Day 2 of the Granite City Classic took place at St. Cloud State. A frigid Saturday had many trying to park as close as possible to the entrances. MOVE YOUR CARS! 8 total games on the day, I'll give some sights and sounds from the 5 games involving metro teams.
Game 2: #6AAA Delano 65 Lakeville South 42
Delano known for playing fast but coach Techum insisted on his guys spreading the floor and slowing the pace. What a game plan it was as the Tigers totally took Lakeville South apart. Calvin Wishart was fantastic from his guard spot. Keegan O'Neill had a layup fest with dump offs from the guards creating in the spread floor. Didn't matter if it was man or the South 1-3-1. Delano would open an 11 point lead mid first half and keep it to halftime. Then a 13-0 2nd half run with 3 easy O'Neill buckets opens the lead to 19. No danger from there. Calvin Wishart 29 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals on my sheet. Keegan O'Neill with 25, mostly layups. Cooper Jackson leads Lakeville South with 10. Off day for Shae Mitchell who finished with 8 on 3-10 FGs for the Cougars.
Game 4: #5AAAA Park Center 70 #10AAAA Woodbury 57
Woodbury would get off to a cold start shooting but still hold a 18-16 lead at the 6:25 mark. Dain Dainja asserting himself in the post with solid contribution from Tommy Chatman. But Park Center would go on a 11-0 run late in the 1st half to take the lead. Lavonte Parker dunks a turnover and hits a 3. Khari Broadway adds 2 hoops to end the run. Pirates by 6 at half.
Jarius Cook with 2 triples and a free throw as the Pirates grow the lead to 11. DJ Fleming turning it up for Woodbury in the 2nd half. His 3 point play cuts it to 10. Then he adds a drive, triple and bonus freebies to end a 10-0 run. That pulls Woodbury within 2 with 7 minutes left. Broadway with a big triple and a bucket to keep the lead at 4. Then a Dainja bucket and he blocks Jones on the other end. Cook turns that into a dunk and the lead is 9 inside 2 minutes left. Free throws and run outs from there. Dain Dainja leads Park Center with 22 points. Woodbury had no answer for him inside. I was very surprised they didn't double more him on catches or front him in their zone where you automatically have backside help. Tommy Chatman adds 15, Jarius Cook 11. DJ Fleming with 24 points to lead Woodbury. Michael Jones held to 17.
Game 6: #1AA Minnehaha 53 #5AAA Orono 50
Tight 1st half but Orono would assert itself at the end of the half. Jarvis Omersa post hoop and 2 free throws for the lead. Griffen Sage with a triple and 2 free throws to extend the Orono lead to 6 at the half. Omersa scores again in the post to start the 2nd half but was very passive in the post the rest of the way despite his ability to just jump over JaVonni Bickham for good looks at anytime. Minnehaha then goes on a 13-0 run. Jalen Suggs with 2 steals for 4 free throws to flip the scoreboard. Suggs then sits with his 4th foul with 7:47 left. Redhawks up 38-36 at that point.
Omersa with a triple and huge block that leads to a tough Colton Codute 2. That ties the game at 43 inside 5 minutes left and gets Suggs back in the game. Omersa adds 2 free throws for the Orono lead. But after being cold all day from 3 vs the Orono 2-3, the Redhawks shooting finally comes to life. Bickham from the high post to Lockett in the right corner for 3 and a Kaden Johnson 3. But a Minnehaha turnover leads to a Blake O'Connor hoop and we're tied at 49 with 2 minutes left. Lockett with another 3 for the lead with 1:15 left. Omersa makes 1 free throw, then 3 straight possessions of turnovers (2 Minnehaha with Orono inbetween). That gives Orono the ball back down 2 with 18.9 left. Omersa misses an open 3, Suggs makes 1 free throw. Orono has 1 last chance down 3 with 7.9 left but Codute's 3 is blocked and Minnehaha hangs on. Terry Lockett leads Minnehaha with 3 triples and 14 points. JaVonni Bickham 12 points. Jalen Suggs 8 points all free throws in another struggle for him. Jarvis Omersa 20 points, 14 rebounds to lead Orono. Griffen Sage with 11, Colton Codute with 10. The Orono 2-3 zone held Minnehaha to 2 3s before the Redhawks hit 3 big ones in the last 4 minutes.
Game 7: Champlin Park 80 St. Cloud Tech 60
After seeing Tech without guys vs Lakeville North, I expect much better from the Tigers here. That didn't happen. Kelvin Tappa off the Rebels bench with 2 late 1st half 3s as Champlin Park opened up a 15 point halftime lead. That quickly grew to 26 with a couple of Josiah Strong layups and 5 points from Kato Seley. Brevyn Spann-Ford was a force as expected with 24 points and 10 rebounds. But nobody else in double figures for the Tigers. Josiah Strong with 28 points and 6 3s. Bennett Otto with 10 of his 12 in the 1st half.
Game 8: #1AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall 80 #6AAAA Apple Valley 69
So much for the top spot in the class AAAA poll being dangerous. 2 big stories in this one. First was the size of CDH. No answer for size, length and athleticism of Daniel Oturu and Sy Chatman. Oturu made his presence felt immediately with big blocks. That kept Apple Valley from attacking the rim. Plus his offense along with Chatman inside had the Apple Valley bigs in foul trouble and frustrated all night. The role guys for CDH game up big too. Jacob Prince with 2 triples and a bucket in a 13-3 Raiders run. That gave CDH a 13 point halftime lead.
The 2nd half was the 2nd big story, the shooting of Jaeden King. He drains 3 triples in the 1st 3:35 of the half and the lead grows to 18. Apple Valley would keep it interesting. Tre Jones a drive and converts a turnover. Oturu and Chatman with free throws and a King jumper to keep the lead at 19. A Zach Korba triple and 2 Spencer Rolland bunnies cut the lead to 12. But its King from deep again and an Oturu putback to answer. Nathan Macho 2 free throws off a turnover and he gets a steal that results in a Tre Jones 3 point play to cut it to 14. Zach Korba with another triple and 2 to cut it to 11 with 2:45 left. King slams the door with another 3, 2 free throws and a bucket. Jaeden King with 6 3s and 26 points (19 in 2nd half) to lead all scorers. Fantastic night for the junior wing. Daniel Oturu 15 points 12 rebounds and 5 blocks patrolling the paint. Sy Chatman 14 points 9 rebounds. CDH gets no points from the bench but all 5 starters were in double figures and made critical plays. A game like this with 11 3s and that inside play will make them very difficult to beat. Tre Jones leads Apple Valley with 20 points, 10 boards and 8 assists. Zach Korba 4 3s and 14 points all in the 2nd half to keep Apple Valley within striking distance. Apple Valley 8-30 from the 3 point line.
2017 South St. Paul Championships
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2017 Holiday Tourneys
To South St. Paul for championship day of their 10th annual tournament. This tourney is both boys and girls but I only appear for the boys games. Hot dogs back on the menu, they got lonely, with the always entertaining 500 ml bottle (that's 16.9 oz for the ticker) of Pepsi. Quality music including the Safety Dance. I've saw that live this fall, most excellent.
3rd Place: Red Wing 63 St. Paul Humboldt 59
Red Wing opens up the lead thanks to a 14-2 first half run. Their initial 1-3-1 defense not terribly effective so the Wingers get out of it. Seth Yeatman with a pair of 3s plus a couple of Humboldt turnovers adds to the cause. That run opens up a 12 point lead. Humboldt counters with a 7-0 run as Davionte Davis carries the Hawks offense. Yeatman with another bomb and a nice finish for a 3 point play plus a drive just before the half. 11 point Red Wing lead going to the break.
Darnell King with 6 in a row for Humboldt after another Yeatman triple. That's part of a 7-0 Hawks run. Davis adds a couple of buckets and the lead is down to 6. 43-37 Red Wing with 13:25 left. 2 turnovers become layups and the margin is right back to 10. Yeatman with another triple countered by the 3rd triple of the night from soph Desmond Lugo. 55-49 Red Wing with 3:10 left. A turnover sends Humboldt to the line with a chance to get it to 4, but only 1 of 2 is good.. Yeatman makes 4 late free throws to keep a 3 at the buzzer meaningless. Seth Yeatman leads Red Wing with 24 points and 5 3s. Nathan Carlson adds 13 for the other Winger in double figures. Davionte Davis leaqds Humboldt with 24 points. Darnell King scores all 12 of his points in the 2nd half. Desmond Lugo with 3 triples and 11 points off the Hawks bench.
1st Place: St. Anthony 69 South St. Paul 52
Mickey Jah scores 11 of the 1st 15 for St. Anthony. South St. Paul gets 4 3s from 4 different players. 15-12 St. Anthony at 13:40. The margin is 4 at 12:30 when the South St. Paul triples stop falling. They go the next 10:50 with only 1 field goal. St. Anthony scores 17 of the next 20 during that time. Tait Nelson with a steal for a 3 point play and a triple off an offense rebound to start that run. Jah goes coast to coast to end it. South St. Paul scores the last 6 of the half, including a buzzer beating 3, to keep the margin at 40-25 going to the break.
Ryan Dodd didn't play in the first half for the Packers but he starts the 2nd half. St. Anthony promptly faceguards him. The Packers add the 1st 5 in a row of the 2nd half for an 11-0 run. Jah with 5 straight for St. Anthony around a Dodd putback. Then Jah adds an assist for a triple. Tait Nelson adds a 3 point play and the lead is back to 17. Dodd with a pair of 3 point plays for South St. Paul. The 2nd gets the margin to 11. But the Packers miss 3 of 4 free throws with a chance to cut the margin. Tait Nelson adds a dagger triple with 4 minutes left to push the lead back to 15. The rest is free throws and drives versus an extended defense. Tait Nelson leads all scorers with 24 points including 4 3s. Mickey Jah finishes with 22. The Huskies played the 2nd half without guard Aaron Smith who was injured late in the 1st half. Ryan Dodd leads South St. Paul with 12 points despite only playing the 2nd half. Clearly their top offensive option as they gave him numerous 4 flat chances. Trystan Patnode adds 10. South St. Paul playing 6 underclassmen in the rotation plus a pair of juniors (Dodd being 1 of them).
3rd Place: Red Wing 63 St. Paul Humboldt 59
Red Wing opens up the lead thanks to a 14-2 first half run. Their initial 1-3-1 defense not terribly effective so the Wingers get out of it. Seth Yeatman with a pair of 3s plus a couple of Humboldt turnovers adds to the cause. That run opens up a 12 point lead. Humboldt counters with a 7-0 run as Davionte Davis carries the Hawks offense. Yeatman with another bomb and a nice finish for a 3 point play plus a drive just before the half. 11 point Red Wing lead going to the break.
Darnell King with 6 in a row for Humboldt after another Yeatman triple. That's part of a 7-0 Hawks run. Davis adds a couple of buckets and the lead is down to 6. 43-37 Red Wing with 13:25 left. 2 turnovers become layups and the margin is right back to 10. Yeatman with another triple countered by the 3rd triple of the night from soph Desmond Lugo. 55-49 Red Wing with 3:10 left. A turnover sends Humboldt to the line with a chance to get it to 4, but only 1 of 2 is good.. Yeatman makes 4 late free throws to keep a 3 at the buzzer meaningless. Seth Yeatman leads Red Wing with 24 points and 5 3s. Nathan Carlson adds 13 for the other Winger in double figures. Davionte Davis leaqds Humboldt with 24 points. Darnell King scores all 12 of his points in the 2nd half. Desmond Lugo with 3 triples and 11 points off the Hawks bench.
1st Place: St. Anthony 69 South St. Paul 52
Mickey Jah scores 11 of the 1st 15 for St. Anthony. South St. Paul gets 4 3s from 4 different players. 15-12 St. Anthony at 13:40. The margin is 4 at 12:30 when the South St. Paul triples stop falling. They go the next 10:50 with only 1 field goal. St. Anthony scores 17 of the next 20 during that time. Tait Nelson with a steal for a 3 point play and a triple off an offense rebound to start that run. Jah goes coast to coast to end it. South St. Paul scores the last 6 of the half, including a buzzer beating 3, to keep the margin at 40-25 going to the break.
Ryan Dodd didn't play in the first half for the Packers but he starts the 2nd half. St. Anthony promptly faceguards him. The Packers add the 1st 5 in a row of the 2nd half for an 11-0 run. Jah with 5 straight for St. Anthony around a Dodd putback. Then Jah adds an assist for a triple. Tait Nelson adds a 3 point play and the lead is back to 17. Dodd with a pair of 3 point plays for South St. Paul. The 2nd gets the margin to 11. But the Packers miss 3 of 4 free throws with a chance to cut the margin. Tait Nelson adds a dagger triple with 4 minutes left to push the lead back to 15. The rest is free throws and drives versus an extended defense. Tait Nelson leads all scorers with 24 points including 4 3s. Mickey Jah finishes with 22. The Huskies played the 2nd half without guard Aaron Smith who was injured late in the 1st half. Ryan Dodd leads South St. Paul with 12 points despite only playing the 2nd half. Clearly their top offensive option as they gave him numerous 4 flat chances. Trystan Patnode adds 10. South St. Paul playing 6 underclassmen in the rotation plus a pair of juniors (Dodd being 1 of them).
2017 Bethel Champoinship Day
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2017 Holiday Tourneys
To Bethel for all 4 games on their championship day for both brackets. After avoiding a fence and high jumping a guard rail, I do make it thru the snow to the Robertson Center after inhaling some McDonalds. A great music selection for most of the day. Then for dinner Santa Novak and his staff bring me Chipotle. Many thanks to the entire Bethel crew for their hospitality. We start with a pair of 3rd place games and then a pair of tight championship games for the 2 brackets. That includes Hollywood who had the late game and went without the sleeves tonight.
Game 1: St. Paul Central 70 Mounds View 47
Forward Daveonte Davis with a strong start for Central. He goes for 2 hoops, a triple and 3 free throws early. My'Kel Alexander with 2 early stick backs as well. Davis adds a triple to push the lead to 11. The margin stays there for the 1st half. Central extends that with a 7-0 run thanks to Davis out on the break for a layup and another bomb. Mounds View tries to stay close with an 7-0 run via a Brendan Kauls triple and a pair of steals for buckets. Davis ends a Central 7-0 run with a 3 point play. Then a late 14-2 run to really bust the game open for the final margin. Daveonte Davis with 3 3s and 25 points in another nice performance. He's a matchup problem with post size and strength to go with guard skills. Central adds 3 other starters in double figures. Michael Fahim with 11 points to lead the Mustangs. They are just hard pressed to generate offense.
Game 2: Roseville 61 Eagan 44
Speaking of offensively challenged, the 1st half of this game showed that with a 22-12 halftime score. Eagan also hard pressed to get good looks. Roseville would eventually pull away as Eagan had to try to apply some pressure and the Raiders took advantage. Yohanes Gebeyehu and Jovan Hunter with triples and a Nolan Wald 3 point play push the margin to 18 with 5:25 left after a 9-2 run. But never any danger here. Gary Smith with 12 to lead Roseville. Drew Adams, Jovan Hunter and Nolan Wald all added 10 for great balance. Eagan has 12 players score but nobody in double figures. Soph guard Jaylen James with 9 to lead the Wildcats.
Game 3: Bloomington Jefferson 61 Maranatha 54
Back and forth 1st half of this one. Everything was at Jefferson's methodical pace which is definitely not the way Maranatha wants to play. Maranatha with a 36-32 lead in the 2nd half when Beijan Newbern gets undercut on a rebound. That was a side effect of trying to faceguard him with a tiny guard rather than a wing. That takes him out of the lineup for 3 minutes. It also triggers a 9-0 Jefferson run with the last 5 from forward Isaiah Watts. 41-36 Jefferson with 9:30 left. Newbern back in and stops the bleeding with a 3 point play on a steal. He drives for another bucket as part of the 10-2 run to put MCA back on top 46-43 with just over 5 minutes left. Jefferson takes time and responds with an 8-0 run with a Watts 3 to start it. Then a 3 point Jags lead and a coach Evens cry of "Get a layup" leads to a Oh My God, What Are We Doing, Great Shot triple from Owen Campbell with 2:18 left and a 6 point Jags lead. Watts seals it with a putback of a missed free throw. Isaiah Watts leads Jefferson with 22 points. Owen Campbell with 10 off the bench for the Jags. Beijan Newbern with 17 despite being faceguarded most of the game. Clarence Daniels and Travaris Ricks-Wesseh each add 13. Except for 2 late meaningless free throws, MCA gets nothing from their bench.
Game 4: Totino-Grace 64 St. Louis Park 63
Strange focus on bench cheering from the Hollywood crew. Finally the lead official gives Totino-Grace a bench warning for it in the 2nd half. Total insanity. Tight game the entire way with the Will Schmidt show on a loop. He scores 19 points in the 1st 7 minutes with 5 3s. 23-14 Eagles at 11:01. St. Louis Park would claw their way back thanks to Cire Mayfield. 2 bullet passes for 3 Anthony Odens free throws. He adds 2 free throws later then 8 points in the last 3:30 of the half as the Orioles take a 3 point halftime lead.
Schmidt from the deep again and its 45-43 St. Louis Park with 14:40 left. Mokiller timeout and St. Louis Park goes on a 9-0 run to force another TG timeout. Mayfield with 2 hoops in the run plus a killer hustle play by DaShaun Emerson to track down an offensive FT miss which turned into another hoop. But Totino-Grace responds with a 12-0 run of their own out of that timeout. Nick Flottmeier 5 straight to start it, then Schmidt with a drive and another bomb. Back and forth we go. Aiden Doherty with a 3 point play to break a tie and Braeden Mischke sticks back a miss for his own 3 point play. 60 all with 2:59 left.
St. Louis Park with back to back turnovers to allow 2 Charlie Jacob free throws for a 62-60 lead. But a bad miss with 1:30 left after the 2nd turnover allows Mayfield a chance to tie it at the foul line. He makes 1 of 2 and Totino will hold but take another bad shot. Mayfield makes them pay with 19.7 left. TG ball down 1. Its high pick and roll with Schmidt setting the screen. He rolls into the post and gets the feed. He appears to have nothing and then spins middle to his left hand and finishes it with 3 seconds left. Time runs out and that's the tournament championship bucket. Will Schmidt finishes with 8 3s and 35 points to lead all scorers on the day. Tyler Kittelson adds 10. Cire Mayfield leads the Orioles with 19 points. Aiden Doherty adds 16, Joey Whitlock with 13.
Game 1: St. Paul Central 70 Mounds View 47
Forward Daveonte Davis with a strong start for Central. He goes for 2 hoops, a triple and 3 free throws early. My'Kel Alexander with 2 early stick backs as well. Davis adds a triple to push the lead to 11. The margin stays there for the 1st half. Central extends that with a 7-0 run thanks to Davis out on the break for a layup and another bomb. Mounds View tries to stay close with an 7-0 run via a Brendan Kauls triple and a pair of steals for buckets. Davis ends a Central 7-0 run with a 3 point play. Then a late 14-2 run to really bust the game open for the final margin. Daveonte Davis with 3 3s and 25 points in another nice performance. He's a matchup problem with post size and strength to go with guard skills. Central adds 3 other starters in double figures. Michael Fahim with 11 points to lead the Mustangs. They are just hard pressed to generate offense.
Game 2: Roseville 61 Eagan 44
Speaking of offensively challenged, the 1st half of this game showed that with a 22-12 halftime score. Eagan also hard pressed to get good looks. Roseville would eventually pull away as Eagan had to try to apply some pressure and the Raiders took advantage. Yohanes Gebeyehu and Jovan Hunter with triples and a Nolan Wald 3 point play push the margin to 18 with 5:25 left after a 9-2 run. But never any danger here. Gary Smith with 12 to lead Roseville. Drew Adams, Jovan Hunter and Nolan Wald all added 10 for great balance. Eagan has 12 players score but nobody in double figures. Soph guard Jaylen James with 9 to lead the Wildcats.
Game 3: Bloomington Jefferson 61 Maranatha 54
Back and forth 1st half of this one. Everything was at Jefferson's methodical pace which is definitely not the way Maranatha wants to play. Maranatha with a 36-32 lead in the 2nd half when Beijan Newbern gets undercut on a rebound. That was a side effect of trying to faceguard him with a tiny guard rather than a wing. That takes him out of the lineup for 3 minutes. It also triggers a 9-0 Jefferson run with the last 5 from forward Isaiah Watts. 41-36 Jefferson with 9:30 left. Newbern back in and stops the bleeding with a 3 point play on a steal. He drives for another bucket as part of the 10-2 run to put MCA back on top 46-43 with just over 5 minutes left. Jefferson takes time and responds with an 8-0 run with a Watts 3 to start it. Then a 3 point Jags lead and a coach Evens cry of "Get a layup" leads to a Oh My God, What Are We Doing, Great Shot triple from Owen Campbell with 2:18 left and a 6 point Jags lead. Watts seals it with a putback of a missed free throw. Isaiah Watts leads Jefferson with 22 points. Owen Campbell with 10 off the bench for the Jags. Beijan Newbern with 17 despite being faceguarded most of the game. Clarence Daniels and Travaris Ricks-Wesseh each add 13. Except for 2 late meaningless free throws, MCA gets nothing from their bench.
Game 4: Totino-Grace 64 St. Louis Park 63
Strange focus on bench cheering from the Hollywood crew. Finally the lead official gives Totino-Grace a bench warning for it in the 2nd half. Total insanity. Tight game the entire way with the Will Schmidt show on a loop. He scores 19 points in the 1st 7 minutes with 5 3s. 23-14 Eagles at 11:01. St. Louis Park would claw their way back thanks to Cire Mayfield. 2 bullet passes for 3 Anthony Odens free throws. He adds 2 free throws later then 8 points in the last 3:30 of the half as the Orioles take a 3 point halftime lead.
Schmidt from the deep again and its 45-43 St. Louis Park with 14:40 left. Mokiller timeout and St. Louis Park goes on a 9-0 run to force another TG timeout. Mayfield with 2 hoops in the run plus a killer hustle play by DaShaun Emerson to track down an offensive FT miss which turned into another hoop. But Totino-Grace responds with a 12-0 run of their own out of that timeout. Nick Flottmeier 5 straight to start it, then Schmidt with a drive and another bomb. Back and forth we go. Aiden Doherty with a 3 point play to break a tie and Braeden Mischke sticks back a miss for his own 3 point play. 60 all with 2:59 left.
St. Louis Park with back to back turnovers to allow 2 Charlie Jacob free throws for a 62-60 lead. But a bad miss with 1:30 left after the 2nd turnover allows Mayfield a chance to tie it at the foul line. He makes 1 of 2 and Totino will hold but take another bad shot. Mayfield makes them pay with 19.7 left. TG ball down 1. Its high pick and roll with Schmidt setting the screen. He rolls into the post and gets the feed. He appears to have nothing and then spins middle to his left hand and finishes it with 3 seconds left. Time runs out and that's the tournament championship bucket. Will Schmidt finishes with 8 3s and 35 points to lead all scorers on the day. Tyler Kittelson adds 10. Cire Mayfield leads the Orioles with 19 points. Aiden Doherty adds 16, Joey Whitlock with 13.
2017 UST Holiday Tourney Day 1
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2017 Holiday Tourneys
The holiday season kicks off in full gear on this Wednesday after Christmas. My day took me to the University of St. Thomas for a slate of 3 matchups. After seeing the 12 oz can of Pepsi for the price gouging amount of $2, I decided to forgo any other concessions. The JMOA gets game 1. Hollywood goes to white long sleeves under his uniform for game 2. Then a heavyweight nightcap.
Game 1: Waconia 68 Holy Angels 51
Tommy Shelstad bullying his way to points out of the AHA DDM offense. That helps the Stars to a 15-12 first half lead. Ryan Biehn with a lefty hoop and triple to counter that in a 7-0 Waconia run. Waconia takes a 2 point lead to the break. They'll blow it open in the 2nd half thanks to Nick Fulford. He scores 12 points in a 16-2 run to start the 2nd half. Sam Nelson adds 2 hoops and a triple as the lead grows to 22. Waconia goes on to win 68-51. Nick Fulford with 14 of his 16 in the 2nd half to lead Waconia. PJ Hayes, Sam Nelson and Ryan Biehn all chip in with 11 points. Max Gerstner and Jack Foley with 10 each to lead Holy Angels.
Game 2: Wayzata 60 Maple Grove 52
The 1st half was the Jacob Beeninga show. He scores 10 of the 1st 14 for Wayzata with a couple of 3s. Jordan Stensland with 3 triples for Maple Grove to counter that. That puts the Crimson up 20-14 inside the 7 minute mark. Then Beeninga goes off. Jumper and a steal for 2 to tie it. Then 3 more bombs from Beeninga to end the 17-2 run. He'll add a backdoor layup to conclude the scoring for the half. 33-24 Wayzata at the break. Beeninga with 25 of those.
A couple more Wayzata bombs countered by 5 Alex Battist points inside for the Crimson. Beeninga goes to the high floater for 2 and then a rare miss of his is tipped in. 45-31 Wayzata with 13 minutes left. Then Jordan Stensland rallies the Maple Grove offense. Jumper and a triple are both good. Beeninga with his last field goal and its still a 12 point game with just over 6 minutes left. Then not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 straight bombs from Stensland and we're all tied with 3:30 to play. Crowd loving that. But a turnover and 4 straight misses the rest of the way would seal the Crimson's fate. Connor Hale with a drive for 2 and a layup on a turnover. Add in 4 Trojans free throws for the final margin. Jacob Beeninga with 25 of his 31 in the 1st half to lead all scorers. He knocked down 5 3s. Drew Galinson adds 13. Jordan Stensland with 8 3s and 26 points on the night. 17 of those in the 2nd half with 5 bombs. But that was half of the Maple Grove offense with nobody else in double figures. Alex Battist had a stretch in the 2nd half but with Stensland getting hot that took him out of the flow.
Game 3: #2AAAA Hopkins 84 #2AAA St. Thomas Academy 77
This was a fast paced affair but very sloppy. Lots of turnovers for the teams trying to get out and run, particularly Hopkins. Zeke Nnaji would assert himself inside for Hopkins in the 1st half. George Stewart would get the benefit of some nice short jumpers for some of his offense. Hopkins would take a 9 point lead to the half. Stewart would also get offense outrunning Joe Hedstrom down the floor for buckets. An 8-0 Cadets run with a Stewart 3 would cut the Hopkins lead to 63-62. Hedstrom with 3 points of his own plus a Kerwin Walton 3 to push the lead back to 7. Cadets stick around with a Gram O'Malley triple off a turnover and they're within 2 with 8:15 left. Anthony Davis coming up big down the stretch with 3 straight Hopkins hoops to keep the lead at 6. Walton would hit a big kickout 3 inside the 3 minute mark to push the lead back to 7. That was sandwiched by 2 Jack Thompson buckets. But the Cadets run out of time. Zeke Nnaji with 20 of his 26 in the 1st half. All 4 other starters also in double figures for Hopkins. George Stewart with 22 to lead St. Thomas Academy. He added a couple of 3s to go with his short range offense. Jack Thompson adds a quiet 17.
Game 1: Waconia 68 Holy Angels 51
Tommy Shelstad bullying his way to points out of the AHA DDM offense. That helps the Stars to a 15-12 first half lead. Ryan Biehn with a lefty hoop and triple to counter that in a 7-0 Waconia run. Waconia takes a 2 point lead to the break. They'll blow it open in the 2nd half thanks to Nick Fulford. He scores 12 points in a 16-2 run to start the 2nd half. Sam Nelson adds 2 hoops and a triple as the lead grows to 22. Waconia goes on to win 68-51. Nick Fulford with 14 of his 16 in the 2nd half to lead Waconia. PJ Hayes, Sam Nelson and Ryan Biehn all chip in with 11 points. Max Gerstner and Jack Foley with 10 each to lead Holy Angels.
Game 2: Wayzata 60 Maple Grove 52
The 1st half was the Jacob Beeninga show. He scores 10 of the 1st 14 for Wayzata with a couple of 3s. Jordan Stensland with 3 triples for Maple Grove to counter that. That puts the Crimson up 20-14 inside the 7 minute mark. Then Beeninga goes off. Jumper and a steal for 2 to tie it. Then 3 more bombs from Beeninga to end the 17-2 run. He'll add a backdoor layup to conclude the scoring for the half. 33-24 Wayzata at the break. Beeninga with 25 of those.
A couple more Wayzata bombs countered by 5 Alex Battist points inside for the Crimson. Beeninga goes to the high floater for 2 and then a rare miss of his is tipped in. 45-31 Wayzata with 13 minutes left. Then Jordan Stensland rallies the Maple Grove offense. Jumper and a triple are both good. Beeninga with his last field goal and its still a 12 point game with just over 6 minutes left. Then not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 straight bombs from Stensland and we're all tied with 3:30 to play. Crowd loving that. But a turnover and 4 straight misses the rest of the way would seal the Crimson's fate. Connor Hale with a drive for 2 and a layup on a turnover. Add in 4 Trojans free throws for the final margin. Jacob Beeninga with 25 of his 31 in the 1st half to lead all scorers. He knocked down 5 3s. Drew Galinson adds 13. Jordan Stensland with 8 3s and 26 points on the night. 17 of those in the 2nd half with 5 bombs. But that was half of the Maple Grove offense with nobody else in double figures. Alex Battist had a stretch in the 2nd half but with Stensland getting hot that took him out of the flow.
Game 3: #2AAAA Hopkins 84 #2AAA St. Thomas Academy 77
This was a fast paced affair but very sloppy. Lots of turnovers for the teams trying to get out and run, particularly Hopkins. Zeke Nnaji would assert himself inside for Hopkins in the 1st half. George Stewart would get the benefit of some nice short jumpers for some of his offense. Hopkins would take a 9 point lead to the half. Stewart would also get offense outrunning Joe Hedstrom down the floor for buckets. An 8-0 Cadets run with a Stewart 3 would cut the Hopkins lead to 63-62. Hedstrom with 3 points of his own plus a Kerwin Walton 3 to push the lead back to 7. Cadets stick around with a Gram O'Malley triple off a turnover and they're within 2 with 8:15 left. Anthony Davis coming up big down the stretch with 3 straight Hopkins hoops to keep the lead at 6. Walton would hit a big kickout 3 inside the 3 minute mark to push the lead back to 7. That was sandwiched by 2 Jack Thompson buckets. But the Cadets run out of time. Zeke Nnaji with 20 of his 26 in the 1st half. All 4 other starters also in double figures for Hopkins. George Stewart with 22 to lead St. Thomas Academy. He added a couple of 3s to go with his short range offense. Jack Thompson adds a quiet 17.
2017 Augsburg semifinal day
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2017 Holiday Tourneys
Back to Augsburg for day 2 of their early holiday tournament. Lithgow once again lurking to do evaluations. The JMOA also gets another 4 PM game. Only 1 hot dog and can of battery acid for my concessions. Here are the day's sights and sounds.
Game 1: St. Paul Johnson 65 Schaeffer Academy 48
Schaeffer would come out in a flat 3-2 zone and that would keep things under wraps in the 1st half. Only the Govs offensive rebounding would keep them ahead. Then in the 2nd half, Johnson decided to up the pressure. Something that I expected far earlier in the game. That pressure would break a 38 all tie inside 12 min left in the game and inspire a 26-4 run over 10 minutes of the 2nd half. 7 turnovers leading to points in that run. Keylon Jackson owned the paint for 17 points for the Govs. Shemar Tucker-Adams adds 13. Cole Bothun leads Schaeffer Academy with 3 triples and 14 points.
Game 2: Mayer Lutheran 63 Minneapolis Southwest 55
Southwest playing again without star forward Niko Polydorou. Mayer Lutheran jumps out to a 9-3 lead. Matt Menth with 3 early 3s as the lead grows. It would stretch to 11 at the half. Southwest would cut that lead to 3 with Traevon Nystrom converting a turnover with 11:40 left. Ari Bogen-Grose with a triple at 5:50 and that keeps the margin at 4. But Menth hits another bomb and Kobey Woolhouse drives to push the lead back to 9. Branden Carlson with 4 late FTs to close it out. Baden Noenning another nice outing of 16 points to lead the Crusaders. Branden Carlsen adds 14, Matt Menth 4 3s for 13. Alex Fischer leads Southwest with 18 points. Traevon Nystrom with 14 and Ari Bogen-Grose with 13 for the Lakers.
Game 3: #3AAAA Hopkins 105 Fridley 65
Hopkins with back to back 3s from Blaise Beauchamp and Kerwin Walton to start 6-0. Nate Soto with a pair of early 3s and 9 points from Jerome Cunningham as Fridley rallies. That puts Fridley up 22-20 inside of the 11 minute mark of the 1st half. The rest is all Hopkins. Anthony Davis with 2 free throws and a jumper. Zeke Nnaji 2 hoops. But a 3 point play from Issac Burns keeps Fridley within 8 at the 3:36 mark. But its 15-3 Hopkins the rest of the half. Walton for 3 and 3 Anthony Davis buckets. 52-32 Hopkins at the break as they go 32-10 the last 10:30 of the half. The 2nd half is more of the same. Hopkins steamrolls from there. Zeke Nnaji with 15 of his 26 in the 2nd half. Joe Hedstrom with 9 of his 14 in the 2nd half. Too much Royals size. Anthony Davis adds 16. Nate Soto with a nice game yesterday and he adds 27 today with 4 triples.
Game 4: #1AA Minnehaha 81 Eastview 69
Minnehaha with a 9-2 run via a Terry Lockett triple, JaVonni Bickham coast to coast 2 and 2 Jalen Suggs FTs. 22-13 Redhawks at 9:09. Despite Bickham sitting with 2 fouls, the lead stays at 8 when Eastview takes a late 1st half timeout. The response is there as the Lightning score 8 of the last 10 of the half thanks to a pair of triples and a Tate Machacek post spin move. 41-39 Minnehaha at the break.
Suggs ignites a Redhawks run as he blocks Machacek on a lob attempt. He then takes a steal for a dunk. The lead is 7 and Eastview takes a quick and well advised timeout. Lockett with the transition hoop and then a 3 point play off a UCLA cut. Chet Holmgren tip dunks a miss and its 59-49 Redhawks with 10:50 left. Then a turn of events. Max Bolger 2 hoops, Steven Crowl with a nasty shimy in the post for 2 and the harm. Suggs picks up a T on the play. The 3 point play chance is no good but the technicals are. Bolger converts the possession with another jumper. Just like that its a 10-0 Eastview run and we're tied at 59 with 9:37 left.
Minnehaha counters with the next 7 points. Lorenzo Smith on the break for 2 and a Kaden Johnson steal leads to 2 more in that run. Bickham with 2 free throws out of the post and bonus free throws from Smith push the margin to 10 with 4:32 left. Smith hits a dagger 3 with 2:10 left. No further danger from there. Terry Lockett outstanding with 25 points to lead all scorers. JoVanni Bickham adds 18, Lorenzo Smith 15 for Minnehaha. Jalen Suggs held to 1 FG but made 11-13 FTs on his way to 13 points. Tate Machacek leads Eastview with 22 points. Max Bolger adds 19 with a pair of 3s.
Game 1: St. Paul Johnson 65 Schaeffer Academy 48
Schaeffer would come out in a flat 3-2 zone and that would keep things under wraps in the 1st half. Only the Govs offensive rebounding would keep them ahead. Then in the 2nd half, Johnson decided to up the pressure. Something that I expected far earlier in the game. That pressure would break a 38 all tie inside 12 min left in the game and inspire a 26-4 run over 10 minutes of the 2nd half. 7 turnovers leading to points in that run. Keylon Jackson owned the paint for 17 points for the Govs. Shemar Tucker-Adams adds 13. Cole Bothun leads Schaeffer Academy with 3 triples and 14 points.
Game 2: Mayer Lutheran 63 Minneapolis Southwest 55
Southwest playing again without star forward Niko Polydorou. Mayer Lutheran jumps out to a 9-3 lead. Matt Menth with 3 early 3s as the lead grows. It would stretch to 11 at the half. Southwest would cut that lead to 3 with Traevon Nystrom converting a turnover with 11:40 left. Ari Bogen-Grose with a triple at 5:50 and that keeps the margin at 4. But Menth hits another bomb and Kobey Woolhouse drives to push the lead back to 9. Branden Carlson with 4 late FTs to close it out. Baden Noenning another nice outing of 16 points to lead the Crusaders. Branden Carlsen adds 14, Matt Menth 4 3s for 13. Alex Fischer leads Southwest with 18 points. Traevon Nystrom with 14 and Ari Bogen-Grose with 13 for the Lakers.
Game 3: #3AAAA Hopkins 105 Fridley 65
Hopkins with back to back 3s from Blaise Beauchamp and Kerwin Walton to start 6-0. Nate Soto with a pair of early 3s and 9 points from Jerome Cunningham as Fridley rallies. That puts Fridley up 22-20 inside of the 11 minute mark of the 1st half. The rest is all Hopkins. Anthony Davis with 2 free throws and a jumper. Zeke Nnaji 2 hoops. But a 3 point play from Issac Burns keeps Fridley within 8 at the 3:36 mark. But its 15-3 Hopkins the rest of the half. Walton for 3 and 3 Anthony Davis buckets. 52-32 Hopkins at the break as they go 32-10 the last 10:30 of the half. The 2nd half is more of the same. Hopkins steamrolls from there. Zeke Nnaji with 15 of his 26 in the 2nd half. Joe Hedstrom with 9 of his 14 in the 2nd half. Too much Royals size. Anthony Davis adds 16. Nate Soto with a nice game yesterday and he adds 27 today with 4 triples.
Game 4: #1AA Minnehaha 81 Eastview 69
Minnehaha with a 9-2 run via a Terry Lockett triple, JaVonni Bickham coast to coast 2 and 2 Jalen Suggs FTs. 22-13 Redhawks at 9:09. Despite Bickham sitting with 2 fouls, the lead stays at 8 when Eastview takes a late 1st half timeout. The response is there as the Lightning score 8 of the last 10 of the half thanks to a pair of triples and a Tate Machacek post spin move. 41-39 Minnehaha at the break.
Suggs ignites a Redhawks run as he blocks Machacek on a lob attempt. He then takes a steal for a dunk. The lead is 7 and Eastview takes a quick and well advised timeout. Lockett with the transition hoop and then a 3 point play off a UCLA cut. Chet Holmgren tip dunks a miss and its 59-49 Redhawks with 10:50 left. Then a turn of events. Max Bolger 2 hoops, Steven Crowl with a nasty shimy in the post for 2 and the harm. Suggs picks up a T on the play. The 3 point play chance is no good but the technicals are. Bolger converts the possession with another jumper. Just like that its a 10-0 Eastview run and we're tied at 59 with 9:37 left.
Minnehaha counters with the next 7 points. Lorenzo Smith on the break for 2 and a Kaden Johnson steal leads to 2 more in that run. Bickham with 2 free throws out of the post and bonus free throws from Smith push the margin to 10 with 4:32 left. Smith hits a dagger 3 with 2:10 left. No further danger from there. Terry Lockett outstanding with 25 points to lead all scorers. JoVanni Bickham adds 18, Lorenzo Smith 15 for Minnehaha. Jalen Suggs held to 1 FG but made 11-13 FTs on his way to 13 points. Tate Machacek leads Eastview with 22 points. Max Bolger adds 19 with a pair of 3s.
2017 Holiday Kickoff
Labels:
2017 Holiday Tourneys
The 2017 Holiday Tournament Season kicked off with the TCO Holiday Classic at Augsburg. Since I'll be doing that for day 2, I only watched the 1st game of the day there which was the highlight game. Then a cross metro trip to the eastern fringes of The Kingdom for a local rivalry game.
Game 1: #1AA Minnehaha 82 #5A Mayer Lutheran 69 (Augsburg Quarterfinal)
All Minnehaha right out of the gate. Jalen Suggs with the 1st 5 points for the Redhawks and an assist for a lob dunk to Kaden Johnson. Johnson adds another bucket and triple. 16-3 Minnehaha at the 13:49 mark. A ton of fouls called early in this game made it ugly. That would get Mayer Lutheran to the bonus quickly but they couldn't convert. 6 triples and sloppy play allow Mayer Lutheran to hang around with 7 at the half. Then Jalen Suggs with his 4th foul with 12:46 left. He comes back with 8:27 left and none of the 10 point margin lost. He fouls out with 4:41 left and the lead at 9. Minnehaha goes the stretch run without Suggs (fouls), Lockett (injury in the 2nd half) and Bickham (DNP). A Kobey Woolhouse 3 with 4:20 left would cut the margin to 6 but the Crusaders would get no closer. Lorenzo Smith and Johnson carry the weight down the stretch. Kaden Johnson with 23 points, Jalen Suggs with 15. Baden Noenning with 18 to lead Mayer Lutheran. They make 10 3s but only shoot 9-25 from the charity stripe.
Game 2: White Bear Lake 76 Mahtomedi 65
Tight fit on 1 side at White Bear Lake for this one. But the wonderful Donatelli's pizza makes it all worth it. Zac Centers with an early hoop, free throw and triple as Mahtomedi goes up 6. Sam Schwartz with the answers for that with a pair of triples and a nice scoop finish of his own. Mahtomedi would get the lead to 7 before the Bears trim it to 2 at the half. White Bear Lake quickly takes the lead but Mahtomedi immediately counters with a 9-0 run with a triple, 2 free throws and 2 hoops all from different players. 43-36 Zephyrs inside 12 minutes left. Then the big run for White Bear Lake slams the door. Schwartz converts a turnover and adds 2 free throws. Jeremy Beckler for 2 and a cross court pass for a Isaac Tessier triple. Schwartz 2 freebies and converts another turnover, this time for a 3 point play. He knock down a triple off a double stagger BLOB for 8 in a row. Beckler adds 2 hoops to finish it off. That's a 23-2 Bears run in under 6 minutes. 59-45 with 6:12 left when Mahtomedi takes another timeout to try and stop the run. That ends my night. Sam Schwartz goes off for 32 points for White Bear Lake to lead all scorers. Center Jeremy Beckler with 12. Blake Charles and Isaac Tessier each add 11. Only 1 field and a total of 3 points from the Bears bench. J'Vonne Hadley leads Mahtomedi with 15 points but 11 of those were after the big run. Zac Centers with 12 of his 14 in the 1st half. Jack Shay adds 11. So nice balance from both squads. 7 of the 10 starters plus 4 of the 6 rotation reserves will be back for these teams next year.
Game 1: #1AA Minnehaha 82 #5A Mayer Lutheran 69 (Augsburg Quarterfinal)
All Minnehaha right out of the gate. Jalen Suggs with the 1st 5 points for the Redhawks and an assist for a lob dunk to Kaden Johnson. Johnson adds another bucket and triple. 16-3 Minnehaha at the 13:49 mark. A ton of fouls called early in this game made it ugly. That would get Mayer Lutheran to the bonus quickly but they couldn't convert. 6 triples and sloppy play allow Mayer Lutheran to hang around with 7 at the half. Then Jalen Suggs with his 4th foul with 12:46 left. He comes back with 8:27 left and none of the 10 point margin lost. He fouls out with 4:41 left and the lead at 9. Minnehaha goes the stretch run without Suggs (fouls), Lockett (injury in the 2nd half) and Bickham (DNP). A Kobey Woolhouse 3 with 4:20 left would cut the margin to 6 but the Crusaders would get no closer. Lorenzo Smith and Johnson carry the weight down the stretch. Kaden Johnson with 23 points, Jalen Suggs with 15. Baden Noenning with 18 to lead Mayer Lutheran. They make 10 3s but only shoot 9-25 from the charity stripe.
Game 2: White Bear Lake 76 Mahtomedi 65
Tight fit on 1 side at White Bear Lake for this one. But the wonderful Donatelli's pizza makes it all worth it. Zac Centers with an early hoop, free throw and triple as Mahtomedi goes up 6. Sam Schwartz with the answers for that with a pair of triples and a nice scoop finish of his own. Mahtomedi would get the lead to 7 before the Bears trim it to 2 at the half. White Bear Lake quickly takes the lead but Mahtomedi immediately counters with a 9-0 run with a triple, 2 free throws and 2 hoops all from different players. 43-36 Zephyrs inside 12 minutes left. Then the big run for White Bear Lake slams the door. Schwartz converts a turnover and adds 2 free throws. Jeremy Beckler for 2 and a cross court pass for a Isaac Tessier triple. Schwartz 2 freebies and converts another turnover, this time for a 3 point play. He knock down a triple off a double stagger BLOB for 8 in a row. Beckler adds 2 hoops to finish it off. That's a 23-2 Bears run in under 6 minutes. 59-45 with 6:12 left when Mahtomedi takes another timeout to try and stop the run. That ends my night. Sam Schwartz goes off for 32 points for White Bear Lake to lead all scorers. Center Jeremy Beckler with 12. Blake Charles and Isaac Tessier each add 11. Only 1 field and a total of 3 points from the Bears bench. J'Vonne Hadley leads Mahtomedi with 15 points but 11 of those were after the big run. Zac Centers with 12 of his 14 in the 1st half. Jack Shay adds 11. So nice balance from both squads. 7 of the 10 starters plus 4 of the 6 rotation reserves will be back for these teams next year.
Centaurs with a holiday rally
Prologue
To Brooklyn Center for a very interesting non-conference matchup with Minneapolis Roosevelt. A small but usually vocal crowd on hand. Brooklyn Center concessions are a little sparse so nothing tonight. As per request, we get the annual White Jacket game for Centaur coach Matt McCollister. Head coaches from Lake Region and Central Lakes on hand to watch. A random music selection for today features the late great Tom Petty.
Song of the Day: Last Night - Traveling Wilburys
Number of Teams I've Seen: 72 (47 games, 21 days, 17 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 312.9 ounces (3340 Calories)
Offense incredibly hard to come back early on the game. Brooklyn Center with only 1 FG in the 1st 6:40. Nothing falling for the Centaurs. Roosevelt not having any better luck. Luke Barnes with the Teddies' 2nd field goal at 11:34 for a 6-2 lead. The pace picks up and the Teddies add 7 in a row with 2 Deszi Sims hoops. 13-4 Roosevelt at 9:20. Brooklyn Center finally gets some offense withe Qentrell Douglas scoring 3 of their next 4 FGs. That pulls the Centaurs within 15-12 at 7:05, mini 8-2 spurt. 8th grader Muja Burton banks in a 3, Leo Buchwald steps back for 3 . Then Sims measures on the break and smashes a layup attempt. He ends up finishing on the other end. 8-0 run and that forces a Centaurs timeout. 23-12 Roosevelt at 4:41. Rudy Tahir with a triple from Lu'Cye Patterson and 4 free throws. Patterson with a hoop and 2 FTs before sitting with 2 fouls. That pulls BC within 27-23 at the half.
Brooklyn Center would get the lead to 1 on a Patterson hoop but he missed the FT to tie. BC within 1 again before a Buchwald triple and 2 Sims hoops occur in an 8-0 Teddies run. 43-34 Roosevelt with 9:13 left. Roosevelt turnover for a Patterson putback of his own miss. That's countered by Luke Barnes making both ends of the bonus. Tahir hoop countered by a Roosevelt putback. Teddies up 51-43 inside 5 minutes left.
Then it all falls apart for Roosevelt. Patterson with 3 free throws and Barnes fouls out on a charge. A BC 3 point play countered by a Sims hoop keeps Roosevelt ahead 53-49 with 3:10 left. Patterson with a 3 point play and Tahir makes 2 free throws on a turnover. 54-53 BC takes their 1st lead with 2:46 left. Roosevelt misses a front end. Then Tahir hits a NOOOOOOO 3 with 1:35 left. Adreone Sprinkles and Patterson add buckets around a turnover. Sims finally stops the bleeding but its too late. The 18-2 run in under 4 minutes puts BC up 8 before the hoop with 42 seconds left. Brooklyn Center wins 65-59.
Post Game
Deszi Sims leads Roosevelt with 24 points. His block on the break was the highlight play of the night. Leo Buchwald with 3 triples and 11 points. But overall he was pretty quiet. This is the 3rd straight loss for Roosevelt as they fall to 3-4 overall, 0-1 in the Minneapolis City. Roosevelt is now the 1st team below .500 in section 6AAA which is the crazy stat of the day. Roosevelt is off for the holidays. They will host Jordan on January 4th.
Brooklyn Center improves to 6-1 overall with 6 home games already played. They'll play 2 testing games in the Minneapolis North holiday tourney next week. Rudy Tahir leads the Centaurs with 21 points. He made 10-12 FTs and 3 triples including the late dagger. Lu'Cye Patterson had 18 points, 12 in the 2nd half. Quentrell Douglas adds 8 points with 6 of those early to get the Centaurs offense started. After scoring 43 points in the 1st 31:16, the Centaurs score 22 in the final 4:44. Their defense is still vulnerable to attack by post players or on drives
To Brooklyn Center for a very interesting non-conference matchup with Minneapolis Roosevelt. A small but usually vocal crowd on hand. Brooklyn Center concessions are a little sparse so nothing tonight. As per request, we get the annual White Jacket game for Centaur coach Matt McCollister. Head coaches from Lake Region and Central Lakes on hand to watch. A random music selection for today features the late great Tom Petty.
Song of the Day: Last Night - Traveling Wilburys
Number of Teams I've Seen: 72 (47 games, 21 days, 17 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 312.9 ounces (3340 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 52 ounces (620 calories)
- Pepsi: 84 ounces (1050 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 80.9 ounces (960 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 20 ounces (140 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 7
- Walking Tacos:3
- Pizza: 6
Offense incredibly hard to come back early on the game. Brooklyn Center with only 1 FG in the 1st 6:40. Nothing falling for the Centaurs. Roosevelt not having any better luck. Luke Barnes with the Teddies' 2nd field goal at 11:34 for a 6-2 lead. The pace picks up and the Teddies add 7 in a row with 2 Deszi Sims hoops. 13-4 Roosevelt at 9:20. Brooklyn Center finally gets some offense withe Qentrell Douglas scoring 3 of their next 4 FGs. That pulls the Centaurs within 15-12 at 7:05, mini 8-2 spurt. 8th grader Muja Burton banks in a 3, Leo Buchwald steps back for 3 . Then Sims measures on the break and smashes a layup attempt. He ends up finishing on the other end. 8-0 run and that forces a Centaurs timeout. 23-12 Roosevelt at 4:41. Rudy Tahir with a triple from Lu'Cye Patterson and 4 free throws. Patterson with a hoop and 2 FTs before sitting with 2 fouls. That pulls BC within 27-23 at the half.
Brooklyn Center would get the lead to 1 on a Patterson hoop but he missed the FT to tie. BC within 1 again before a Buchwald triple and 2 Sims hoops occur in an 8-0 Teddies run. 43-34 Roosevelt with 9:13 left. Roosevelt turnover for a Patterson putback of his own miss. That's countered by Luke Barnes making both ends of the bonus. Tahir hoop countered by a Roosevelt putback. Teddies up 51-43 inside 5 minutes left.
Then it all falls apart for Roosevelt. Patterson with 3 free throws and Barnes fouls out on a charge. A BC 3 point play countered by a Sims hoop keeps Roosevelt ahead 53-49 with 3:10 left. Patterson with a 3 point play and Tahir makes 2 free throws on a turnover. 54-53 BC takes their 1st lead with 2:46 left. Roosevelt misses a front end. Then Tahir hits a NOOOOOOO 3 with 1:35 left. Adreone Sprinkles and Patterson add buckets around a turnover. Sims finally stops the bleeding but its too late. The 18-2 run in under 4 minutes puts BC up 8 before the hoop with 42 seconds left. Brooklyn Center wins 65-59.
Post Game
Deszi Sims leads Roosevelt with 24 points. His block on the break was the highlight play of the night. Leo Buchwald with 3 triples and 11 points. But overall he was pretty quiet. This is the 3rd straight loss for Roosevelt as they fall to 3-4 overall, 0-1 in the Minneapolis City. Roosevelt is now the 1st team below .500 in section 6AAA which is the crazy stat of the day. Roosevelt is off for the holidays. They will host Jordan on January 4th.
Brooklyn Center improves to 6-1 overall with 6 home games already played. They'll play 2 testing games in the Minneapolis North holiday tourney next week. Rudy Tahir leads the Centaurs with 21 points. He made 10-12 FTs and 3 triples including the late dagger. Lu'Cye Patterson had 18 points, 12 in the 2nd half. Quentrell Douglas adds 8 points with 6 of those early to get the Centaurs offense started. After scoring 43 points in the 1st 31:16, the Centaurs score 22 in the final 4:44. Their defense is still vulnerable to attack by post players or on drives
St Nick not nice to St. Anthony
Prologue
To St. Anthony for their non-conference showdown with St. Paul Central. Big slice of sausage pizza on the menu. A rare choice of gatorade on tonight's beverage ticker. Santa in the house plus plenty of other santa hats. The night is completed with the outstanding St. Anthony band. We get a xylophone and a cowbell from them. Drop the microphone. As is tradition a band tune gets our daily selection.
Song of the Day: LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
Number of Teams I've Seen: 72 (46 games, 20 days, 16 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 312.9 ounces (3340 Calories)
St. Anthony playing without starting point guard Tait Nelson. Mickey Jah crashes thru the entire Central defense for a 3 point play. Eli Forsline adds a layup. Huskies take a 9-8 lead on a FT at the 13:33 mark. All Central from there as they go on a 20-2 run. Central dominating the offensive glass and forcing turnovers. Bad combination plus St. Anthony goes 6+ without a field goal during that run. St. Anthony is able to stabilize from there but they still trail by 19 at half. Khai West with 8 in a row to push the lead to 26 in the 2nd half. Central adds a triple and a nice 2 on 1 for a 3 point play and we get running time right at the 9 minute mark until just before the end of the game. Central rolls 83-56.
Post Game
Mickey Jah took over much of the ballhandling responsibility with Tait Nelson out. He leads the way with 14 points. Aaron Smith with 1 3 in the 2nd half and 12 points. As mentioned above turnovers and the offensive glass just killed them. St. Anthony falls to 3-3 overall. They are 2-1 vs the St. Paul City. They will visit Hill-Murray on Friday before playing in the South St. Paul holiday tournament.
Central improves to 2-2 with the win. They have a tough home game with Roseville on Thursday. Great balance again from the Minutemen. They get 6 in double figures. Ronelle Porter with 15 points running the show. Daveonte Davis with 13. Dion Ford, Luke McElroy and Khai West with 11. Terrell Fountain adds 12. All of those guys sat the last 8 minutes.
Strategy Session
St. Anthony tried guard Drew Nelson as their option to defend Central's star forward Daveonte Davis. Nelson picked up 2 quick fouls in the 1st half and had to sit. Then Davis went right at him inside in the 2nd half with success. I think that also contributed to some of the early rebounding trouble that the Huskies had. With the balance that Central has shown, he may been better served guarding either Porter or McElroy.
To St. Anthony for their non-conference showdown with St. Paul Central. Big slice of sausage pizza on the menu. A rare choice of gatorade on tonight's beverage ticker. Santa in the house plus plenty of other santa hats. The night is completed with the outstanding St. Anthony band. We get a xylophone and a cowbell from them. Drop the microphone. As is tradition a band tune gets our daily selection.
Song of the Day: LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
Number of Teams I've Seen: 72 (46 games, 20 days, 16 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 312.9 ounces (3340 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 52 ounces (620 calories)
- Pepsi: 84 ounces (1050 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 80.9 ounces (960 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Red Gatorade: 20 ounces (140 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 7
- Walking Tacos:3
- Pizza: 6
St. Anthony playing without starting point guard Tait Nelson. Mickey Jah crashes thru the entire Central defense for a 3 point play. Eli Forsline adds a layup. Huskies take a 9-8 lead on a FT at the 13:33 mark. All Central from there as they go on a 20-2 run. Central dominating the offensive glass and forcing turnovers. Bad combination plus St. Anthony goes 6+ without a field goal during that run. St. Anthony is able to stabilize from there but they still trail by 19 at half. Khai West with 8 in a row to push the lead to 26 in the 2nd half. Central adds a triple and a nice 2 on 1 for a 3 point play and we get running time right at the 9 minute mark until just before the end of the game. Central rolls 83-56.
Post Game
Mickey Jah took over much of the ballhandling responsibility with Tait Nelson out. He leads the way with 14 points. Aaron Smith with 1 3 in the 2nd half and 12 points. As mentioned above turnovers and the offensive glass just killed them. St. Anthony falls to 3-3 overall. They are 2-1 vs the St. Paul City. They will visit Hill-Murray on Friday before playing in the South St. Paul holiday tournament.
Central improves to 2-2 with the win. They have a tough home game with Roseville on Thursday. Great balance again from the Minutemen. They get 6 in double figures. Ronelle Porter with 15 points running the show. Daveonte Davis with 13. Dion Ford, Luke McElroy and Khai West with 11. Terrell Fountain adds 12. All of those guys sat the last 8 minutes.
Strategy Session
St. Anthony tried guard Drew Nelson as their option to defend Central's star forward Daveonte Davis. Nelson picked up 2 quick fouls in the 1st half and had to sit. Then Davis went right at him inside in the 2nd half with success. I think that also contributed to some of the early rebounding trouble that the Huskies had. With the balance that Central has shown, he may been better served guarding either Porter or McElroy.
2017 Christmas Lights Tour
Prologue
Anytime you get a chance to do a Minneapolis Southwest game in mid-December its always a treat. That's because of the numerous Christmas lights displays in the area. Tonight the Lakers host Minneapolis Henry in an early Minneapolis City conference opener. A very good walking taco on the menu, good kick. Sprite is a favorite beverage this season so we stick with that. Lake Region making the long trek in to watch along with St. Olaf and St. Thomas amongst others. Since Christmas is the theme, we'll go traditional for today's tune.
Song of the Day: Jingle Bells
Number of Teams I've Seen: 71 (45 games, 19 days, 15 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 292.9 ounces (3200 Calories)
Henry going without much of their main lineup for the entire first half. Will Laabs, Anton Barr and Rashaud Rollins all get the 1st half DNP-CD. Southwest takes advantage right away. Treavon Nystrom 2 hoops, Ari Bogen-Grose with a stick back and a triple. Niko Polydorou 2 assists before sitting with 2 fouls. Southwest jumps out to a 16-5 lead less than 6 minutes in. Mark Cambell and Marshun Downey bring the Patriots back. Downey 2 hoops, Cambell with a reverse layup and a triple in the 3 minute Henry 14-2 run. 19-18 Patriots at the midpoint of the half. The rest of the 1st half is back and forth. Nystrom 3 more hoops and a triple. Downey with a steal for a 3 point play. Cambell with 1 triple and then beats the halftime buzzer with another bomb. Henry 39-37 at the break.
Henry gets their guys back about 4 minutes into the 2nd half. Glentrell Carter 3 hoops and Cambell with a bomb and a bucket. 52-43 Henry just over 5 minutes into the half after a 9-0 run. Southwest cuts into the lead with a Polydorou triple, Alex Fischer with a hoop and harm with Nystrom putting back the missed free throw. Polydorou adds another hoop and the lead is down to 5 inside 7 minutes left.
Bogen-Grose with a triple and Nystrom is fouled during the shot. He makes 1 of the 2 bonus free throws on the rare chance for the 5 point possession. Southwest within 4 but Caldwell and Rollins counter with buckets. Southwest with a couple of late costly turnovers but they get a last chance. Fischer puts back a miss and Henry misses a front end with 5.2 left. Southwest out of timeouts and their desperation heave is no good. Henry hangs on to win 81-78.
Post Game
Southwest falls to 2-4 overall, 0-1 in the Minneapolis City. Ari Bogen-Grose with 4 triples and 24 points to lead all scorers. Traevon Nystrom who had fallen off the map and has reappeared at Southwest (was at FAIR once upon a time) with a very nice outing of 22 points and 15 boards from his forward spot. Niko Polydorou with 13 of his 15 in the 2nd half. No points from the bench despite 7 bench guys seeing minutes. The Lakers open play in the Augsburg tournament on Thursday against Eastview.
Henry breaks a 2 game losing streak with the win. They improve to 3-2 on the season, 1-0 in the Minneapolis City. They play next in the Hibbing holiday tournament. Mark Campbell (bad spelling in the program so I'll correct it here) leads the Patriots with 19 points. Marshun Downey all 12 of his points in the 1st half.. Will Laabs with 10 inside all in the 2nd half. 10 different Patriots end up scoring. The Patriots did just enough against the 2-3 zone with 7 3s and penetrating the open middle.
Anytime you get a chance to do a Minneapolis Southwest game in mid-December its always a treat. That's because of the numerous Christmas lights displays in the area. Tonight the Lakers host Minneapolis Henry in an early Minneapolis City conference opener. A very good walking taco on the menu, good kick. Sprite is a favorite beverage this season so we stick with that. Lake Region making the long trek in to watch along with St. Olaf and St. Thomas amongst others. Since Christmas is the theme, we'll go traditional for today's tune.
Song of the Day: Jingle Bells
Number of Teams I've Seen: 71 (45 games, 19 days, 15 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 292.9 ounces (3200 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 52 ounces (620 calories)
- Pepsi: 84 ounces (1050 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 80.9 ounces (960 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 7
- Walking Tacos:3
- Pizza: 5
Henry going without much of their main lineup for the entire first half. Will Laabs, Anton Barr and Rashaud Rollins all get the 1st half DNP-CD. Southwest takes advantage right away. Treavon Nystrom 2 hoops, Ari Bogen-Grose with a stick back and a triple. Niko Polydorou 2 assists before sitting with 2 fouls. Southwest jumps out to a 16-5 lead less than 6 minutes in. Mark Cambell and Marshun Downey bring the Patriots back. Downey 2 hoops, Cambell with a reverse layup and a triple in the 3 minute Henry 14-2 run. 19-18 Patriots at the midpoint of the half. The rest of the 1st half is back and forth. Nystrom 3 more hoops and a triple. Downey with a steal for a 3 point play. Cambell with 1 triple and then beats the halftime buzzer with another bomb. Henry 39-37 at the break.
Henry gets their guys back about 4 minutes into the 2nd half. Glentrell Carter 3 hoops and Cambell with a bomb and a bucket. 52-43 Henry just over 5 minutes into the half after a 9-0 run. Southwest cuts into the lead with a Polydorou triple, Alex Fischer with a hoop and harm with Nystrom putting back the missed free throw. Polydorou adds another hoop and the lead is down to 5 inside 7 minutes left.
Bogen-Grose with a triple and Nystrom is fouled during the shot. He makes 1 of the 2 bonus free throws on the rare chance for the 5 point possession. Southwest within 4 but Caldwell and Rollins counter with buckets. Southwest with a couple of late costly turnovers but they get a last chance. Fischer puts back a miss and Henry misses a front end with 5.2 left. Southwest out of timeouts and their desperation heave is no good. Henry hangs on to win 81-78.
Post Game
Southwest falls to 2-4 overall, 0-1 in the Minneapolis City. Ari Bogen-Grose with 4 triples and 24 points to lead all scorers. Traevon Nystrom who had fallen off the map and has reappeared at Southwest (was at FAIR once upon a time) with a very nice outing of 22 points and 15 boards from his forward spot. Niko Polydorou with 13 of his 15 in the 2nd half. No points from the bench despite 7 bench guys seeing minutes. The Lakers open play in the Augsburg tournament on Thursday against Eastview.
Henry breaks a 2 game losing streak with the win. They improve to 3-2 on the season, 1-0 in the Minneapolis City. They play next in the Hibbing holiday tournament. Mark Campbell (bad spelling in the program so I'll correct it here) leads the Patriots with 19 points. Marshun Downey all 12 of his points in the 1st half.. Will Laabs with 10 inside all in the 2nd half. 10 different Patriots end up scoring. The Patriots did just enough against the 2-3 zone with 7 3s and penetrating the open middle.
2017 Southside Showcase Thoughts
Its the 4th annual Southside Showcase. Burnsville was this year's host to many south Minneapolis teams in the event. 7 games on the schedule with the younger levels playing across the hall in the new activity setup. Here are some sights and sounds from the day.
Game 1: Cristo Rey 65 Minneapolis Edison 56
Tenzing Chime with 4 early 3s to help Edison jump out to a 24-8 lead midway thru the first half. Cristo Rey would close that lead to 10 at half thanks to a couple Franklin Doyle 3s. That continues in the 2nd half as the Pumas dominate. Cristo Rey starts the 2nd half on a 11-0 run to take the lead. The young backcourt duo of James Sommer and Erick Burgess leading the way for Cristo Rey. Sommer with 17, Burgess with 15 for Cristo Rey. Chime with 14 for Edison but all in the 1st half.
Game 2: St. Paul Central 69 Minneapolis Roosevelt 68
This one was a back and forth affair. Central would take a 1st half lead but would be hampered by foul trouble. That would allow Roosevelt to gain a 4 point half time lead. Deszi Sims leading a 11-2 Roosevelt run with 2 free throws, 2 buckets on turnovers and an assist on a triple. 54-46 Roosevelt with 12:30 left. But Central would counter with a 13-2 run of their own. Dion Ford 2 buckets and 3 from Ronelle Porter for a 59-56 Minutemen lead with 7:21 left. Then a Central Mokiller timeout and Roosevelt scores the next 6 to reclaim the lead. Porter scores on 2 turnovers and Central goes up 3 with 2:40 left. Roosevelt with 2 Leo Buchwald hoops to pull within 1. Central misses 2 front ends and its Sims with the drive and scores with 6.3 left for the lead. He misses the free throw. Ball ends up in the front court for a Central timeout with 1.3 left. Dion Ford screens and comes back to the post for the catch and immediate finish at the horn for the Central win. Leo Buchwald with at least 25 and Deszi Sims with at least 21 for Roosevelt. Ronelle Porter 19, Luke McElroy 17 with 15 3s to lead Central. 4 starters in double figures for Central. Central with only 1 senior on the roster, its loaded with juniors.
Game 3: #6AA Brooklyn Center 78 Benilde-St. Margaret's 76
Another tight game throughout here. 7-0 Brooklyn Center run for an early 13-6 lead. 8-2 BSM run late in the 1st half. The lead hovers in the 5-8 range as BSM just can't get over the hump. Soph Walker Johnson off the bench with a pair of 3s and BSM is within 2 with 6:40 left. But the Red Knights would not score a FG for the next 4 minutes and the lead is back to 8. BSM would make 1 last push thanks to a couple of late Brooklyn Center turnovers. But the Centaurs close it out with 5 of 6 at the charity stripe late. Brooklyn Center's defense once again struggling, particularly on the interior where they don't have a presence. Adreone Sprinkles with 3 bombs and 24 points to lead all scorers for Brooklyn Center.Lu'Cye Patterson with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Centaurs. Joe Dunn leads the Red Knights with 20 points. Riley Miller adds 17.
Game 4: Elk River 95 Minneapolis South 72
This one got out of hand early. Jack Burger having his way inside. The game gets out of hand quickly for a 45-27 Elk River halftime lead. It balloons to 27 before South's soph guard Curtis Jones goes on a run of his own. That gets the lead down to 15 and we'll see the starters for Elk River again. But the outcome is never in doubt. Burger ends up with 27 points, Devon Robers 16 for the Elks. Curtis Jones hits 5 3s and goes for at least 25 in the 2nd half alone. But he didn't have much help on the offensive end.
Game 5: Minneapolis Washburn 80 Rosemount 58
Very little to say about nothing blow out. Washburn with great 1st half balance on their way to a 26 point halftime lead. Gavin Yares solid inside. Isaac Lotz with 3 triples off the bench. Add in interchangable parts like Charles Cook-Gordon. Terrell Adams and Crisean Cole on the wing for more options. Rosemount got the expected offense out of Luke Siwek. Also as expected, the question of who else can help the offense showed.
Game 6: #1AAAA Edina 88 #5AAA Delano 58
This was the showcase game of the day and it was the biggest surprise of the day. Delano's Keegan O'Neill with a hoop on a turnover and a triple. Delano down 11-9 at 11:03. Then a 10-0 Edina run with an Anders Nelson jumper and triple. That forces the 2nd Delano timeout of the half. O'Neill breaks the run with 2 free throws before 2 more Nelson buckets. Charlie Fischer 2 bombs and Delano takes their 4th timeout of the half as the margin gets to 17. 43-27 Edina at the break.
Calvin Wishart tries to bring Delano back. He tips in his own miss and buries a triple. Tigers within 51-40 with 12:20 left. Then Edina pours it on in a big way. Fischer another bomb along with a Dominick Ingram bomb. Derek Techam scores for Delano and its within shouting distance at 59-44. Zach Kloos for 3, Nelson with another hoop, Luke Glenna from deep plus a layup from Nelson. Nelson to Kloos for 3 plus his own triple. A block leads to an Ingram bucket and Kloos adds 2 hoops. 29-4 Hornets run turns this into a 40 point game when the benches empty with 3 minutes left. Delano gets the last 10. Anders Nelson outstanding with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists on my sheet for Edina. Luke Glenna 11 and he hounded Calvin Wishart all night. Charlie Fischer 4 triples for 12. Zach Kloos 14 points off the bench. Calvin Wishart with 18 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet but Glenna's hounding limited him to 5-16 shooting. Derek Techam 14 points. Keegan O'Neill 10 of his 11 in the 1st half. He caused foul trouble on all of Edina's bigs in the 1st half but Delano got so far behind they were never able to pound the ball into him where he had an advantage. Edina's offense very fun to watch and a bear to defend with their player and ball movement and shooting. Contrast that with the dribble oriented Delano offense that was very stagnant in this one.
Game 7: Robbinsdale Cooper 72 Burnsville 62
Very ugly game here but gotta love the small Burnsville band. Cooper's pressure turned this into a scrambling messy affair which is exactly what they want. Burnsville didn't handle it well at all. Burnsville would hang around thanks to a 2-3 zone in the 1st half that helped hold Cooper without a field goal for almost 8 minutes. But quick 3s from Jalen Miller and Jalen Justice would open the lead to 13 at half. Trokon Massey with a layup, a putback and a pair of dunks as Cooper extends the lead to 49-30 despite a T on coach Bo Powell. The bench is in and Burnsville rallies with a 13-0 run. Lead is down to 6 with 8:25 left. Onte Burns stops the bleeding with a 3 point play and 2 more Massey hoops push the lead back to double digits. Marcus Shepley's 3 and Ty Miklowski's hoop with 1:29 left cut it to 4. Jalen Miller seals it with 4 free throws and a layup. Miller ends up with 25 to lead all scorers. Trokon Massey with 16. Marcus Shepley with 19 to lead Burnsville.
Game 1: Cristo Rey 65 Minneapolis Edison 56
Tenzing Chime with 4 early 3s to help Edison jump out to a 24-8 lead midway thru the first half. Cristo Rey would close that lead to 10 at half thanks to a couple Franklin Doyle 3s. That continues in the 2nd half as the Pumas dominate. Cristo Rey starts the 2nd half on a 11-0 run to take the lead. The young backcourt duo of James Sommer and Erick Burgess leading the way for Cristo Rey. Sommer with 17, Burgess with 15 for Cristo Rey. Chime with 14 for Edison but all in the 1st half.
Game 2: St. Paul Central 69 Minneapolis Roosevelt 68
This one was a back and forth affair. Central would take a 1st half lead but would be hampered by foul trouble. That would allow Roosevelt to gain a 4 point half time lead. Deszi Sims leading a 11-2 Roosevelt run with 2 free throws, 2 buckets on turnovers and an assist on a triple. 54-46 Roosevelt with 12:30 left. But Central would counter with a 13-2 run of their own. Dion Ford 2 buckets and 3 from Ronelle Porter for a 59-56 Minutemen lead with 7:21 left. Then a Central Mokiller timeout and Roosevelt scores the next 6 to reclaim the lead. Porter scores on 2 turnovers and Central goes up 3 with 2:40 left. Roosevelt with 2 Leo Buchwald hoops to pull within 1. Central misses 2 front ends and its Sims with the drive and scores with 6.3 left for the lead. He misses the free throw. Ball ends up in the front court for a Central timeout with 1.3 left. Dion Ford screens and comes back to the post for the catch and immediate finish at the horn for the Central win. Leo Buchwald with at least 25 and Deszi Sims with at least 21 for Roosevelt. Ronelle Porter 19, Luke McElroy 17 with 15 3s to lead Central. 4 starters in double figures for Central. Central with only 1 senior on the roster, its loaded with juniors.
Game 3: #6AA Brooklyn Center 78 Benilde-St. Margaret's 76
Another tight game throughout here. 7-0 Brooklyn Center run for an early 13-6 lead. 8-2 BSM run late in the 1st half. The lead hovers in the 5-8 range as BSM just can't get over the hump. Soph Walker Johnson off the bench with a pair of 3s and BSM is within 2 with 6:40 left. But the Red Knights would not score a FG for the next 4 minutes and the lead is back to 8. BSM would make 1 last push thanks to a couple of late Brooklyn Center turnovers. But the Centaurs close it out with 5 of 6 at the charity stripe late. Brooklyn Center's defense once again struggling, particularly on the interior where they don't have a presence. Adreone Sprinkles with 3 bombs and 24 points to lead all scorers for Brooklyn Center.Lu'Cye Patterson with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Centaurs. Joe Dunn leads the Red Knights with 20 points. Riley Miller adds 17.
Game 4: Elk River 95 Minneapolis South 72
This one got out of hand early. Jack Burger having his way inside. The game gets out of hand quickly for a 45-27 Elk River halftime lead. It balloons to 27 before South's soph guard Curtis Jones goes on a run of his own. That gets the lead down to 15 and we'll see the starters for Elk River again. But the outcome is never in doubt. Burger ends up with 27 points, Devon Robers 16 for the Elks. Curtis Jones hits 5 3s and goes for at least 25 in the 2nd half alone. But he didn't have much help on the offensive end.
Game 5: Minneapolis Washburn 80 Rosemount 58
Very little to say about nothing blow out. Washburn with great 1st half balance on their way to a 26 point halftime lead. Gavin Yares solid inside. Isaac Lotz with 3 triples off the bench. Add in interchangable parts like Charles Cook-Gordon. Terrell Adams and Crisean Cole on the wing for more options. Rosemount got the expected offense out of Luke Siwek. Also as expected, the question of who else can help the offense showed.
Game 6: #1AAAA Edina 88 #5AAA Delano 58
This was the showcase game of the day and it was the biggest surprise of the day. Delano's Keegan O'Neill with a hoop on a turnover and a triple. Delano down 11-9 at 11:03. Then a 10-0 Edina run with an Anders Nelson jumper and triple. That forces the 2nd Delano timeout of the half. O'Neill breaks the run with 2 free throws before 2 more Nelson buckets. Charlie Fischer 2 bombs and Delano takes their 4th timeout of the half as the margin gets to 17. 43-27 Edina at the break.
Calvin Wishart tries to bring Delano back. He tips in his own miss and buries a triple. Tigers within 51-40 with 12:20 left. Then Edina pours it on in a big way. Fischer another bomb along with a Dominick Ingram bomb. Derek Techam scores for Delano and its within shouting distance at 59-44. Zach Kloos for 3, Nelson with another hoop, Luke Glenna from deep plus a layup from Nelson. Nelson to Kloos for 3 plus his own triple. A block leads to an Ingram bucket and Kloos adds 2 hoops. 29-4 Hornets run turns this into a 40 point game when the benches empty with 3 minutes left. Delano gets the last 10. Anders Nelson outstanding with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists on my sheet for Edina. Luke Glenna 11 and he hounded Calvin Wishart all night. Charlie Fischer 4 triples for 12. Zach Kloos 14 points off the bench. Calvin Wishart with 18 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet but Glenna's hounding limited him to 5-16 shooting. Derek Techam 14 points. Keegan O'Neill 10 of his 11 in the 1st half. He caused foul trouble on all of Edina's bigs in the 1st half but Delano got so far behind they were never able to pound the ball into him where he had an advantage. Edina's offense very fun to watch and a bear to defend with their player and ball movement and shooting. Contrast that with the dribble oriented Delano offense that was very stagnant in this one.
Game 7: Robbinsdale Cooper 72 Burnsville 62
Very ugly game here but gotta love the small Burnsville band. Cooper's pressure turned this into a scrambling messy affair which is exactly what they want. Burnsville didn't handle it well at all. Burnsville would hang around thanks to a 2-3 zone in the 1st half that helped hold Cooper without a field goal for almost 8 minutes. But quick 3s from Jalen Miller and Jalen Justice would open the lead to 13 at half. Trokon Massey with a layup, a putback and a pair of dunks as Cooper extends the lead to 49-30 despite a T on coach Bo Powell. The bench is in and Burnsville rallies with a 13-0 run. Lead is down to 6 with 8:25 left. Onte Burns stops the bleeding with a 3 point play and 2 more Massey hoops push the lead back to double digits. Marcus Shepley's 3 and Ty Miklowski's hoop with 1:29 left cut it to 4. Jalen Miller seals it with 4 free throws and a layup. Miller ends up with 25 to lead all scorers. Trokon Massey with 16. Marcus Shepley with 19 to lead Burnsville.
Raiders pack the first punch
Prologue
Back to St. Paul for a Suburban East showdown between #8AAAA East Ridge and #3AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall. This is the first of at least 2 meetings with a possible third meeting during section 4AAAA play. Northeastern, Central Florida (former Gopher Asst Vince Taylor) and Wisconsin (asst Joe Krabbenhoft) along with St. Cloud State and Augustana in the house for this one. Not Joe Janquart on the whistle and Saul on the microphone. Which means this tune is a natural.
Song of the Day: Smells like Nirvana - Weird Al
Number of Teams I've Seen: 61 (37 games, 16 days, 13 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 236.9 ounces (2510 Calories)
Strong start for Daniel Oturu. He scores the 1st 7 CDH points plus a nice block of Ben Carlson at the 3 point line. That counters a pair of 3s and dunk by Courtney Brown. Jaeden King with a pair of hoops in a mini 6-0 run to put CDH up 15-10 at the 9:29 mark. Kendall Brown to the rim and a nice backcut from Zach Zebrowski keeps East Ridge within 2, 18-16 at 5:50. Oturu with another bucket inside and King with a triple in a 7-0 run to push the lead to 9. Oturu adds the last 5 of the half for CDH. 31-23 Raiders at the break.
East Ridge immediately rallies with Kendall Brown for, Carlson converting a turnover, Courtney Brown coast to coast and a Zebrowski 3. 10-2 Raptors run in the 1st 2 minutes and we're tied at 33. CDH replies with a 17-2 run of their own to put the game out of reach. Oturu runs out and dunks a lob. Jacob Prince takes a steal for 2. Ryan Larson 2 layups. Sy Chatman 3 point play and a big block for a Caleb Davis hoop. Smothering Cretin-Derham Hall defense. 50-35 Raiders with 9:28 left. Courtney Brown tries to bring the Raptors back but Oturu adds a couple of dunks and a couple more buckets to keep the game at double figures. Cretin-Derham Hall wins 71-57.
Post Game
Courtney Brown leads East Ridge with 20 points. His 10 in the 1st half kept the game close before CDH pulled out to a lead. Most of his 2nd half offense after the game was basically over. Ben Carlson adds 11. Only 2 points from the bench and not a good night for the Raptors guards. East Ridge falls to 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Suburban East. They have coach Tesdahl's old squad New Prague at home, then a trip to Lakeville South to end the week. Then they are in the top bracket of the Rochester Rotary Holiday Classic.
Daniel Oturu dominant for Cretin-Derham Hall with 29 points and a bunch of blocks plus the usual rebounds. He set the tone early with a couple of blocks on Carlson. Plus he bullied the young sophomore on the glass inside. Sy Chatman adds 12 points. The Raiders too strong inside with no good matchup for Oturu. He was too strong for Carlson and too big for Courtney Brown to handle. Plus his shot blocking kept anything out of the paint. Add that to defensive pressure from the more athletic CDH guards and they took East Ridge out of almost any offensive stuff they wanted to do. Cretin-Derham Hall now 4-1 overall, 1-0 in the Suburban East. They continue Suburban East play at White Bear Lake on Tuesday then a rivalry trip to #3AAA St. Thomas Academy next Saturday night.
Back to St. Paul for a Suburban East showdown between #8AAAA East Ridge and #3AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall. This is the first of at least 2 meetings with a possible third meeting during section 4AAAA play. Northeastern, Central Florida (former Gopher Asst Vince Taylor) and Wisconsin (asst Joe Krabbenhoft) along with St. Cloud State and Augustana in the house for this one. Not Joe Janquart on the whistle and Saul on the microphone. Which means this tune is a natural.
Song of the Day: Smells like Nirvana - Weird Al
Number of Teams I've Seen: 61 (37 games, 16 days, 13 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 236.9 ounces (2510 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 52 ounces (620 calories)
- Pepsi: 48 ounces (600 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 60.9 ounces (720 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 7
- Walking Tacos:2
- Pizza: 4
Strong start for Daniel Oturu. He scores the 1st 7 CDH points plus a nice block of Ben Carlson at the 3 point line. That counters a pair of 3s and dunk by Courtney Brown. Jaeden King with a pair of hoops in a mini 6-0 run to put CDH up 15-10 at the 9:29 mark. Kendall Brown to the rim and a nice backcut from Zach Zebrowski keeps East Ridge within 2, 18-16 at 5:50. Oturu with another bucket inside and King with a triple in a 7-0 run to push the lead to 9. Oturu adds the last 5 of the half for CDH. 31-23 Raiders at the break.
East Ridge immediately rallies with Kendall Brown for, Carlson converting a turnover, Courtney Brown coast to coast and a Zebrowski 3. 10-2 Raptors run in the 1st 2 minutes and we're tied at 33. CDH replies with a 17-2 run of their own to put the game out of reach. Oturu runs out and dunks a lob. Jacob Prince takes a steal for 2. Ryan Larson 2 layups. Sy Chatman 3 point play and a big block for a Caleb Davis hoop. Smothering Cretin-Derham Hall defense. 50-35 Raiders with 9:28 left. Courtney Brown tries to bring the Raptors back but Oturu adds a couple of dunks and a couple more buckets to keep the game at double figures. Cretin-Derham Hall wins 71-57.
Post Game
Courtney Brown leads East Ridge with 20 points. His 10 in the 1st half kept the game close before CDH pulled out to a lead. Most of his 2nd half offense after the game was basically over. Ben Carlson adds 11. Only 2 points from the bench and not a good night for the Raptors guards. East Ridge falls to 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Suburban East. They have coach Tesdahl's old squad New Prague at home, then a trip to Lakeville South to end the week. Then they are in the top bracket of the Rochester Rotary Holiday Classic.
Daniel Oturu dominant for Cretin-Derham Hall with 29 points and a bunch of blocks plus the usual rebounds. He set the tone early with a couple of blocks on Carlson. Plus he bullied the young sophomore on the glass inside. Sy Chatman adds 12 points. The Raiders too strong inside with no good matchup for Oturu. He was too strong for Carlson and too big for Courtney Brown to handle. Plus his shot blocking kept anything out of the paint. Add that to defensive pressure from the more athletic CDH guards and they took East Ridge out of almost any offensive stuff they wanted to do. Cretin-Derham Hall now 4-1 overall, 1-0 in the Suburban East. They continue Suburban East play at White Bear Lake on Tuesday then a rivalry trip to #3AAA St. Thomas Academy next Saturday night.
Lions Roar Back
Prologue
To the Salvation Army in St. Paul for some small school action. Its Maranatha visiting CHOF. The usual lack of concessions means I'll make a Chipotle stop before hand. Vocal participation on both sides. Maranatha bench digging out chants that you usually only hear at a girls game. Maranatha coming in with 2 straight wins including a high quality section win vs Holy Family. CHOF with 4 double-digit losses. Great music all night from the 80s. Eye of the Tiger and Jump just a couple of those plus the obvious Jump Around for the jump ball. But tonight's tune is an instrumental movie theme from the 80s.
Song of the Day: Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer (Beverly Hills Cop theme)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 61 (36 games, 15 days, 12 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 216.9 ounces (2270 Calories)
Tight game early on. McCaleb Alleman with an inbounds layup and a 3 point play for CHOF. 11-8 CHOF at the 12:27 mark. Beijan Newbern converts a turnover into a 3 point play before 2 Alleman free throws. Maranatha's pressure starts to take effect. Clarence Daniels scores a turnover, Beijan Newbern dunks a lob on another and turns a 3rd into a 3 point play. 19-15 MCA at the 8:05 mark. Newbern 2 more hoops before another Alleman BLOB score. 27-21 MCA inside the 5 minute mark. Alleman adds a putback and triple sandwiched by 3 Travaris Ricks-Wesseh hoops inside. Newbern converts yet another turnover and the MCA lead is 9 with 2:30 left in the half Fouls a huge factor but no matter for MCA as their 10th and 11th guys to play each bury triples. Newbern adds 2 more hoops. 47-35 Maranatha at the break.
Newbern puts back his own miss and Daniels puts back a miss. That bookends a 10-2 Mustangs run to start the 2nd half. 57-37 Maranatha in cruise control as the starters get a break. CHOF didn't get the message. Alleman with a 3 point play and Jackson Rohlf off the CHOF bench with 3 straight triples. That cuts the lead to 10 with 12 minutes left and all 5 starters head back to the scorers table. Alleman adds another 3 point play, hoop and 2 free throws. 61-56 MCA with 10 minutes left. Alleman carrying the CHOF offense but Daniels has all the answers. 69-60 MCA with 5:25 left. Alleman drives for 2 free throws, makes a pair of bonus freebies and goes backdoor for 2. 69-66 MCA with 4 minutes left. Newbern will hold hit for a minute before he drives and makes 1 free throw. Its Erik Strandlund with a layup and Alleman with more bonus freebies. 70 all with 2:16 left. Newbern with a clutch 3 point play with 1:54, CHOF scores and MCA will hold. Before CHOF can get into their trap, a great pass finds Newbern underneath for a layup. CHOF takes their last timeout with 35.9 left down 3. It turns into a scramble and its Rohlf once again from deep to tie it. MCA turns it over but Alleman can't get a handle on it. We'll play overtime.
CHOF makes the 1st 2 free throws of overtime for their 1st lead in forever. Then its Rohlf with a jumper and a Newbern travel. Rohlf converts that as Alleman kicks to him for a knockdown 3 with 1:20 left to put CHOF up 5. Newbern with 2 hoops but CHOF gets a layup and makes all 4 free throws. CHOF comes from 20 down in the 2nd half to win 88-83 in overtime.
Post Game
Beijan Newbern leads Maranatha with 32 points, all inside attacking. He had NDSCS looking on tonight. Hakim Daniels with 12 points. Clarence Daniels with 14 off the Mustangs bench. Both of them very active on the offensive glass. Defensively they gave up 26 fouls leading to 37 free throws. After a great win over Holy Family, this qualifies as a bad loss. Maranatha falls to 2-3 overall. They host Nova Classical and St. Agnes next week.
CHOF gets their 1st win of the year to improve to 1-4. They play at St. Agnes and Minneapolis Edison next week. McCaleb Alleman goes for 40 points on my sheet. That was with only 1 3 pointer but 15-15 at the charity stripe. CHOF 32-37 as a team at the line compared to 9-18 for MCA. Jackson Rohlf with 17 points and 5 3s. All of those after halftime. His 3 straight triples in the 2nd half completely changed the momentum. Erik Strandlund adds 13.
To the Salvation Army in St. Paul for some small school action. Its Maranatha visiting CHOF. The usual lack of concessions means I'll make a Chipotle stop before hand. Vocal participation on both sides. Maranatha bench digging out chants that you usually only hear at a girls game. Maranatha coming in with 2 straight wins including a high quality section win vs Holy Family. CHOF with 4 double-digit losses. Great music all night from the 80s. Eye of the Tiger and Jump just a couple of those plus the obvious Jump Around for the jump ball. But tonight's tune is an instrumental movie theme from the 80s.
Song of the Day: Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer (Beverly Hills Cop theme)
Number of Teams I've Seen: 61 (36 games, 15 days, 12 buildings, 10 online)
Beverage Ticker: 216.9 ounces (2270 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 32 ounces (380 calories)
- Pepsi: 48 ounces (600 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 60.9 ounces (720 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 6
- Walking Tacos:2
- Pizza: 4
Tight game early on. McCaleb Alleman with an inbounds layup and a 3 point play for CHOF. 11-8 CHOF at the 12:27 mark. Beijan Newbern converts a turnover into a 3 point play before 2 Alleman free throws. Maranatha's pressure starts to take effect. Clarence Daniels scores a turnover, Beijan Newbern dunks a lob on another and turns a 3rd into a 3 point play. 19-15 MCA at the 8:05 mark. Newbern 2 more hoops before another Alleman BLOB score. 27-21 MCA inside the 5 minute mark. Alleman adds a putback and triple sandwiched by 3 Travaris Ricks-Wesseh hoops inside. Newbern converts yet another turnover and the MCA lead is 9 with 2:30 left in the half Fouls a huge factor but no matter for MCA as their 10th and 11th guys to play each bury triples. Newbern adds 2 more hoops. 47-35 Maranatha at the break.
Newbern puts back his own miss and Daniels puts back a miss. That bookends a 10-2 Mustangs run to start the 2nd half. 57-37 Maranatha in cruise control as the starters get a break. CHOF didn't get the message. Alleman with a 3 point play and Jackson Rohlf off the CHOF bench with 3 straight triples. That cuts the lead to 10 with 12 minutes left and all 5 starters head back to the scorers table. Alleman adds another 3 point play, hoop and 2 free throws. 61-56 MCA with 10 minutes left. Alleman carrying the CHOF offense but Daniels has all the answers. 69-60 MCA with 5:25 left. Alleman drives for 2 free throws, makes a pair of bonus freebies and goes backdoor for 2. 69-66 MCA with 4 minutes left. Newbern will hold hit for a minute before he drives and makes 1 free throw. Its Erik Strandlund with a layup and Alleman with more bonus freebies. 70 all with 2:16 left. Newbern with a clutch 3 point play with 1:54, CHOF scores and MCA will hold. Before CHOF can get into their trap, a great pass finds Newbern underneath for a layup. CHOF takes their last timeout with 35.9 left down 3. It turns into a scramble and its Rohlf once again from deep to tie it. MCA turns it over but Alleman can't get a handle on it. We'll play overtime.
CHOF makes the 1st 2 free throws of overtime for their 1st lead in forever. Then its Rohlf with a jumper and a Newbern travel. Rohlf converts that as Alleman kicks to him for a knockdown 3 with 1:20 left to put CHOF up 5. Newbern with 2 hoops but CHOF gets a layup and makes all 4 free throws. CHOF comes from 20 down in the 2nd half to win 88-83 in overtime.
Post Game
Beijan Newbern leads Maranatha with 32 points, all inside attacking. He had NDSCS looking on tonight. Hakim Daniels with 12 points. Clarence Daniels with 14 off the Mustangs bench. Both of them very active on the offensive glass. Defensively they gave up 26 fouls leading to 37 free throws. After a great win over Holy Family, this qualifies as a bad loss. Maranatha falls to 2-3 overall. They host Nova Classical and St. Agnes next week.
CHOF gets their 1st win of the year to improve to 1-4. They play at St. Agnes and Minneapolis Edison next week. McCaleb Alleman goes for 40 points on my sheet. That was with only 1 3 pointer but 15-15 at the charity stripe. CHOF 32-37 as a team at the line compared to 9-18 for MCA. Jackson Rohlf with 17 points and 5 3s. All of those after halftime. His 3 straight triples in the 2nd half completely changed the momentum. Erik Strandlund adds 13.
Another Crimson nailbiter
Prologue
To Robbinsdale Cooper for another non-conference game that features an NW Suburban team. This time is a road non-con game with Maple Grove making the short trip. Maple Grove coming off a 57-50 overtime win over Rogers last Friday. No back to back Jet's pizza as I settle for a hot dog and more Sprite. Its a surprise how loud the building at Cooper is, especially when the students get into the end of a tight JV game. Today's tune is another dance step tune.
Song of the Day: Cupid - Cupid Shuffle
Number of Teams I've Seen: 56 (33 games, 14 days)
Beverage Ticker: 192.9 ounces (1970 Calories)
Jalen Miller with 2 early 3s for Cooper and we're tied at 10. Cooper adds a FT to go up 11-10 at the 7:51 mark. Then a quick 10-0 Crimson run with Jared Rainey scoring 5 of those. 20-11 Maple Grove at the 6:30 mark. The run breaks when Maple Grove tips a rebound in their own basket. Rainey adds more bonus free throws before Cooper breaks a 5 minute drought of their own field goals. Maple Grove with the last 7 of the half thanks to a couple Alex Battist hoops. 33-20 Maple Grove at the half.
Cooper increases their pressure and cuts into the lead. Nate Hill 2 on a turnover and a Trokon Massey dunk to cut the margin to 7. Then Jalen Justice heats up for the Hawks. His layup and triple cut the margin to 5 before a big inbound dunk from Battist. Hill 3 of 4 free throws. Justice with a pair of triples to counter a pair of Jordan Stensland hoops. He is then fouled and has to leave for 10 seconds of game time. The free throw he doesn't take ties the game at 50 with 6:26 left. Massey with a putback and then 4 straight Maple Grove turnovers. But Cooper sloppy in the stretch as well. Hill converts one of those turnovers into points. Then another Massey dunk with 2:12 left and Cooper is up 56-52. Hill with clutch bonus free throws to keep the lead at 3 before a nice cut from Rainey for a 3 point play. That ties it at 58 with 47.7 left. Cooper holds for 1 shot and draws a play up out of a time out. That results in nothing and we'll play OT.
Almost all free throws in the extra session. Hill with 2 more freebies to put Cooper up 63-59 with 1:32 left. Battist makes 1 of 2 free throws and the Crimson get the miss which Battist turns into a bucket. Hill makes 1 of 2 and its still a Cooper 2 point lead with 43.7 left. Then the critical sequence. Maple Grove draws up a backdoor set and turns it over. Cooper in their haste turns it over and then commits an intentional foul with 27.6 left. Stensland makes the 2 free throws to tie it and the Crimson keep possession. After an offensive rebound and Crimson timeout, Rainey gets fouled way out top with 3 seconds left. He makes the 2nd of 2 and Cooper's halfcourt heave is no good at the buzzer. Maple Grove wins again in overtime 65-64
Post Game
Jalen Justice leads the Hawks with 21 points and 5 3s. 16 of those points and 4 of those 3s in the 2nd half when he was hot. Nate Hill chips in with 16 points making 5 of his last 5 free throws after starting 2-6. Cooper falls to 0-2 with the loss. The 2 home losses are by a combined 4 points. Back to back trips to Prairie Seeds Academy and Burnsville end the week for the Hawks. They are then off until the Rochester holiday tournament.
Maple Grove is 2-0 with both wins in overtime. Forward Alex Battist scores 21 points. PG Jared Rainey adds 17. He had 13 in the 1st half then the last field goal of regulation to tie it and the final free throw to win it. Jordan Stensland scores 11. Maple Grove continues a 3 game road trip on Friday at St. Michael-Albertville. Then a tough NW Suburban matchup at Park Center on Tuesday.
Strategy Session
We've talked offense in the previous strategy sessions. Now let's talk some defense. Tonight's game was a great contrast of man to man styles of defense. Maple Grove staying in gaps and not trying to apply much pressure. Robbinsdale Cooper on the other hand using their athletes to extend their man defense. They were out in passing lanes and picking up full court. Plus they threw in some run and jump traps. Both styles not only making sense for their talent but also for the opponent. Cooper trying to use their athletic advantage to turn Maple Grove over and get to the rim. Maple Grove trying to keep a quicker Cooper roster out of the lane while forcing them to hit outside shots. It shows there's no 1 way to do things.
To Robbinsdale Cooper for another non-conference game that features an NW Suburban team. This time is a road non-con game with Maple Grove making the short trip. Maple Grove coming off a 57-50 overtime win over Rogers last Friday. No back to back Jet's pizza as I settle for a hot dog and more Sprite. Its a surprise how loud the building at Cooper is, especially when the students get into the end of a tight JV game. Today's tune is another dance step tune.
Song of the Day: Cupid - Cupid Shuffle
Number of Teams I've Seen: 56 (33 games, 14 days)
Beverage Ticker: 192.9 ounces (1970 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 32 ounces (380 calories)
- Pepsi: 48 ounces (600 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 60.9 ounces (720 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 6
- Walking Tacos:2
- Pizza: 4
Jalen Miller with 2 early 3s for Cooper and we're tied at 10. Cooper adds a FT to go up 11-10 at the 7:51 mark. Then a quick 10-0 Crimson run with Jared Rainey scoring 5 of those. 20-11 Maple Grove at the 6:30 mark. The run breaks when Maple Grove tips a rebound in their own basket. Rainey adds more bonus free throws before Cooper breaks a 5 minute drought of their own field goals. Maple Grove with the last 7 of the half thanks to a couple Alex Battist hoops. 33-20 Maple Grove at the half.
Cooper increases their pressure and cuts into the lead. Nate Hill 2 on a turnover and a Trokon Massey dunk to cut the margin to 7. Then Jalen Justice heats up for the Hawks. His layup and triple cut the margin to 5 before a big inbound dunk from Battist. Hill 3 of 4 free throws. Justice with a pair of triples to counter a pair of Jordan Stensland hoops. He is then fouled and has to leave for 10 seconds of game time. The free throw he doesn't take ties the game at 50 with 6:26 left. Massey with a putback and then 4 straight Maple Grove turnovers. But Cooper sloppy in the stretch as well. Hill converts one of those turnovers into points. Then another Massey dunk with 2:12 left and Cooper is up 56-52. Hill with clutch bonus free throws to keep the lead at 3 before a nice cut from Rainey for a 3 point play. That ties it at 58 with 47.7 left. Cooper holds for 1 shot and draws a play up out of a time out. That results in nothing and we'll play OT.
Almost all free throws in the extra session. Hill with 2 more freebies to put Cooper up 63-59 with 1:32 left. Battist makes 1 of 2 free throws and the Crimson get the miss which Battist turns into a bucket. Hill makes 1 of 2 and its still a Cooper 2 point lead with 43.7 left. Then the critical sequence. Maple Grove draws up a backdoor set and turns it over. Cooper in their haste turns it over and then commits an intentional foul with 27.6 left. Stensland makes the 2 free throws to tie it and the Crimson keep possession. After an offensive rebound and Crimson timeout, Rainey gets fouled way out top with 3 seconds left. He makes the 2nd of 2 and Cooper's halfcourt heave is no good at the buzzer. Maple Grove wins again in overtime 65-64
Post Game
Jalen Justice leads the Hawks with 21 points and 5 3s. 16 of those points and 4 of those 3s in the 2nd half when he was hot. Nate Hill chips in with 16 points making 5 of his last 5 free throws after starting 2-6. Cooper falls to 0-2 with the loss. The 2 home losses are by a combined 4 points. Back to back trips to Prairie Seeds Academy and Burnsville end the week for the Hawks. They are then off until the Rochester holiday tournament.
Maple Grove is 2-0 with both wins in overtime. Forward Alex Battist scores 21 points. PG Jared Rainey adds 17. He had 13 in the 1st half then the last field goal of regulation to tie it and the final free throw to win it. Jordan Stensland scores 11. Maple Grove continues a 3 game road trip on Friday at St. Michael-Albertville. Then a tough NW Suburban matchup at Park Center on Tuesday.
Strategy Session
We've talked offense in the previous strategy sessions. Now let's talk some defense. Tonight's game was a great contrast of man to man styles of defense. Maple Grove staying in gaps and not trying to apply much pressure. Robbinsdale Cooper on the other hand using their athletes to extend their man defense. They were out in passing lanes and picking up full court. Plus they threw in some run and jump traps. Both styles not only making sense for their talent but also for the opponent. Cooper trying to use their athletic advantage to turn Maple Grove over and get to the rim. Maple Grove trying to keep a quicker Cooper roster out of the lane while forcing them to hit outside shots. It shows there's no 1 way to do things.
Browsing the NW Suburban
So its 2 nights in the NW Suburban with trips to Spring Lake Park and Park Center for a couple of competitive non-conference games. Quality hot dogs and Jet's pizza to go around with plenty of regular Sprite as the beverage. Rowdy Spring Lake Park students for the JMOA on Monday. Lithgow and Ricky get the Tuesday tilt. Both crews get double duty as they also work the JV games. Here's what I saw.
Monday: Spring Lake Park 62 Mounds View 51
Mounds View would use a 7-0 run to take a 1st half lead but then they wouldn't score another field goal the rest of the half. The drought goes over 9 minutes crossing halftime. It results in a 25-3 Spring Lake Park run that puts them up 41-20 early in the 2nd half. Then Spring Lake Park forward Blake Remme goes down with an injury (back within a week or 2 I hear). Mounds View comes out of the injury delay with zone and the game totally shifts. Spring Lake Park takes 2 quick time outs at the beginning of the run and it doesn't help. The Mustangs manage to cut the margin to 5 with just over 3 minutes left. Josh Albers scores 10 points in that run. But Gabe Myren slams the door with a hoop and 6 free throws. He finishes with 21 points. Remme with all 14 of his points including a couple of 3s in the 1st half before the injury. Josh Albers 12 of his 16 in the 2nd half to help lead the Mustangs back. Mounds View turned it over far more than you'd ever expect from them. Spring Lake Park with some effective run and jump pressure to cause that.
Tuesday: #3AAAA Park Center 68 Minnetonka 56
Minnetonka coming in a bit banged up with no AJ Tolliver or Aaron Syverson in the lineup. Tonka goes on a 13-2 first half run to counter a 9-0 Park Center run. DJ Purnell 5 points in the Pirates run. Jarius Cook hits a couple of 3s to bring Park Center back to even at 17. Jalen Dearring to the bench for the last 5 minutes of the half with 3 fouls for Minnetonka. Cam Steele with a hoop and triple to put the Skippers up 5 but an Emmanuel Tamba full court dash and scoop at the buzzer would tie the game at 26 going to the break.
Dain Dainja with a putback and a Tommy Chatman 3 point play allow the Pirates to open a 10 point lead. That's with Steele sitting with 4 fouls. He comes back in and Tonka claws its way back via a pair of Dearring triples. Cook with a pair of hoops to counter a Dearring FT and triple. Park Center closes it out from there. Jarius Cook leads the Pirates with 17 points. Emmanuel Tamba 13 off the bench. Dain Dainja adds 12. He didn't shoot as many jump shots this game but still isn't getting enough touches in the post. Jalen Dearring leads Minnetonka with 15 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Soph Cam Steele adds 13 of his 15 in the 1st half. Its a difficult offensive lineup for Tonka with 2 non-shooting wings and a post playing and the 2nd best perimeter shooter is the power forward.
Monday: Spring Lake Park 62 Mounds View 51
Mounds View would use a 7-0 run to take a 1st half lead but then they wouldn't score another field goal the rest of the half. The drought goes over 9 minutes crossing halftime. It results in a 25-3 Spring Lake Park run that puts them up 41-20 early in the 2nd half. Then Spring Lake Park forward Blake Remme goes down with an injury (back within a week or 2 I hear). Mounds View comes out of the injury delay with zone and the game totally shifts. Spring Lake Park takes 2 quick time outs at the beginning of the run and it doesn't help. The Mustangs manage to cut the margin to 5 with just over 3 minutes left. Josh Albers scores 10 points in that run. But Gabe Myren slams the door with a hoop and 6 free throws. He finishes with 21 points. Remme with all 14 of his points including a couple of 3s in the 1st half before the injury. Josh Albers 12 of his 16 in the 2nd half to help lead the Mustangs back. Mounds View turned it over far more than you'd ever expect from them. Spring Lake Park with some effective run and jump pressure to cause that.
Tuesday: #3AAAA Park Center 68 Minnetonka 56
Minnetonka coming in a bit banged up with no AJ Tolliver or Aaron Syverson in the lineup. Tonka goes on a 13-2 first half run to counter a 9-0 Park Center run. DJ Purnell 5 points in the Pirates run. Jarius Cook hits a couple of 3s to bring Park Center back to even at 17. Jalen Dearring to the bench for the last 5 minutes of the half with 3 fouls for Minnetonka. Cam Steele with a hoop and triple to put the Skippers up 5 but an Emmanuel Tamba full court dash and scoop at the buzzer would tie the game at 26 going to the break.
Dain Dainja with a putback and a Tommy Chatman 3 point play allow the Pirates to open a 10 point lead. That's with Steele sitting with 4 fouls. He comes back in and Tonka claws its way back via a pair of Dearring triples. Cook with a pair of hoops to counter a Dearring FT and triple. Park Center closes it out from there. Jarius Cook leads the Pirates with 17 points. Emmanuel Tamba 13 off the bench. Dain Dainja adds 12. He didn't shoot as many jump shots this game but still isn't getting enough touches in the post. Jalen Dearring leads Minnetonka with 15 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Soph Cam Steele adds 13 of his 15 in the 1st half. Its a difficult offensive lineup for Tonka with 2 non-shooting wings and a post playing and the 2nd best perimeter shooter is the power forward.
2017 Boys Tipoff Classic Thoughts
Its the 14th annual Breakdown Boys Tipoff Classic. Bigger than ever with 9 games on the main court and 8 on the east court. Great crowd on hand for the Gopher recruits playing. I make it thru the day with only 3 beverages (serious restraint) and choking down a couple of slices of pizza. Give Hopkins credit for using healthier options but since when do I enjoy healthy. Better than expected on the predictions as I went 15-2 missing 1 game on each court. 14 ranked teams in action out of the 18 I saw, 10 of them in the top 5 in their class. Here are some of the sights and sounds from 14 hours and 36 minutes of games on the main court.
Game 1: #7AAAA Osseo 91 #3AAA St. Thomas Academy 77
A surprisingly high scoring affair. Osseo's Zach Theisen and St. Thomas Academy's Jack Thompson would go back and forth early on to carry their offenses. Then it was about Emmette Page (Osseo) and Sam Vascellaro (STA). They both exploded in the latter stretches of the 1st half and the entire 2nd half. The lefty Page with 21 of his 34 in the 2nd half with 5 triples. The right corner was his friend for many of his 7 3s in the game. Vascellaro attack at will and had 18 of his 31 in the 2nd half. St. Thomas Academy would close to within 6 in the 2nd half before 2 Page 3s pushed the margin back to double digits. Zach Theisen with 20 of his 27 in the 1st half. Jack Thompson with 19.
Game 2: #9AA Perham 82 Breck 75
No Gopher FB recruit Logan Richter for Perham (all-star football game). That would have been a big help against Breck star David Roddy. Roddy goes for 37 points and 9 rebounds in the game as he had his way inside once again. That gives him 30+ in all 3 of his games this year. Joey Ganley would add 19 for Breck. But Perham with too much firepower. The junior duo of Jenson Beachy and Josh Jeziorski too much. Beachy with 6 bombs and 36. Jeziorski with 3 triples and 24 points playing a PF role in the Yellowjackets offense. Always fun to watch Perham execute their Euro ball screen offense (same stuff Apple Valley runs). They slip screens, the bigs attack off the bounce, and have nice counters. 13 Perham triples ultimately the difference to overcome Roddy inside.
Game 3: #10AAAA Lakeville North 71 St. Cloud Tech 42
Tech missing a ton of guys for this one. That included star F Brevyn Spann-Ford and James Kaczor who were at the all-star football game. Tech was up 3 early but then went scoreless for 10 minutes while Lakeville North went on a 27-2 run. North ran 2 very simple but well designed BLOB sets and got as many points in a game off of them as you'll ever see. Another solid showing from Tyler Wahl as he goes for 19 pts and 16 boards for North. Cole Anderson adds 16. Trent Meyer with 5 bombs and 17 points to lead Tech.
Game 4: #5AAAA Wayzata 88 #9AAAA Woodbury 64
Another disturbing start for Woodbury as they were down early at Lakeville North last Thursday and fell behind 33-11 out of the gate in this one. Wayzata hit 9 of their 14 3s in the 1st half and took a 24 point lead at half. The lead would grow to 30 before Michael Jones would help trim that to 14. Jones scores 24 of his 35 in the 2nd half and also adds 10 rebounds. Jacob Beeninga 28 points with 4 3s, Luke Paulson 19 with 5 3s, Drew Galinson 4 3s and 16 points. Keep an eye on 8th grader Camden Heide for Wayzata as well. Solid 6 point performance off the bench for the youngster. Freshman Kody Williams also part of the Trojans rotation.
Game 5: Rochester John Marshall 75 Lakeville South 72
Important section 1AAAA matchup in this one. This one was tight the entire way. JM would score 6 in a row to break a tie and lead by 6 with just over 2 minutes left. Matt Hurt would foul out with 42 seconds left and the drama would begin. Shae Mitchell with a FT and a jumper and a Beau Bailey 3 to cut it to 1. South would get a driving layup chance to tie at the end but it was no good (maybe contact?). Shae Mitchell with 26, Beau Bailey 18 for South in quality performances. But it was Matt Hurt with the performance of the day. 46 points, 17 boards, 4 blocks on 16-26 shooting. He left 50 on the table though with a unexpected 9-15 at the line. This after he lit rival Mayo up for 38 and 13 the night before. They put him at the high post and he's just unstoppable when catching there.
Game 6: #1AA Minnehaha 61 #3AAAA Park Center 55
Jalen Suggs 2 quick fouls and a 3rd in the 1st half. Park Center would jump out to a 19-3 lead. But Minnehaha would claw their way back. Jarius Cook would pick up his 4th foul right at the end of the 1st half. An unbelievable mistake from James Ware. Minnehaha within 11 at half. Cook would sit well into the 2nd half. That would allow Minnehaha to rally. Cook would come back at the 9:48 mark with the lead at 4 but his rhythm was shot. The Pirates would go up 12 with 14 minutes left after a mean tip dunk by Levonte Parker. But they would have only 2 field goals the rest of the way until a late Cook 3 after the outcome was already determined. Jalen Suggs 24 points to lead the Redhawks. Jarius Cook 21 of his 24 in the 1st half.
Game 7: #4AAAA Hopkins 84 #1AAA De La Salle 79
De La Salle would lead most of the way in this one including by double digits. The connection of Tyrell Terry to Jamison Battle would work all day. Terry to Battle for a layup and 2 Battle free throws would put the Islanders up 5 with 3 minutes left. Then a Hopkins putback and 2 DLS turnovers would allow Hopkins to take the lead with just over a minute left. Great drive by Rayquan Moore to score and get fouled with 19.5 left but the And 1 is no good. Zeke Nnaji grabs a missed FT and puts it back for a 3 point play with 6.4 left to eliminate a final De La Salle chance. Soph Kerwin Walton with 14 of his 17 (4 3s) in the 2nd half. Blaise Beauchamp with 4 1st half 3s as Hopkins hung around. He finished with 19. Zeke Nnaji 17, Anthony Davis 16 as well for Hopkins. Great outing for Jamison Battle with 6 3s and 24 points. Tyrell Terry adds 3 3s and 20 points, love his poise. Gabe Kalscheur had 1st half foul trouble and finished with 17. The De La Salle offense much more open than in past years. The role guys have far more freedom than ever.
Game 8: #2AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall 77 #2AAA Orono 76
The game of the day for the fans and we do get Jarvis Omersa and Daniel Oturu going at each other. Oturu would get the better of the head to head battles as Omersa had problems scoring against him all day CDH would lead the whole way and Orono could never get over the hump. 2 late Sy Chatman dunks as CDH would hang on. Daniel Oturu 21 pts, 9 boards, 7 blocks on my sheet. One of those blocks was a monster block with 25 seconds left and CDH up 3. Jarvis Omersa 18 points and 13 boards. Sy Chatman 17, Jaeden King 13 with 3 3s, Ryan Larson 16. Max Bjorklund 19 of his 26 in the 1st half. Colton Codute more aggressive than I've seen with 15 points.
Game 9: #1AAAA Apple Valley 81 #2AA Minneapolis North 73
Jimmy Butler and Jamal Crawford in the house with Tyus Jones for this one. AV would go on a 10-0 to take a 10 point lead. Tre Jones 2 quick fouls and then he sits the last 7:11 of the 1st half with his third foul. North goes on a run during that time to get it back to even. But with Jones and Luke Martens (injury) out, Apple Valley holds it together to remain tied at the half. Odell Wilson was a problem all day and his bucket with 9:05 left would pull North within 60-57 with 9 minutes left. Then 2 Tre Jones free throws, 2 North FT misses and Jones on the break with the dunk of the year so far. He gets a T on the dunk and North remains within 5. Then Zach Korba for 3, Nathan Macho and Korba convert turnovers and the lead is up to 12 with 4:45 left and its over. Apple Valley shoots 33-53 from the charity stripe to 11-26 for North and the Polars fans weren't happy. Tre Jones finishes with 19 points and 12 rebounds on my sheet. Zach Korba 19 points and many were at important times. Josh Arnold 20 on 16-19 FTs. Tayler Johnson 21 for North. Odell Wilson was the man inside with 20 points. 8th grader Trejuan Holloman with 12 points off the Polars bench as well.
Game 1: #7AAAA Osseo 91 #3AAA St. Thomas Academy 77
A surprisingly high scoring affair. Osseo's Zach Theisen and St. Thomas Academy's Jack Thompson would go back and forth early on to carry their offenses. Then it was about Emmette Page (Osseo) and Sam Vascellaro (STA). They both exploded in the latter stretches of the 1st half and the entire 2nd half. The lefty Page with 21 of his 34 in the 2nd half with 5 triples. The right corner was his friend for many of his 7 3s in the game. Vascellaro attack at will and had 18 of his 31 in the 2nd half. St. Thomas Academy would close to within 6 in the 2nd half before 2 Page 3s pushed the margin back to double digits. Zach Theisen with 20 of his 27 in the 1st half. Jack Thompson with 19.
Game 2: #9AA Perham 82 Breck 75
No Gopher FB recruit Logan Richter for Perham (all-star football game). That would have been a big help against Breck star David Roddy. Roddy goes for 37 points and 9 rebounds in the game as he had his way inside once again. That gives him 30+ in all 3 of his games this year. Joey Ganley would add 19 for Breck. But Perham with too much firepower. The junior duo of Jenson Beachy and Josh Jeziorski too much. Beachy with 6 bombs and 36. Jeziorski with 3 triples and 24 points playing a PF role in the Yellowjackets offense. Always fun to watch Perham execute their Euro ball screen offense (same stuff Apple Valley runs). They slip screens, the bigs attack off the bounce, and have nice counters. 13 Perham triples ultimately the difference to overcome Roddy inside.
Game 3: #10AAAA Lakeville North 71 St. Cloud Tech 42
Tech missing a ton of guys for this one. That included star F Brevyn Spann-Ford and James Kaczor who were at the all-star football game. Tech was up 3 early but then went scoreless for 10 minutes while Lakeville North went on a 27-2 run. North ran 2 very simple but well designed BLOB sets and got as many points in a game off of them as you'll ever see. Another solid showing from Tyler Wahl as he goes for 19 pts and 16 boards for North. Cole Anderson adds 16. Trent Meyer with 5 bombs and 17 points to lead Tech.
Game 4: #5AAAA Wayzata 88 #9AAAA Woodbury 64
Another disturbing start for Woodbury as they were down early at Lakeville North last Thursday and fell behind 33-11 out of the gate in this one. Wayzata hit 9 of their 14 3s in the 1st half and took a 24 point lead at half. The lead would grow to 30 before Michael Jones would help trim that to 14. Jones scores 24 of his 35 in the 2nd half and also adds 10 rebounds. Jacob Beeninga 28 points with 4 3s, Luke Paulson 19 with 5 3s, Drew Galinson 4 3s and 16 points. Keep an eye on 8th grader Camden Heide for Wayzata as well. Solid 6 point performance off the bench for the youngster. Freshman Kody Williams also part of the Trojans rotation.
Game 5: Rochester John Marshall 75 Lakeville South 72
Important section 1AAAA matchup in this one. This one was tight the entire way. JM would score 6 in a row to break a tie and lead by 6 with just over 2 minutes left. Matt Hurt would foul out with 42 seconds left and the drama would begin. Shae Mitchell with a FT and a jumper and a Beau Bailey 3 to cut it to 1. South would get a driving layup chance to tie at the end but it was no good (maybe contact?). Shae Mitchell with 26, Beau Bailey 18 for South in quality performances. But it was Matt Hurt with the performance of the day. 46 points, 17 boards, 4 blocks on 16-26 shooting. He left 50 on the table though with a unexpected 9-15 at the line. This after he lit rival Mayo up for 38 and 13 the night before. They put him at the high post and he's just unstoppable when catching there.
Game 6: #1AA Minnehaha 61 #3AAAA Park Center 55
Jalen Suggs 2 quick fouls and a 3rd in the 1st half. Park Center would jump out to a 19-3 lead. But Minnehaha would claw their way back. Jarius Cook would pick up his 4th foul right at the end of the 1st half. An unbelievable mistake from James Ware. Minnehaha within 11 at half. Cook would sit well into the 2nd half. That would allow Minnehaha to rally. Cook would come back at the 9:48 mark with the lead at 4 but his rhythm was shot. The Pirates would go up 12 with 14 minutes left after a mean tip dunk by Levonte Parker. But they would have only 2 field goals the rest of the way until a late Cook 3 after the outcome was already determined. Jalen Suggs 24 points to lead the Redhawks. Jarius Cook 21 of his 24 in the 1st half.
Game 7: #4AAAA Hopkins 84 #1AAA De La Salle 79
De La Salle would lead most of the way in this one including by double digits. The connection of Tyrell Terry to Jamison Battle would work all day. Terry to Battle for a layup and 2 Battle free throws would put the Islanders up 5 with 3 minutes left. Then a Hopkins putback and 2 DLS turnovers would allow Hopkins to take the lead with just over a minute left. Great drive by Rayquan Moore to score and get fouled with 19.5 left but the And 1 is no good. Zeke Nnaji grabs a missed FT and puts it back for a 3 point play with 6.4 left to eliminate a final De La Salle chance. Soph Kerwin Walton with 14 of his 17 (4 3s) in the 2nd half. Blaise Beauchamp with 4 1st half 3s as Hopkins hung around. He finished with 19. Zeke Nnaji 17, Anthony Davis 16 as well for Hopkins. Great outing for Jamison Battle with 6 3s and 24 points. Tyrell Terry adds 3 3s and 20 points, love his poise. Gabe Kalscheur had 1st half foul trouble and finished with 17. The De La Salle offense much more open than in past years. The role guys have far more freedom than ever.
Game 8: #2AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall 77 #2AAA Orono 76
The game of the day for the fans and we do get Jarvis Omersa and Daniel Oturu going at each other. Oturu would get the better of the head to head battles as Omersa had problems scoring against him all day CDH would lead the whole way and Orono could never get over the hump. 2 late Sy Chatman dunks as CDH would hang on. Daniel Oturu 21 pts, 9 boards, 7 blocks on my sheet. One of those blocks was a monster block with 25 seconds left and CDH up 3. Jarvis Omersa 18 points and 13 boards. Sy Chatman 17, Jaeden King 13 with 3 3s, Ryan Larson 16. Max Bjorklund 19 of his 26 in the 1st half. Colton Codute more aggressive than I've seen with 15 points.
Game 9: #1AAAA Apple Valley 81 #2AA Minneapolis North 73
Jimmy Butler and Jamal Crawford in the house with Tyus Jones for this one. AV would go on a 10-0 to take a 10 point lead. Tre Jones 2 quick fouls and then he sits the last 7:11 of the 1st half with his third foul. North goes on a run during that time to get it back to even. But with Jones and Luke Martens (injury) out, Apple Valley holds it together to remain tied at the half. Odell Wilson was a problem all day and his bucket with 9:05 left would pull North within 60-57 with 9 minutes left. Then 2 Tre Jones free throws, 2 North FT misses and Jones on the break with the dunk of the year so far. He gets a T on the dunk and North remains within 5. Then Zach Korba for 3, Nathan Macho and Korba convert turnovers and the lead is up to 12 with 4:45 left and its over. Apple Valley shoots 33-53 from the charity stripe to 11-26 for North and the Polars fans weren't happy. Tre Jones finishes with 19 points and 12 rebounds on my sheet. Zach Korba 19 points and many were at important times. Josh Arnold 20 on 16-19 FTs. Tayler Johnson 21 for North. Odell Wilson was the man inside with 20 points. 8th grader Trejuan Holloman with 12 points off the Polars bench as well.
No Bull Eagles hang on
Prologue
Its a late starting girls/boys doubleheader with Heritage visiting St. Agnes. Decent crowd on hand. Tonight's meal is a 1/4 lb Nathan's beef hot dog sticking out of the bun. Excellent. A can of battery acid washes it down. A unrecognized 2 man crew working the tilt. Nice crowd of folks on hand. I had to limit my climb up the heavily inclined bleachers due to leaving my oxygen tank at home. Today's tune is from warmups.
Song of the Day: Katy Perry - Roar
Number of Teams I've Seen In Person: 26 (13 games, 9 days)
Number of Games I've Seen Online: 6
Beverage Ticker: 140 ounces (1340 Calories)\
Heritage's Seth Halvorsen with a deep triple and he also converts a turnover. 12-8 Heritage at the 10:30 mark. St. Agnes guard Marcus Johnson went for 38 against Henry earlier this week. He has his game going out of the dribble weave look against the Heritage man defense. A drive and a triple from Johnson get the offense going. That's despite Heritage switching to a 2-3 zone. Norman Strickland with the 1st of his 4 triples. Johnson with another 3 and a bucket. That ends a 15-2 St. Agnes run. Aggies up 23-14 at the 4:30 mark. Offense hard to come by the rest of the half. Nothing for St. Agnes and only 2 Sam Frederickson buckets. 24-18 St. Agnes leads at the half.
Ben Allen and Phil Berge with bombs and Heritage is back to even 90 seconds into the 2nd half. Frederickson adds 3 hoops in a row, 2 of them off of turnovers and he's psyched. The run is 17-4 Heritage in just under 6 minutes (21-5 over 10 minutes across halftime). 35-28 Eagles with 12:12 left. St. Agnes tries to rally as Strickland hits 2 more 3s. 38-34 Heritage inside 8 minutes to play.
Halvorsen banks a floater and converts a layup with 3:45 left. Heritage appears safe as the lead is back to 8. But the best is just beginning. Luke Brezny for 3, Heritage misses a front end. Tom Gutzmann converts a layup off a great Jacob Brezny steal. Lead down to 3. Heritage misses another front end and Johnson makes 1-2 free throws. Then Heritage misses both ends of the double bonus with 30 seconds left. St. Agnes advances the ball and takes timeout down 2 with 26.5 left.
Heritage stays with the 2-3 zone and the ball gets swung to Strickland's favorite spot on the right wing and BANG!. That's good with 12 seconds left. Heritage takes time out to set up their last chance. Halvorsen takes the right wing entry, waits for the UCLA cut and then drives it baseline and scores with 1.7 left. St. Agnes has 1 last chance full court. They inbound, throw it ahead and the shot is good but its well after the buzzer. Heritage wins a thriller 44-43.
Post Game
St. Agnes falls to 0-2 with the loss. They'll host Mounds Park Academy next Friday as they continue a 4 game home stretch to begin the season. Marcus Johnson leads the Aggies with 15 points. But 14 of those were in the 1st half. He didn't have a field goal after the 4:30 mark of the 1st half. The zone help limit his scoring opportunities. Norman Strickland knocks down 4 3s to chip in with 12 points. Tom Gutzmann with 7 points and I liked his defense.
Sam Frederickson leads Heritage with 16 points. Seth Halvorsen's game winner gave him 15 on the night. Ben Allen and Phil Berge each with a pair of 3s for 6. The 2-3 zone was wide open in the middle but the Eagles got away with it. St. Agnes didn't punch the ball in the middle to make plays nearly as much as they could have. That said, the move to the zone made sense as the St. Agnes dribble weave was having no problem getting easy penetration and great driving looks. The Eagles improve to 2-1 on the season. Heritage returns home next Friday to host neighborhood rival Providence Academy.
Its a late starting girls/boys doubleheader with Heritage visiting St. Agnes. Decent crowd on hand. Tonight's meal is a 1/4 lb Nathan's beef hot dog sticking out of the bun. Excellent. A can of battery acid washes it down. A unrecognized 2 man crew working the tilt. Nice crowd of folks on hand. I had to limit my climb up the heavily inclined bleachers due to leaving my oxygen tank at home. Today's tune is from warmups.
Song of the Day: Katy Perry - Roar
Number of Teams I've Seen In Person: 26 (13 games, 9 days)
Number of Games I've Seen Online: 6
Beverage Ticker: 140 ounces (1340 Calories)\
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 32 ounces (380 calories)
- Pepsi: 36 ounces (450 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 4
- Walking Tacos: 2
- Pizza: 1
Heritage's Seth Halvorsen with a deep triple and he also converts a turnover. 12-8 Heritage at the 10:30 mark. St. Agnes guard Marcus Johnson went for 38 against Henry earlier this week. He has his game going out of the dribble weave look against the Heritage man defense. A drive and a triple from Johnson get the offense going. That's despite Heritage switching to a 2-3 zone. Norman Strickland with the 1st of his 4 triples. Johnson with another 3 and a bucket. That ends a 15-2 St. Agnes run. Aggies up 23-14 at the 4:30 mark. Offense hard to come by the rest of the half. Nothing for St. Agnes and only 2 Sam Frederickson buckets. 24-18 St. Agnes leads at the half.
Ben Allen and Phil Berge with bombs and Heritage is back to even 90 seconds into the 2nd half. Frederickson adds 3 hoops in a row, 2 of them off of turnovers and he's psyched. The run is 17-4 Heritage in just under 6 minutes (21-5 over 10 minutes across halftime). 35-28 Eagles with 12:12 left. St. Agnes tries to rally as Strickland hits 2 more 3s. 38-34 Heritage inside 8 minutes to play.
Halvorsen banks a floater and converts a layup with 3:45 left. Heritage appears safe as the lead is back to 8. But the best is just beginning. Luke Brezny for 3, Heritage misses a front end. Tom Gutzmann converts a layup off a great Jacob Brezny steal. Lead down to 3. Heritage misses another front end and Johnson makes 1-2 free throws. Then Heritage misses both ends of the double bonus with 30 seconds left. St. Agnes advances the ball and takes timeout down 2 with 26.5 left.
Heritage stays with the 2-3 zone and the ball gets swung to Strickland's favorite spot on the right wing and BANG!. That's good with 12 seconds left. Heritage takes time out to set up their last chance. Halvorsen takes the right wing entry, waits for the UCLA cut and then drives it baseline and scores with 1.7 left. St. Agnes has 1 last chance full court. They inbound, throw it ahead and the shot is good but its well after the buzzer. Heritage wins a thriller 44-43.
Post Game
St. Agnes falls to 0-2 with the loss. They'll host Mounds Park Academy next Friday as they continue a 4 game home stretch to begin the season. Marcus Johnson leads the Aggies with 15 points. But 14 of those were in the 1st half. He didn't have a field goal after the 4:30 mark of the 1st half. The zone help limit his scoring opportunities. Norman Strickland knocks down 4 3s to chip in with 12 points. Tom Gutzmann with 7 points and I liked his defense.
Sam Frederickson leads Heritage with 16 points. Seth Halvorsen's game winner gave him 15 on the night. Ben Allen and Phil Berge each with a pair of 3s for 6. The 2-3 zone was wide open in the middle but the Eagles got away with it. St. Agnes didn't punch the ball in the middle to make plays nearly as much as they could have. That said, the move to the zone made sense as the St. Agnes dribble weave was having no problem getting easy penetration and great driving looks. The Eagles improve to 2-1 on the season. Heritage returns home next Friday to host neighborhood rival Providence Academy.
Tommies win a battle of cats
Prologue
The Rev and big Zach once again on duty together. A lower profile game for that crew as its PACT visiting Edison. The teams come out for warmups with 25 min on the clock and the Rev is still on the rail in street clothes. Gotta love that. Tonight's walking taco was just nacho cheese as I declined the jalapenos. Simple but effective to go with a regular Sprite. None of this 0 calories stuff tonight. Today's tune is also from Tuesday but is heard everywhere to get the crowd to make noise.
Song of the Day: Handclap - Fitz and the Tantrums
Number of Teams I've Seen In Person: 22 (11 games, 8 days)
Number of Games I've Seen Online: 5
Beverage Ticker: 128 ounces (1200 Calories)\
PACT can't buy a bucket in this one. They don't get their 2nd field goal until the 5:35 mark of the half. That allows Edison to jump out to a 19-4 lead. PACT not helping its own cause with double digit turnovers in the 1st half. That 2nd field goal is a Cade Johnson triple and breaks the ice. He adds another bomb and a nice cut for 2 more. 26-14 Edison at the break.
2 quick Edison hoops pushes the lead to 16 but we never reach blowout territory. Jaylen Schweiger gets going with a couple of buckets and frosh Jordan Stone with a 3. PACT within 30-21 with 11:30 left. Tenzing Chime counters another Cade Johnson triple with 2 buckets of his own. He'll add a lefty drive after 2 Johnson freebies. That keeps the lead at 13 with 2:35 left. Edison wins 49-36.
Post Game
PACT falls to 1-1 with the loss. Star guard Cade Johnson leads the Panthers with 10 of his 15 in the 1st half. The ball wouldn't go in for him though as he shot 4-18 on my sheet. Jaylen Schweiger with 11 of his 13 in the 2nd half to keep the game interesting. Turnovers a huge problem and were the difference in the game. Too much athletic pressure on the ball for PACT to handle. PACT hosts Cristo Rey on Friday.
Edison wins their home opener to improve to 1-1 on the season. Tenzing Chime leads the Tommies with 18 points. George Terry with 3 3s and 11 points. Forward Jackson Rusnucko held scoreless. But the defense picked up the slack. The Tommies visit Nova Classical on Tuesday.
The Rev and big Zach once again on duty together. A lower profile game for that crew as its PACT visiting Edison. The teams come out for warmups with 25 min on the clock and the Rev is still on the rail in street clothes. Gotta love that. Tonight's walking taco was just nacho cheese as I declined the jalapenos. Simple but effective to go with a regular Sprite. None of this 0 calories stuff tonight. Today's tune is also from Tuesday but is heard everywhere to get the crowd to make noise.
Song of the Day: Handclap - Fitz and the Tantrums
Number of Teams I've Seen In Person: 22 (11 games, 8 days)
Number of Games I've Seen Online: 5
Beverage Ticker: 128 ounces (1200 Calories)\
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Pepsi: 36 ounces (450 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Sprite: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 3
- Walking Tacos: 2
- Pizza: 1
PACT can't buy a bucket in this one. They don't get their 2nd field goal until the 5:35 mark of the half. That allows Edison to jump out to a 19-4 lead. PACT not helping its own cause with double digit turnovers in the 1st half. That 2nd field goal is a Cade Johnson triple and breaks the ice. He adds another bomb and a nice cut for 2 more. 26-14 Edison at the break.
2 quick Edison hoops pushes the lead to 16 but we never reach blowout territory. Jaylen Schweiger gets going with a couple of buckets and frosh Jordan Stone with a 3. PACT within 30-21 with 11:30 left. Tenzing Chime counters another Cade Johnson triple with 2 buckets of his own. He'll add a lefty drive after 2 Johnson freebies. That keeps the lead at 13 with 2:35 left. Edison wins 49-36.
Post Game
PACT falls to 1-1 with the loss. Star guard Cade Johnson leads the Panthers with 10 of his 15 in the 1st half. The ball wouldn't go in for him though as he shot 4-18 on my sheet. Jaylen Schweiger with 11 of his 13 in the 2nd half to keep the game interesting. Turnovers a huge problem and were the difference in the game. Too much athletic pressure on the ball for PACT to handle. PACT hosts Cristo Rey on Friday.
Edison wins their home opener to improve to 1-1 on the season. Tenzing Chime leads the Tommies with 18 points. George Terry with 3 3s and 11 points. Forward Jackson Rusnucko held scoreless. But the defense picked up the slack. The Tommies visit Nova Classical on Tuesday.
Youthful D leads the Titans
Prologue
No programs last night so no writeup of the tight Prairie Seeds at Henry game. Tonight the color red is still in order as I visit Richfield for an old Classic Suburban showdown with Tartan. Stoney was the highlight of tonight's 3 man officiating crew. Oversized slice of sausage pizza is the meal with a bottle of red Powerade. And a quality selection of music including this 80s hit from The King of Pop
Song of the Day: Bad - Michael Jackson
Number of Teams I've Seen: 20 (10 games, 6 days) (not counting 3 online)
Beverage Ticker: 108 ounces (960 Calories)
Good start for Tartan with soph Joseph Kearney knocking down a kickout for 3 and driving for a 3 point play. Antwan Kimmons adds his own 3 point play on a turnover. 13-6 Tartan at the 14:29 mark. Richfield frosh Ryan Miles off the bench and tries to stop the bleeding with pair of free throws and a layup. Tartan counters that with a 12-0 run. Kimmons with 2 buckets off turnovers and a putback in that span. 25-10 Titans at the 9:10 mark. Kimmons will expand that lead to 19 with a lefty 3 point play and another putback. Richfield's best scorer Devin Wade-Henderson then sits the last 4 minutes with 3 fouls but Richfield only gives up 1 field goal in that stretch. 43-22 Tartan at the break. Kearney for 3 and a nice curl for 2 more as the lead grows to 56-27. Wade-Henderson tacks on a few to get his but the name is never in any doubt as the bench empties with 3 min left. Tartan wins 79-61
Post Game
For Richfield, Devin Wade-Henderson scores 18 points. The Tartan defense with soph Joseph Kearney getting most of the duty held him to 7-22 shooting on my sheet with 5 turnovers. Freshman Ryan Miles with a very nice debut for the Spartans with 17 points off the bench. He knocked down 3 triples. Richfield opens the season 0-1 and they get another former Classic Suburban foe next as they visit St. Thomas Academy on Thursday.
For Tartan, Antwan Kimmons leads the way with 16 of his 21 in the 1st half. Andre Jenkins-Whitmore with 14 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Soph Joseph Kearney with 16. Dante Aganmwonyi chips in with 10. The Titans as you would expect of a Mark Klingsporn group are defensive minded. Aganmwonyi, Kearney and Kimmons really get after it on that end. They'll be fine defensively but how the offense progresses is what I'm watching. Tartan opens 1-0 and visits North Branch on Friday. That's part of a 3 game road trip to start the season.
Strategy Session
After talking about how teams get open off the dribble, we look at Tartan's offense. They use a Villanova women's style cutting offense. Its 5 out and instead of reads its all called vs the read and react variation often used in 5 out. That includes anything from straight pass and cut to curl cuts to intentionally back cutting the screen. The curl cuts were definitely available on this night and they did get some looks out of rejecting the screen as well.
No programs last night so no writeup of the tight Prairie Seeds at Henry game. Tonight the color red is still in order as I visit Richfield for an old Classic Suburban showdown with Tartan. Stoney was the highlight of tonight's 3 man officiating crew. Oversized slice of sausage pizza is the meal with a bottle of red Powerade. And a quality selection of music including this 80s hit from The King of Pop
Song of the Day: Bad - Michael Jackson
Number of Teams I've Seen: 20 (10 games, 6 days) (not counting 3 online)
Beverage Ticker: 108 ounces (960 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Pepsi: 36 ounces (450 calories)
- Sprite Zero: 20 ounces (0 calories)
- Red Powerade: 20 ounces (130 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 3
- Walking Tacos: 1
- Pizza: 1
Good start for Tartan with soph Joseph Kearney knocking down a kickout for 3 and driving for a 3 point play. Antwan Kimmons adds his own 3 point play on a turnover. 13-6 Tartan at the 14:29 mark. Richfield frosh Ryan Miles off the bench and tries to stop the bleeding with pair of free throws and a layup. Tartan counters that with a 12-0 run. Kimmons with 2 buckets off turnovers and a putback in that span. 25-10 Titans at the 9:10 mark. Kimmons will expand that lead to 19 with a lefty 3 point play and another putback. Richfield's best scorer Devin Wade-Henderson then sits the last 4 minutes with 3 fouls but Richfield only gives up 1 field goal in that stretch. 43-22 Tartan at the break. Kearney for 3 and a nice curl for 2 more as the lead grows to 56-27. Wade-Henderson tacks on a few to get his but the name is never in any doubt as the bench empties with 3 min left. Tartan wins 79-61
Post Game
For Richfield, Devin Wade-Henderson scores 18 points. The Tartan defense with soph Joseph Kearney getting most of the duty held him to 7-22 shooting on my sheet with 5 turnovers. Freshman Ryan Miles with a very nice debut for the Spartans with 17 points off the bench. He knocked down 3 triples. Richfield opens the season 0-1 and they get another former Classic Suburban foe next as they visit St. Thomas Academy on Thursday.
For Tartan, Antwan Kimmons leads the way with 16 of his 21 in the 1st half. Andre Jenkins-Whitmore with 14 of his 20 in the 2nd half. Soph Joseph Kearney with 16. Dante Aganmwonyi chips in with 10. The Titans as you would expect of a Mark Klingsporn group are defensive minded. Aganmwonyi, Kearney and Kimmons really get after it on that end. They'll be fine defensively but how the offense progresses is what I'm watching. Tartan opens 1-0 and visits North Branch on Friday. That's part of a 3 game road trip to start the season.
Strategy Session
After talking about how teams get open off the dribble, we look at Tartan's offense. They use a Villanova women's style cutting offense. Its 5 out and instead of reads its all called vs the read and react variation often used in 5 out. That includes anything from straight pass and cut to curl cuts to intentionally back cutting the screen. The curl cuts were definitely available on this night and they did get some looks out of rejecting the screen as well.
Opening Saturday Action
The opening Saturday as is recent tradition included a set of boys games as part of the girls tipoff classic. Rather than stay thru the early girls games I took in a separate boys game. Here's a look at the 5 games that I saw.
Game 1: St. Cloud Apollo at St. Louis Park
This game was setup due to some rescheduling required by ESPN taking the Apple Valley vs Minnehaha game. Apollo would shoot a ton of 3s in this back and forth game and made 12 of them. St. Louis Park used a 12-2 run in the 1st half to take an 8 point lead. Apollo would see an 8 point lead cut to 1 but one of those triples would extend the lead to 65-56 with 4 minutes left.
Both teams would squander late chances with very sloppy play. Apollo with 4 turnovers in the last 2:15. That would help St. Louis Park would score 13 in a row before a meaningless 3 at the buzzer. St. Louis Park wins 69-68. Cire Mayfield with the last 6 Orioles points and finishes with a team high 17. Aiden Doherty with 16 now playing out of the post. DaShawn Emerson with 13 and hounding defense off the bench. Renell Edwards carried the Apollo offense with 18 points and 3 3s. As they get older and more used to the new system plus refining their shot selection, they can be a dangerous team to play against.
Game 2: #1AAA De La Salle vs Iowa City West
Now the 4 boys games at the girls tipoff. Iowa's top ranked team in town to take on the 6 time defending AAA champs. Full Gophers staff on hand to watch all 3 of their commits in 3 straight games. Gabe Kalscheur with 20 of his 31 points in the 1st half (4 3s) as the Islanders would take a 4 point lead to halftime. But he was also attacking the rim aggressively. Patrick McCaffrey with 13 of his 23 in the 2nd half including a late hoop and 2 free throws. Difference here was the interior play of Seybian Sims. He finished with 20 points and was a problem on the offensive glass all day. Tyrell Terry with a late 3 to tie the game and got bumped late for a debatable no-call with DLS trying to win it. Iowa City West wins a battle 65-62. The rebounding issues and the integration of Jamison Battle are issues to watch for the Islanders.
Game 3: #2AAA Orono vs Robbinsdale Armstrong
Armstrong with a very scrappy 1st half to take a 29-26 halftime lead. They kept the ball out of Jarvis Omersa's hands. The hot shooting of Thomas Lecy, particularly from the left corner, was a problem all day. He hit 4 of his 6 3s in the 1st half to keep the Spartans close. Then Omersa was too much in the 2nd half. He scores 6 points in a 16-0 Orono run early in the 2nd half. That turns a 4 point deficit into a 12 point lead. Add in another hoop plus a 3 point play and the lead grows to 16. Orono in no danger after that. They win 64-50. Jarvis Omersa with 18 points and 17 rebounds on my sheet with a double double in the 2nd half alone. Also showed some nice passing ability. Thomas Lecy 6 3s for 18 points. Soph Jake Breitbach with 11 off the bench to lead Armstrong.
Game 4: #2AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall at #4AAAA Hopkins
This was the surprise of the day. CDH would jump all over the Royals to the tune of 21-5 in just over 6 minutes. Then Daniel Oturu would leave the game with an injury and not return. Jaeden King knocking down shots and Sy Chatman continuing his progression. Both score 15 in the 1st half as the lead grows to 19 and is 43-27 at the half. 17 point game inside 9 minutes to play before quick 5 in, 5 out rotations allows Hopkins to rally. Joe Hedstrom dunks a turnover to end a 14-2 Royals run and the lead is down to 7 with 4:24 left. CDH would score the next 9 to put the game away. Chatman with 6 of those on his way to a game high 33 points. Jaeden King with 22, Ryan Larson with 19 for CDH. DJ Davis a bright spot for Hopkins off the bench with 16. Zeke Nnaji also with 16, Anthony Davis 13 for Hopkins. Hopkins will likely want to burn the black jerseys they used for the game after how they looked in the 1st half.
Game 5: #1AA Minnehaha vs #6AAAA East Ridge
East Ridge keeping this one at a slow pace. Combine that with a quiet 1st half from Jalen Suggs and Minnehaha only had 3 field goals in the 1st 13 minutes. That was part of a 12-2 East Ridge run to take a 15-9 lead. Minnehaha would end the half on a 10-2 run of their own with East Ridge not scoring a field goal in the last 4+ minutes. Courtney Brown with a quick triple and hoop as East Ridge would go up 5. Then a 15-3 Minnehaha run with Suggs asserting himself. Minnehaha would stretch the lead to 47-37 after Javonni Bickham converted a turnover. Courtney Brown for and the 4th and 5th 3s from Zack Zebrowksi. East Ridge within 3 with 4:29 left. Bickham bonus freebies and a Suggs FT for a 7 point lead inside 2 left. But Courtney Brown isn't done. He hits a pullup and a triple. Then a tough catch to finish a pick and roll to cut the margin to 2. Bickham puts back a miss and Brown with another 3 to cut the lead to 1. After a Minnehaha free throw, the teams trade turnovers and East Ridge doesn't have a time out. Nothing good on the last shot. Minnehaha wins 60-58. Courtney Brown went off in the 2nd half with 22 of his 29 points for East Ridge. He scored in the post, midrange and hit 5 3s. Zach Zebrowski with 5 3s for his 15 points. Only 4 players score for the Raptors though. Jalen Suggs with a quiet 8 points for Minnehaha. Javonni Bickham leads the Redhawks with 19 points. Terry Lockett adds 10. Big difference at the charity stripe with Minnehaha shooting 17-31 to 1-2 for East Ridge.
Game 1: St. Cloud Apollo at St. Louis Park
This game was setup due to some rescheduling required by ESPN taking the Apple Valley vs Minnehaha game. Apollo would shoot a ton of 3s in this back and forth game and made 12 of them. St. Louis Park used a 12-2 run in the 1st half to take an 8 point lead. Apollo would see an 8 point lead cut to 1 but one of those triples would extend the lead to 65-56 with 4 minutes left.
Both teams would squander late chances with very sloppy play. Apollo with 4 turnovers in the last 2:15. That would help St. Louis Park would score 13 in a row before a meaningless 3 at the buzzer. St. Louis Park wins 69-68. Cire Mayfield with the last 6 Orioles points and finishes with a team high 17. Aiden Doherty with 16 now playing out of the post. DaShawn Emerson with 13 and hounding defense off the bench. Renell Edwards carried the Apollo offense with 18 points and 3 3s. As they get older and more used to the new system plus refining their shot selection, they can be a dangerous team to play against.
Game 2: #1AAA De La Salle vs Iowa City West
Now the 4 boys games at the girls tipoff. Iowa's top ranked team in town to take on the 6 time defending AAA champs. Full Gophers staff on hand to watch all 3 of their commits in 3 straight games. Gabe Kalscheur with 20 of his 31 points in the 1st half (4 3s) as the Islanders would take a 4 point lead to halftime. But he was also attacking the rim aggressively. Patrick McCaffrey with 13 of his 23 in the 2nd half including a late hoop and 2 free throws. Difference here was the interior play of Seybian Sims. He finished with 20 points and was a problem on the offensive glass all day. Tyrell Terry with a late 3 to tie the game and got bumped late for a debatable no-call with DLS trying to win it. Iowa City West wins a battle 65-62. The rebounding issues and the integration of Jamison Battle are issues to watch for the Islanders.
Game 3: #2AAA Orono vs Robbinsdale Armstrong
Armstrong with a very scrappy 1st half to take a 29-26 halftime lead. They kept the ball out of Jarvis Omersa's hands. The hot shooting of Thomas Lecy, particularly from the left corner, was a problem all day. He hit 4 of his 6 3s in the 1st half to keep the Spartans close. Then Omersa was too much in the 2nd half. He scores 6 points in a 16-0 Orono run early in the 2nd half. That turns a 4 point deficit into a 12 point lead. Add in another hoop plus a 3 point play and the lead grows to 16. Orono in no danger after that. They win 64-50. Jarvis Omersa with 18 points and 17 rebounds on my sheet with a double double in the 2nd half alone. Also showed some nice passing ability. Thomas Lecy 6 3s for 18 points. Soph Jake Breitbach with 11 off the bench to lead Armstrong.
Game 4: #2AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall at #4AAAA Hopkins
This was the surprise of the day. CDH would jump all over the Royals to the tune of 21-5 in just over 6 minutes. Then Daniel Oturu would leave the game with an injury and not return. Jaeden King knocking down shots and Sy Chatman continuing his progression. Both score 15 in the 1st half as the lead grows to 19 and is 43-27 at the half. 17 point game inside 9 minutes to play before quick 5 in, 5 out rotations allows Hopkins to rally. Joe Hedstrom dunks a turnover to end a 14-2 Royals run and the lead is down to 7 with 4:24 left. CDH would score the next 9 to put the game away. Chatman with 6 of those on his way to a game high 33 points. Jaeden King with 22, Ryan Larson with 19 for CDH. DJ Davis a bright spot for Hopkins off the bench with 16. Zeke Nnaji also with 16, Anthony Davis 13 for Hopkins. Hopkins will likely want to burn the black jerseys they used for the game after how they looked in the 1st half.
Game 5: #1AA Minnehaha vs #6AAAA East Ridge
East Ridge keeping this one at a slow pace. Combine that with a quiet 1st half from Jalen Suggs and Minnehaha only had 3 field goals in the 1st 13 minutes. That was part of a 12-2 East Ridge run to take a 15-9 lead. Minnehaha would end the half on a 10-2 run of their own with East Ridge not scoring a field goal in the last 4+ minutes. Courtney Brown with a quick triple and hoop as East Ridge would go up 5. Then a 15-3 Minnehaha run with Suggs asserting himself. Minnehaha would stretch the lead to 47-37 after Javonni Bickham converted a turnover. Courtney Brown for and the 4th and 5th 3s from Zack Zebrowksi. East Ridge within 3 with 4:29 left. Bickham bonus freebies and a Suggs FT for a 7 point lead inside 2 left. But Courtney Brown isn't done. He hits a pullup and a triple. Then a tough catch to finish a pick and roll to cut the margin to 2. Bickham puts back a miss and Brown with another 3 to cut the lead to 1. After a Minnehaha free throw, the teams trade turnovers and East Ridge doesn't have a time out. Nothing good on the last shot. Minnehaha wins 60-58. Courtney Brown went off in the 2nd half with 22 of his 29 points for East Ridge. He scored in the post, midrange and hit 5 3s. Zach Zebrowski with 5 3s for his 15 points. Only 4 players score for the Raptors though. Jalen Suggs with a quiet 8 points for Minnehaha. Javonni Bickham leads the Redhawks with 19 points. Terry Lockett adds 10. Big difference at the charity stripe with Minnehaha shooting 17-31 to 1-2 for East Ridge.
Cougars overcome a foul fest
Prologue
To Roseville for a section 5AAAA matchup between Centennial and the host Raiders. Solid but quiet student section on hand. A very basic concession menu as always. But I'm more and more a fan of prewrapped hot dogs. My looked disappointing immediately on opening but actually turned out to be good. Add in the daily dose of battery acid (Coke) to keep the beverage counter rolling. Lots of older music on the public address including Journey and the Bee Gees but we'll pick the 1st and oldest song of the night for today's tune.
Song of the Day: Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
Number of Teams I've Seen: 4 (2 games, 2 days)
Beverage Ticker: 32 ounces (380 Calories)
The stars of the night get started right away. Soph Carter Anderson for 3 for Centennial countered by a Roseville 3 from Drew Adams. 2 quick fouls on Gary Smith for Roseville and he'll sit for the rest of the half after only 3 minutes. Adams with another 3 before Anderson splits 2 pairs of free throws. Then its Matt Wyffels for 3 on a throwback pass and shooter Ricky Eason with a triple to break a 13 all tie. Quick Roseville timeout at 10:28.
Fouls all over the place and lots of guys with 2 in the 1st half. The lead hovers in that 6 point range until Anderson makes 4 straight free throws and adds a hoop in an 8-2 run. That extends the lead to 37-26 late in the half. The 12th guy Roseville used in the 1st half was JV starting center Spencer Nath. He makes 2 free throws and a hoop late. That cuts the Centennial lead to 42-33 at the half.
The lead gets to 12 before Roseville goes to their "Hawkeye" 1-2-2 3/4 trap. Adams with a putback and 3 point play off a turnover thanks to that trap. Its part of a 10-0 run over 3:40 and gets the Raiders right back in the game. 45-42 Centennial with over 12 minutes left. Then an up and down sequence with the teams racing back and forth but no points. Adams with 2 blocks during that stretch. Daevonte Munson with good minutes and his 3 keeps Roseville within 54-50 with 5:46 left.
Wyffels counters with another throwback 3 off the dribble handoff. Then a post feed and Andrew Nordquist comes from the weakside and just takes it away for an Eason layup. Nordquist then adds a runner for a 61-50 lead with 3:40 left. At this point, the game should have been over. Smith finds Munson for 3 and he makes a free throw. Adams adds a 3 point play and Roseville still has life down 6 with 2:30 left.
It only gets worse for the Cougars. Centennial turns it over, misses a front end and then takes 2 horrific shots quickly with Roseville not trapping or fouling. All of that allows a Smith drive to cut it to 3 and then after an offensive rebound its Adams from the deep beyound and we're all tied at 63 with 1:06 left. That's a 13-2 Raiders run in just over 2 and a half minutes. Wyffels immediately scores on the other end to put Centennial on top. Roseville takes timeout and draws up a baseline double screen.
The play said the ball had to go there so the pass went there. Unfortunately, a defender was already there for a Roseville turnover. Anderson makes 1 of 2 free throws, Centennial fouls and Roseville misses both freebies. Centennial makes only 1 FT again and Smith goes quick to the rim for 2. Still a 2 point game with 14 seconds left. Centennial gets out on the break and its an intentional foul from behind (new emphasis this year) with 7.9 seconds left. Centennial makes 1 and then on the inbound they are fouled and miss both. Roseville has 1 last chance but is out of timeouts. 2 desperation 3s are no good. Centennial wins 68-65.
Post Game
For Roseville, Drew Adams was outstanding with 25 points and 3 triples to lead all scorers. He was very active on the glass and was at the top of the 1-2-2 trap that got Roseville back in the game. Daevonte Munson with quality minutes for the Raiders as well with 4 triples and 3 free throws for 15 points. Gary Smith with all 9 of his points in the 2nd half after missing most of the 1st half with 2 fouls. Roseville starts the season 0-1. They'll continue their 5 game homestand to start the season with a visit from Rosemount on Tuesday.
For Centennial, soph Carter Anderson scores 16 of his 21 in the 1st half to lead the Cougars. Shooter Ricky Eason adds 16. Starters Matt Wyffels and Andrew Metz also in double figures with 13 and 11 respectively. Centennial's run and jump style traps were effective in the 1st half. I liked what I saw and the Cougars will be better than I expected.
Neither team with a post presence and that showed in the strange stat of the night. The starting "big" for each team was scoreless and fouled out. Of the 11 bench guys who played, none of them had more than 1 field goal. 67 FTs in the game, 16-30 for Roseville, 18-37 for Centennial. Note that I count missed front ends as 2 attempts and misses. That was due to over 50 fouls called.
Strategy Session
In the last strategy session, I talked about how Johnson gets their guards going to the rim. Tonight showed another way to do that. Its the Bethel Dribble Drive inspired offense that is a local rage right now. Thank you MN Heat guys for going to this after using THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE for ages. A fundamental concept is cuts to the corners to create the idea of "double gaps" for driving. What you end up with is a player passing and cutting to a corner. Then the pass receiver immediately drives thru the area where the passer was. The passer's cut creates extra space for the driver to attack. Shooters then spot up in the corners for 3s or cut to the rim if their defender turns their head.
There were 3 permutations of this that Centennial showed tonight out of a 4 out dribble drive look.
1) Guard to guard pass, passer follows to the same side corner but also tries to cut off of the receivers defender. Receiver has a ton of room as the spot where the passer is vacated and the other player on that side is a shooter spaced to the corner.
2) As a counter to the 1st, after the guard to guard pass the passer cuts to the corner on his side. The corner player then clears under the rim to the opposite side of the floor. This creates the same exact look as the 1st. But it puts more stress on the passers defender and helps eliminate a double team option.
3) Centennial also used the post player to come set a ball screen. Then the other guard could fill behind the drive or to the basket while the post player would pop. Only saw it once but it was a nice look.
To Roseville for a section 5AAAA matchup between Centennial and the host Raiders. Solid but quiet student section on hand. A very basic concession menu as always. But I'm more and more a fan of prewrapped hot dogs. My looked disappointing immediately on opening but actually turned out to be good. Add in the daily dose of battery acid (Coke) to keep the beverage counter rolling. Lots of older music on the public address including Journey and the Bee Gees but we'll pick the 1st and oldest song of the night for today's tune.
Song of the Day: Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
Number of Teams I've Seen: 4 (2 games, 2 days)
Beverage Ticker: 32 ounces (380 Calories)
- 7 Up: 12 ounces (140 calories)
- Coke: 20 ounces (240 calories)
- Hot Dogs: 1
- Walking Tacos: 1
The stars of the night get started right away. Soph Carter Anderson for 3 for Centennial countered by a Roseville 3 from Drew Adams. 2 quick fouls on Gary Smith for Roseville and he'll sit for the rest of the half after only 3 minutes. Adams with another 3 before Anderson splits 2 pairs of free throws. Then its Matt Wyffels for 3 on a throwback pass and shooter Ricky Eason with a triple to break a 13 all tie. Quick Roseville timeout at 10:28.
Fouls all over the place and lots of guys with 2 in the 1st half. The lead hovers in that 6 point range until Anderson makes 4 straight free throws and adds a hoop in an 8-2 run. That extends the lead to 37-26 late in the half. The 12th guy Roseville used in the 1st half was JV starting center Spencer Nath. He makes 2 free throws and a hoop late. That cuts the Centennial lead to 42-33 at the half.
The lead gets to 12 before Roseville goes to their "Hawkeye" 1-2-2 3/4 trap. Adams with a putback and 3 point play off a turnover thanks to that trap. Its part of a 10-0 run over 3:40 and gets the Raiders right back in the game. 45-42 Centennial with over 12 minutes left. Then an up and down sequence with the teams racing back and forth but no points. Adams with 2 blocks during that stretch. Daevonte Munson with good minutes and his 3 keeps Roseville within 54-50 with 5:46 left.
Wyffels counters with another throwback 3 off the dribble handoff. Then a post feed and Andrew Nordquist comes from the weakside and just takes it away for an Eason layup. Nordquist then adds a runner for a 61-50 lead with 3:40 left. At this point, the game should have been over. Smith finds Munson for 3 and he makes a free throw. Adams adds a 3 point play and Roseville still has life down 6 with 2:30 left.
It only gets worse for the Cougars. Centennial turns it over, misses a front end and then takes 2 horrific shots quickly with Roseville not trapping or fouling. All of that allows a Smith drive to cut it to 3 and then after an offensive rebound its Adams from the deep beyound and we're all tied at 63 with 1:06 left. That's a 13-2 Raiders run in just over 2 and a half minutes. Wyffels immediately scores on the other end to put Centennial on top. Roseville takes timeout and draws up a baseline double screen.
The play said the ball had to go there so the pass went there. Unfortunately, a defender was already there for a Roseville turnover. Anderson makes 1 of 2 free throws, Centennial fouls and Roseville misses both freebies. Centennial makes only 1 FT again and Smith goes quick to the rim for 2. Still a 2 point game with 14 seconds left. Centennial gets out on the break and its an intentional foul from behind (new emphasis this year) with 7.9 seconds left. Centennial makes 1 and then on the inbound they are fouled and miss both. Roseville has 1 last chance but is out of timeouts. 2 desperation 3s are no good. Centennial wins 68-65.
Post Game
For Roseville, Drew Adams was outstanding with 25 points and 3 triples to lead all scorers. He was very active on the glass and was at the top of the 1-2-2 trap that got Roseville back in the game. Daevonte Munson with quality minutes for the Raiders as well with 4 triples and 3 free throws for 15 points. Gary Smith with all 9 of his points in the 2nd half after missing most of the 1st half with 2 fouls. Roseville starts the season 0-1. They'll continue their 5 game homestand to start the season with a visit from Rosemount on Tuesday.
For Centennial, soph Carter Anderson scores 16 of his 21 in the 1st half to lead the Cougars. Shooter Ricky Eason adds 16. Starters Matt Wyffels and Andrew Metz also in double figures with 13 and 11 respectively. Centennial's run and jump style traps were effective in the 1st half. I liked what I saw and the Cougars will be better than I expected.
Neither team with a post presence and that showed in the strange stat of the night. The starting "big" for each team was scoreless and fouled out. Of the 11 bench guys who played, none of them had more than 1 field goal. 67 FTs in the game, 16-30 for Roseville, 18-37 for Centennial. Note that I count missed front ends as 2 attempts and misses. That was due to over 50 fouls called.
Strategy Session
In the last strategy session, I talked about how Johnson gets their guards going to the rim. Tonight showed another way to do that. Its the Bethel Dribble Drive inspired offense that is a local rage right now. Thank you MN Heat guys for going to this after using THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE for ages. A fundamental concept is cuts to the corners to create the idea of "double gaps" for driving. What you end up with is a player passing and cutting to a corner. Then the pass receiver immediately drives thru the area where the passer was. The passer's cut creates extra space for the driver to attack. Shooters then spot up in the corners for 3s or cut to the rim if their defender turns their head.
There were 3 permutations of this that Centennial showed tonight out of a 4 out dribble drive look.
1) Guard to guard pass, passer follows to the same side corner but also tries to cut off of the receivers defender. Receiver has a ton of room as the spot where the passer is vacated and the other player on that side is a shooter spaced to the corner.
2) As a counter to the 1st, after the guard to guard pass the passer cuts to the corner on his side. The corner player then clears under the rim to the opposite side of the floor. This creates the same exact look as the 1st. But it puts more stress on the passers defender and helps eliminate a double team option.
3) Centennial also used the post player to come set a ball screen. Then the other guard could fill behind the drive or to the basket while the post player would pop. Only saw it once but it was a nice look.
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