Eagles soar over Knights

Prologue
Its the last night of my regular season and the record number of games pace continues.  Tonight I complete the sweep of the St. Paul City Conference with a trip to Washington to see the Eagles take on Harding.  20th hot dog of the season with 20 oz of Pepsi on tonight's menu.  Always different to see Washington when its not setup for a Twin Cities Game or section play.  Only 10 rows open on the near side tonight.  But always fun to see the historical banners of the old St. Paul schools on the wall.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 156 (64 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1545.8 ounces (97 days, 132 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 760 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: 20

Game Time:
Both teams go zone for most of the night.  Mohamed Saleh with the drive and 3 for an early Washington lead.  Soph Curtis Bell with a steal and dunk to push the lead to 9-4.  Deon Houskin with a layup to pull Harding within 2.  Shooter Essa Adam sits the last 9:08 for Harding with 2 fouls.  That's an important loss vs the 3-2 zone but Harding hangs around.  Houskin with a 3 point for a 1 point lead.  Malik Samuel with a floater and assist to Houskin for a 19-15 Harding lead.  Bell with a layup and a Courtney Walker for 3 to put Washington back on top.  Washington takes a 25-24 lead to halftime.

Washington turns the tables their way right away to start the 2nd half.  Saleh for 3, Walker converts a turnover, Keenan Williams with a pair of layups.  Robby Sanders hoop and harm and converts a turnover.  Bell takes another turnover for 2 and its getting out of hand.  17-5 Washington run in the 1st 5 minutes of the half for a 42-29 Eagles lead.  Washington would show good patience and hold the ball a bit vs the 2-3 zone.  Extend, feed the high post, feed it low for a layup.  Harding scores the next 4 to close the gap to 9 but they never get closer.  Washington pulls away and wins 64-48.

Post Game:
Harding closes the season 6-17 overall and 2-10 in the St. Paul City.  They'll finish 6th thanks to 2 wins over Humboldt.  Deon Houskin scores 11 of his 15 in the 1st half to lead the Knights.  He had some success diving to the rim out of the high post and running the floor.  Essa Adam held to 2 3s and 8 points.  Malik Samuel also with 8 for the Knights.  They'll finish Johnson on Wednesday in the 1st round of the 4AAA playoffs.

Washington gets 15 from Mohamed Saleh to lead 4 players in double figures.  Soph Curtis Bell with 12.  Robby Sanders and Keenan Williams with 11 each.  Williams making himself available inside for dump offs for easy hoops.  They did a nice job moving the ball against the Harding 2-3 zone.  Washington evens their regular season record at 11-11.  They finish 5th in the St. Paul City at 4-8.  They will host Prairie Seeds Academy in the 4AA 8 vs 9 game on Thursday night.