2017 UST Holiday Tourney Day 1

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.