Day 3 of my 2016 holiday travels takes me to day 1 of the 29th annual Rochester Rotary Holiday Classic. 10 metro teams making the trip south and I had the chance to take in 6 of them. Outstanding walking taco at the concession stand. Just wish concessions stands would learn to crush the chips. Key overlooked element. 2 bottles of Pepsi keep the beverage counter rolling. Halftime entertainment for 2 early games, belly dancers. Yes that's not a joke. The 1st set had swords and were balancing them on their heads. That's entertainment!
Game 1: St. Thomas Academy vs White Bear Lake
St. Thomas replaces their whole starting lineup less than 2 minutes into the game. That bench mob scores the 1st 14 points for the Cadets. Sam Vascellaro was the main guy in that crew. He scores 4 free throws and a bucket in a 13-0 first half run. That blows the game open to 30-12 at the 4:14 mark. That lead grows to 40-20 at the half. I miss the 2nd half to see all of Game 2 across the hall. St. Thomas Academy wins 82-65. Sam Vascellaro with 16 in the 1st half for the Cadets. Josh Griefenhagen with 7 off the White Bear Lake in the first half.
Game 2: Mahtomedi vs Burnsville
Mahtomedi totally out of sorts in the 1st half of this one. Matt Baisch with 3 bombs in the half for Burnsville, his 2nd one opens up a 24-18 Blaze lead. Parker Fox with a drive and a putback as Mahtomedi rallies. Evan Reyes and Trey Newman off the bench for 3 as the Zephrys struggle with fouls. Baisch makes a late 3 for a 33-30 Burnsville lead at the break. Mahtomedi comes out on a 11-4 run to start the 2nd half. Reyes with a couple of more critical 3s to keep the Mahtomedi lead at 4. Fox rises for a follow dunk to put Mahtomedi up 8 inside 7 left. Burnsville rallies to within 4 but a late Mahtomedi run puts it out of reach. Mahtomedi wins 71-59. Parker Fox 23 points to lead Mahtomedi. Evan Reyes with a great game of 4 3s and 14 points off the Zephyrs bench. Jackson Martens 12 points, 10 in the 2nd half for Burnsville. Matt Baisch with 4 3s and 16 points to lead the Blaze.
Game 3: #10AAAA Rosemount vs Lake City
A battle of 6-0 undefeated teams in this one. Lake City with 3 guards at 5'10" or under going against the Loehr twin towers of Rosemount. 2 quick 3s propel Lake City to a 8-2 lead. Then the twins get going and its a 15-2 Irish run to take the lead. Lake City goes almost 12 minutes with just 1 field goal. Its sandwiched between 2 Marc Kjos bombs and Lake City is still within 3. Rosemount scores the next 10 before a Lake City buzzer beater. 32-21 Rosemount at the break with the Loehr twins scoring 17.
Lake City comes out for the 2nd half on fire. Frosh Nate Heise with an NBA 3, turnover for a Mitch Marien triple, frosh Reid Gastner from deep plus a spin move for 2 more, Marien drives for the lead and Kjos adds a 3 point play. Plus a technical on Rosemount to boot. Lake City misses the technicals but gets a Heise hoop on the possession. That finally forces a Rosemount timeout. The Tigers run is 22-4 and they take a 43-36 lead with 12:15 left. Heise another 3 and Gastner runs for a layup and the lead is double digits with 6 minutes left. Lake City makes 13-14 free throws in the last 1:51 and they hang on to win 70-64. Luke Loehr with 27 to lead Rosemount. Lake City has 4 of their 5 starters with 13 points or more and they combine for 8 3s. 7 guys in the young lineup are back next year for a group that will be very dangerous.
Lake City was the tougher team in this one and definitely deserved to win. But its hard to look at Rosemount game plan. Not a single high/low possession. Their 2 big guys floating outside and not pounding the ball inside enough. Leaving shooters to help when the tiny Tigers guard would drive at the bigs. It just screamed of lack of preparation and/or lack of caring. Have to think this is a game that the Irish would want back and consider a bad loss.
Game 4: Minneapolis Washburn vs Rochester Mayo
Sadly the belly dancers had gone home by this point. Isaac Lotz corner 3 vs the Mayo 2-3 zone, nice set play that worked on a pair of occasions. (Note: Washburn program numbers were sketchy so I think it was Lotz from memory). Albert Demmings with 9 points in the half as Washburn would lead 25-19 at the half. They run away in the 2nd half. Brandon Charles with a couple of mean dunks as the lead blew up to 21 midway through the 2nd half. The Millers would get sloppy and see the lead cut to 11. But again, there's no danger. Washburn wins 62-48. Isaac Lotz with 4 3s and 14 points for Washburn. Peter Lundquist with 17 inside for Mayo.
2016 Bethel Tourney Day 2 Thoughts
Day 2 of my 2016 Holiday Tournament adventures takes me to the middle day of events at Bethel. Its the finals of the 1st bracket with openers in the 2nd bracket. 2 cans of Coke for refreshment. Hot Dog for the food count. Lots of bun with it. Czar gets a music request for Stand By Me granted by the kind Bethel players at the scorer's table.
Bracket 1
3rd Place: Roseville vs St. Paul Central
This was a rematch of last Thursday's meeting in Roseville where Central won 57-52. The start of the game is very ugly. Roseville throws in a prayer for their 1st hoop and a putback for their 2nd. 7-4 Central at the 6:55 mark of the 1st. Then Central falls apart and gives up a 34-5 run across halftime. Central with only 2 field goals in about 17 minutes during that run. But a T on coach Scott Howell may have gotten his players attention. They turn up a 1-2-2 halfcourt and 3/4 court trap. They go on a 11-2 run over 3 minutes left. That cuts a 24 point margin to 38-23 with over 8 minutes left. Central with an end game flurry cut the final margin. Roseville wins 50-44 in a final that doesn't reflect how 1 team or the other dominated play. Soph Jovan Hunter leads all scorers with 18 for Roseville. Shawn Blanchard 15, soph Daveonte Davis 14 for Central.
1st Place: Bloomington Jefferson vs Minnetonka
In typical Jefferson fashion, the pace of this one is slow. Matt Haas and Tyler Riemersma effective inside for their squads. Neither team able to gain any huge advantage. 27-24 Tonka at the break. Joe Hird would take over the Jefferson offense in the 2nd half. His driving hoop pulls the Jags within 41-40 with 4:33 left. Tonka would score the next 6 thanks to Isaiah Carver-Bagley driving and dunking, Haas with a layup and Carver-Bagley with 2 free throws. Tonka in control up 47-40 with 1:33 left. Jags rally back thanks to 2 Tonka turnovers and a pair of Hird bombs. Tonka doesn't get a shot on the final possession and we'll play OT tied at 47. Hird would make 1 of 2 free throws for a 2 point lead with 35.9 left in the OT. Burt Hedstrom made 4 straight free throws in the OT. He stepped to the line with 4.3 left and a chance to tie. He made the 1st but missed the 2nd. In the ensuing scramble for the rebound, the clock runs out. Jefferson wins 53-52 in OT. Joe Hird all 20 of his points after halftime. He scored 20 of the 26 Jags points after the half. Tyler Riemersma with 12. Isaiah Carver-Bagley 16 points to lead Minnetonka. Burt Hedstrom and Matt Haas 14 each for the Skippers.
Bracket 2
Game 1: St. Louis Park vs Eagan
Jaren Tschetter off the Eagan bench for 13 points in the first half. Aidan Doherty with 7 off the St. Louis Park bench. 35-32 Eagan with the lead at half. St. Louis Park's attacking style picks up in the 2nd half. Doherty with a couple of hoops in a 14-4 St. Louis Park run early in the 2nd half to take a 50-42 lead inside of 11 minutes left. Eagan would be within 6 with 5 minutes left but Cire Mayfield with back to back hoops and then counters a pair of Eagan free throws. That keeps the lead at 10 inside of 3 minutes left. St. Louis Park wins 73-60. Jaren Tschetter leads all scorers with 20 points for Eagan. Aidan Doherty and Richard Green both off the bench with 13 points to lead St. Louis Park.
Game 2: Mounds View vs St. Francis
This was a defensive struggle. Brian Stone with a steal and score at the 12:35 mark as Mounds View jumps out to a 7-2 lead. But the Mustangs would not make another field goal in the half, just 8 free throws. St. Francis gets good minutes from guard Genuine Matthews to take a 20-15 halftime lead. Mounds View finds their offense in the 2nd half and they go on a 20-3 run after the 1st bucket of the half. They make 4 3s in the run from 4 players, 3 of them in a row as they go from 7 down to 35-25 up with 9 minutes left. The Swing Offense and 1-3-1 defense slow the pace to a crawl. Frosh Wyatt Schroeder with 3 straight hoops late to make it interesting. Nate Varberg makes 1 of 2 with 0.8 left to seal it. Mounds View wins an ugly one 43-39. Nick McMillan with 14 points to lead Mounds View. Ryan Svihel with 12 points to lead St. Francis.
Bracket 1
3rd Place: Roseville vs St. Paul Central
This was a rematch of last Thursday's meeting in Roseville where Central won 57-52. The start of the game is very ugly. Roseville throws in a prayer for their 1st hoop and a putback for their 2nd. 7-4 Central at the 6:55 mark of the 1st. Then Central falls apart and gives up a 34-5 run across halftime. Central with only 2 field goals in about 17 minutes during that run. But a T on coach Scott Howell may have gotten his players attention. They turn up a 1-2-2 halfcourt and 3/4 court trap. They go on a 11-2 run over 3 minutes left. That cuts a 24 point margin to 38-23 with over 8 minutes left. Central with an end game flurry cut the final margin. Roseville wins 50-44 in a final that doesn't reflect how 1 team or the other dominated play. Soph Jovan Hunter leads all scorers with 18 for Roseville. Shawn Blanchard 15, soph Daveonte Davis 14 for Central.
1st Place: Bloomington Jefferson vs Minnetonka
In typical Jefferson fashion, the pace of this one is slow. Matt Haas and Tyler Riemersma effective inside for their squads. Neither team able to gain any huge advantage. 27-24 Tonka at the break. Joe Hird would take over the Jefferson offense in the 2nd half. His driving hoop pulls the Jags within 41-40 with 4:33 left. Tonka would score the next 6 thanks to Isaiah Carver-Bagley driving and dunking, Haas with a layup and Carver-Bagley with 2 free throws. Tonka in control up 47-40 with 1:33 left. Jags rally back thanks to 2 Tonka turnovers and a pair of Hird bombs. Tonka doesn't get a shot on the final possession and we'll play OT tied at 47. Hird would make 1 of 2 free throws for a 2 point lead with 35.9 left in the OT. Burt Hedstrom made 4 straight free throws in the OT. He stepped to the line with 4.3 left and a chance to tie. He made the 1st but missed the 2nd. In the ensuing scramble for the rebound, the clock runs out. Jefferson wins 53-52 in OT. Joe Hird all 20 of his points after halftime. He scored 20 of the 26 Jags points after the half. Tyler Riemersma with 12. Isaiah Carver-Bagley 16 points to lead Minnetonka. Burt Hedstrom and Matt Haas 14 each for the Skippers.
Bracket 2
Game 1: St. Louis Park vs Eagan
Jaren Tschetter off the Eagan bench for 13 points in the first half. Aidan Doherty with 7 off the St. Louis Park bench. 35-32 Eagan with the lead at half. St. Louis Park's attacking style picks up in the 2nd half. Doherty with a couple of hoops in a 14-4 St. Louis Park run early in the 2nd half to take a 50-42 lead inside of 11 minutes left. Eagan would be within 6 with 5 minutes left but Cire Mayfield with back to back hoops and then counters a pair of Eagan free throws. That keeps the lead at 10 inside of 3 minutes left. St. Louis Park wins 73-60. Jaren Tschetter leads all scorers with 20 points for Eagan. Aidan Doherty and Richard Green both off the bench with 13 points to lead St. Louis Park.
Game 2: Mounds View vs St. Francis
This was a defensive struggle. Brian Stone with a steal and score at the 12:35 mark as Mounds View jumps out to a 7-2 lead. But the Mustangs would not make another field goal in the half, just 8 free throws. St. Francis gets good minutes from guard Genuine Matthews to take a 20-15 halftime lead. Mounds View finds their offense in the 2nd half and they go on a 20-3 run after the 1st bucket of the half. They make 4 3s in the run from 4 players, 3 of them in a row as they go from 7 down to 35-25 up with 9 minutes left. The Swing Offense and 1-3-1 defense slow the pace to a crawl. Frosh Wyatt Schroeder with 3 straight hoops late to make it interesting. Nate Varberg makes 1 of 2 with 0.8 left to seal it. Mounds View wins an ugly one 43-39. Nick McMillan with 14 points to lead Mounds View. Ryan Svihel with 12 points to lead St. Francis.
2016 Tartan Holiday Tourney Day 1
Day 1 of my 2016 tournament adventures takes me to Tartan for their annual holiday classic. Its a couple of cans of Pepsi for liquid nourishment. Plus a quality walking taco despite no lettuce as it had been frozen Hate it when that happens, but its an ingredient that isn't mission critical. I survive the absolutely treacherous ice-covered parking lot to see these 4 games.
Game 1: Forest Lake vs Cristo Rey
Jericho Sims active on the offensive glass with 3 early tip ins. 13-10 Forest Lake at the 12:20 mark. Then no Pumas field goals for almost 7 minutes as Forest Lake goes on a 16-0 run. Mitch Jerde 7 points in that run. The lead stretches to 42-19 at halftime. Sims with a couple of early dunks and adds some stats late. But the outcome is never in doubt. Forest Lake wins 76-51. Jericho Sims 34 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks on 12-21 shooting and 10-13 FTs to lead Cristo Rey. Rest of the team with only 7 field goals. Jake Larson with 22 points to lead Forest Lake. Jack Breitbach with a nice game of 12 points for the Rangers as well.
Game 2: St. Paul Como Park vs Spring Lake Park
No Jason Jett for Como Park and no Zach Ojile for Spring Lake Park. That's top guys out for each team. CJ Chandler with 3 bombs in the 1st half vs the Spring Lake Park 2-3 zone. Kyrin Woodard making plays out of the high post as well. Lefty guard Kameron Davis carrying the Spring Lake Park offense. 35-30 Spring Lake Park at the half. Davis with a hoop at the 10:30 mark for a 48-45 Panthers lead. Then an 11-0 Como Park run to put the Cougars ahead. Spring Lake Park would attempt to rally behind a Davis 3, freshman Gabe Myren with a steal for a 3 point play and a Davis 3 point play. Back to even at 63 with 2:27 left. Chandler with 2 free throws, the teams make a mess of a handful of possessions. Then Spring Lake Park misses 2 FTs to tie inside a minute left. 3 of 4 free throws around a Panthers turnover seal it. Como Park wins 68-63. Kyrin Woodard 24 points, CJ Chandler with 5 3s on his way to 18 points. Kameron Davis with 26 to lead Spring Lake Park.
Game 3: Rogers vs Carmel Catholic (IL)
Rogers would knock down 8 first half 3s on their way to a 43-23 halftime lead. The lead would get down to 16 in the 2nd half, but no closer than that. Rogers wins 82-57. Nick Camarote with 5 3s on his way to 20 points. Forward Jordan Belka also with 20 points. Point guard Trevor Brenning with 11 points in a nice showing off the Royals bench. Brian Julien leads Carmel Catholic with 22.
Game 4: Chisago Lakes at Tartan
Tartan would start hot with Jordan Horn knocking down a pair of 3s and scoring inside via the Swing Offense. That's new to the Tartan arsenal this year. 23-13 Titans just past the midway mark of the 1st half. Terrell James flares for 3 and Noah Whalen buries his 3rd bomb of the half. 31-15 Tartan at 6:20. Soph Will Tinjum with a late pair of hoops and a 3. But Jordan Thompson sends Tartan to the break with a 3. 40-26 Titans. Whalen with a quick bomb for a 17 point lead. But they don't blow this one open. Chisago Lakes counters with an 8-0 run to put the margin back to single digits. Kingston Myles sat the 1st half but his 3 with just over 10 left pushes the league back to 14. Then its James with his 2nd dunk of this half on a baseline drive and he rises up big time for the slam to keep the lead there inside of 8 left. Eric Thompson would knock down a couple of late 3s as the lead slips under 10 1 last time. Tartan wins 61-50. Trevin Nelson and Will Tinjum with 14 each for Chisago Lakes. Noah Whalen 4 3s and 14 points to lead Tartan. Jordan Horn with 3 3s and 11 points all in the 1st half.
Game 1: Forest Lake vs Cristo Rey
Jericho Sims active on the offensive glass with 3 early tip ins. 13-10 Forest Lake at the 12:20 mark. Then no Pumas field goals for almost 7 minutes as Forest Lake goes on a 16-0 run. Mitch Jerde 7 points in that run. The lead stretches to 42-19 at halftime. Sims with a couple of early dunks and adds some stats late. But the outcome is never in doubt. Forest Lake wins 76-51. Jericho Sims 34 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks on 12-21 shooting and 10-13 FTs to lead Cristo Rey. Rest of the team with only 7 field goals. Jake Larson with 22 points to lead Forest Lake. Jack Breitbach with a nice game of 12 points for the Rangers as well.
Game 2: St. Paul Como Park vs Spring Lake Park
No Jason Jett for Como Park and no Zach Ojile for Spring Lake Park. That's top guys out for each team. CJ Chandler with 3 bombs in the 1st half vs the Spring Lake Park 2-3 zone. Kyrin Woodard making plays out of the high post as well. Lefty guard Kameron Davis carrying the Spring Lake Park offense. 35-30 Spring Lake Park at the half. Davis with a hoop at the 10:30 mark for a 48-45 Panthers lead. Then an 11-0 Como Park run to put the Cougars ahead. Spring Lake Park would attempt to rally behind a Davis 3, freshman Gabe Myren with a steal for a 3 point play and a Davis 3 point play. Back to even at 63 with 2:27 left. Chandler with 2 free throws, the teams make a mess of a handful of possessions. Then Spring Lake Park misses 2 FTs to tie inside a minute left. 3 of 4 free throws around a Panthers turnover seal it. Como Park wins 68-63. Kyrin Woodard 24 points, CJ Chandler with 5 3s on his way to 18 points. Kameron Davis with 26 to lead Spring Lake Park.
Game 3: Rogers vs Carmel Catholic (IL)
Rogers would knock down 8 first half 3s on their way to a 43-23 halftime lead. The lead would get down to 16 in the 2nd half, but no closer than that. Rogers wins 82-57. Nick Camarote with 5 3s on his way to 20 points. Forward Jordan Belka also with 20 points. Point guard Trevor Brenning with 11 points in a nice showing off the Royals bench. Brian Julien leads Carmel Catholic with 22.
Game 4: Chisago Lakes at Tartan
Tartan would start hot with Jordan Horn knocking down a pair of 3s and scoring inside via the Swing Offense. That's new to the Tartan arsenal this year. 23-13 Titans just past the midway mark of the 1st half. Terrell James flares for 3 and Noah Whalen buries his 3rd bomb of the half. 31-15 Tartan at 6:20. Soph Will Tinjum with a late pair of hoops and a 3. But Jordan Thompson sends Tartan to the break with a 3. 40-26 Titans. Whalen with a quick bomb for a 17 point lead. But they don't blow this one open. Chisago Lakes counters with an 8-0 run to put the margin back to single digits. Kingston Myles sat the 1st half but his 3 with just over 10 left pushes the league back to 14. Then its James with his 2nd dunk of this half on a baseline drive and he rises up big time for the slam to keep the lead there inside of 8 left. Eric Thompson would knock down a couple of late 3s as the lead slips under 10 1 last time. Tartan wins 61-50. Trevin Nelson and Will Tinjum with 14 each for Chisago Lakes. Noah Whalen 4 3s and 14 points to lead Tartan. Jordan Horn with 3 3s and 11 points all in the 1st half.
No Christmas Buzzer Beaters
Its an early start at Harding so I catch 1 game there, then the last 2 back at Hamline. Plenty of Pepsi to go around. Too bad the JMOA assigned a Hollywood crew for the late game. How does that happen?
Game 1: Henry Sibley at St. Paul Harding
Harding would go on a pair of early runs to take a 27-20 lead. Sibley would counter with a 19-4 run across halftime. Reishaun Satar with a pair of hard-way 3 point plays in that run. 39-31 Sibley early in the 2nd half. De'Million Randle with a 3 point play in a 9-1 Knights run. That puts Harding up 51-49 with 8:27 to play. Back and forth after that. Chris English with a free throw, Sibley misses 2 FTs and turns it over before English converts a layup. PG Jovan Christian adds a layup for a 66-60 Harding lead. Jack Korte with a 3 point play and a drive for 2 more around a Harding FT. Harding then turns it over for Satar to convert and we're tied with a minute left. Harding holds and turns it over with 30 seconds left (Christian may have been tripped). Antonio Vibar puts back a miss with 13 seconds left. Harding turns it over with 1.69 left. Sibley wins 69-67. Congrats to John Carrier on his 1st win at Sibley and his 1st Varsity Head Coaching win in 7 years and 17 days. Here's what that 1st one was like. Jovan Christian 18 points for Harding. Reishaun Satar leads Sibley with 25. Jack Korte with 13 of his 19 in the 2nd half.
Game 2: Wayzata vs Breck
I would arrive about midway through the 1st half of this one. That was just in time to see Breck go on a run and pull within 20-18 at the 5:28 mark. Coach Bryan Schnettler not at all happy with his crew. They respond with a 14-2 run out of that timeout. Gavin Baumgartner with a nasty posterizing dunk as part of 8 points and an assist in the run. Drew Galinson for 3 and then another hoop as Wayzata scores 8 of the first 10 points of the 2nd half. Interesting to see the Trojans play some 1-3-1 here. Didn't really matter what they played at that point. Wayzata wins 78-57. Gavin Baumgartner with 15 of his 20 in the 1st half. Drew Galinson with 15 including 3 triples. David Roddy 12 to lead Breck. Baumgartner is one of those outside Mr Basketball award candidates. He has solid though not spectacular numbers for a strong lineup plus he's got the defensive stopper task each night.
Game 3: North St. Paul vs Cristo Rey Jesuit
Shaka Smart (Texas Head Coach) in the house to watch recruit Jericho Sims. South Dakota also looking on. Lets just skip over the 1st 6 minutes of this one (only 2 FTs). Cristo Rey playing some 2-3 zone. North gets 3s from Jake Steckler, Michael Geving and Jaquas Towns 13-0 NSP leading at the 8:10 mark. Jericho Sims getting limited touches in the battle vs Goodnews Kpegeol and others. He dunks an inbounds pass and takes a steal coast to coast for another dunk. Kpegeol for 3 and a Steckler hoop put the Polars up 20-6 at the 5:40 mark. But Cristo Rey holds them without a field goal for the rest of the half. Franklin Doyle 2 free throws and a hoop. Sims adds 5 free throws and a late post bucket. That cuts the NSP lead to 23-20 at the break.
NSP scores the 1st 8 of the 2nd half thanks to an array of Pumas turnovers. Cristo Rey gets those 8 points right back thanks to a Karlton Gregory putback and a steal for a dunk. Gregory then finishes a sweet pocket pass from frosh PG James Sommer and Sims finds him cutting for another bucket. Cristo Rey will not go away down 36-32 with 9:35 left. Kpegeol for 3, a turnover results in another layup, set play for Kpegeol to backdoor Sims is a 3 point play. 45-34 NSP with 7:25 left and it looks like that may be the critical run. But the Pumas are not done. Sommer converts a turnover. Doyle with 2 free throws after a Kpegeol T for hanging on the rim after missing a dunk on the same backdoor set as before. Doyle adds a 3 on the possession and the Polars lead is down to 4 with over 5 minutes left. Game on.
Gregory 2 freebies after the Polars missed a front end. The Pumas get a stop and Sims tips in a miss with 3:40 left and we're all tied up at 45. Its an 11-0 run for Cristo Rey. The teams trade free throws. Then its Kpegeol with the tough post fade over Sims with 2:30 left. 1st NSP FG in 5 minutes. Back to back Cristo Rey turnovers around a Polars turnover. NSP holds, Cristo Rey doesn't foul. Kpegeol drives and is fouled with 31.3 left. He makes 1 of 2 for a 3 point NSP lead. The Pumas quickly go inside to Sims and he converts with 17.5 left. Last timeout for the Pumas. Steckler makes 1 of 2 and the Pumas have a chance. They get the ball to the frontcourt but step on the sideline with 10.8 left. Kpegeol misses 2 with 9.3 left and here we go. Sims pushes and gets harassed in the front court. He gives it up with 2 seconds left. He gets it back after the buzzer. Cristo Rey doesn't get a shot off. North St. Paul survives 51-49. Goodnews Kpegeol with 21 points to lead North St. Paul. 2-6 FTs for the Polars in the last 31.3. Jericho Sims with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks on 6-10 FGs. But all his FGs were inside. All of his jump shots were way off on this night. Cristo Rey had plenty of chances that they could have converted throughout the game. But they kept playing and good things happened. North will be unhappy that they didn't put this game out of reach when they had the chance.
Game 1: Henry Sibley at St. Paul Harding
Harding would go on a pair of early runs to take a 27-20 lead. Sibley would counter with a 19-4 run across halftime. Reishaun Satar with a pair of hard-way 3 point plays in that run. 39-31 Sibley early in the 2nd half. De'Million Randle with a 3 point play in a 9-1 Knights run. That puts Harding up 51-49 with 8:27 to play. Back and forth after that. Chris English with a free throw, Sibley misses 2 FTs and turns it over before English converts a layup. PG Jovan Christian adds a layup for a 66-60 Harding lead. Jack Korte with a 3 point play and a drive for 2 more around a Harding FT. Harding then turns it over for Satar to convert and we're tied with a minute left. Harding holds and turns it over with 30 seconds left (Christian may have been tripped). Antonio Vibar puts back a miss with 13 seconds left. Harding turns it over with 1.69 left. Sibley wins 69-67. Congrats to John Carrier on his 1st win at Sibley and his 1st Varsity Head Coaching win in 7 years and 17 days. Here's what that 1st one was like. Jovan Christian 18 points for Harding. Reishaun Satar leads Sibley with 25. Jack Korte with 13 of his 19 in the 2nd half.
Game 2: Wayzata vs Breck
I would arrive about midway through the 1st half of this one. That was just in time to see Breck go on a run and pull within 20-18 at the 5:28 mark. Coach Bryan Schnettler not at all happy with his crew. They respond with a 14-2 run out of that timeout. Gavin Baumgartner with a nasty posterizing dunk as part of 8 points and an assist in the run. Drew Galinson for 3 and then another hoop as Wayzata scores 8 of the first 10 points of the 2nd half. Interesting to see the Trojans play some 1-3-1 here. Didn't really matter what they played at that point. Wayzata wins 78-57. Gavin Baumgartner with 15 of his 20 in the 1st half. Drew Galinson with 15 including 3 triples. David Roddy 12 to lead Breck. Baumgartner is one of those outside Mr Basketball award candidates. He has solid though not spectacular numbers for a strong lineup plus he's got the defensive stopper task each night.
Game 3: North St. Paul vs Cristo Rey Jesuit
Shaka Smart (Texas Head Coach) in the house to watch recruit Jericho Sims. South Dakota also looking on. Lets just skip over the 1st 6 minutes of this one (only 2 FTs). Cristo Rey playing some 2-3 zone. North gets 3s from Jake Steckler, Michael Geving and Jaquas Towns 13-0 NSP leading at the 8:10 mark. Jericho Sims getting limited touches in the battle vs Goodnews Kpegeol and others. He dunks an inbounds pass and takes a steal coast to coast for another dunk. Kpegeol for 3 and a Steckler hoop put the Polars up 20-6 at the 5:40 mark. But Cristo Rey holds them without a field goal for the rest of the half. Franklin Doyle 2 free throws and a hoop. Sims adds 5 free throws and a late post bucket. That cuts the NSP lead to 23-20 at the break.
NSP scores the 1st 8 of the 2nd half thanks to an array of Pumas turnovers. Cristo Rey gets those 8 points right back thanks to a Karlton Gregory putback and a steal for a dunk. Gregory then finishes a sweet pocket pass from frosh PG James Sommer and Sims finds him cutting for another bucket. Cristo Rey will not go away down 36-32 with 9:35 left. Kpegeol for 3, a turnover results in another layup, set play for Kpegeol to backdoor Sims is a 3 point play. 45-34 NSP with 7:25 left and it looks like that may be the critical run. But the Pumas are not done. Sommer converts a turnover. Doyle with 2 free throws after a Kpegeol T for hanging on the rim after missing a dunk on the same backdoor set as before. Doyle adds a 3 on the possession and the Polars lead is down to 4 with over 5 minutes left. Game on.
Gregory 2 freebies after the Polars missed a front end. The Pumas get a stop and Sims tips in a miss with 3:40 left and we're all tied up at 45. Its an 11-0 run for Cristo Rey. The teams trade free throws. Then its Kpegeol with the tough post fade over Sims with 2:30 left. 1st NSP FG in 5 minutes. Back to back Cristo Rey turnovers around a Polars turnover. NSP holds, Cristo Rey doesn't foul. Kpegeol drives and is fouled with 31.3 left. He makes 1 of 2 for a 3 point NSP lead. The Pumas quickly go inside to Sims and he converts with 17.5 left. Last timeout for the Pumas. Steckler makes 1 of 2 and the Pumas have a chance. They get the ball to the frontcourt but step on the sideline with 10.8 left. Kpegeol misses 2 with 9.3 left and here we go. Sims pushes and gets harassed in the front court. He gives it up with 2 seconds left. He gets it back after the buzzer. Cristo Rey doesn't get a shot off. North St. Paul survives 51-49. Goodnews Kpegeol with 21 points to lead North St. Paul. 2-6 FTs for the Polars in the last 31.3. Jericho Sims with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks on 6-10 FGs. But all his FGs were inside. All of his jump shots were way off on this night. Cristo Rey had plenty of chances that they could have converted throughout the game. But they kept playing and good things happened. North will be unhappy that they didn't put this game out of reach when they had the chance.
2016 Hutton Winter Classic Day 1
To Hutton Arena at Hamline for the 2nd year of the Hutton Winter Classic. Day 1 features the same group of teams as last year. No food but I will do the Pepsi at the concession stand. Williston State and Lake Region looking on during the evening. Lithgow works the early game (sad Christmas gift) but the JMOA works the late game to make up for it.
Game 1: Minneapolis Henry vs Breck
Jordan Lynn scores the 1st 7 points of the game as Henry jumps out to a fast 9-0 lead. Henry's hustle and pressure making all the difference. Breck would pull to within 11-7. Henry goes on an 17-3 run from there to jump out to a 28-10 lead. Breck played the 2nd half of that run without star forward David Roddy. A terrible flop call in the post is a charge for his 2nd foul at the 9:26 mark and he sits the remainder of the half. Plus he was scoreless. Despite that, soph Joey Ganley scores 5 late points and Breck stays within 37-22 at the break. For the record, Lithgow was not the one who made the bad charge call. He was once again very tame after seeing him on opening night at Totino-Grace.
Eric McDavid runs the floor for a 3 point play at 12:42. That pulls Breck within 41-31. Soph Rashaud Rollins and Lynn make 3s. Then its Lynn with a steal for 2 then the assist to Rollins to convert another turnover. 12-4 Henry run and the lead is back to 18, 53-35, inside 8 minutes to play. Roddy would score 10 of the final 18 for Breck after that, but the end result is decided. Henry wins 77-53. David Roddy with all 16 of his points in the 2nd half to lead Breck. But not enough firepower around him with the young and inexperienced roster. Jordan Lynn with a high quality game of 23 points and a handful of assists to lead Henry. Guard Terell Smith with 13 of his 15 in the 1st half for the Patriots. Rashaud Rollins off the bench with 10 of his 12 points in the 2nd half.
Game 2: Wayzata vs North St. Paul
This one is all Wayzata early. Ryan Lindberg 2 3s, Ben Grosse drifts to the corner for another 3 and adds 3 the hard way. 16-2 Wayzata just over 5 minutes into the game. Gavin Baumgartner with 2 free throws, a nice tip dunk and 2 layups. Bryce Hempel with a block on 1 end and ends up with 2 freebies on the other. Wayzata stretches the lead to 18. North St. Paul scores 7 straight late before Lindberg beats the buzzer. 34-21 Wayzata at the half.
Another strong half start for Wayzata as Drew Galinson hits a 3, Lindberg and Baumgartner score and the lead is up to 20 in under 90 seconds. Baumgartner with a jumper and a dunk and the lead is 51-26 with 13 minutes left. That's a 17-5 run. North St. Paul would have 1 last run in them. Jaquas Towns with a 3 off a BLOB, Cahlil Golden fouled on a 3 for all 3 free throws and he adds a layup. Goodnews Kpegeol with 4 free throws. That's a 12-2 Polars run to pull within 15 inside of 11 minutes to play. Wayzata scores 10 of the next 14 to put it away. Wayzata wins 77-55. Gavin Baumgartner 18 points, Ryan Lindberg with 16 to lead the Trojans. Quality night for the group of Ben Grosse, Bryce Hempel and Mitchell Faust as they combine for 30 of the 32 bench points for Wayzata. Led by Gavin Baumgartner's defense, they hold Goodnews Kpegeol to 2 field goals and 10 points. Jaquas Towns with a nice night of 14 points to lead North St. Paul. Lonnie Thomas chips in with 10 off the bench.
Game 1: Minneapolis Henry vs Breck
Jordan Lynn scores the 1st 7 points of the game as Henry jumps out to a fast 9-0 lead. Henry's hustle and pressure making all the difference. Breck would pull to within 11-7. Henry goes on an 17-3 run from there to jump out to a 28-10 lead. Breck played the 2nd half of that run without star forward David Roddy. A terrible flop call in the post is a charge for his 2nd foul at the 9:26 mark and he sits the remainder of the half. Plus he was scoreless. Despite that, soph Joey Ganley scores 5 late points and Breck stays within 37-22 at the break. For the record, Lithgow was not the one who made the bad charge call. He was once again very tame after seeing him on opening night at Totino-Grace.
Eric McDavid runs the floor for a 3 point play at 12:42. That pulls Breck within 41-31. Soph Rashaud Rollins and Lynn make 3s. Then its Lynn with a steal for 2 then the assist to Rollins to convert another turnover. 12-4 Henry run and the lead is back to 18, 53-35, inside 8 minutes to play. Roddy would score 10 of the final 18 for Breck after that, but the end result is decided. Henry wins 77-53. David Roddy with all 16 of his points in the 2nd half to lead Breck. But not enough firepower around him with the young and inexperienced roster. Jordan Lynn with a high quality game of 23 points and a handful of assists to lead Henry. Guard Terell Smith with 13 of his 15 in the 1st half for the Patriots. Rashaud Rollins off the bench with 10 of his 12 points in the 2nd half.
Game 2: Wayzata vs North St. Paul
This one is all Wayzata early. Ryan Lindberg 2 3s, Ben Grosse drifts to the corner for another 3 and adds 3 the hard way. 16-2 Wayzata just over 5 minutes into the game. Gavin Baumgartner with 2 free throws, a nice tip dunk and 2 layups. Bryce Hempel with a block on 1 end and ends up with 2 freebies on the other. Wayzata stretches the lead to 18. North St. Paul scores 7 straight late before Lindberg beats the buzzer. 34-21 Wayzata at the half.
Another strong half start for Wayzata as Drew Galinson hits a 3, Lindberg and Baumgartner score and the lead is up to 20 in under 90 seconds. Baumgartner with a jumper and a dunk and the lead is 51-26 with 13 minutes left. That's a 17-5 run. North St. Paul would have 1 last run in them. Jaquas Towns with a 3 off a BLOB, Cahlil Golden fouled on a 3 for all 3 free throws and he adds a layup. Goodnews Kpegeol with 4 free throws. That's a 12-2 Polars run to pull within 15 inside of 11 minutes to play. Wayzata scores 10 of the next 14 to put it away. Wayzata wins 77-55. Gavin Baumgartner 18 points, Ryan Lindberg with 16 to lead the Trojans. Quality night for the group of Ben Grosse, Bryce Hempel and Mitchell Faust as they combine for 30 of the 32 bench points for Wayzata. Led by Gavin Baumgartner's defense, they hold Goodnews Kpegeol to 2 field goals and 10 points. Jaquas Towns with a nice night of 14 points to lead North St. Paul. Lonnie Thomas chips in with 10 off the bench.
Eagles make a statement
Prologue
Its a heavyweight showdown in the South Suburban as #5AAAA Apple Valley visits #2AAAA Lakeville North in the 1st meeting this season of the conference favorites. The expected full house in the seats and lining the rails. Toppers Pizza (sausage) plus 20 more ounces of gatorade are tonight's menu. Halftime entertaining was the little dribblers (Lakeville very youngsters) dribbling and passing to a mix with this classic included.
Song of the Day: Earth, Wind and Fire - Let's Groove
Number of Teams I've Seen: 67 (17 courts). 13 out of state, 8 girls
Beverage Ticker: 378.7 ounces (3895 Calories)
29 days, 38 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Pizza Ticker: 5
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Game Time:
The stars start very slow in this one. Instead its Nathan Macho off the Apple Valley bench with a pair of bombs. Tre Jones assisted 1 of those (maybe 2) and he caps the spurt by converting a turnover. 17-8 Apple Valley at 10:20. Lakeville North would get right back in it. Tyler Wahl and Jalen Lucas putback misses and Reuvers hits a 3 in the broken floor. Then its Reuvers coast to coast grabbing the board on 1 end and taking it all the way for 2 more. That's the 1st Panther lead at 22-20 outside of 6 minutes left in the half. Lucas puts back another miss and Wahl scores again to finish the 13-2 Lakeville North run. 26-22 Panthers just before the 4 minute mark. Reuvers makes 2 freebies but Jones finds Luke Martens for another Eagles 3 just before half. Tied at 32 as we go to halftime.
Reuvers with a jumper for a 37-35 Lakeville North lead with 15:10 left. Then its an 13-2 Apple Valley run. Mohamed Kone with his 2nd layup of the half and Jones to Ely Hendrickson for 3. Macho runs for 2 more and Jones finishes the run with a hoop. 48-39 Apple Valley as Lakeville North needs a timeout with 10:42 left. Mason Morse with a floater and Macho buries a kickout for 3. 56-45 Eagles with 7 minutes left. Jones to Spencer Rolland for a layup plus a hoop of his own. Kone adds 3-4 FTs and a layup. 67-52 with 2:22 left. Reuvers would miss 8 straight shots after that early jumper above. He makes the score interesting with 3 straight triples in the last 1:15. Its not enough though as Apple Valley comes away with an impressive 71-63 road win.
Post Game
Lakeville North falls to 3-1 with their 1st loss. They have another tough test at #10AAAA Woodbury on Thursday. Nate Reuvers leads the Panthers with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. But he was only 8-25 from the floor (5-22 start) including 3-16 from inside the arc. Soph Tyler Wahl with 14 and 12 boards before fouling out. Loved what Jalen Lucas did for the Panthers with 12 points and he was very active. Only 3 points (1 3 pointer) from the bench and 12 total from the rest of the roster.
Apple Valley eliminated any doubts about them being in that top group of elite AAAA teams. Tre Jones leads them with 18 points (7-16 FG), 7 boards and 7 assists. But it was the superior play of their role guys that made a huge difference. Nathan Macho outstanding with 3 bombs and 13 points off the bench. Mohamed Kone with 13 points, Mason Morse with 12. Kone too quick for Lakeville North to handle. The Eagles are now 5-1. Up next Madison (WI) East and #4AAAA Maple Grove in the Granite City Classic over the holidays.
Its a heavyweight showdown in the South Suburban as #5AAAA Apple Valley visits #2AAAA Lakeville North in the 1st meeting this season of the conference favorites. The expected full house in the seats and lining the rails. Toppers Pizza (sausage) plus 20 more ounces of gatorade are tonight's menu. Halftime entertaining was the little dribblers (Lakeville very youngsters) dribbling and passing to a mix with this classic included.
Song of the Day: Earth, Wind and Fire - Let's Groove
Number of Teams I've Seen: 67 (17 courts). 13 out of state, 8 girls
Beverage Ticker: 378.7 ounces (3895 Calories)
29 days, 38 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 120.9 ounces (1510 calories)
- Coke: 60 ounces (720 calories)
- Dr. Pepper: 12 ounces (150 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- A&W Root Beer (240 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 108.9 ounces (905 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
Pizza Ticker: 5
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Game Time:
The stars start very slow in this one. Instead its Nathan Macho off the Apple Valley bench with a pair of bombs. Tre Jones assisted 1 of those (maybe 2) and he caps the spurt by converting a turnover. 17-8 Apple Valley at 10:20. Lakeville North would get right back in it. Tyler Wahl and Jalen Lucas putback misses and Reuvers hits a 3 in the broken floor. Then its Reuvers coast to coast grabbing the board on 1 end and taking it all the way for 2 more. That's the 1st Panther lead at 22-20 outside of 6 minutes left in the half. Lucas puts back another miss and Wahl scores again to finish the 13-2 Lakeville North run. 26-22 Panthers just before the 4 minute mark. Reuvers makes 2 freebies but Jones finds Luke Martens for another Eagles 3 just before half. Tied at 32 as we go to halftime.
Reuvers with a jumper for a 37-35 Lakeville North lead with 15:10 left. Then its an 13-2 Apple Valley run. Mohamed Kone with his 2nd layup of the half and Jones to Ely Hendrickson for 3. Macho runs for 2 more and Jones finishes the run with a hoop. 48-39 Apple Valley as Lakeville North needs a timeout with 10:42 left. Mason Morse with a floater and Macho buries a kickout for 3. 56-45 Eagles with 7 minutes left. Jones to Spencer Rolland for a layup plus a hoop of his own. Kone adds 3-4 FTs and a layup. 67-52 with 2:22 left. Reuvers would miss 8 straight shots after that early jumper above. He makes the score interesting with 3 straight triples in the last 1:15. Its not enough though as Apple Valley comes away with an impressive 71-63 road win.
Post Game
Lakeville North falls to 3-1 with their 1st loss. They have another tough test at #10AAAA Woodbury on Thursday. Nate Reuvers leads the Panthers with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. But he was only 8-25 from the floor (5-22 start) including 3-16 from inside the arc. Soph Tyler Wahl with 14 and 12 boards before fouling out. Loved what Jalen Lucas did for the Panthers with 12 points and he was very active. Only 3 points (1 3 pointer) from the bench and 12 total from the rest of the roster.
Apple Valley eliminated any doubts about them being in that top group of elite AAAA teams. Tre Jones leads them with 18 points (7-16 FG), 7 boards and 7 assists. But it was the superior play of their role guys that made a huge difference. Nathan Macho outstanding with 3 bombs and 13 points off the bench. Mohamed Kone with 13 points, Mason Morse with 12. Kone too quick for Lakeville North to handle. The Eagles are now 5-1. Up next Madison (WI) East and #4AAAA Maple Grove in the Granite City Classic over the holidays.
Lycans run away in TCAC battle
Prologue
Back to the northwest metro I go for a matchup of Twin Cities Athletic Conference favorites. Its my pick in Division A, Prairie Seeds Academy, hosting my pick in Division C, St. Paul Prep/HSRA. HSRA stands for High School for Recording Arts. They are based on the midway in St. Paul. Athletic squads on both sides so a fun matchup in store. No concessions but I prepared with a large lunch. Today's tune comes to us courtesy the pregame warmup and while the actual content is different, the title is very appropriate for this time of year. Though it does kill me to acknowledge Drake in any form or fashion.
Song of the Day: No Shopping (Clean) - French Montana ft. Drake
Number of Teams I've Seen: 67 (16 courts). 13 out of state, 8 girls
Beverage Ticker: 358.7 ounces (3755 Calories)
28 days, 37 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 4
Game Time:
The pace in this one would not disappoint. Prairie Seeds with their expected scrambling defense jumps out to a 12-2 lead just 2:20 into the game. Daveon Gibson nails a kickout for 3, Jamal Robinson off the ball screen for 3 more. Brian Robinson with a steal and reverse finish. That puts him over the 1000 career points mark, the only player at Prairie Seeds to accomplish that. It also puts the Lycans up 22-8 at 12:42 and forces an HSRA timeout. The margin expands to 33-10 at the 9:20 mark. HSRA would make a comeback. Aaron Gill started slow but his 2nd bucket comes on a lob. Then a mean tip dunk of a miss. He gets a T for hanging on the rim. Romel Adams for 3 and the foul but he also gets whacked after explaining his offensive prowess to the defender. That cuts it to 15. AJ Abara converts the technicals and scores on a nice cut on the possession. 39-20 PSA at 8:10.
Brian Lewis for 3 and then a layup off a nice bullet pass from Adams. 43-31 PSA up but HSRA not going away inside the 6 minute mark. Gill gets it going before he has to sit with fouls. He drives for 2, goes coast to coast for 2 more, converts a putback off a turnover and finishes a dump off. Brian Robinson carrying PSA in this stretch with a pullup, a nice backdoor cut for 2 and a 4 free throws. That keeps PSA up 58-46 at the break.
HSRA comes out of the locker room strong. Malcolm Golden spins for 2 then converts a blocked shot into points, and adds a lefty finish. Its a 12-2 run to pull HSRA within 60-58 with 14:34 to play. They would get no closer thanks to Brian Robinson. He finishes a layup, then a 4 point play, an assist to Abara for 2 more, converts a turnover for 2 and pulls up on the break for 3. He has a hand in all 13 points in a 13-0 run. 73-58 PSA with over 12 to play. Abara then has 6 consecutive paint field goals for the Lycans. By that time its 88-67 PSA and there's no danger. Gill with a couple of hoops during the run and then Adams finds him off the glass for a dunk on the break. The rest is just running out the clock. Prairie Seeds wins 107-90.
Post Game
St. Paul Prep/High School For Recording Arts falls to 2-1 with the loss, 1-0 in the TCAC C Division. Aaron Gill leads the way with 27 points, 17 in the 1st half. Malcolm Golden with 18 of his 26 in the 2nd half. That included 4 3s, mostly of the high arching variety. Brian Lewis adds 21 with a pair of 3s. Its a thin roster with only 7 guys tonight. But that's still more than enough to overwhelm everybody else in their division. They will get fully into division play after the holiday break.
Prairie Seeds improves to 4-1 with the win. They are off until the Mike Miller Classic in South Dakota over the holidays. Brian Robinson with another outstanding game as he leads all scorers with 35 points, 3 triples included. AJ Abara inside was a revelation for me. He definitely fills what I thought would be a void inside. He scored 20 of his 31 in the 2nd half. That more than made up for quiet nights from their 2 other big scorers Jamal Robinson and Daveon Gibson who combined for just 15. They scrambled early on defense and it really bothered HSRA to the tune of 33-10. Then they got out of it and never really came back to it which was surprising. Like North, they can give the rest of the section fits with their pressure.
Its also worth noting the universal question when we visit Prairie Seeds. What is a Lycan anyway? Its a special type of werewolf. But more important than that, with Minnesota Transitions folding their season, it is the lycan that is most prone to mange.
Back to the northwest metro I go for a matchup of Twin Cities Athletic Conference favorites. Its my pick in Division A, Prairie Seeds Academy, hosting my pick in Division C, St. Paul Prep/HSRA. HSRA stands for High School for Recording Arts. They are based on the midway in St. Paul. Athletic squads on both sides so a fun matchup in store. No concessions but I prepared with a large lunch. Today's tune comes to us courtesy the pregame warmup and while the actual content is different, the title is very appropriate for this time of year. Though it does kill me to acknowledge Drake in any form or fashion.
Song of the Day: No Shopping (Clean) - French Montana ft. Drake
Number of Teams I've Seen: 67 (16 courts). 13 out of state, 8 girls
Beverage Ticker: 358.7 ounces (3755 Calories)
28 days, 37 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 120.9 ounces (1510 calories)
- Coke: 60 ounces (720 calories)
- Dr. Pepper: 12 ounces (150 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- A&W Root Beer (240 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 88.9 ounces (765 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 4
Game Time:
The pace in this one would not disappoint. Prairie Seeds with their expected scrambling defense jumps out to a 12-2 lead just 2:20 into the game. Daveon Gibson nails a kickout for 3, Jamal Robinson off the ball screen for 3 more. Brian Robinson with a steal and reverse finish. That puts him over the 1000 career points mark, the only player at Prairie Seeds to accomplish that. It also puts the Lycans up 22-8 at 12:42 and forces an HSRA timeout. The margin expands to 33-10 at the 9:20 mark. HSRA would make a comeback. Aaron Gill started slow but his 2nd bucket comes on a lob. Then a mean tip dunk of a miss. He gets a T for hanging on the rim. Romel Adams for 3 and the foul but he also gets whacked after explaining his offensive prowess to the defender. That cuts it to 15. AJ Abara converts the technicals and scores on a nice cut on the possession. 39-20 PSA at 8:10.
Brian Lewis for 3 and then a layup off a nice bullet pass from Adams. 43-31 PSA up but HSRA not going away inside the 6 minute mark. Gill gets it going before he has to sit with fouls. He drives for 2, goes coast to coast for 2 more, converts a putback off a turnover and finishes a dump off. Brian Robinson carrying PSA in this stretch with a pullup, a nice backdoor cut for 2 and a 4 free throws. That keeps PSA up 58-46 at the break.
HSRA comes out of the locker room strong. Malcolm Golden spins for 2 then converts a blocked shot into points, and adds a lefty finish. Its a 12-2 run to pull HSRA within 60-58 with 14:34 to play. They would get no closer thanks to Brian Robinson. He finishes a layup, then a 4 point play, an assist to Abara for 2 more, converts a turnover for 2 and pulls up on the break for 3. He has a hand in all 13 points in a 13-0 run. 73-58 PSA with over 12 to play. Abara then has 6 consecutive paint field goals for the Lycans. By that time its 88-67 PSA and there's no danger. Gill with a couple of hoops during the run and then Adams finds him off the glass for a dunk on the break. The rest is just running out the clock. Prairie Seeds wins 107-90.
Post Game
St. Paul Prep/High School For Recording Arts falls to 2-1 with the loss, 1-0 in the TCAC C Division. Aaron Gill leads the way with 27 points, 17 in the 1st half. Malcolm Golden with 18 of his 26 in the 2nd half. That included 4 3s, mostly of the high arching variety. Brian Lewis adds 21 with a pair of 3s. Its a thin roster with only 7 guys tonight. But that's still more than enough to overwhelm everybody else in their division. They will get fully into division play after the holiday break.
Prairie Seeds improves to 4-1 with the win. They are off until the Mike Miller Classic in South Dakota over the holidays. Brian Robinson with another outstanding game as he leads all scorers with 35 points, 3 triples included. AJ Abara inside was a revelation for me. He definitely fills what I thought would be a void inside. He scored 20 of his 31 in the 2nd half. That more than made up for quiet nights from their 2 other big scorers Jamal Robinson and Daveon Gibson who combined for just 15. They scrambled early on defense and it really bothered HSRA to the tune of 33-10. Then they got out of it and never really came back to it which was surprising. Like North, they can give the rest of the section fits with their pressure.
Its also worth noting the universal question when we visit Prairie Seeds. What is a Lycan anyway? Its a special type of werewolf. But more important than that, with Minnesota Transitions folding their season, it is the lycan that is most prone to mange.
2016 Metro Battle Thoughts
The inaugural Metro Battle took place at Sjoberg Flynn Arena at St. Thomas Academy. The original schedule called for 5 games but a couple of those (and pretty good ones at that) were called off due to the weather. 3 games on the schedule, pizza and a 16 oz Christmas gift Pepsi on the menu. Here's what I saw.
Game 1: Hill-Murray vs Bloomington Kennedy
Hill-Murray shorthanded as they played without star guard Simeon Davis. He had a 46 and 37 points in the 1st 2 games of the season and 22 vs Central on Tuesday. Despite that the Pioneers the do get off to a good start. Lance Meniboon with 6 in a row via 2 hoops and 2 free throws. Alex Kazos with a pair of left wing bombs. 21-13 Hill-Murray as we move past the midpoint of the 1st half. Kennedy explodes from there for a 32-6 run the rest of the half. Markel Aune 3 bombs in the run, Krystian Toliver all over the glass. Plus sloppy Hill-Murray play. 45-27 Kennedy at the break. The lead balloons to 32 with 8:20 left. Hill-Murray would go on a 18-3 run thanks to Conik Runyon knocking down 4 of his 6 3s. That would cut the margin to 17 but no real danger. Kennedy wins 83-62, Josh Bryant with 19 of his 25 in the 2nd half. Forward Krystian Toliver has been a major impact guy for the Eagles this season. He goes for a double double with 19 points. That's double figures for him in the last 3 games. PG Markel Aune adds 17. Conik Runyon 6 3s and 20 points to lead Hill-Murray. Lance Meniboom off the bench with 8, mostly in the 1st half despite fouls. Hill-Murray has now lost 5 straight. Kennedy has now won 4 in a row after a winless season last year.
Game 2: Hastings vs Benilde-St. Margaret's
BSM soph Jamison Battle with 10 points in the 1st 3:28 as the Red Knights jump out to a 13-5 lead. Hastings would battle back and thanks to some Red Knights foul trouble they would take a 33-30 lead just before half. That lead would become 37-35 just after the half. Then BSM would run away with a 27-5 run over 7:30. All 5 starters getting involved during that run. Hastings would cut that to 12 with 5 minutes left but they get no closer. BSM wins 79-61. BSM with 4 in double figures. Will Whitmore 16, Jamison Battle 15, Derek Drees 15, Joe Dunn 12. Colin Kummer with 15 to lead Hastings. BSM now 4-1 going into neighborhood home showdowns with Edina and De La Salle this week. Soph Jamison Battle definitely showed some upside. Hastings falls to 2-3.
Game 3: Richfield at St. Thomas Academy
The day finished with a battle between a couple of former Classic Suburban heavyweights. Richfield would control most of the 1st half but not pull away. The Cadets went deep into their bench to try and find something that would work. 37-31 Richfield at the break. St. Thomas would start the 2ndf half on an 18-4 run to take control. Sam Schleper with 7 points in the run. A Devin Wade-Henderson steal would cut the margin to 3 with 3:35 left. St. Thomas does close it out with a pair of hoops and 7-7 FTs down the stretch. St. Thomas Academy wins 72-66. Soph guard Jack Thompson impressed for St. Thomas as he topped all scorers with 17. Sam Schleper and Louis Baillon added 14 each. George Stewart with 12. Richfield with 15 from Jabari Atiim and 11 from Jason Stewart. St. Thomas Academy improves to 4-2 going into their rivalry game with Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday. Richfield falls to 2-2. They have a tough week on the road at St. Paul Central and then versus a pair of very good Wisconsin teams that I've seen (Destiny and Milwaukee Washington) at the end of the week.
Game 1: Hill-Murray vs Bloomington Kennedy
Hill-Murray shorthanded as they played without star guard Simeon Davis. He had a 46 and 37 points in the 1st 2 games of the season and 22 vs Central on Tuesday. Despite that the Pioneers the do get off to a good start. Lance Meniboon with 6 in a row via 2 hoops and 2 free throws. Alex Kazos with a pair of left wing bombs. 21-13 Hill-Murray as we move past the midpoint of the 1st half. Kennedy explodes from there for a 32-6 run the rest of the half. Markel Aune 3 bombs in the run, Krystian Toliver all over the glass. Plus sloppy Hill-Murray play. 45-27 Kennedy at the break. The lead balloons to 32 with 8:20 left. Hill-Murray would go on a 18-3 run thanks to Conik Runyon knocking down 4 of his 6 3s. That would cut the margin to 17 but no real danger. Kennedy wins 83-62, Josh Bryant with 19 of his 25 in the 2nd half. Forward Krystian Toliver has been a major impact guy for the Eagles this season. He goes for a double double with 19 points. That's double figures for him in the last 3 games. PG Markel Aune adds 17. Conik Runyon 6 3s and 20 points to lead Hill-Murray. Lance Meniboom off the bench with 8, mostly in the 1st half despite fouls. Hill-Murray has now lost 5 straight. Kennedy has now won 4 in a row after a winless season last year.
Game 2: Hastings vs Benilde-St. Margaret's
BSM soph Jamison Battle with 10 points in the 1st 3:28 as the Red Knights jump out to a 13-5 lead. Hastings would battle back and thanks to some Red Knights foul trouble they would take a 33-30 lead just before half. That lead would become 37-35 just after the half. Then BSM would run away with a 27-5 run over 7:30. All 5 starters getting involved during that run. Hastings would cut that to 12 with 5 minutes left but they get no closer. BSM wins 79-61. BSM with 4 in double figures. Will Whitmore 16, Jamison Battle 15, Derek Drees 15, Joe Dunn 12. Colin Kummer with 15 to lead Hastings. BSM now 4-1 going into neighborhood home showdowns with Edina and De La Salle this week. Soph Jamison Battle definitely showed some upside. Hastings falls to 2-3.
Game 3: Richfield at St. Thomas Academy
The day finished with a battle between a couple of former Classic Suburban heavyweights. Richfield would control most of the 1st half but not pull away. The Cadets went deep into their bench to try and find something that would work. 37-31 Richfield at the break. St. Thomas would start the 2ndf half on an 18-4 run to take control. Sam Schleper with 7 points in the run. A Devin Wade-Henderson steal would cut the margin to 3 with 3:35 left. St. Thomas does close it out with a pair of hoops and 7-7 FTs down the stretch. St. Thomas Academy wins 72-66. Soph guard Jack Thompson impressed for St. Thomas as he topped all scorers with 17. Sam Schleper and Louis Baillon added 14 each. George Stewart with 12. Richfield with 15 from Jabari Atiim and 11 from Jason Stewart. St. Thomas Academy improves to 4-2 going into their rivalry game with Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday. Richfield falls to 2-2. They have a tough week on the road at St. Paul Central and then versus a pair of very good Wisconsin teams that I've seen (Destiny and Milwaukee Washington) at the end of the week.
Aggies beat an old conference foe
Prologue
And I thought last night was long. Today is another trip to the St. Paul side of the metro. Despite many cancellations due to the weather, the St. Agnes at Mounds Park Academy doubleheader remained on my schedule. Vocal crowd for Spirit Night. After trying to wait out the Domino's Pizza, I pay attention and realize there's a pulled pork meal deal. So that's 240 calories of Doritos plus the quality sandwich. 240 more calories of Coke washes it down. Our tune from the public address seems reasonably appropriate for the day. No line dancing please as it was a terrible fad along with the Macarena.
Song of the Day: Boot Scootin' Boogie - Brooks and Dunn
Number of Teams I've Seen: 58 (14 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 342.7 ounces (3555 Calories)
25 days, 33 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 3
Game Time:
The start is incredibly slow. Mounds Park opens with 4 turnovers and 2 airballs. Add in a swish and they don't hit the rim for the 1st 6 minutes. Brendan Connolly with a 3 and Mounds Park takes a 10-5 lead just inside the 10 minute mark. But the offense goes nowhere after that. Gary Smith with 2 free throws and 3 jumpers (2 off side pick and roll action). He'll add 4 more freebies and convert a turnover for 2 more. Its a 21-0 Aggies run that goes over 9+ minutes. Mounds Park breaks the drought with a late BLOB layup. 28-13 St. Agnes at the break.
The early portion of the 2nd half is very ugly. St. Agnes scores on a putback, a free throw off an offensive board and a turnover while missing 2 free throws. Mounds Park misses 2 free throws and gets a bucket on a putback (could've been a charge). That's 5-2 in the 1st 8 minutes of the half, ouch. 33-15 St. Agnes at that point. The offenses explode (by relative comparison) the rest of the way. St. Agnes runs away from there to get running time. 56-25 Aggies win. They hold Mounds Park Academy to 3 2nd half field goals.
Post Game
Mounds Park Academy loses their home opener to fall to 1-3 on the season. They'll host South St. Paul on Monday before hosting their holiday tourney. Brendan Connolly leads the Panthers with 11 points. Unofficial tally had Mounds Park Academy with 27 turnovers compared to 25 points. That's a tough night.
St. Agnes improves to 1-2 with the win. Its the 1st varsity win for coach Chris Hopkins. Gary Smith leads the way with 21 points. He was active inside and had the shooting touch going. Darius Lopez with 11 points and a pair of 1st half 3s. Brandon Plasch and Marcus Johnson with 9 each. Solid defensive effort from the Aggies. You could really see an emphasis on not forcing shots on the offensive end. Seeing no donut pivots into a backdoor layup was somewhat disappointing though. St. Agnes has a pair of games against the MCAA next week. Maranatha comes calling on Tuesday and they visit Legacy on Thursday to close out the pre-holiday schedule.
And I thought last night was long. Today is another trip to the St. Paul side of the metro. Despite many cancellations due to the weather, the St. Agnes at Mounds Park Academy doubleheader remained on my schedule. Vocal crowd for Spirit Night. After trying to wait out the Domino's Pizza, I pay attention and realize there's a pulled pork meal deal. So that's 240 calories of Doritos plus the quality sandwich. 240 more calories of Coke washes it down. Our tune from the public address seems reasonably appropriate for the day. No line dancing please as it was a terrible fad along with the Macarena.
Song of the Day: Boot Scootin' Boogie - Brooks and Dunn
Number of Teams I've Seen: 58 (14 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 342.7 ounces (3555 Calories)
25 days, 33 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 104.9 ounces (1310 calories)
- Coke: 60 ounces (720 calories)
- Dr. Pepper: 12 ounces (150 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- A&W Root Beer (240 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 88.9 ounces (765 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 3
Game Time:
The start is incredibly slow. Mounds Park opens with 4 turnovers and 2 airballs. Add in a swish and they don't hit the rim for the 1st 6 minutes. Brendan Connolly with a 3 and Mounds Park takes a 10-5 lead just inside the 10 minute mark. But the offense goes nowhere after that. Gary Smith with 2 free throws and 3 jumpers (2 off side pick and roll action). He'll add 4 more freebies and convert a turnover for 2 more. Its a 21-0 Aggies run that goes over 9+ minutes. Mounds Park breaks the drought with a late BLOB layup. 28-13 St. Agnes at the break.
The early portion of the 2nd half is very ugly. St. Agnes scores on a putback, a free throw off an offensive board and a turnover while missing 2 free throws. Mounds Park misses 2 free throws and gets a bucket on a putback (could've been a charge). That's 5-2 in the 1st 8 minutes of the half, ouch. 33-15 St. Agnes at that point. The offenses explode (by relative comparison) the rest of the way. St. Agnes runs away from there to get running time. 56-25 Aggies win. They hold Mounds Park Academy to 3 2nd half field goals.
Post Game
Mounds Park Academy loses their home opener to fall to 1-3 on the season. They'll host South St. Paul on Monday before hosting their holiday tourney. Brendan Connolly leads the Panthers with 11 points. Unofficial tally had Mounds Park Academy with 27 turnovers compared to 25 points. That's a tough night.
St. Agnes improves to 1-2 with the win. Its the 1st varsity win for coach Chris Hopkins. Gary Smith leads the way with 21 points. He was active inside and had the shooting touch going. Darius Lopez with 11 points and a pair of 1st half 3s. Brandon Plasch and Marcus Johnson with 9 each. Solid defensive effort from the Aggies. You could really see an emphasis on not forcing shots on the offensive end. Seeing no donut pivots into a backdoor layup was somewhat disappointing though. St. Agnes has a pair of games against the MCAA next week. Maranatha comes calling on Tuesday and they visit Legacy on Thursday to close out the pre-holiday schedule.
Spartans survive a section battle
Prologue
Another long night on the road as its a trip to Simley for their section 3AAA home game with St. Paul Highland Park. Simley won the section last year but Highland Park won the regular season meeting 81-60 last year. Only a St. Thomas Academy upset of the Scots kept the rematch from happening in the section final. A ho hum hot dog with 140 calories of Doritos Nacho chips. Dr Pepper not something I find too often so I did that for beverage selection. After seeing the Humboldt JVs win at the buzzer earlier in the week, Highland Park's JVs give up a 3 at the regulation buzzer to force OT (#FoulOrDefend). Simley wins that JV game by 6 in OT. One of the best music selections I've heard in a while as well. Beat It and Black Or White (Michael Jackson), Separate Ways (Journey), We Didn't Start The Fire (Billy Joel), You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon), Hurts So Good (John Cougar, AKA John Mellencamp), Revolution (Beatles), Layla (original Derek and the Dominoes version). A+ playlist. All of that plus this classic.
Song of the Day: Ram Jam - Black Betty
Number of Teams I've Seen: 56 (13 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 322.7 ounces (3315 Calories)
24 days, 31 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 3
Game Time:
DeAndre Smith spins for 2 to start the game and adds 2 free throws as Simley jumps out to an 11-3 lead 6 minutes in. Joe Taubert sparks Highland Park off the bench with 4-4 free throws in a 7-0 Scots spurt. Smith drives for 2 more, Sam Vujovich and Isaiah Robinson with 3s leading to an 8-0 run and MoKiller timeout from Simley. That leads us into Beat It though. Extra pass finds Vujovich for another bomb, Robinson runs for the old fashioned 3 point play. The Simley run is 18-2 in 3:17. 29-12 Spartans at the 5:30 mark. After sitting out most of the half, Dreem Kelly-Jabbar enters for Highland Park. Plus you have Smith sitting with fouls while coach DePerry gambled on Amitri Collins-Westlund staying in with 2 fouls. That pays off plus the Scots go on a 7-0 run in the last minute of the half to pull within 34-24.
Highland Park continues with their scrambling run and jump pressure in the 2nd half after showing it late in the 1st. That speeds Simley up and leads to a 7-0 run to start the half for the Scots. Simley settles down and starts to get the ball middle vs the traps. Robinson converts one of these to break the run. Kelly-Jabbar goes up high to softly put a lob home to pull the Scots within 38-37. Junior forward Jake Binley for Simley has a do everything type of role and he made critical plays here. He knocks down a jumper and then sets a nice backscreen out of the Swing Offense to get himself an open 3. That's in a 9-2 run to push the lead back to 8. Binley adds a tip in and a breakaway dunk to put Simley up 61-47 with 3:50 left. The lead is 10 at the 2 minute mark and 65-58 with 1:04 left. I figure that's enough for an evening.
Boy does that choice look like a mistake. Highland Park somehow rallies to force overtime at 65 all. Their pressure did rattle Simley so its not a major shock. Simley would hang on to win 75-71 in OT.
Post Game
Highland Park suffers their 1st loss of the year to fall to 3-1. Joe Taubert with 19 points off the bench to lead the Scots. Guard Amitri Collins-Westlund was held in check for most of the night. He finishes with 15 points. Dreem Kelly-Jabbar and Josh Aune seeing limited minutes in this one. Jabbar would finish with 13 points, 10 after halftime. They used their quick guards to effectively scramble and force Simley into turnovers. Plus they were able to block shots inside when Simley beat the pressure. Not something you'd expect from a lineup that isn't big. They go into the holiday break with 3 home games. Sibley on Saturday and then South and Southwest next week.
DeAndre Smith leads Simley with 23 points despite some early foul issues. He's a difficult matchup as he has enough bulk to bully people inside but can play enough away from the basket to work against a bigger defender. Jake Binley with 17 as part of the critical plays in the 2nd half. Isaiah Robinson chips in with 15 off the bench. Simley improves to 3-1 with the win. Its a back to back vs the St Paul City for the Spartans. Como Park comes calling on Friday. Simley is then off until the Winona Warrior Club Tournament over the holidays.
Another long night on the road as its a trip to Simley for their section 3AAA home game with St. Paul Highland Park. Simley won the section last year but Highland Park won the regular season meeting 81-60 last year. Only a St. Thomas Academy upset of the Scots kept the rematch from happening in the section final. A ho hum hot dog with 140 calories of Doritos Nacho chips. Dr Pepper not something I find too often so I did that for beverage selection. After seeing the Humboldt JVs win at the buzzer earlier in the week, Highland Park's JVs give up a 3 at the regulation buzzer to force OT (#FoulOrDefend). Simley wins that JV game by 6 in OT. One of the best music selections I've heard in a while as well. Beat It and Black Or White (Michael Jackson), Separate Ways (Journey), We Didn't Start The Fire (Billy Joel), You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon), Hurts So Good (John Cougar, AKA John Mellencamp), Revolution (Beatles), Layla (original Derek and the Dominoes version). A+ playlist. All of that plus this classic.
Song of the Day: Ram Jam - Black Betty
Number of Teams I've Seen: 56 (13 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 322.7 ounces (3315 Calories)
24 days, 31 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 104.9 ounces (1310 calories)
- Coke: 40 ounces (480 calories)
- Dr. Pepper: 12 ounces (150 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- A&W Root Beer (240 calories )
- Red Gatorade: 88.9 ounces (765 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 3
Game Time:
DeAndre Smith spins for 2 to start the game and adds 2 free throws as Simley jumps out to an 11-3 lead 6 minutes in. Joe Taubert sparks Highland Park off the bench with 4-4 free throws in a 7-0 Scots spurt. Smith drives for 2 more, Sam Vujovich and Isaiah Robinson with 3s leading to an 8-0 run and MoKiller timeout from Simley. That leads us into Beat It though. Extra pass finds Vujovich for another bomb, Robinson runs for the old fashioned 3 point play. The Simley run is 18-2 in 3:17. 29-12 Spartans at the 5:30 mark. After sitting out most of the half, Dreem Kelly-Jabbar enters for Highland Park. Plus you have Smith sitting with fouls while coach DePerry gambled on Amitri Collins-Westlund staying in with 2 fouls. That pays off plus the Scots go on a 7-0 run in the last minute of the half to pull within 34-24.
Highland Park continues with their scrambling run and jump pressure in the 2nd half after showing it late in the 1st. That speeds Simley up and leads to a 7-0 run to start the half for the Scots. Simley settles down and starts to get the ball middle vs the traps. Robinson converts one of these to break the run. Kelly-Jabbar goes up high to softly put a lob home to pull the Scots within 38-37. Junior forward Jake Binley for Simley has a do everything type of role and he made critical plays here. He knocks down a jumper and then sets a nice backscreen out of the Swing Offense to get himself an open 3. That's in a 9-2 run to push the lead back to 8. Binley adds a tip in and a breakaway dunk to put Simley up 61-47 with 3:50 left. The lead is 10 at the 2 minute mark and 65-58 with 1:04 left. I figure that's enough for an evening.
Boy does that choice look like a mistake. Highland Park somehow rallies to force overtime at 65 all. Their pressure did rattle Simley so its not a major shock. Simley would hang on to win 75-71 in OT.
Post Game
Highland Park suffers their 1st loss of the year to fall to 3-1. Joe Taubert with 19 points off the bench to lead the Scots. Guard Amitri Collins-Westlund was held in check for most of the night. He finishes with 15 points. Dreem Kelly-Jabbar and Josh Aune seeing limited minutes in this one. Jabbar would finish with 13 points, 10 after halftime. They used their quick guards to effectively scramble and force Simley into turnovers. Plus they were able to block shots inside when Simley beat the pressure. Not something you'd expect from a lineup that isn't big. They go into the holiday break with 3 home games. Sibley on Saturday and then South and Southwest next week.
DeAndre Smith leads Simley with 23 points despite some early foul issues. He's a difficult matchup as he has enough bulk to bully people inside but can play enough away from the basket to work against a bigger defender. Jake Binley with 17 as part of the critical plays in the 2nd half. Isaiah Robinson chips in with 15 off the bench. Simley improves to 3-1 with the win. Its a back to back vs the St Paul City for the Spartans. Como Park comes calling on Friday. Simley is then off until the Winona Warrior Club Tournament over the holidays.
Lightning with a hailstorm of 3s
Prologue
After skipping a trip to the south metro yesterday, its time to make up for that with a trip to Eastview to see the Lightning take on Hastings in a section 3AAAA matchup. Minnehaha AD and head girls coach Josh Thurow and the MSHSL's Tim Leighton part of the night's officiating crew. Its Domino's cheese pizza, the up sell of Lays Sour Cream and Onion potato chips (extra 160 calories) plus 20 oz of Red Powerade for the main course. Then a hand delivered freshly baked chocolate chip cookie courtesy of the super kind and highly organized parents at the Eastview concession stand.
Song of the Day: Prince - Raspberry Beret
Number of Teams I've Seen: 54 (12 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 310.7 ounces (3165 Calories)
23 days, 30 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 3
Game Time:
Good start for Hastings with Brandon Haraldson draining a 3. Colin Kummer with the jumper off a handoff. 9-4 Hastings at 13:50. Levi Zak adds a 3 off the bench. That's sandwiched by a pair of bombs from Eastview's freshman forward Tate Machacek. 14-10 Hastings at the 12:30 mark when Eastview heats up and the Raiders go cold. Mason Carpenter with a jumper, Tyler Worm for 3, Carpenter with a transition 3, turnover for a layup. Jameson Bryan adds a pullup 3 of his own on the break. Carpenter with 2 free throws to end the 15-0 run. Hastings taking their 2nd time of the run to try and stem the tide. Sawyer Levos and Haraldson go back to back with 3s of their own for the Raiders. 25-20 Eastview at 6:33. But those 2 hoops would be the only Hastings points in over 11 minutes. Derek Larson and Machacek with more 3s. Machacek adds a pretty spin and lefty finish before another Carpenter 3. Eastview goes to the break up 37-24 thanks to 8 3s.
The bombs keep falling in the 2nd half. Carpenter and Bryan with 2 more each. Haraldson counters with 2 of his own as Hastings tries to stay within striking distance down 49-34 with under 14 minutes left. But its not to be. Bryan with 3 the hard way plus 2 more on a lefty finish. Brady Miller with back to back triples to blow it open. Hastings goes 4 minutes with only 2 free throws. The run ends up being 17-4. That pushes the margin to 63-38 with about 9 minutes left. The rest is garbage time so I dash off to not be frozen in a snowbank. Eastview wins 81-55.
Post Game
Hastings falls to 2-2 on the season. Brandon Haraldson with 4 3s and 12 points to lead the Raiders. Colin Kummer held to 7 after averaging 15 PPG in the 1st 3. Junior forward Sawyer Levos with 9. I liked the idea of some of the offensive stuff they ran (corner series look for Kummer worked well). They'll play Benilde-St. Margaret's Saturday afternoon in the Metro East vs Metro West Showdown at St. Thomas Academy.
Eastview gets their 1st win of the season to improve to 1-2. They had 14 3s when I left and may have hit another. That was from 6 different players. Mason Carpenter 4 3s and 18 or 20 points to lead the Lightning. Jameson Bryan, Brady Miller and Tate Machacek all had multiple 3s as well. Loved what I saw from Machacek, especially as a freshman. Needs strength but can shoot it and has nice footwork. Also liked sophomore point guard Izaak Raspberry (hence today's tune). Didn't see much of the Paul Goetz playbook tonight which was a disappointment. He usually has plenty of really good sets to watch. It back to back for the Lightning as they visit Minneapolis South on Thursday. Then a tough stretch where they play at Lakeville South and Chaska next week. Then its Hopkins to open the Augsburg tourney over the holidays.
After skipping a trip to the south metro yesterday, its time to make up for that with a trip to Eastview to see the Lightning take on Hastings in a section 3AAAA matchup. Minnehaha AD and head girls coach Josh Thurow and the MSHSL's Tim Leighton part of the night's officiating crew. Its Domino's cheese pizza, the up sell of Lays Sour Cream and Onion potato chips (extra 160 calories) plus 20 oz of Red Powerade for the main course. Then a hand delivered freshly baked chocolate chip cookie courtesy of the super kind and highly organized parents at the Eastview concession stand.
Song of the Day: Prince - Raspberry Beret
Number of Teams I've Seen: 54 (12 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 310.7 ounces (3165 Calories)
23 days, 30 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 104.9 ounces (1310 calories)
- Coke: 40 ounces (480 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- A&W Root Beer (240 calories )
- Red Gatorade: 88.9 ounces (765 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 3
Game Time:
Good start for Hastings with Brandon Haraldson draining a 3. Colin Kummer with the jumper off a handoff. 9-4 Hastings at 13:50. Levi Zak adds a 3 off the bench. That's sandwiched by a pair of bombs from Eastview's freshman forward Tate Machacek. 14-10 Hastings at the 12:30 mark when Eastview heats up and the Raiders go cold. Mason Carpenter with a jumper, Tyler Worm for 3, Carpenter with a transition 3, turnover for a layup. Jameson Bryan adds a pullup 3 of his own on the break. Carpenter with 2 free throws to end the 15-0 run. Hastings taking their 2nd time of the run to try and stem the tide. Sawyer Levos and Haraldson go back to back with 3s of their own for the Raiders. 25-20 Eastview at 6:33. But those 2 hoops would be the only Hastings points in over 11 minutes. Derek Larson and Machacek with more 3s. Machacek adds a pretty spin and lefty finish before another Carpenter 3. Eastview goes to the break up 37-24 thanks to 8 3s.
The bombs keep falling in the 2nd half. Carpenter and Bryan with 2 more each. Haraldson counters with 2 of his own as Hastings tries to stay within striking distance down 49-34 with under 14 minutes left. But its not to be. Bryan with 3 the hard way plus 2 more on a lefty finish. Brady Miller with back to back triples to blow it open. Hastings goes 4 minutes with only 2 free throws. The run ends up being 17-4. That pushes the margin to 63-38 with about 9 minutes left. The rest is garbage time so I dash off to not be frozen in a snowbank. Eastview wins 81-55.
Post Game
Hastings falls to 2-2 on the season. Brandon Haraldson with 4 3s and 12 points to lead the Raiders. Colin Kummer held to 7 after averaging 15 PPG in the 1st 3. Junior forward Sawyer Levos with 9. I liked the idea of some of the offensive stuff they ran (corner series look for Kummer worked well). They'll play Benilde-St. Margaret's Saturday afternoon in the Metro East vs Metro West Showdown at St. Thomas Academy.
Eastview gets their 1st win of the season to improve to 1-2. They had 14 3s when I left and may have hit another. That was from 6 different players. Mason Carpenter 4 3s and 18 or 20 points to lead the Lightning. Jameson Bryan, Brady Miller and Tate Machacek all had multiple 3s as well. Loved what I saw from Machacek, especially as a freshman. Needs strength but can shoot it and has nice footwork. Also liked sophomore point guard Izaak Raspberry (hence today's tune). Didn't see much of the Paul Goetz playbook tonight which was a disappointment. He usually has plenty of really good sets to watch. It back to back for the Lightning as they visit Minneapolis South on Thursday. Then a tough stretch where they play at Lakeville South and Chaska next week. Then its Hopkins to open the Augsburg tourney over the holidays.
Czar goes off the grid
Prologue
Its a big night on the schedule with 3 games featuring duels of ranked teams. But I decide to take the night to see a couple of teams and a venue that I haven't seen much of. Its a cold trip to St. Paul Humboldt to see the Hawks take on Park of Cottage Grove. High quality hot dog with more Gatorade is the menu.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 52 (11 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 290.7 ounces (3035 Calories)
22 days, 29 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Park gets off to a great start. Soph forward Charlie Gorres with a triple and a pair of free throws. Brendan Beaulieu with an emphatic dunk and converts a turnover into a 3 point play. 12-2 Park just over 3 minutes in. Beaulieu and Gorres would lead the offense in the 1st half with 25 of the 35 points. But Humboldt wouldn't go away. A 6-0 run pulls them within 7 at the 4:42 mark. Then a buzzer beater putback cuts the margin to 35-30 at the half.
The momentum stays with the Hawks to start the 2nd half. La'Vonta Bryant with a 3 point play and we're all tied at 39 with 14:55 remaining. Soph Rodney Jefferson with 4 free throws and converts a steal. Gorres drives for a 3 point play. That's part of an 11-1 run to stretch the margin back to double figures. Park is out of danger from there as the margin hangs around 10. They go on to win 72-64.
Post Game
Humboldt falls to 0-4 with the loss. They've now lost 14 of 15 this calendar year going back to last season. They visit upstart Bloomington Kennedy on Friday. Then they'll host PACT next Tuesday. Arvik Bell and La'Vonta Bryant both in double figures for the Hawks.
Park improves to 2-1 with the win. Charlie Gorres goes for 20+ with a handful of blocks. Brendan Beaulieu also in double figures for the Wolfpack. Park gets the W but this is a game they would have liked to put away early. Instead the margin was 10 for most of the night. Its a young rotation with 4 of the 8 being sophomores. Park opens Suburban East play on Friday at home vs Mounds View. Then they host Henry Sibley next Tuesday to end their pre-holiday schedule.
Its a big night on the schedule with 3 games featuring duels of ranked teams. But I decide to take the night to see a couple of teams and a venue that I haven't seen much of. Its a cold trip to St. Paul Humboldt to see the Hawks take on Park of Cottage Grove. High quality hot dog with more Gatorade is the menu.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 52 (11 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 290.7 ounces (3035 Calories)
22 days, 29 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 104.9 ounces (1310 calories)
- Coke: 40 ounces (480 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- A&W Root Beer (240 calories )
- Red Gatorade: 88.9 ounces (765 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Park gets off to a great start. Soph forward Charlie Gorres with a triple and a pair of free throws. Brendan Beaulieu with an emphatic dunk and converts a turnover into a 3 point play. 12-2 Park just over 3 minutes in. Beaulieu and Gorres would lead the offense in the 1st half with 25 of the 35 points. But Humboldt wouldn't go away. A 6-0 run pulls them within 7 at the 4:42 mark. Then a buzzer beater putback cuts the margin to 35-30 at the half.
The momentum stays with the Hawks to start the 2nd half. La'Vonta Bryant with a 3 point play and we're all tied at 39 with 14:55 remaining. Soph Rodney Jefferson with 4 free throws and converts a steal. Gorres drives for a 3 point play. That's part of an 11-1 run to stretch the margin back to double figures. Park is out of danger from there as the margin hangs around 10. They go on to win 72-64.
Post Game
Humboldt falls to 0-4 with the loss. They've now lost 14 of 15 this calendar year going back to last season. They visit upstart Bloomington Kennedy on Friday. Then they'll host PACT next Tuesday. Arvik Bell and La'Vonta Bryant both in double figures for the Hawks.
Park improves to 2-1 with the win. Charlie Gorres goes for 20+ with a handful of blocks. Brendan Beaulieu also in double figures for the Wolfpack. Park gets the W but this is a game they would have liked to put away early. Instead the margin was 10 for most of the night. Its a young rotation with 4 of the 8 being sophomores. Park opens Suburban East play on Friday at home vs Mounds View. Then they host Henry Sibley next Tuesday to end their pre-holiday schedule.
Tigers run away from Mustangs
Prologue
To another one of my favorite small school venues as I visit Maranatha for their non-conference game against Fridley. The East side cafeteria with Papa Murphy's sausage pizza tonight. A&W Root Beer always a hard to find delicacy so we'll have that. The large slice of pizza devoured while watching thru the windows at the end of the gym in one of the more unique local views. The sound system needs a complete overhaul but it did pick up something I haven't had happen before. One of the Maranatha managers was using her phone to provide the music for the evening. She had it play the national anthem for the game and it went off during the anthem.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 50 (10 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 270.7 ounces (2895 Calories)
21 days, 28 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 2
Game Time:
This one gets ugly right away. Tenzin Sopa to the rim for 2, Tirik Reeves 3 straight layups plus a Jerome Cunningham dunk in a 12-0 run in the 1st 3:15. 3 straight Maranatha turnovers for buckets force a Mustangs timeout down 30-12 at the 5:49 mark. Its 39-20 at the break. More of the same in the 2nd half. Michael Crandall with a pair of triples and a bucket to get it to the running time margin at 10:30. The JV sees the rest of the time. Despite a bit of pressing from the MCA regulars after that, Fridley wins 74-37.
Post Game
Maranatha falls to 2-1 with the loss. Turnovers were a huge problem. Plus their transition defense was suspect as well. Soph Julian Cavin leads the way with 12 points. Nobody else with more than 6. The Mustangs go on the road to St. Paul Johnson on Thursday and to St. Agnes next Tuesday.
Fridley improves to 2-2 with the win. They really convert from defense to offense in a hurry. That generated a ton of easy buckets. That was in addition to the easy ones via turnovers. Tirik Reeves leads the Tigers with 17 of his 21 in the 1st half. Michael Crandall with 3 bombs off the bench to reach 11 points. 11 Tigers end up scoring in this one as the JV took care of the running time portion of things. Next up for Fridley is a trip to Mounds View in a back to back. Then the Tigers host Farmington on Friday. Next week is neighborhood road trips to Spring Lake Park and Irondale.
To another one of my favorite small school venues as I visit Maranatha for their non-conference game against Fridley. The East side cafeteria with Papa Murphy's sausage pizza tonight. A&W Root Beer always a hard to find delicacy so we'll have that. The large slice of pizza devoured while watching thru the windows at the end of the gym in one of the more unique local views. The sound system needs a complete overhaul but it did pick up something I haven't had happen before. One of the Maranatha managers was using her phone to provide the music for the evening. She had it play the national anthem for the game and it went off during the anthem.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 50 (10 courts). 13 out of state, 6 girls
Beverage Ticker: 270.7 ounces (2895 Calories)
21 days, 28 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 104.9 ounces (1310 calories)
- Coke: 40 ounces (480 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- A&W Root Beer (240 calories )
- Red Gatorade: 68.9 ounces (625 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 3
Pizza Ticker: 2
Game Time:
This one gets ugly right away. Tenzin Sopa to the rim for 2, Tirik Reeves 3 straight layups plus a Jerome Cunningham dunk in a 12-0 run in the 1st 3:15. 3 straight Maranatha turnovers for buckets force a Mustangs timeout down 30-12 at the 5:49 mark. Its 39-20 at the break. More of the same in the 2nd half. Michael Crandall with a pair of triples and a bucket to get it to the running time margin at 10:30. The JV sees the rest of the time. Despite a bit of pressing from the MCA regulars after that, Fridley wins 74-37.
Post Game
Maranatha falls to 2-1 with the loss. Turnovers were a huge problem. Plus their transition defense was suspect as well. Soph Julian Cavin leads the way with 12 points. Nobody else with more than 6. The Mustangs go on the road to St. Paul Johnson on Thursday and to St. Agnes next Tuesday.
Fridley improves to 2-2 with the win. They really convert from defense to offense in a hurry. That generated a ton of easy buckets. That was in addition to the easy ones via turnovers. Tirik Reeves leads the Tigers with 17 of his 21 in the 1st half. Michael Crandall with 3 bombs off the bench to reach 11 points. 11 Tigers end up scoring in this one as the JV took care of the running time portion of things. Next up for Fridley is a trip to Mounds View in a back to back. Then the Tigers host Farmington on Friday. Next week is neighborhood road trips to Spring Lake Park and Irondale.
2016 Tipoff Classic Thoughts
So another great day of hoops is in the books with 14 hours and 8 games worth of basketball at Hopkins. Here are some quick thoughts from what I saw during the day. Most of my time was on the main court but we'll a few thoughts from the east court as well.
Game 1: Minnetonka vs North St. Paul
Minnetonka played tough against Chaska and Apple Valley in losses. Thanks to a tough blocking call late, they make a couple of free throws and win 67-63. Its a back to back loss for North St. Paul as Eagan got them last week as well. Matt Haas worked his tail off to get 18 points inside. Goodnews Kpegeol with 13 of his 19 in the 2nd half including a bucket to tie it with 15 seconds left. He's going to have to carry a big load for the Polars this season.
Game 2: #5A Spring Grove vs #4 Browerville-Eagle Valley
A very slow start to this one Bryce Irsfeld with an off day but tried to rally his guys late. Not enough as Chase Grinde and Spring Grove win 58-48. Soph Alex Folz came up big down the stretch for Spring Grove. Both teams with a nice complement of role players to their stars and worthy of their spot in the polls.
Game 3: #1A Minneapolis North vs #2AA Minnehaha Academy
Minnehaha playing short-handed without JaVonni Bickham who broke a hand earlier in the week. That was critical as North's size was a factor all day. Odell Wilson with 21, Isaac Johnson adds 23 in the win. Tayler Johnson also a factor rebounding. Jalen Suggs goes for a double double with 34 points. North had a double-figure lead late and then put in their young guys. Minnehaha would cut it to 5 with 30 seconds left forcing Larry McKenzie to bring his starters back in. North wins 79-74 but they had a comfortable lead for most of the 2nd half after an early run.
Game 4: Robbinsdale Armstrong vs Tartan
This one was fun. Tartan ran double teams at Race Thompson inside all day. That appeared to rattle the young big guy initially. Joevon Walker also impressive early going right at Thompson. Thompson ended up with 24 points. 66 all late before a clutch Jordan Horn 3 with 1:40 left and 2 free throws. He finished with 23 poitns. Kingston Myles was a guy Armstrong wanted to foul but he made both in the last 30 seconds. Tartan wins 77-71. Armstrong played without starting PG Davonte Saeed-El
Game 5: #3AAAA Hopkins vs Rochester John Marshall
Fun tactical move here as Hopkins chose to put 6'10" Joe Hedstrom on JM star Matt Hurt. Hurt still ended up with 30 and 10 but I had him 12-32 shooting. While Hurt did miss some good looks, he was initially passive and it appear that the length of Hedstrom did have an impact on him. Ishmael El-Amin impressive again with 16 of his 22 in the 1st half. All 5 Hopkins starters end up with at least 12 points. Plus frosh Blaise Beauchamp with 11 off the bench. JM hangs around for about 12 minutes before it gets out of hand. Hopkins wins 96-62.
Game 6: #2AAAA Lakeville North vs #5AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall
The highlight matchup of Nate Reuvers vs Daniel Oturu did not disappoint. Reuvers length really bothered Oturu in the post. But Oturu was able to return the favor on the other end. CDH would go on a 17-1 run across halftime to go from 8 down to up 8 (eventually 9). Ethan Igbanugo with 17 of his 22 after halftime to help give Lakeville North the 82-74 overtime win. Nate Reuvers with 36 points, 15 boards and 6 blocks with 11-27 FG on my sheet. Daniel Oturu with 15 points 8 rebounds and 5 blocks on 7-13 FGs.
Game 7: #4AAAA Maple Grove vs #1AAA De La Salle
Gabe Kalscheur with 22 in the 1st half but no help. Tywhon Pickford and Brad Davison were able to match that. 40-32 Maple Grove at half after a buzzer beater 3 by Davison. De La Salle would then start the 2nd half with a pair of 12-0 runs around a 6-0 run by the Crimson. 56-46 De La Salle inside of 10 minutes left. But Davison draws the 4th on Goanar Mar with 8:33 left. That triggers a 9-2 Maple Grove run to get back in it. When Mar returns with 4:02 left the lead is down to 2. Davison taking over the offense late. He makes 3 of 4 free throws to put the Crimson up 62-61 with 3:22 left. Pickford adds 2 free throws to stretch the lead to 3. The Crimson have the ball up 3 late but a Mar block leads to a Tyrell Terry 3 to tie it with 50 seconds left. Davison wins it with 2.1 left with a 3 over Mar. Maple Grove wins 67-64. Davison ends up with 28. Tywhon Pickford with a monster game of 21 points, 15 boards and 3 blocks. He's picking up right where he left off last year. Look for his stock to skyrocket. Gabe Kalscheur with 29 points and 8 boards. Goanar Mar held to 10 after putting up a career high 40 on Armstrong last week. Davison largely getting that defensive chore.
Game 8: #1AAAA Champlin Park vs #6AAAA Apple Valley
The highlight matchup looked out of control early as Champlin Park opened up a 29-9 lead (21-2 Rebels run) at the 8:40 mark. That was thanks to a very hot McKinley Wright start. But Tre Jones would try to rally Apple Valley after a very quiet start. Apple Valley within 44-36 at the half when Champlin Park couldn't slam the door. Then a 3 to start the half and its down to 5. DJ Hunter for 3 and another Wright hoop push the lead back to double figures. Ely Hendrickson with 4 3s in the half off the bench but Champlin Park had an answer for each one. The lead hovers around 10 the rest of the way. Too much Theo John in the 2nd half. Champlin Park wins 91-84. I had him for 22 and 16. McKinley Wright with 27 and 10. Tre Jones with 28 and 9 boards on my sheet. Great matchup of point guards with both having their moments.
East Court:
Some important results in AAA with Marshall knocking off Minneapolis Henry in a big way. Orono also with a convincing win over Fergus Falls. In AA results, Caledonia held off Esko in a battle of top 5 teams. A big game from Trae Berhow as Watertown-Mayer got up 16 at half on ranked St. Charles before holding them off. Lakeville South with a solid first win by beating Eden Prairie. Woodbury knocked off Chaska in a double OT classic between 2 ranked teams in the 2nd tier of AAAA.
Game 1: Minnetonka vs North St. Paul
Minnetonka played tough against Chaska and Apple Valley in losses. Thanks to a tough blocking call late, they make a couple of free throws and win 67-63. Its a back to back loss for North St. Paul as Eagan got them last week as well. Matt Haas worked his tail off to get 18 points inside. Goodnews Kpegeol with 13 of his 19 in the 2nd half including a bucket to tie it with 15 seconds left. He's going to have to carry a big load for the Polars this season.
Game 2: #5A Spring Grove vs #4 Browerville-Eagle Valley
A very slow start to this one Bryce Irsfeld with an off day but tried to rally his guys late. Not enough as Chase Grinde and Spring Grove win 58-48. Soph Alex Folz came up big down the stretch for Spring Grove. Both teams with a nice complement of role players to their stars and worthy of their spot in the polls.
Game 3: #1A Minneapolis North vs #2AA Minnehaha Academy
Minnehaha playing short-handed without JaVonni Bickham who broke a hand earlier in the week. That was critical as North's size was a factor all day. Odell Wilson with 21, Isaac Johnson adds 23 in the win. Tayler Johnson also a factor rebounding. Jalen Suggs goes for a double double with 34 points. North had a double-figure lead late and then put in their young guys. Minnehaha would cut it to 5 with 30 seconds left forcing Larry McKenzie to bring his starters back in. North wins 79-74 but they had a comfortable lead for most of the 2nd half after an early run.
Game 4: Robbinsdale Armstrong vs Tartan
This one was fun. Tartan ran double teams at Race Thompson inside all day. That appeared to rattle the young big guy initially. Joevon Walker also impressive early going right at Thompson. Thompson ended up with 24 points. 66 all late before a clutch Jordan Horn 3 with 1:40 left and 2 free throws. He finished with 23 poitns. Kingston Myles was a guy Armstrong wanted to foul but he made both in the last 30 seconds. Tartan wins 77-71. Armstrong played without starting PG Davonte Saeed-El
Game 5: #3AAAA Hopkins vs Rochester John Marshall
Fun tactical move here as Hopkins chose to put 6'10" Joe Hedstrom on JM star Matt Hurt. Hurt still ended up with 30 and 10 but I had him 12-32 shooting. While Hurt did miss some good looks, he was initially passive and it appear that the length of Hedstrom did have an impact on him. Ishmael El-Amin impressive again with 16 of his 22 in the 1st half. All 5 Hopkins starters end up with at least 12 points. Plus frosh Blaise Beauchamp with 11 off the bench. JM hangs around for about 12 minutes before it gets out of hand. Hopkins wins 96-62.
Game 6: #2AAAA Lakeville North vs #5AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall
The highlight matchup of Nate Reuvers vs Daniel Oturu did not disappoint. Reuvers length really bothered Oturu in the post. But Oturu was able to return the favor on the other end. CDH would go on a 17-1 run across halftime to go from 8 down to up 8 (eventually 9). Ethan Igbanugo with 17 of his 22 after halftime to help give Lakeville North the 82-74 overtime win. Nate Reuvers with 36 points, 15 boards and 6 blocks with 11-27 FG on my sheet. Daniel Oturu with 15 points 8 rebounds and 5 blocks on 7-13 FGs.
Game 7: #4AAAA Maple Grove vs #1AAA De La Salle
Gabe Kalscheur with 22 in the 1st half but no help. Tywhon Pickford and Brad Davison were able to match that. 40-32 Maple Grove at half after a buzzer beater 3 by Davison. De La Salle would then start the 2nd half with a pair of 12-0 runs around a 6-0 run by the Crimson. 56-46 De La Salle inside of 10 minutes left. But Davison draws the 4th on Goanar Mar with 8:33 left. That triggers a 9-2 Maple Grove run to get back in it. When Mar returns with 4:02 left the lead is down to 2. Davison taking over the offense late. He makes 3 of 4 free throws to put the Crimson up 62-61 with 3:22 left. Pickford adds 2 free throws to stretch the lead to 3. The Crimson have the ball up 3 late but a Mar block leads to a Tyrell Terry 3 to tie it with 50 seconds left. Davison wins it with 2.1 left with a 3 over Mar. Maple Grove wins 67-64. Davison ends up with 28. Tywhon Pickford with a monster game of 21 points, 15 boards and 3 blocks. He's picking up right where he left off last year. Look for his stock to skyrocket. Gabe Kalscheur with 29 points and 8 boards. Goanar Mar held to 10 after putting up a career high 40 on Armstrong last week. Davison largely getting that defensive chore.
Game 8: #1AAAA Champlin Park vs #6AAAA Apple Valley
The highlight matchup looked out of control early as Champlin Park opened up a 29-9 lead (21-2 Rebels run) at the 8:40 mark. That was thanks to a very hot McKinley Wright start. But Tre Jones would try to rally Apple Valley after a very quiet start. Apple Valley within 44-36 at the half when Champlin Park couldn't slam the door. Then a 3 to start the half and its down to 5. DJ Hunter for 3 and another Wright hoop push the lead back to double figures. Ely Hendrickson with 4 3s in the half off the bench but Champlin Park had an answer for each one. The lead hovers around 10 the rest of the way. Too much Theo John in the 2nd half. Champlin Park wins 91-84. I had him for 22 and 16. McKinley Wright with 27 and 10. Tre Jones with 28 and 9 boards on my sheet. Great matchup of point guards with both having their moments.
East Court:
Some important results in AAA with Marshall knocking off Minneapolis Henry in a big way. Orono also with a convincing win over Fergus Falls. In AA results, Caledonia held off Esko in a battle of top 5 teams. A big game from Trae Berhow as Watertown-Mayer got up 16 at half on ranked St. Charles before holding them off. Lakeville South with a solid first win by beating Eden Prairie. Woodbury knocked off Chaska in a double OT classic between 2 ranked teams in the 2nd tier of AAAA.
Pirates rob the Hylanders
Prologue
To the Pirate Ship to see Park Center host Columbia Heights. Park Center jumping into the class AAAA poll this week at number 10. Willie Braziel back at the helm for Columbia Heights and these teams had some very entertaining games during his initial tenure (see this classic from 2009). Jet's Pizza (Sausage) is on tonight's menu with the 500 ml Pepsi. We get an appearance from the always high quality Park Center pep band. There were decked out in skull and crossbones t-shirts. High class even if they didn't play any Tchaikovsky to appeal to my Czar sensibilities.
Song of the Day
Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (Park Center Pep Band)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 38 (9 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 200.9 ounces (2070 Calories)
19 days, 19 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Solid start for a youthful Columbia Heights squad (4 junior starters). Deaundra Roberson with a layup and 2 free throws off a putback to put Heights up 6-0 a minute in. Thomas Chatman for 3 off the youthful Park Center bench of 3 sophs and a freshman. That frosh is big Dain Dainja. He challenged shots inside and got on the glass early in this one. He scores inside before a big Roberson dunk. Wendell Matthews goes at him for a runner and spins for 2 more. 22-13 Heights opening it up at the 7 minute mark. Then Park Center star Losini Kamara (Idaho commit) turns it over. In the scramble for the loose ball it appears the foul is on Columbia Heights. But after a referee consultation, it goes against Kamara and in the process he also gets a technical. That's his 2nd and 3rd fouls and he'll have to sit. Roberson makes the technicals and on the long possession Matthews scores in the post. Roberson adds another hoop to extend the Hylanders lead to 28-15 with 4:50 left. Its a 13-3 run starting with that Roberson dunk. Timeout Park Center at the 4:50 mark as they look to be in trouble with Kamara sitting. But the Pirates counter with a 12-2 run of their own to end the half. Xavier Bonner with 2 freebies and a triple in that run. 30-25 Columbia Heights with the lead at half.
Kamara starts the half with a 3 to end a 15-2 run across half time. Then he scores off a pick and roll plus converts a turnover to give the Pirates their 1st lead at 36-34 just inside of 15 minutes left in the game. Quentin Hardrict with a pair of bombs for Heights plus a Matthews tip. 44-40 Columbia Heights inside of 13 left. Hardrict jumper and a lob to Roberson countered by soph Emmanuel Tamba for 3 and a free throw. 49 all midway thru the 2nd half. Matthews with a mean block of his own that leads to points along with 2 more Roberson buckets. Park Center keeps pace with Kamara to soph Khari Broadway and Tamba for 3s. 57 all with 6 minutes to go. Christian Kelly jumper and a high low post up to match a Tamba floater and putback. Broadway with 2 layups to put Park Center back on top but its Kelly with a triple with 90 seconds left to put Heights up 66-65. Roberson adds bonus free throws only to see Broadway tie it with a triple with a minute left. Heights with a long possession as they'll play it out. Hardrict may have pushed off but gets the call and makes both ends of the bonus with 12.1 left. Out of a timeout, Park Center pushes with Kamara. He gives it up and doesn't get it back. But somehow the lane vacates and Broadway is all alone. He gets the pass and finishes just before the horn. 70 all as we go to overtime.
In the OT, Roberson puts back a miss after a possible charge was let go. 73-70 Heights inside 2 minutes left. Kamara drives to cut the lead to 1 but Matthews with a nice off ball cut down the lane and he'll finish. Kamara goes hard just inside a minute left and is rejected. But Dainja cleans it up. Park Center elects to not foul and its Tamba with the strip and he'll go the distance with under 40 seconds left. Hardrict called for a charge with 23.9 left to give the Pirates the ball back with the lead. Heights goes diamond press and they don't foul. Kelly gets the steal but can't finish the bunny. Park Center rushes back the other way and Kamara puts back a miss with just under 10 left. Heights down 3 and Kelly gets a good look to tie. The line is straight but its front iron. Kamara rebounds and makes 1 of 2 to seal it. Park Center wins 79-75 in OT.
Post Game
Columbia Heights falls to 1-2 with the loss. Both losses to ranked AAAA opponents which is no shame. But the Hylanders will definitely want this one back as it was there for the taking. They'll host Burnsville on Tuesday. Deaundra Roberson with 29 points to lead all scorers. 16 of those in the first half. Quentin Hardrict adds 19 with a pair of 3s. Wendell Matthews with 16 inside. Aggressive play from the guards for Heights. While Nathan Sheferaw gave them defensive minutes of the bench going at Kamara. Problem for Heights though is that they got 0 points from the bench.
Losini Kamara leads Park Center with 21 points despite the early fouls. He outscored the starters. But the young bench was terrific as they scored 42 (37 for the starters). Sophs Khari Broadway and Emmanuel Tamba with 18 and 15 respectively off the bench. Frosh Dain Dainja has big upside. 6 points, almost double digit boards plus blocks and contesting shots. The run without Kamara in the 1st half was critical. Senior Xavier Bonner an important stabilizing factor with the youngsters. Next up for the Pirates is district rivalry week as they visit #9 Osseo on Tuesday and host #4 Maple Grove on Friday to open play in the Northwest Suburban. Those should be outstanding games.
To the Pirate Ship to see Park Center host Columbia Heights. Park Center jumping into the class AAAA poll this week at number 10. Willie Braziel back at the helm for Columbia Heights and these teams had some very entertaining games during his initial tenure (see this classic from 2009). Jet's Pizza (Sausage) is on tonight's menu with the 500 ml Pepsi. We get an appearance from the always high quality Park Center pep band. There were decked out in skull and crossbones t-shirts. High class even if they didn't play any Tchaikovsky to appeal to my Czar sensibilities.
Song of the Day
Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (Park Center Pep Band)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 38 (9 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 200.9 ounces (2070 Calories)
19 days, 19 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 56.9 ounces (710 calories)
- Coke: 40 ounces (480 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 84 ounces (640 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Solid start for a youthful Columbia Heights squad (4 junior starters). Deaundra Roberson with a layup and 2 free throws off a putback to put Heights up 6-0 a minute in. Thomas Chatman for 3 off the youthful Park Center bench of 3 sophs and a freshman. That frosh is big Dain Dainja. He challenged shots inside and got on the glass early in this one. He scores inside before a big Roberson dunk. Wendell Matthews goes at him for a runner and spins for 2 more. 22-13 Heights opening it up at the 7 minute mark. Then Park Center star Losini Kamara (Idaho commit) turns it over. In the scramble for the loose ball it appears the foul is on Columbia Heights. But after a referee consultation, it goes against Kamara and in the process he also gets a technical. That's his 2nd and 3rd fouls and he'll have to sit. Roberson makes the technicals and on the long possession Matthews scores in the post. Roberson adds another hoop to extend the Hylanders lead to 28-15 with 4:50 left. Its a 13-3 run starting with that Roberson dunk. Timeout Park Center at the 4:50 mark as they look to be in trouble with Kamara sitting. But the Pirates counter with a 12-2 run of their own to end the half. Xavier Bonner with 2 freebies and a triple in that run. 30-25 Columbia Heights with the lead at half.
Kamara starts the half with a 3 to end a 15-2 run across half time. Then he scores off a pick and roll plus converts a turnover to give the Pirates their 1st lead at 36-34 just inside of 15 minutes left in the game. Quentin Hardrict with a pair of bombs for Heights plus a Matthews tip. 44-40 Columbia Heights inside of 13 left. Hardrict jumper and a lob to Roberson countered by soph Emmanuel Tamba for 3 and a free throw. 49 all midway thru the 2nd half. Matthews with a mean block of his own that leads to points along with 2 more Roberson buckets. Park Center keeps pace with Kamara to soph Khari Broadway and Tamba for 3s. 57 all with 6 minutes to go. Christian Kelly jumper and a high low post up to match a Tamba floater and putback. Broadway with 2 layups to put Park Center back on top but its Kelly with a triple with 90 seconds left to put Heights up 66-65. Roberson adds bonus free throws only to see Broadway tie it with a triple with a minute left. Heights with a long possession as they'll play it out. Hardrict may have pushed off but gets the call and makes both ends of the bonus with 12.1 left. Out of a timeout, Park Center pushes with Kamara. He gives it up and doesn't get it back. But somehow the lane vacates and Broadway is all alone. He gets the pass and finishes just before the horn. 70 all as we go to overtime.
In the OT, Roberson puts back a miss after a possible charge was let go. 73-70 Heights inside 2 minutes left. Kamara drives to cut the lead to 1 but Matthews with a nice off ball cut down the lane and he'll finish. Kamara goes hard just inside a minute left and is rejected. But Dainja cleans it up. Park Center elects to not foul and its Tamba with the strip and he'll go the distance with under 40 seconds left. Hardrict called for a charge with 23.9 left to give the Pirates the ball back with the lead. Heights goes diamond press and they don't foul. Kelly gets the steal but can't finish the bunny. Park Center rushes back the other way and Kamara puts back a miss with just under 10 left. Heights down 3 and Kelly gets a good look to tie. The line is straight but its front iron. Kamara rebounds and makes 1 of 2 to seal it. Park Center wins 79-75 in OT.
Post Game
Columbia Heights falls to 1-2 with the loss. Both losses to ranked AAAA opponents which is no shame. But the Hylanders will definitely want this one back as it was there for the taking. They'll host Burnsville on Tuesday. Deaundra Roberson with 29 points to lead all scorers. 16 of those in the first half. Quentin Hardrict adds 19 with a pair of 3s. Wendell Matthews with 16 inside. Aggressive play from the guards for Heights. While Nathan Sheferaw gave them defensive minutes of the bench going at Kamara. Problem for Heights though is that they got 0 points from the bench.
Losini Kamara leads Park Center with 21 points despite the early fouls. He outscored the starters. But the young bench was terrific as they scored 42 (37 for the starters). Sophs Khari Broadway and Emmanuel Tamba with 18 and 15 respectively off the bench. Frosh Dain Dainja has big upside. 6 points, almost double digit boards plus blocks and contesting shots. The run without Kamara in the 1st half was critical. Senior Xavier Bonner an important stabilizing factor with the youngsters. Next up for the Pirates is district rivalry week as they visit #9 Osseo on Tuesday and host #4 Maple Grove on Friday to open play in the Northwest Suburban. Those should be outstanding games.
Wayzata scorches the nets
Prologue
To Lakeville South for their non-conference game vs Wayzata. It always seems to snow when I visit and tonight was no exception. Only Gatorade tonight as McDonald's was the pre-game meal. We get an appearance from the Lakeville South band.
Song of the Day
Journey - Don't Stop Believing (Lakeville South pep band)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 36 (8 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 184 ounces (1860 Calories)
18 days, 18 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Soph Jacob Beeninga starts with a 3 and Ryan Lindberg in transition for 3. That puts Wayzata up 10-4 just over 3 minutes in. Lakeville South counters with an 8-0 run to take the lead. Jack Sorenson with a 3 and an assist for 3 in that run. He adds 2 free throws, a pull up and then a touchdown pass to Shae Mitchell for a dunk. Mitchell then adds a pretty skip pass out of the post to Cade Carlson for 3. 26-24 Lakeville South at 5:20. The bombs keep falling. Beeninga 2 more triples before a Mitchell triple. Sorenson for 3 late in the half before 2 Beeninga layups. Cooper Jackson's drive for 2 in the last minute gives Lakeville South a 39-38 halftime lead.
Lindberg blows up in the 2nd half. He buries a drive and kick for 3 and a jumper off a BLOB. 7-0 Wayzata run to start the 2nd half. Drew Galinson with a bomb before a Lindberg jumper. Lakeville South within 6 before 2 offensive rebounds lead to another Lindberg 3 and a Luke Paulson jumper. Lakeville South takes their 2nd timeout of the half to attempt to stop the bleeding. 57-46 with 11:47 left but they are getting outhustled. None of this matters as this one gets out of hand. Galinson with a pretty eurostep 3 point play and a triple before Lindberg hits 2 more from deep. 71-48 with 7:50 left. The Wayzata run is 19-2 in about 4:30. When it rains it pours as Gavin Baumgartner hits 2, Galinson with another and 2 more from Lindberg plus a Lindberg layup. Call the dogs off with 3:40 left. Wayzata wins 98-68. After trailing by 1 at the half, Wayzata wins the 2nd half 60-29.
Post Game
Cade Carlson leads Lakeville South with 17 points. Jack Sorenson 15 points with a handful of assists. But he struggled from the floor as I had him in the neighborhood of 5-17 shooting. Shae Mitchell adds 11. A rough start for Lakeville South as they lost the home opener by 15 to New Prague. Then the collapse in the 2nd half here. Outworked, not getting to shooters, not taking good shots. Very ugly half of basketball. Coach Gruhlke tried 4 timeouts in the 2nd half to no avail. It doesn't get any easier as the Cougars play Eden Prairie in the late game on the East court on Saturday at the Tip Off Classic. Then they visit Hopkins and Brainerd next week.
Ryan Lindberg goes off for 32 points with 8 3s. 24 of those points and 6 3s in the 2nd half alone. 3 other starters in double figures as well. Gavin Baumgartner and Jacob Beeninga with 16 points each. All of Beeninga's points in the 1st half via 4 triples. Drew Galinson with 3 triples and 14 points. Wayzata hits 17 3s in the game, 11 of those in the blowout 2nd half. Great patience out of their dribble drive looks not forcing shots in the paint and making the extra pass. The Trojans are now 2-0. They are off until next Friday when they open Lake Conference play vs Eden Prairie.
To Lakeville South for their non-conference game vs Wayzata. It always seems to snow when I visit and tonight was no exception. Only Gatorade tonight as McDonald's was the pre-game meal. We get an appearance from the Lakeville South band.
Song of the Day
Journey - Don't Stop Believing (Lakeville South pep band)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 36 (8 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 184 ounces (1860 Calories)
18 days, 18 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 40 ounces (500 calories)
- Coke: 40 ounces (480 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 84 ounces (640 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Soph Jacob Beeninga starts with a 3 and Ryan Lindberg in transition for 3. That puts Wayzata up 10-4 just over 3 minutes in. Lakeville South counters with an 8-0 run to take the lead. Jack Sorenson with a 3 and an assist for 3 in that run. He adds 2 free throws, a pull up and then a touchdown pass to Shae Mitchell for a dunk. Mitchell then adds a pretty skip pass out of the post to Cade Carlson for 3. 26-24 Lakeville South at 5:20. The bombs keep falling. Beeninga 2 more triples before a Mitchell triple. Sorenson for 3 late in the half before 2 Beeninga layups. Cooper Jackson's drive for 2 in the last minute gives Lakeville South a 39-38 halftime lead.
Lindberg blows up in the 2nd half. He buries a drive and kick for 3 and a jumper off a BLOB. 7-0 Wayzata run to start the 2nd half. Drew Galinson with a bomb before a Lindberg jumper. Lakeville South within 6 before 2 offensive rebounds lead to another Lindberg 3 and a Luke Paulson jumper. Lakeville South takes their 2nd timeout of the half to attempt to stop the bleeding. 57-46 with 11:47 left but they are getting outhustled. None of this matters as this one gets out of hand. Galinson with a pretty eurostep 3 point play and a triple before Lindberg hits 2 more from deep. 71-48 with 7:50 left. The Wayzata run is 19-2 in about 4:30. When it rains it pours as Gavin Baumgartner hits 2, Galinson with another and 2 more from Lindberg plus a Lindberg layup. Call the dogs off with 3:40 left. Wayzata wins 98-68. After trailing by 1 at the half, Wayzata wins the 2nd half 60-29.
Post Game
Cade Carlson leads Lakeville South with 17 points. Jack Sorenson 15 points with a handful of assists. But he struggled from the floor as I had him in the neighborhood of 5-17 shooting. Shae Mitchell adds 11. A rough start for Lakeville South as they lost the home opener by 15 to New Prague. Then the collapse in the 2nd half here. Outworked, not getting to shooters, not taking good shots. Very ugly half of basketball. Coach Gruhlke tried 4 timeouts in the 2nd half to no avail. It doesn't get any easier as the Cougars play Eden Prairie in the late game on the East court on Saturday at the Tip Off Classic. Then they visit Hopkins and Brainerd next week.
Ryan Lindberg goes off for 32 points with 8 3s. 24 of those points and 6 3s in the 2nd half alone. 3 other starters in double figures as well. Gavin Baumgartner and Jacob Beeninga with 16 points each. All of Beeninga's points in the 1st half via 4 triples. Drew Galinson with 3 triples and 14 points. Wayzata hits 17 3s in the game, 11 of those in the blowout 2nd half. Great patience out of their dribble drive looks not forcing shots in the paint and making the extra pass. The Trojans are now 2-0. They are off until next Friday when they open Lake Conference play vs Eden Prairie.
Running with Horses
Prologue
Its a trip to Breck to see the Mustangs take on the Brooklyn Center Centaurs. A restaurant quality mascot indeed. The concession stand is out of hot dogs and I'm impatient. Therefore I settle for 250 calories worth of Snickers bar. Vocal crowd on hand and a busy night at the Breck campus. Breck's building is the old home of the Golden Valley Vikings (1957-1980).
Song of the Day
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses
Number of Teams I've Seen: 34 (7 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 164 ounces (1720 Calories)
16 days, 17 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Its an ugly start. Breck goes 2-3 zone and Brooklyn Center settles for a bunch of 3s. The only one that goes in is from Lu'Cye Patterson. That was on a kickout of a rebound which often leads to a great look. Meanwhile Breck struggling to take care of the rock as they turnover it over a ton. Breck finally gets on the board with a run out for a layup at 13:30. A quiet half for Breck star David Roddy but he scores on UCLA cut to a post up. Sam Willey puts back a miss and that cuts the Brooklyn Center lead to 12-7 at 9:34. Patterson with a layup off a turnover before a possible flop is Roddy's 2nd foul on a charge. Deshawn Pickford buries a 3 and takes a steal for a free throw. The run is 10-2 over 3:25. That allows Brooklyn Center to take a 31-17 lead to the break.
Down 14, Breck is forced to come out of their 2-3 zone. Brooklyn Center attacks that with their dribble drive motion. Adreone Sprinkles buries a pair of 3s via kick-out and an elevator BLOB. Devonta Prince with a putback, free throw and a dunk. That blows this one open. Brooklyn Center up 48-25 with 10:30 left after a 10-2 run. Roddy gets going with a pair of baseline drives for easy dunks. They with 4 fouls he strips Prince on an isolation and takes it for another dunk. He fouls out on another dicey charge call. Breck coach Marcus Hill gets 2 quick technicals for that and he's tossed. Brooklyn Center wins 67-44.
Post Game
This was Breck's opener so they fall to 0-1. They have another critical section game at home on Thursday vs Southwest Christian. Then its trips to Kennedy and Holy Family on the next 2 Saturdays. David Roddy with 13 points to lead the Mustangs. Freshman Kerwin Walton with 10 off the bench. Breck going with 4 in and 4 out with Roddy staying on the floor for their rotations. 3 of those 4 bench guys being underclassmen. When Roddy touched the ball, good things happened. Otherwise the night was an adventure keeping possession.
Brooklyn Center improves to 2-0 with 2 road wins. Soph Adreone Sprinkles leads the way with 16 points and 5 triples. Freshman PG Lu'Cye Patterson with 11 points and a handful of assists. All 7 members of the rotation score and 6 players end up with at least 6 points. They hit enough shots and forced enough turnovers to take control. But they aren't big and they showed struggles with shooting. Next up is the home opener on Friday vs Spectrum. Then they play in the St. Paul Johnson event on Saturday.
Its a trip to Breck to see the Mustangs take on the Brooklyn Center Centaurs. A restaurant quality mascot indeed. The concession stand is out of hot dogs and I'm impatient. Therefore I settle for 250 calories worth of Snickers bar. Vocal crowd on hand and a busy night at the Breck campus. Breck's building is the old home of the Golden Valley Vikings (1957-1980).
Song of the Day
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses
Number of Teams I've Seen: 34 (7 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 164 ounces (1720 Calories)
16 days, 17 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 40 ounces (500 calories)
- Coke: 40 ounces (480 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 64 ounces (500 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Its an ugly start. Breck goes 2-3 zone and Brooklyn Center settles for a bunch of 3s. The only one that goes in is from Lu'Cye Patterson. That was on a kickout of a rebound which often leads to a great look. Meanwhile Breck struggling to take care of the rock as they turnover it over a ton. Breck finally gets on the board with a run out for a layup at 13:30. A quiet half for Breck star David Roddy but he scores on UCLA cut to a post up. Sam Willey puts back a miss and that cuts the Brooklyn Center lead to 12-7 at 9:34. Patterson with a layup off a turnover before a possible flop is Roddy's 2nd foul on a charge. Deshawn Pickford buries a 3 and takes a steal for a free throw. The run is 10-2 over 3:25. That allows Brooklyn Center to take a 31-17 lead to the break.
Down 14, Breck is forced to come out of their 2-3 zone. Brooklyn Center attacks that with their dribble drive motion. Adreone Sprinkles buries a pair of 3s via kick-out and an elevator BLOB. Devonta Prince with a putback, free throw and a dunk. That blows this one open. Brooklyn Center up 48-25 with 10:30 left after a 10-2 run. Roddy gets going with a pair of baseline drives for easy dunks. They with 4 fouls he strips Prince on an isolation and takes it for another dunk. He fouls out on another dicey charge call. Breck coach Marcus Hill gets 2 quick technicals for that and he's tossed. Brooklyn Center wins 67-44.
Post Game
This was Breck's opener so they fall to 0-1. They have another critical section game at home on Thursday vs Southwest Christian. Then its trips to Kennedy and Holy Family on the next 2 Saturdays. David Roddy with 13 points to lead the Mustangs. Freshman Kerwin Walton with 10 off the bench. Breck going with 4 in and 4 out with Roddy staying on the floor for their rotations. 3 of those 4 bench guys being underclassmen. When Roddy touched the ball, good things happened. Otherwise the night was an adventure keeping possession.
Brooklyn Center improves to 2-0 with 2 road wins. Soph Adreone Sprinkles leads the way with 16 points and 5 triples. Freshman PG Lu'Cye Patterson with 11 points and a handful of assists. All 7 members of the rotation score and 6 players end up with at least 6 points. They hit enough shots and forced enough turnovers to take control. But they aren't big and they showed struggles with shooting. Next up is the home opener on Friday vs Spectrum. Then they play in the St. Paul Johnson event on Saturday.
Ring the Bell for another 1000 point scorer
Prologue
Early season Monday nights are always a good time to take a look at some of the lesser known A and AA teams locally. Tonight is no exception as its a trip to St. Paul Washington to see them take on the Charter Stars. A vocal crowd on hand for these closely located St. Paul schools. Standard hot dog and Sprite make up the menu.
Song of the Day
Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls
Number of Teams I've Seen: 32 (6 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 152 ounces (1600 Calories)
15 days, 16 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Junior Ezekiel Olakunle gets the Stars on the board with an early triple for a 3-1 lead. Washington star Curtis Bell with an offensive board for a free throw. Then he'll drive the lane for a dunk. He also played the top of the 3-2 zone and was very active there. Washington extends that zone to pressure the ball and the Stars have no answer. Olakunle hits another 3 but those are the only 2 field goals of the half for the Charter Stars. Bell with a free throw, then a steal and assist for 2 more. 2 more offensive boards for free throws. That gets him to 1000 career points at the 7:45 mark of the half. Those 2 free throws are the 1st of a 23-0 run to end the half. Charter Stars go the last 11:20 without a field goal. 45-9 Washington at the break. The field goal streak is broken right away to start the half. Bell adds in some quick points in limited 2nd half time (he was basically done at the 14 minute mark except for 1 more quick shift). Washington rolls to 66-19 win.
Post Game
Charter Stars fall to 0-1. They will host CHOF in their home opener on Thursday. Ezekiel Olakunde's 2 3s leads the way with 6 points. Its a junior heavy lineup as expected so they're looking forward. Also liked what I saw from freshman Isaiah Long (hope the MSHSL site is right on that number).
Washington star wing Curtis Bell leads everybody with 22 points. Very active on the glass and on the defensive end. Much better passer than I realized too. Adding a consistent jump shot is the next step for him. Maurice Carter adds 10. Freshman Drewjuan White started on the wing as well. He showed a nice attacking side to his game early. He's worth keeping an eye on. Washington only made 2 shots outside the paint all night. They were able to get out and run either off misses or via turnovers generated by their zone. The Eagles have the rest of the week off before trips east to St. Croix Prep and Hill-Murray next week.
Early season Monday nights are always a good time to take a look at some of the lesser known A and AA teams locally. Tonight is no exception as its a trip to St. Paul Washington to see them take on the Charter Stars. A vocal crowd on hand for these closely located St. Paul schools. Standard hot dog and Sprite make up the menu.
Song of the Day
Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls
Number of Teams I've Seen: 32 (6 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 152 ounces (1600 Calories)
15 days, 16 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 40 ounces (500 calories)
- Coke: 40 ounces (480 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 52 ounces (380 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 2
Game Time:
Junior Ezekiel Olakunle gets the Stars on the board with an early triple for a 3-1 lead. Washington star Curtis Bell with an offensive board for a free throw. Then he'll drive the lane for a dunk. He also played the top of the 3-2 zone and was very active there. Washington extends that zone to pressure the ball and the Stars have no answer. Olakunle hits another 3 but those are the only 2 field goals of the half for the Charter Stars. Bell with a free throw, then a steal and assist for 2 more. 2 more offensive boards for free throws. That gets him to 1000 career points at the 7:45 mark of the half. Those 2 free throws are the 1st of a 23-0 run to end the half. Charter Stars go the last 11:20 without a field goal. 45-9 Washington at the break. The field goal streak is broken right away to start the half. Bell adds in some quick points in limited 2nd half time (he was basically done at the 14 minute mark except for 1 more quick shift). Washington rolls to 66-19 win.
Post Game
Charter Stars fall to 0-1. They will host CHOF in their home opener on Thursday. Ezekiel Olakunde's 2 3s leads the way with 6 points. Its a junior heavy lineup as expected so they're looking forward. Also liked what I saw from freshman Isaiah Long (hope the MSHSL site is right on that number).
Washington star wing Curtis Bell leads everybody with 22 points. Very active on the glass and on the defensive end. Much better passer than I realized too. Adding a consistent jump shot is the next step for him. Maurice Carter adds 10. Freshman Drewjuan White started on the wing as well. He showed a nice attacking side to his game early. He's worth keeping an eye on. Washington only made 2 shots outside the paint all night. They were able to get out and run either off misses or via turnovers generated by their zone. The Eagles have the rest of the week off before trips east to St. Croix Prep and Hill-Murray next week.
Thoughts from the 1st 2016 Tipoff Classic
The Breakdown Tipoff Classic (Girls Version) took the spotlight on the 1st week of the schedule. 4 boys games on the slate, here's what caught my eye.
Game 1: #3AAAA Hopkins vs Cedar Falls (IA)
We knew AJ Green would be highlight for Cedar Falls but the expectation was that Hopkins would pull away for a comfortable win in the end. Not quite what we ended up with. Green was outstanding with 8 3s and 41 points. Cedar Falls would use a late 1st half run and lead 44-42 at the break. Ishmael El-Amin with a big 2nd half to match Green. His 23 in the half outdoes the 21 in the half from Green. Hopkins would go on one of their runs to start the 2nd half (15-4 in the 1st 5 min) and go up double digits. Green hit a handful of tough jumpers as he refused to let his team get blown out. In the end, he doesn't get enough help as Hopkins wins 85-77. Hopkins with 4 in double figures. Ish El-Amin 32, Simon Wright 14, Zeke Nnaji 12, Anthony Davis 10. Ben Gerdes with 14 for Cedar Falls in addition to the 41 from Green.
Game 2: #1AAAA Champlin Park vs Rochester John Marshall
This looked like a heavyweight battle on paper with JM looking to prove a point that they deserve to be in the discussion of elite teams in AAAA. This one is tight for the 1st half of the opening half. Then Champlin Park's 1-3-1 really held JM in check. Brian Smith would score 14 of 16 Rebels points as Champlin Park opened the game up. A late 1st half bloody nose would cost Rockets star Matt Hurt 3 minutes of playing time and a couple of free throws. JM up 57-42 at the break. The Rebels just kept running in the 2nd half as they steam roll to a 113-74 win. McKinley Wright with a game high 27 to lead Champlin Park. Theo John stepped his game up in the 2nd half on his way to 19 points. Brian Smith with 20 of his 22 in the 1st half. DJ Hunter with 14 points and a respectable job guarding Matt Hurt. Matt Hurt ends up with 24 points. Dedoch Chan with 11 of his 16 in a productive 1st half for the Rockets. It doesn't get any easier for JM as they have Hopkins in the Boys Tipoff Classic. 13 3s for Champlin Park as JM had no answers on defense. Very impressive opening statement from them. They have the late game against Apple Valley in the Boys Tipoff Classic
Game 3: #1AAA De La Salle vs Des Moines Hoover
This game as expected was not the up and down type of game that we saw in the previous 2. Hoover forward Douglas Wilson gave the Islanders some trouble inside. He had to sit the last 6:28 of the 1st half with 3 fouls (2 charges). That allowed De La Salle to take an even game and open up a 37-28 halftime lead. The Islanders would quickly open that lead to 15 to start the 2nd half. No danger from there as De La Salle wins 65-50. Goanar Mar with 3 triples and 10-11 FTs on his way to a game high 27 points. Gabe Kalscheur struggled with his shot but still managed 15 points. Douglas Wilson with 22 to lead Hoover. Devonte Thedford with 16 of his 20 in the 1st half for Hoover. De La Salle gets Maple Grove in the Boys Tipoff Classic.
Game 4: #6AAAA Apple Valley vs #1A Minneapolis North
North did a fine job in their halfcourt defense early in the game and got out running on misses for baskets. That propelled the Polars to a 26-21 lead midway through the first half. Apple Valley would rally behind Tre Jones. He finds Mohamed Kone and Luke Martens for 3s to tie the game. Martens adds a free throw and another bomb to give Apple Valley a 42-35 lead at the break. Ely Hendrickson 2 3s to open the 2nd half. Tre Jones adds another bomb and just over 3 minutes into the 2nd half the Eagles fly out to a 58-42 lead. North would try to make it interesting with Jaquan Sanders-Smith scoring and then burying a 3. Isaac Johnson with a spin move for 2 more. North within 66-61 with 6:35 left and their crowd is into it. Odell Wilson was a handful inside. He seals on the weakside of a BLOB for a 3 point play with 4:25 left. 70-66 Apple Valley hanging on. Tre Jones was the difference in this one and he made the big plays late. He counters Wilson's 3 point play with one of his own. Then he adds a free throw. He'll steal an inbounds and then give a sweet up fake for an easy jumper. 78-68 Apple Valley with 2:40 left and they're out of danger. Jones adds another 3 point play late. Apple Valley wins 84-70. Tre Jones with an absolutely sick triple double of 29 pts, 13 rbs, 11 ast, 3 stl, 5 blk. Luke Martens adds 15 for the Eagles. 9 3s from 5 Eagles not named Jones plus 2 more from Tre. That is going to be big for Apple Valley this season. Isaac Johnson with 21 points, Jaquan Sanders-Smith 20, Odell Wilson 19 for North. North gets Minnehaha in a battle of number ones in the Boys Tipoff Classic.
Game 1: #3AAAA Hopkins vs Cedar Falls (IA)
We knew AJ Green would be highlight for Cedar Falls but the expectation was that Hopkins would pull away for a comfortable win in the end. Not quite what we ended up with. Green was outstanding with 8 3s and 41 points. Cedar Falls would use a late 1st half run and lead 44-42 at the break. Ishmael El-Amin with a big 2nd half to match Green. His 23 in the half outdoes the 21 in the half from Green. Hopkins would go on one of their runs to start the 2nd half (15-4 in the 1st 5 min) and go up double digits. Green hit a handful of tough jumpers as he refused to let his team get blown out. In the end, he doesn't get enough help as Hopkins wins 85-77. Hopkins with 4 in double figures. Ish El-Amin 32, Simon Wright 14, Zeke Nnaji 12, Anthony Davis 10. Ben Gerdes with 14 for Cedar Falls in addition to the 41 from Green.
Game 2: #1AAAA Champlin Park vs Rochester John Marshall
This looked like a heavyweight battle on paper with JM looking to prove a point that they deserve to be in the discussion of elite teams in AAAA. This one is tight for the 1st half of the opening half. Then Champlin Park's 1-3-1 really held JM in check. Brian Smith would score 14 of 16 Rebels points as Champlin Park opened the game up. A late 1st half bloody nose would cost Rockets star Matt Hurt 3 minutes of playing time and a couple of free throws. JM up 57-42 at the break. The Rebels just kept running in the 2nd half as they steam roll to a 113-74 win. McKinley Wright with a game high 27 to lead Champlin Park. Theo John stepped his game up in the 2nd half on his way to 19 points. Brian Smith with 20 of his 22 in the 1st half. DJ Hunter with 14 points and a respectable job guarding Matt Hurt. Matt Hurt ends up with 24 points. Dedoch Chan with 11 of his 16 in a productive 1st half for the Rockets. It doesn't get any easier for JM as they have Hopkins in the Boys Tipoff Classic. 13 3s for Champlin Park as JM had no answers on defense. Very impressive opening statement from them. They have the late game against Apple Valley in the Boys Tipoff Classic
Game 3: #1AAA De La Salle vs Des Moines Hoover
This game as expected was not the up and down type of game that we saw in the previous 2. Hoover forward Douglas Wilson gave the Islanders some trouble inside. He had to sit the last 6:28 of the 1st half with 3 fouls (2 charges). That allowed De La Salle to take an even game and open up a 37-28 halftime lead. The Islanders would quickly open that lead to 15 to start the 2nd half. No danger from there as De La Salle wins 65-50. Goanar Mar with 3 triples and 10-11 FTs on his way to a game high 27 points. Gabe Kalscheur struggled with his shot but still managed 15 points. Douglas Wilson with 22 to lead Hoover. Devonte Thedford with 16 of his 20 in the 1st half for Hoover. De La Salle gets Maple Grove in the Boys Tipoff Classic.
Game 4: #6AAAA Apple Valley vs #1A Minneapolis North
North did a fine job in their halfcourt defense early in the game and got out running on misses for baskets. That propelled the Polars to a 26-21 lead midway through the first half. Apple Valley would rally behind Tre Jones. He finds Mohamed Kone and Luke Martens for 3s to tie the game. Martens adds a free throw and another bomb to give Apple Valley a 42-35 lead at the break. Ely Hendrickson 2 3s to open the 2nd half. Tre Jones adds another bomb and just over 3 minutes into the 2nd half the Eagles fly out to a 58-42 lead. North would try to make it interesting with Jaquan Sanders-Smith scoring and then burying a 3. Isaac Johnson with a spin move for 2 more. North within 66-61 with 6:35 left and their crowd is into it. Odell Wilson was a handful inside. He seals on the weakside of a BLOB for a 3 point play with 4:25 left. 70-66 Apple Valley hanging on. Tre Jones was the difference in this one and he made the big plays late. He counters Wilson's 3 point play with one of his own. Then he adds a free throw. He'll steal an inbounds and then give a sweet up fake for an easy jumper. 78-68 Apple Valley with 2:40 left and they're out of danger. Jones adds another 3 point play late. Apple Valley wins 84-70. Tre Jones with an absolutely sick triple double of 29 pts, 13 rbs, 11 ast, 3 stl, 5 blk. Luke Martens adds 15 for the Eagles. 9 3s from 5 Eagles not named Jones plus 2 more from Tre. That is going to be big for Apple Valley this season. Isaac Johnson with 21 points, Jaquan Sanders-Smith 20, Odell Wilson 19 for North. North gets Minnehaha in a battle of number ones in the Boys Tipoff Classic.
Another night with Eagles
Prologue
Opening Friday takes me to The Sal in St. Paul for New Life Academy at CHOF. The always vocal CHOF fans not disappointing tonight. No worries about the food tonight as its the Downtowner Woodfire Grill with The Emperor and Her Majesty after the game. But a beverage is always mandatory so let's add more Gatorade to the tally. Interesting to see 9 seniors starting in an era where we see so many youngsters seeing time.
Song of the Day
The Eagles - Desperado
Number of Teams I've Seen: 16 (4 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 92 ounces (880 Calories)
12 days, 8 games, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 1
Game Time:
The game starts quietly with New Life making 5 of 6 free throws early on. Kyle Kaemingk for 3 and he adds 2 more free throws off an offensive rebound. Meanwhile CHOF can't get anything to go in. Dillon Alleman finally breaks the opening 17-2 run with a 3 at the 9:25 mark. Only 1 tough contested jumper for CHOF before that. Kaemingk gets 3 layups, 2 from Adam Busch passes. Chris Ketema 2 free throws and a layup around a New Life triple and the lead is 30 just before the half. 48-22 at the break.
This one could easily have gotten way out of hand but Jackson Rohlf's shooting kept CHOF from seeing running time. He knocks down 3 bombs in the 1st 3 minutes of the 2nd half but the lead is still 57-35 for New Life. The lead teeters around 20 for about 10 more minutes. Drew Wynia with a handful of buckets inside late stretches the lead out. The game takes forever due to a ton of fouls and 58 combined free throw attempts. New Life wins 90-65.
Post Game
CHOF falls to 0-1. Its no easier on Tuesday when they host another top MCAA team, Heritage. Jackson Rohlf leads all scorers with 7 triples and 28 on the night. Those points came off the bench. Dillon Allemon chips in with 15 points to lead the starters.
New Life is now 1-0. They will open their home slate with Humboldt on Tuesday. Then they'll visit Concordia on Friday. Kyle Kaemingk leads the Eagles with 22 points, 15 of those in the 1st half. Drew Wynia patrolling the paint with 14 of his 19 in the 2nd half. Chris Ketema with 14 points as well. He got the task of slowing down Rohlf in the 2nd half after the initial streak of 3s. Leading returning scorer Adam Busch held to 5 points with some early foul trouble.
This one was sloppy which is a bit understandable with this being each team's season opener. Not just because of the fouls. Lots of moments where the game felt like a youth game where a team would get a rebound and end up 3 on 1 the other way, miss the layup and the other team would come right back with the same thing. New Life wins the battle at the charity stripe going 23-31 compared to 9-27 for CHOF. That difference in makes was 16 to 2 in the 1st half. New Life's intensity level dropped in the 2nd half and allowed CHOF to keep a little drama for their crowd until late.
Opening Friday takes me to The Sal in St. Paul for New Life Academy at CHOF. The always vocal CHOF fans not disappointing tonight. No worries about the food tonight as its the Downtowner Woodfire Grill with The Emperor and Her Majesty after the game. But a beverage is always mandatory so let's add more Gatorade to the tally. Interesting to see 9 seniors starting in an era where we see so many youngsters seeing time.
Song of the Day
The Eagles - Desperado
Number of Teams I've Seen: 16 (4 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 92 ounces (880 Calories)
12 days, 8 games, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 40 ounces (500 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 52 ounces (380 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 1
Game Time:
The game starts quietly with New Life making 5 of 6 free throws early on. Kyle Kaemingk for 3 and he adds 2 more free throws off an offensive rebound. Meanwhile CHOF can't get anything to go in. Dillon Alleman finally breaks the opening 17-2 run with a 3 at the 9:25 mark. Only 1 tough contested jumper for CHOF before that. Kaemingk gets 3 layups, 2 from Adam Busch passes. Chris Ketema 2 free throws and a layup around a New Life triple and the lead is 30 just before the half. 48-22 at the break.
This one could easily have gotten way out of hand but Jackson Rohlf's shooting kept CHOF from seeing running time. He knocks down 3 bombs in the 1st 3 minutes of the 2nd half but the lead is still 57-35 for New Life. The lead teeters around 20 for about 10 more minutes. Drew Wynia with a handful of buckets inside late stretches the lead out. The game takes forever due to a ton of fouls and 58 combined free throw attempts. New Life wins 90-65.
Post Game
CHOF falls to 0-1. Its no easier on Tuesday when they host another top MCAA team, Heritage. Jackson Rohlf leads all scorers with 7 triples and 28 on the night. Those points came off the bench. Dillon Allemon chips in with 15 points to lead the starters.
New Life is now 1-0. They will open their home slate with Humboldt on Tuesday. Then they'll visit Concordia on Friday. Kyle Kaemingk leads the Eagles with 22 points, 15 of those in the 1st half. Drew Wynia patrolling the paint with 14 of his 19 in the 2nd half. Chris Ketema with 14 points as well. He got the task of slowing down Rohlf in the 2nd half after the initial streak of 3s. Leading returning scorer Adam Busch held to 5 points with some early foul trouble.
This one was sloppy which is a bit understandable with this being each team's season opener. Not just because of the fouls. Lots of moments where the game felt like a youth game where a team would get a rebound and end up 3 on 1 the other way, miss the layup and the other team would come right back with the same thing. New Life wins the battle at the charity stripe going 23-31 compared to 9-27 for CHOF. That difference in makes was 16 to 2 in the 1st half. New Life's intensity level dropped in the 2nd half and allowed CHOF to keep a little drama for their crowd until late.
2016-17 Minnesota Opener
Prologue
Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin... into the future. Year 10 is underway in Minnesota as I travel to Totino-Grace to see the Eagles take on Minneapolis Southwest. In an incredible bit of bad luck, the 1st person I saw in the gym was none other than John Lithgow. After missing him for almost all of last year, I get him on opening night. I'm cursed. But I wasn't cursed at the concession stand thanks to an outstanding pulled pork sandwich with free chips thrown in by the hard working Totino-Grace parents. 3 members of the Totino-Grace rotation just got started yesterday thanks to their football state championship. Would that have any impact? Today's song is a bit of swerve from our usual bit. I did see the Steve Miller Band perform Fly Like An Eagle in person this summer and it was played after the game. But I'm going to go with another song from the game that I saw in person recently as well.
Song of the Day
Rick Springfield - Jesse's Girl
Question: What if Jesse's Girl was Stacy's Mom and her number was 867-5309?
Springfield did a hilarious take on this in concert.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 14 (3 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 72 ounces (740 Calories)
11 days, 7 game, 2 scrimmages added on
Walking Taco Ticker: 1
Game Time:
Its a good start for Minneapolis Southwest. Their star forward Brennan Hawkins scores right before a dicey Lithgow call against TG star Rocky Kreuser trying to gain post position. That sends Kreuser to the bench with 2 foul just 3 minutes in. Hawkins then buries a 3 and converts 3 the old fashion way. 9-4 Southwest just 3:35 into the game. But Hawkins picks up his 2nd right after that and has to sit. Totino-Grace gains some momentum which forces Hawkins to come back in. But he picks up a quick 3rd at the 10:30 mark and is done for the half with the Lakers down by 4. Totino-Grace goes on the game clinching run from there. Kreuser with 2 layups. Nate Kavolak with a transition 3. Kreuser takes a kickout and buries a 3 and then runs out for a dunk. All told Minneapolis Southwest goes 8:15 without a field goal which leads to a 25-2 Eagles run over 7 minutes. 41-15 Totino-Grace on top late in the 1st half after the initial 9-4 deficit. Kreuser would pick up 2 quick fouls to sit with 4 fouls at the 14:22 mark but this one is never in doubt. The lead was down to 21 with 12:25 to go but another big Totino-Grace run pushes the lead to 40 and gets the game to running time with 7:14 left. Totino-Grace rolls to an 85-50 win.
Post Game
Junior Niko Polydorou leads Minneapolis Southwest with 13 points. Ari Bogen-Groce with 11 and Brennan Hawkins with 10. Minneapolis Southwest really saw their offense bog down with Hawkins being in foul trouble. The Lakers fall to 0-1. They get the early start to Minneapolis City play with their next 4 games being in conference. South and Washburn visit next week, then the following week its a trip to Henry and a visit from Roosevelt.
Totino-Grace puts 4 in double figures. Rocky Kreuser with 18, Charlie Jacob with 15 and Braeden Mischke with 11. Nick Flottmeier with a great night off the bench with 19 points. Loved his energy on both ends. He had to fill in the starting lineup in the 2nd half due to a Tyler Kittelson injury. Kreuser got his despite foul trouble. Jacob and Mischke also very aggressive attacking. The Eagles open 1-0 and have a tough trip to Minnehaha on Tuesday.
Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin... into the future. Year 10 is underway in Minnesota as I travel to Totino-Grace to see the Eagles take on Minneapolis Southwest. In an incredible bit of bad luck, the 1st person I saw in the gym was none other than John Lithgow. After missing him for almost all of last year, I get him on opening night. I'm cursed. But I wasn't cursed at the concession stand thanks to an outstanding pulled pork sandwich with free chips thrown in by the hard working Totino-Grace parents. 3 members of the Totino-Grace rotation just got started yesterday thanks to their football state championship. Would that have any impact? Today's song is a bit of swerve from our usual bit. I did see the Steve Miller Band perform Fly Like An Eagle in person this summer and it was played after the game. But I'm going to go with another song from the game that I saw in person recently as well.
Song of the Day
Rick Springfield - Jesse's Girl
Question: What if Jesse's Girl was Stacy's Mom and her number was 867-5309?
Springfield did a hilarious take on this in concert.
Number of Teams I've Seen: 14 (3 courts)
Beverage Ticker: 72 ounces (740 Calories)
11 days, 7 game, 2 scrimmages added on
- Pepsi: 40 ounces (500 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 32 ounces (240 calories)
Walking Taco Ticker: 1
Game Time:
Its a good start for Minneapolis Southwest. Their star forward Brennan Hawkins scores right before a dicey Lithgow call against TG star Rocky Kreuser trying to gain post position. That sends Kreuser to the bench with 2 foul just 3 minutes in. Hawkins then buries a 3 and converts 3 the old fashion way. 9-4 Southwest just 3:35 into the game. But Hawkins picks up his 2nd right after that and has to sit. Totino-Grace gains some momentum which forces Hawkins to come back in. But he picks up a quick 3rd at the 10:30 mark and is done for the half with the Lakers down by 4. Totino-Grace goes on the game clinching run from there. Kreuser with 2 layups. Nate Kavolak with a transition 3. Kreuser takes a kickout and buries a 3 and then runs out for a dunk. All told Minneapolis Southwest goes 8:15 without a field goal which leads to a 25-2 Eagles run over 7 minutes. 41-15 Totino-Grace on top late in the 1st half after the initial 9-4 deficit. Kreuser would pick up 2 quick fouls to sit with 4 fouls at the 14:22 mark but this one is never in doubt. The lead was down to 21 with 12:25 to go but another big Totino-Grace run pushes the lead to 40 and gets the game to running time with 7:14 left. Totino-Grace rolls to an 85-50 win.
Post Game
Junior Niko Polydorou leads Minneapolis Southwest with 13 points. Ari Bogen-Groce with 11 and Brennan Hawkins with 10. Minneapolis Southwest really saw their offense bog down with Hawkins being in foul trouble. The Lakers fall to 0-1. They get the early start to Minneapolis City play with their next 4 games being in conference. South and Washburn visit next week, then the following week its a trip to Henry and a visit from Roosevelt.
Totino-Grace puts 4 in double figures. Rocky Kreuser with 18, Charlie Jacob with 15 and Braeden Mischke with 11. Nick Flottmeier with a great night off the bench with 19 points. Loved his energy on both ends. He had to fill in the starting lineup in the 2nd half due to a Tyler Kittelson injury. Kreuser got his despite foul trouble. Jacob and Mischke also very aggressive attacking. The Eagles open 1-0 and have a tough trip to Minnehaha on Tuesday.
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