miss for 2 free throws as part of a 6-0 run and Mounds View is back within 4.  52-48 Woodbury with 9:14 to play.

Ben Meyer with an easy BLOB 3 from the ballside corner thanks to some Coddon for Ambriz screening action on the lane.  Ambriz with 2 of 4 free throws to push the lead back to 9.  Hanson back in at the 7:17 mark but he's gone less than a minute later on a bad charge call.  Meanwhile Peters from deep again, Coddon for 2 more after the Hanson charge and another Rizzardi layup to extend the lead to 14 inside of 6 to play.   4 in a row countered by 2 more Coddon buckets, 2 Rizzardi free throws and an Ambriz bomb.  77-58 inside of 4 minutes to play after the 21-6 Woodbury run.  Mounds View tries to make a furious comeback.  Kaczynski starts it with the rare 4 point play.  Ben Spencer nails 3 late 3s but the lead never gets under 6.  Woodbury goes on to win 90-81.

Post Game
Mounds View falls to 15-4 with the loss and it breaks their 11 game winning streak.  They hold the 4th spot in the league, 1 win ahead of Roseville (who lost to Stillwater tonight).  Another big game for Ryan Kaczynski.  He finishes with 30 points, 22 of those in the 2nd half.  Ben Spencer nails 4 triples, 3 late, for 12 points.  Nick Justin 10 points, Tim Hanson all 9 of his in the 1st half before fouling out.  Mounds View makes 10 3s but its not enough.   Its not any easier for the Mustangs as they go on the road to Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday.  CDH won the first meeting 106-72.

Woodbury improves to 13-7 overall, 9-3 in the conference.  They are 1 game behind rival East Ridge for second place in the Suburban East.  Great balance from the Royals.  Matt Ambriz with 19 of his 21 in the second half.  Isaiah Coddon matches that total and was a nuisance in the passing lanes.  Ben Rizzardi with 20 inside.  Reid Peters with 15 points off the bench, 12 of those in the 1st half.  Nice compensation for not having guard Nick Yan in the lineup.  The Royals host Hastings on Friday before a week off to prepare for the short trip to East Ridge.