Battle of the cats

Prologue
Off to Edison to complete a couple of musts on my season list.  Seeing everybody in the Mpls City, Edison check.  Then seeing the EMAC champion.  That's Community of Peace and they visit Edison tonight, check.  Edison with both sides of bleachers out for the 1st time that I've ever seen that.  Extra fans and a different vibe in the building in a good way.  Plenty of security too.  But you can definitely see the change.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 153 (63 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1469.8 ounces (90 days, 125 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 684 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 200 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 60 ounces
• Red Powerade: 120 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 96.9 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 17

Song of the Day
Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever

Game Time:
Junior Marquez Perry with 8 early points (2 3s included) as CPA opens an 11-5 lead 2 minutes in.  Then sloppy turnovers set in and Edison goes on a 18-4 run to take a 23-14 lead midway through the half.  Perry with 5 in a row to cut the lead to 2 inside of 7 minutes left in the half.  David Provenczano 3 late hoops in the last 2 minutes.  That gives CPA a 36-33 lead at the half.

In the second half the turnovers return for CPA and the Tommies take control.  The transition D is also bad for CPA.  Edison takes the lead 44-40 via an 11-4 run to start the half.  Then a CPA bucket and Edison breaks it open with a 19-4 run.   Andre Brown 2 layups and then Edison with a transition 3 as it becomes a layup drill.  63-46 Edison with 8 minutes left.  The Tigers make a late run with a couple of 3s but all that does is make the final margin look better.  The final never in doubt after the big run.  Edison wins 72-63.

Post Game
Community of Peace now 12-12 overall but 1-11 outside of the EMAC.  They finish the season with the EMAC championship tournament.  As the top seed they will host Christian Life in the late game on Friday.  The championship is Saturday night at Nova.  Marquez Perry averages 22+ for the Tigers and he had at least 27 tonight.  Soph guard Edward Milton averages almost 15 a night but was quiet tonight.  I'm projecting the Tigers go into the section 4A tournament at about a 12 seed.

Edison now 3-22 overall, 0-12 in the Minneapolis City, but somehow still have home games with West Lutheran and Cooper listed on the schedule (1 over the MSHSL limit).  The Tommies have 4 players score in double figures for nice balance.  Edison looks locked in to the 7 seed in the south half of section 5AA.  That means a likely trip to Watertown-Mayer in the 1st round next Thursday.  Its been a long season but you can definitely see a change in the culture for the future.