Jackson's Monster Night leads Patriots

Prologue
Now we get to the playoffs.  But man does it feel weird saying playoffs (Playoffs?, thanks Jim Mora) on February 23rd.  What an opener we have as its off to the Haben Center to see #7AAA Henry take on #9AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's in the section 6AAA 4 vs 5 game.  Its Lithgow working tonight with 2 other bad refs.  No Sam Baker tonight on the bench or in the roster for Benilde-St. Margaret's.  That's a huge loss for them.  The biggest oddity of the night?  How about the 23.7 oz bottle of water.  That's 700 ml for those of you scoring in the metric system.  Who comes up with that?  500 ml, not enough, 750 ml, no too much.  700 ml, just right.  Thanks Goldilocks.  Lithgow throws a terrible opening toss and we're off and running

Song of the Day:
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
  
Number of Teams I've Seen: 158 (62 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 130 varsity games)

Beverage Ticker: 834 ounces (7470 calories) + 9.7 liters (1370 calories)

• Pepsi: 356 ounces (4200 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
• Coke: 92 ounces (1080 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
• Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories) 
• Mug Root Beer: 40 ounces (520 Calories)
• Sprite: 56 ounces (660 Calories) + 500 ml (200 Calories)
• Water: 6.2 Liters + 200 ounces (0 Calories)
• Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 40 oz (160 calories)

Hot Dog Ticker: 19
Pizza Ticker: 12
Walking Taco Ticker: 12
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 6

Game Time:
Julian Jackson going to work early and often for Henry.  He scores off 2 post ups, then a putback for a 3 point play in a 9-2 Henry run.  Benilde-St. Margaret's keeps the pace slow with a bit of a matchup zone.  Henry not all that patient against it.  But they're getting almost every offensive rebound.  Still the Red Knights hang around to tie it at 15 via a Matt Lilienthal 3 just inside the 8 minute mark.  Jackson another putback and postup.  Michael Wexler for 3 to keep BSM within 23-22.  Then Henry takes off.  Jackson putback 3 point play and a hoop off a turnover.  Then Henry hits 3 triples around another Jackson putback 3 point play and a Savion Scott stickback.  Henry stretches the lead to 44-29 at the half.  The last run just before half was 19-4 before frosh Jamison Battle hit a 3.

Eli Cave starts the 2nd half with a driving 3 point play to bring BSM within 12.  But the Red Knights won't get any closer.  Scott for 3, Jackson puts back a missed free throw and scores in the post and the lead is 53-32 with 15:27 left.  After Jackson scores off a turnover, Battle hits 2 more 3s to end an 8-0 BSM run.  63-46 Henry still in control with 7 minutes left.  Jackson on the offensive glass again and in the post for 4 free throws plus another bucket.  Its a slow last 10 minutes.  Then a late T from Lithgow on BSM head coach John Moore (pretty soft).  Plus an intentional foul that could have gotten ugly.  Great job by both teams getting their teammate away and staying under control.  BSM in total frustration mode at the end.  Henry moves on with the 83-57 win.

Post Game:
Eli Cave leads Benilde-St. Margaret's with 16 points.  But overall it was a pretty quiet 16.  Freshman lefty Jamison Battle with 4 3s and 12 points off the Red Knights bench.  Looking forward to seeing him play the next 3 years.  I'm a Wisconsin guy and I refer to The Swing Offense as The Flex's ugly step-sister.  This was another night I saw BSM where the Swing wasn't good to them at all.  Benilde-St. Margaret's finishes their season at 17-10, 9-5 in the Metro West (Tied for 3rd).  This wasn't the season I envisioned for them. 

For Patrick Henry, what a night for Julian Jackson.  He goes off for 42 points.  21 of those coming via 9 offensive rebounds.  He had to have somewhere between 15 and 20 rebounds.  He was all over the glass on both ends.  BSM did a terrible job of trying to keep the ball out of his hands as he got post touches mostly whenever he wanted.  Henry getting way too many offensive boards as well(not just from Jackson).  Demetress Edwards-Brown with 17 points and a couple of 3s to provide a perimeter option.  Savion Scott added 12.  Henry improves to 20-7 overall and moves on to play at De La Salle on Saturday night in the 6AAA semis.  With Orono knocking off Waconia on the road tonight, Czar goes 4-0 in the 6AAA quarterfinal predictions for an early +2 score vs picking chalk.