The Fans Go Out With A Bang

Prologue
Section finals here we go.  31 teams playing for titles starting tonight.  But its a really strange 24 hours that we've seen.  Tonight's finals played with fans but that's the last fan night we'll see.  Friday's finals will be played with limited family tickets available due to the Corona virus scare.  Props to the MSHSL for lifting the restriction on live streaming playoff games for those games.  So tonight we get a subdued crowd in Hastings for the 4AAAA final.  Its a rubber match between Suburban East foes East Ridge and Cretin-Derham Hall.  The teams split home wins during the regular season with a Woodbury upset costing CDH a share of the league crown.

Game Time
Offense hard to come by early, particularly for East Ridge.  Tre Holloman 6 straight CDH points for a 12-2 CDH lead at the 10:15 mark.  East Ridge unable to get anything to fall.  But Ben North finally breaks the ice with a 3 just under the 10 minute mark.  That triggers an 11-2 Raptors run.  Brody Kriesel with a 3 to end it.  14-13 CDH at 5:50.  CDH with the next 8 as a couple of East Ridge turnovers end the run.  North with 2 hoops to stop the bleeding.  22-17 CDH at the break. 

CDH seemed to have an answer for every East Ridge bit of momentum.  Kriesel 2 FTs countered by a J'Vonne Hadley triple.  Drew Adams 3 countered by Amari Carter with a drive for 2 and a triple of his own.  Hadley in the post dishes to Will Burke for a layup.  Carter puts back his own miss.  CDH lead back to 10, 38-28, with under 12 minutes left.

Ben Carlson heating up despite being mugged all night inside.  He scores in the post and knocks down a 3 as part of 6 straight East Ridge points.  After a CDH FT, its Hadley's 4th foul and another Ben North triple.  Kriesel to the line to make 1 of 2 with 4:49 left.  That miss would have tied the game and it brings Hadley back in.  42-41 CDH.  Holloman takes Carlson off the ball screen switch and finishes.  Kriesel from the short corner vs a 1-2-2 zone.  Holloman has the answer with the left hand.  Then he strips Carlson inside (could have easily been a jump ball).  Carter goes to the quick spin move in the post for a layup.  48-42 CDH with 1:40 left and it looks to be over.

Carlson with a free throw.  Kriesel with a strip at halfcourt that he converts with 1:10 left.  Back to a 1 possession game.  CDH misses a front end.  Kriesel converts that into a left wing triple.  48 all with 40 seconds left.  CDH timeout with 27.2 left.  They hold with Holloman.  He drives and his lob is too high for Hadley.  Carlson with a chance to grab it but can't hang on.  Its out to Cretin under their basket with 3.7 left.  The teams trade time outs.  On the BLOB, nothing on the initial set.  Curtis Jones drops back beyond the 3 point line for the catch.  1 dribble left and he'll pull it from 25 feet straight away.  BANG!  Raiders advance with a 51-48 win.  Not to mention it keeps my picks at dead even going into the final night (though I need a Spring Lake Park win to not be underwater).  All 10 starters score and no bench points in the game.

Post Game
Heartbreak hotel for East Ridge. Brody Kriesel with 13 of his 18 points in the 2nd half including the clutch plays in the last 1:15 to get the game back to even.  Ben Carlson with 10 of his 15 in the 2nd half.  Ben North with 2 3s and 10 points.  Kendall Blue with only 2 FTs as he couldn't buy a shot all night.  Bad luck for the talented sophomore and the Raptors.  Ben Carlson goes over 2000 points for his career and finishes as the school's all-time leading scorer.  Raptors finish their season 23-6 with their only losses in the new year being the 2 to CDH.

Curtis Jones with the game winner and 16 points to lead CDH.  Tre Holloman adds 14 points including 3 big plays down the stretch.  Amari Carter adds a productive 12 point night.  J'Vonne Hadley held to 7 points.  He's been used in the post more as the season has progressed.  Didn't see much of it tonight though.

Now assuming the state tourney is played (which is a major assumption at this point), worst case for CDH is a 3 seed.  But the debate of Eastview vs CDH in the seeding is a fun one.  The Eastview win over Wayzata while CDH lost to Wayzata likely tips the scales to Eastview.  But CDH has a Minnehaha win on their resume.  At the end of the day its likely a 2 vs 3 scenario which only determines jersey color in a potential semifinal.  Both would get a random draw team in round 1.