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)

• 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)

Food Ticker:

• Hot Dogs: 7
• Walking Tacos:2
• Pizza: 4

Game Time:
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.