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

• 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)

Hot Dog Ticker: 5
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.