Mounds View OT Thriller

Prologue
To Mounds View for their 5AAAA Quarterfinal matchup with restocked Centennial.  This is the 3 vs 6 game but we all know Centennial would have been higher than the 6 had they had everybody all season.  Quality student sections on hand.  But we did have a dad thrown out early in the 1st half.  That required intervention by the sheriff. No concessions tonight.  Gustavus and St. Thomas looking on. 

Number of Teams I've Seen: 159 (63 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 132 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:
Centennial out quickly with Josh McGreal scoring twice inside.  7-0 Cougars 2:20 in.  Mounds View would go on a 9-0 run to cut the Cougars lead to 12-11 at 13:03.  Zeke Thompson with a pair of Mustang hoops in that run.  The Mustangs are now box and 1 on South Dakota commit Tyler Peterson.  But it doesn't both the Cougars as they go on a 7-0 run with 2 more McGreal hoops.  After a Nate Albers 3 breaks that spurt, its McGreal with a 3 point play and Peterson in the post.  Centennial tearing it up inside.  Then Peterson from deep and a Theo Johnson postup after a MoKiller timeout.  29-14 Centennial at 6:17 after a 17-3 run.  Mounds View scores 10 of the last 14 of the half with Thompson scoring 5 of those.  33-24 Centennial at the break.

Nick McMillan with an offensive rebound for 2 free throws.  Thompson with a tough 2 as he's taking anybody off the bounce.  Mounds View within 6.  McGreal from Peterson and Alex Facon runs out for a dunk to keep the lead at double figures.  45-35 Centennial with 12 minutes left.    The game then changes in the blink of an eye.

Its Thompson with the hoop and harm.  Albers for 3 off a BLOB and a McMillan steal for a 3 point play.  9-0 Mounds View run in 17 seconds and we have a game.  45-44 Centennial with 11:41 left.  Back and forth we go.  Thompson bonus free throws to keep Mounds View within 1.  Then a rebound and an accidental takedown that looked horrible gets no call.  That fires up the crowd.  Peterson picks up his 4th with 7:43 left but he's too valuable to sit.  Albers finally gets Mounds View the lead with 6:20 left.  Its their 1st lead of the night. 

Peterson really controlling the Centennial offense but Centennial can't find a hoop.  Its Thompson for 2 more free throws off the bounce and a post up from Albers for a 56-53 Mounds View lead with 4:35 left.  Centennial looks like they are in trouble.  But Peterson won't let them go away.  He makes both ends of the bonus and buries a 3 after Mounds View missed 2 freebies.  58-56 Centennial with 2:15 left.  Thompson called for a charge to wave off a bucket right after that.  Peterson with 2 more freebies with 1:01 left.  61-56 Centennial and now Mounds View is in trouble.

But the Mustangs do an absolutely fabulous job of managing the final minute.  Thompson quickly attacks for a layup.  They keep the ball out of Peterson's hands.  That results in 2-4 free throws.  Thompson makes 2 free throws in the middle of those attempts.  Mounds View ball with 13.7 left down 3.  They draw up a great set to free Albers up off the SLOB and its free money to tie it!  Peterson rushes the ball back (no timeouts) and while there was contact, its a good no call with 2.3 left.  Mounds View has 1 last chance full court but gets no look.  63 all to overtime.

In the OT, Thompson and Peterson still controlling the offenses for both sides.  Its Thompson off the bounce for 2 free throws with 39.2 left and that's Peterson's 5th foul.  Facon counters on the other end with a nice spin move for 2 with 25 seconds left.  Thompson comes back and is fouled again with 12 seconds left.  He misses the 1st and makes the 2nd.  Centennial out of a timeout, misses a left corner 3.  Mounds View makes 1 of 2 free throws with 2.2 left to seal it.  Mounds View moves on with the thrilling 69-67 win in overtime.

Post Game:
Tyler Peterson leads Centennial with 21 points and had at least 3 assists in the 2nd half.  He did a fine job of managing the game for the Cougars.  He also played quality defense on Nate Albers.  Junior forward Josh McGreal with 11 of his 15 in the 1st half.  Theo Johnson with 12 inside.  Centennial dominated the paint in the 1st half.  I would have liked to see them pound the ball inside more in the 2nd half.  Centennial finishes their season 10-17 but they were 8-5 in the 2nd half of the regular season.  They have 3 bench guys and 2 starters coming back so there are some nice pieces there.

For Mounds View, the offense wasn't doing much.  So give the ball to Zeke Thompson and get out of the way.  Plenty of right side isos for 29 points from him.  Simple but effective basketball.  Nate Albers with a quiet 18 but had another clutch 3 late.  Nick McMillan adds 13.  Totally outplayed the 1st half they hung around, then 1 quick run and bang you're right in the game.  Mounds View improves to 21-6 and they'll play at Champlin Park Monday night in the 5AAAA semifinals.