NW Suburban Bragging Rights

Prologue
To Champlin Park to see the #4AAAA Rebels in their only regular season meeting against fellow NW Suburban division leader #6AAAA Maple Grove.  With Maple Grove's move to section 8, the only way we'll see these 2 matchup again is at state.  Hollywood is on duty tonight.  Him and a partner not only do varsity but they get the JV game as well.  Ugh.  But at least I still haven't see Lithgow this season.  Its Jersey Night for the Champlin Park student section.  Lots of fun grading those (Washington Bullets, solid.  Vikings Favre Jersey, terrible) and interacting with the kids at halftime.  The ticker was lonely so we kept that happy with a solid hot dog and a bottle of battery acid Coke.  Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard and Minnesota assistant Ben Johnson in the building.

Song of the Day
Sheila E - Glamorous Life

Number of Teams I've Seen: 140 (53 courts, 2 new, 2 TV games, 105 varsity games)

Beverage Ticker: 608 ounces (3490 calories) + 7 liters (1080 calories)

• Pepsi: 304 ounces (3550 Calories) + 2 liters (840 Calories)
• Coke: 24 ounces (280 Calories)+ 500 ml (200 Calories)
• Dr Pepper: 60 ounces (750 Calories) 
• Mug Root Beer: 20 ounces (260 Calories)
• Sprite: 24 ounces (280 Calories)
• Water: 4.5 Liters + 160 ounces (0 Calories)
• Gatorade: 500 ml (40 Calories) + 20 oz (130 calories)

Hot Dog Ticker: 10
Pizza Ticker: 10
Walking Taco Ticker: 8
Pork Sandwich Ticker: 5

Game Time:
Quick start for Champlin Park.  McKinley Wright for 3, a hoop after a Theo John block and a putback.  Marcus Hill ventures coast to coast for 2 hoops.  13-5 Rebels just over 4 minutes in to the game.  Maple Grove gets a pair of Jack Hutchinson hoops as they cut the lead to 2.  Then its Josiah Strong off the Champlin Park bench with a triplicate of 3s.  Its a 1 point Rebels lead when McKinley Wright picks up his 2nd foul.  Theo John picks up his 2nd just after that.  That allows Maple Grove to rally.  Taron Pickford drives for 2 and makes 2 free throws.  Brad Davison to the rim for 2 more and he finds Reed Nikko over the top of the 1-3-1 zone for a dunk.  31-24 Maple Grove up at the 5 minute mark after a 16-5 run.  That run forced coach Tuchscherer's hand into bringing Wright and John back in the game just before the run ended.  John picks up a cheap 3rd and has to sit the last 4:27 of the half.  Nikko gets his 2nd and sits the last 3:52 of the half.  Davison with a 3 and Wright with a nasty full court drive and crossover.  38-31 Maple Grove at the half.

Theo John stays on the bench for the 1st 4:34 minutes of the 2nd half.  Wright with 2 quick hoops and Chris Davis (John's backup) with a putback to cut the margin to 3.  But Nikko dunks and Davison buries a 3 before John returns.  45-37 Maple Grove leading at that point.  Brian Smith with a floater over Nikko and John to the lefty finish against Nikko.  47-44 Maple Grove 10:15 to play.  Davison would control the game from that point.  He drives for 2 and makes a free throw.  After a John faceup jumper.  Its Davison driving off the high ball screen for 2 more then converting a backbreaking 3 point play with 2:44 left.  57-48 Maple Grove. Maple Grove slow on offense during this period but they hold Champlin Park to 1 field goal in an 8 minute stretch.  The rest is free throws.  Maple Grove gets a high quality road win 65-58.

Post Game:
For Champlin Park, McKinley Wright leads the way with 20 points.  Theo John adds 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.  Soph guard Josiah Strong with a hot 1st half with all 11 of his points off the Rebels bench.  Champlin Park looked like they wanted to mix in some zone but couldn't get in it after falling behind midway through the 1st half.  Champlin Park falls to 17-4 overall, 13-2 in the NW Suburban.  They are still in control of the North division.  They host a fast rising Eden Prairie team next Wednesday.  That should be very interesting.

Maple Grove improves to 19-3 overall, 13-2 in the Northwest Suburban. Brad Davison another outstanding night with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists on my sheet. He controlled the pace of the game.  Also liked how he smartly used his body to keep defenders on a hip or behind him as he was driving to score.  Reed Nikko added 12 points, Taron Pickford 10.  The 2nd half stagnant offense reminded me of their struggles vs Wayzata last year (nothing but high pick and roll and no movement).  The loss of Tywhon Pickford really shows there.  But Champlin Park's helpside defense was not good at all against the drive.  Maple Grove stays 2 games behind Osseo in the West division and host Osseo on the final night of the season.  Next week they are at Totino-Grace and host Armstrong.