2021 Tartan Tourney Day 1

Prologue
To Tartan for their annual holiday tournament.  Tough luck in their schedule with Mahtomedi backing out and then a late Fridley cancellation.  That meant only 2 games today and only 2 night games on the final day.  You know its bad when the home team couldn't get themselves a game.  Split schedule of 2:45 and 6:15 means I get to take in Tartan assistant Bill Fetsch running his guys thru skill work.

Game 1: #10AAAA Park of Cottage Grove 66 Andover 56
Pharrel Payne still out for this one.  But the Wolfpack does have Jamari Walker back to man the interior.  Andover gets a bucket on their first possession but then goes 17 trips with just 1 field goal.  Park takes advantage with a 23-4 run.  Andover would cut the lead back to 9 thanks to 9 Ben Kopetzki points.  3 interior hoops for Andover plus a triple and 2 free throws from Sammy Musungu cut the lead down to 40-34 with 13:48 left.  But another Andover offensive drought sets in.  They get only 1 FG in their next 15 trips.  Evan Bearth with 3 of his 4 second half field goals in a 12-1 Park run that pushes the lead back to 52-35 with 9:32 left.  Andover scores 14 of the next 18 with a couple of Connor Foy triples included.  56-49 Park with 4:05 left  But Andover gets no closer. Jamari Walker with 14 of his 23 points in the first half as there was no answer for him inside.  Evan Bearth 14 points including the points in the run that put the game away in the 2nd half.  Sammy Musungu 14 of his 20 in the 2nd half for Andover.  Ben Kopetzki adds 16.

Game 2: #6AAA Mankato West 48 White Bear Lake 44
Jack Janicki early and often for WBL.  3 buckets for him and its 13-7 Bears at the 10:57 mark.  Mankato West turns up their defense and goes on a 9-0 run to take a 19-17 lead at the 3:38 mark.  1 point game at the half as Mankato West leads 21-20.  Louis Magers a putback and a conversion of a turnover for the Scarlets and the total run is 15-3 across halftime.  Magers another putback to keep the Scarlets lead at 31-26 with 11:22 left.  Janicki 2 hoops to keep the Bears within 35-34.  Wyatt Hawks (sleeper forward for WBL) with 2 free throws for the lead that its countered by a 3 point play plus another Magers bucket off a post set.  42-38 West with 4:20 left.

Janicki with bombs from the wing and from on top.  44-42 White Bear Lake back on top with 2:50 left.  Mekhi Collins with a strong 2 inside to tie the game with 1:42 left.  White Bear Lake misses a jumper with about a minute left.  West will be patient like most possessions in this game.  Finally its who else but Magers with 17 seconds left for the lead on the attack.  Janicki misses a challenged look from the top.  Magers seals it at the line with 0.4 left.  Magers finishes with 21 points, 14 in the 2nd half.  Janicki another nice game with 28 points as he was the only offense White Bear Lake could find.  2/3 of the Mankato West offense in the paint.  Their inside strength with Magers and Collins against #3AAA South St. Paul in the Capitol City will be very interesting to watch.  They switch everything which won't be as big a factor vs Alonzo Dodd and the DDM system of SSP but expect Dodd to see multiple bodies.

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  Today's theme: Paint Domination. Interior play from Park and Mankato West puts them over the top.

2021 TCO Holiday Classic Day 1

Prologue
Holiday tournaments back in full force.  I make my usual venture to Augsburg for their holiday tourney.  The tourney back up to 8 teams this year after being at 6 for a few years.  Hopkins returning to the event after winning it the last 3 times and 9 out of the last 10.  They've had some epic games in this event with Minnehaha in recent years and Johnson before that.

Game 1: #7AAAA Hopkins 86 Minneapolis Washburn 39
This one got out of hand quickly.  Hopkins scoring 4 buckets on turnovers in the first 6 times Washburn had it.  Hopkins scores 24 points off of 24 Washburn turnovers.  Elvis Nnaji dunks everything for 19 points.  CJ O'Hara with all 13 of his points in the 1st half as he played limited time in the 2nd half.  12 different Royals end up scoring.  Cass Ramberg 10 points to lead Washburn.

Game 2: Forest Lake 68 St. Paul Johnson 55
Forest Lake would use a mid second half 11-2 run to break open an even game.  Good matchup of sophomore forwards here between Owen Waldoch (FL) and Daejohn Thomas (SPJ).  Waldoch with a big 3 point play to put Forest Lake up 56-44 with 8:10 left and send Thomas to the bench with 4 fouls.  That ended the big run.  Waldoch would foul out on a flop charge 3 minutes later but Forest Lake would hang on.  Waldoch leads Forest Lake with 21 points.  Fellow soph Nolan Dumonceaux adds 14 with 4 3s.  Ishmael David leads Johnson with 17 points.  Christian Jones 11, Daejohn Thomas 10.  Forest Lake 10-22 from 3 compared to 4-14 for Johnson.

Game 3: Minneapolis Southwest 83 Cambridge-Isanti 64
Dead even first half before Southwest pulls away in the 2nd half.  3 point game around midway thru the 2nd half.  Then Southwest scores on 15 out of 17 trips as the Bluejackets couldn't get stops out of their matchup zone.  Hakeem Ford and Preston Engen lead the onslaught as they combine for 24 of their 33 points the 2nd half.  Ford finishes with 17, Engen with 16 as 11 Lakers end up scoring.  Guards Kobe Karels and John Troolin with 16 points each for Cambridge-Isanti.  They'll make a nice backcourt for next year as Karels is a junior and Troolin only a sophomore.  Always fun to watch the motion offense of Cambridge-Isanti.  They use screens and will back cut you off of that as well as anybody.

Game 4: Big Lake 82 Duluth East 79
This one was fun and a contrast of styles.  You have a big Duluth East lineup (sans Will Van Scoy) against a smaller and mobile Big Lake crew.  Isaac Nyakundi and Bryce Miller getting what they want inside but can also step out and shoot it for Duluth East.  Fun to watch.  But the story here was Big Lake's shooting. They hit 18 of 30 from the great beyond with 7 different guys (including all 5 starters) making one.  Every time Duluth East made a run, a Big Lake 3 killed it.  

Big Lake comes out and hits 4 triples to start the 2nd half and converts a turnover into a layup to open up a 63-47 lead with 13:50 left.  Duluth East would rally to within 2 within 1:50 left and have a chance to tie.  Jobe Juenemann carrying the Duluth East offense in the 2nd half with 5 3s and 2 other buckets.  Definitely a name to watch.  Blocked shot and 4-4 bonus free throws for Big Lake counter a Nyakundi putback for a 3 point play with 10 seconds left.  That gives Duluth East 1 last chance down 3 but they miss a 3 at the buzzer.  Duluth East shoots 12-30 from 3 themselves.  Half of those makes from Juenemann who finished with 19 of his 30 points in the 2nd half.  Isaac Nyakundi adds 20 points for the Greyhounds.  Mitchell Hill with 5 3s and 21 points to lead Big Lake.  Soph Owen Layton off the Hornets bench with 5 3s of his own and 19 points.  Johnathon O'Brien chips in with 15 points.  Its a junior laden Hornets crew who is now 2-3 against a tough schedule. 

Czar Insights
For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  

Back to where college hoops began

Prologue
Its night 2 at the Hutton Holiday Classic.  Always fun to be at Hutton Arena at Hamline and good to see holiday hoops back there.  Only 1 game instead the planned 2 but an interesting game it is.  Bloomington Jefferson taking on Milwaukee Carmen NW.   Carmen NW picked to win the small schools division of the Milwaukee City Conference.  Soph Dupree Fletcher leads a very young Carmen squad to take on Daniel Freitag and the Jags.  35 second shot clock in use tonight but the refs didn't know that so we have some immediate confusion.  Was also confusing to see it reset to 20 on an offensive rebound.  That's one of those minor details that I'm sure will be fun once we start using it for the 2023-24 season.  My holiday gift to everyone is that I'll spare you a bunch of bad Where in the World is Carmen San Diego jokes and pick something more sophisticated for tonight's music.

Song of the Day: Carmen (the opera) - Georges Bizet

Game Time
Daniel Freitag gets off to a nice start for Jefferson.  He has a stretch of 8 straight Jags points as Jefferson takes a 13-7 lead.  Blake Mamalakis with a triple and another Freitag hoop to stretch the lead to 22-9. That's right after Dupree Fletcher picks up his 3rd foul of the half.  Jags go the break up 31-20.

Fletcher wastes no time getting his game going in the 2nd half.  He puts back a miss, makes 2 free throws and buries a straight away 3.  He'll add a 3 point play for good measure as Carmen pulls to within 43-42.  Freitag with a 3 to stop that momentum.  Then Hayden Holland with 9 straight Jags points including a pair of his own triples to push the lead back to double figures.

Jefferson appears ready to close it out but they turn it over 3 straight times.  The last one converted into a bucket.  Then its Fletcher with a kickout assist for a 3 and we're tied at 62 with 1:59 to play.  Out of a Jags timeout its Holland with a clutch triple for the lead.  Fletcher counters with a bucket.  Fletcher with a 3, Jags timeout with 13 seconds left up 3.  Fletcher then steals in the inbounds and gets a timeout with 10.9 left.  Carmen has a chance to tie but their 3 is no good.  Clock confusion as it doesn't start right away but it won't matter.  Freitag seals it with 2 free throws.  That's 8 of 8 free tosses for Jefferson in the last 1:09.  Jefferson wins 75-70.

Post Game
Bloomington Jefferson has now won 4 in a row after we did their season opening tight loss to Rosemount.  That 4-1 record includes solid wins at Farmington and Duluth East along with this one.  Daniel Freitag with 25 points and 9 rebounds (give or take on the rebounds) to lead the Jags.  Blake Mamalakis with 5 triples in a breakout game comes up big with 19 points. Hayden Holland finishes with 22 points, 18 of them in a terrific second half.  3 triples in there including the tiebreaker with 1:42 left.  It was fun to see them run their White Set against Carmen's 1-3-1 a few times.  Carmen got out of the 1-3-1 with about 8 minutes to go after having some 2nd half success with it.  Surprised me that they never came back to it, especially with the shot clock in use.  Jefferson is off until the new year when they open Metro West play at Waconia.  Dupree Fletcher with 21 of his 23 in the second half to lead Carmen NW.  They are now 4-3 on the season which includes yesterday's win over Fridley.

Czar Insights
For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.   Jefferson 10-22 from the 3 point line was the major difference here.

Let the holiday spirit return

Prologue
I kick my holiday season of 22 games into full gear with a triple header.  First its an afternoon matinee for northside pride.  Then off to St. Paul for day 1 of the Harding tourney in the night session.  Nothing like my first game purchased Pepsi of the season.  Expiration date 11/15/21.  Thank you COVID.  But I'm still here to tell you about it so that can't be all bad.

Game 1: #1AA Minneapolis North 82 Minneapolis Henry 53
While the final score isn't necessarily a surprise, how we got there definitely was.  North couldn't get any offense going in the first 11 minutes. Meanwhile Ajani McCrae buries 4 triples and don't look now but Henry is up 10.  They'll keep that lead at 29-22 at the 3:20 mark.  North decides to pound the ball inside to Gani Stevens.  That leads to a 13-2 run to end the half with 5 Henry turnovers helping that run.  35-31 North at the break.  The lead remains 4 with  10:25 left before North runs away and hides with a 27-3 run.  Again its Stevens dominating the low post and 6 turnovers that the Polars turn into points.  North dominates the offensive glass with 31 offensive boards and they force 34 turnovers.  3 point shooting still dicey though (more on that later).  Henry didn't help themselves by missing 17 of 25 free throws.  Demeiko Anderson 21 points to lead North, Stevens adds 17.  McCrae finishes with 15 for Henry.

Game 2: St. Paul Academy 93 St. Paul Washington 33
This is a section 4AA matchup and it was over quickly.  SPA up 4-2 before they go off on a 33-0 run.  Washington with a listless performance and that's being nice.  62 to 12 on points in the paint, 34 turnovers.  Just basic ball pressure out of the SPA 2-3 zone forced turnovers on entry passes.  Nobody stopping drives the rim or giving help.  Looked like a bad youth game and layup drill.  Brandt Baskerville took advantage of that for 30 points , 4 3s included.  24 of those in the first half before sitting the last 12+ minutes.  Clarke Baskerville 15 points.  Soph wing Ethan Carter 17 points.  Carter is part of a nice youth trio that SPA has coming up.

Game 3: Hope Academy 83 St. Paul Harding 54
Harding able to gain an early 7-2 lead before giving up a 25-2 run.  Robert Htoo keeping Harding close with 3 late buckets.  Hope by 11 at the half.  But Hope's guard play too much. Elijah Wade with a couple buckets in a 12-2 run that pushes the lead over 20 and its garbage time from there.  Wade finishes with 29 points and 3 triples.  The other big threat in the Hope backcourt, Jordan Brown, goes for 7 triples and 27 points.  Harding playing a ton of players as they rebuild.  That includes a freshman point guard which can make for some growing pains.

Czar Insights
For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  

Bad 3 point shooting was a theme of the day.

• Minneapolis North 4-30 
• Note that North was also 0-18 vs Minnehaha and 6-18 vs Chicago Simeon.  Keep an eye on this as the season goes on.
• St. Paul Washington 3-26
• St. Paul Harding 4-20

Big runs in the games too.  

• North had a 27-3 run. 
  St Paul Academy had a 33-0 run. 
  Hope Academy had a 25-2 run.

 

It came upon the stormy night

Prologue
Continuing my video look around the metro, let's take in a section 2AAAA seeding battle between Chanhassen and Prior Lake.  Also a chance to get a look at Malcolm Jones of Prior Lake.  Small crowd on hand during this holiday week.  But with this game, it did not come upon the midnight clear.  It was a Storm(y) night.

Game Time
Malcolm Jones picks up his 2nd foul midway thru the half and has to sit.  But they'll play offense/defense with him to get him some of those lost minutes.  A late 10-0 Prior Lake run comes from a 3 point play from Kyle Haas, a layup off a turnover and a corner triple.  34-20 Prior Lake at the half.

Chanhassen storms out of halftime on a 21-6 run.  Eli Sweeney and Braden Barger leading that run.  That run puts Chan on top 41-40.  Haas 2 more buckets and a pair of Jones free throws put Prior Lake back on top 50-45 with 5:01 left.  That lead is 6 with 3:27 left.  Chan converts 2 out of 3 late Lakers turnovers into points.  Soph PG Max Woods lays one in and then takes a handoff and buries a 3 after another.  He'll add a driving layup for a late lead.  

After Prior Lake makes 1 of 2 free throws with 45.4 left, Chanhassen looks to hold.  After a pair of time outs, they get a 5 second call with 7.5 left to give Prior Lake 1 last chance.  That chance is no good.  So its only fitting that with Jeremy Johnson on the Chan staff that our running twitter joke of FREE basketball occurs.  54 all as we go to the extra no cost session.

Prior Lake misses 4 free throws on the first 3 trips of the overtime.  Jaxon McDonald buries a 3 to put Chan ahead.  Prior Lake decides to stop messing around and throw the ball to Jones inside.  He goes with a man level 3 point play and then rejects a shot on the other end.  All tied at 59.  Prior Lake turns it over on the rejection and its Sweeney going to the spin cycle for a bucket and the foul.  Another missed Prior Lake chance.  Chanhassen makes 5 of 6 charity tosses late but the miss does give the Lakers a chance down 2 with 8.3 left.  Prior Lake drives and no good.  Barger finishes it with 2 free throws and 0.8 left.  Chanhassen wins 66-62 in overtime.

Post Game
Prior Lake falls to 1-4 overall.  Malcolm Jones leads the Lakers with 19 points and close to double digit rebounds.  Kellan Miller adds 10 points.  Jones very effective when he got post touches.  But I was surprised there wasn't more emphasis on that.  They had 5 of their 12 missed free throws in the overtime.  Combine that with 8-29 shooting and offense was hard to come by after halftime.  Quick turnaround for Prior Lake with Apple Valley coming in for the back to back conference opener. 

Chanhassen improves to 2-1.  They too get the quick turnaround with a trip to Buffalo for a back to back.  Eli Sweeney leads the Storm with 15 points. Junior wing Braden Barger and guard Jaxon McDonald each add 12.  Soph PG Max Woods with 7 of his 9 late in regulation to help bring Chanhassen back.  They were down as much as 14 in the first half after cold shooting (7-24) but heated up in the 2nd half

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights. Chanhassen only goes for .83 PPP and still wins.  Both teams under 40% FG and barely broke 40% in the EFG category.

2021 Big 12 Classic Thoughts

Its another year of the Big 12 Classic.  This year we visit Totino-Grace for 7 quality games on the schedule.  Impressive restraint holds me to only 2 cans of Pepsi on the day.  Good crowd for the big late games.

Game 1: Edina 85 #5AAAA East Ridge 73
There are few offenses more fun to watch than Edina's.  Great concepts (e.g throw back and face cut a switch).  They put up a staggering 65.3% EFG in this one.  Soph Kole Hanson another nice game with 5 triples and 27 points to lead Edina.  Gabe Jobe adds 21 of his 23 in the 2nd half.  Kendall Blue with 23 of his 33 points in the 2nd half to keep East Ridge close.  Edina couldn't keep him away from the rim.  Alex Mattes adds 15 of his 19 (4 triples on the day) in the second half as well for East Ridge.  Edina pays a heavy price for the win though as guard Sammy Presthus tore an Achilles early in the 2nd half.

Game 2: #3AAA South St. Paul 83 Waconia 71
Expect SSP to keep this game in the back of their minds for March preparation. Former DLS assistant Dan Rubischko now running the Waconia program so a ton of those DLS ideas in effect.  DLS and SSP expected to be the section 3AAA championship game.  Waconia would hang around as SSP isn't much of a threat defensively if you don't turn it over.  But too much Devin Newsome and Alonzo Dodd getting to the rim.  Dodd leads SSP with 25 points.  Newsome explosive off the bounce for 24 points. Noah Bonick leads 3 Wildcats in double figures with 21 points.

Game 3: Byron 84 #2B Enderlin (ND) 68
Colorado commit Joe Hurlburt leading a huge Enderlin lineup that goes 6'10, 6'10, 6'6 on the front line.  But it was the Byron 3-2 zone that keep that big lineup mostly out of the paint.  Even without Ahjany Lee (the intended reason for this game), Byron's toughness was just too much.  They had all 5 starters in double figures.  Hurlburt and big wing Carson Bartholomay each knock down 5 3s in the game on their way to 23 and 24 points respectively. Enderlin would cut the Byron lead to 2 with 9:30 left.  But they don't make a field goal for the next 5 minutes.  19-5 Byron run as they're getting everything inside with great patience and ball movement.  No Czar Insights for this one

Game 4: #7AAAA Hopkins 69 Osseo 66
Osseo would play from behind for the entire game but they made it interesting as they cut the lead to 1 late.  CJ O'Hara another solid game with 17 points to lead Hopkins.  Elvis Nnaji got more post touches and finished with 16 points.  The bench also productive with 8th grader Jayden Moore scoring 11 points along with 12 from Josh Hoffman.  Big story of the game was Osseo guard Tyriece Waits.  Waits goes off for 20 of his 34 points in the 2nd half. 3 triples, 7 free throws and numerous rim attacks.

Game 5: #8AAAA Lakeville North 68 Minneapolis South 50
Lakeville North still using the Syracuse/Merrimack style 2-3 zone.  That keeps South out of their pick and roll game with their guards.  North goes on a 17-0 run in the 2nd half as they hold South without a field goal for about 8 minutes.  Nolan Winter another solid outing of 22 points.  Summer breakout guy JT Thornton adds 16 for Lakeville North.  Poet Davis with 4 3s and 15 points off the bench to lead South.

Game 6: #3AAAA Wayzata 59 #4AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall 50
This is a rematch of last season's class AAAA championship game.  Carter Bjerke carrying the Wayzata offense with 13 points in the first half as Wayzata built a 7 point halftime lead.  Hayden Tibbits 12 critical 2nd half points to keep that lead.  That overcomes 5 triples and 17 2nd half points from Donavhan Cain.  Tre Holloman cold day shooting (4-20) and 9 points.  CDH not finding any other offense as they shoot 30% for the game.  Bjerke leads Wayzata with 16 points.  Cain leads CDH with 19 points.

Game 7: #1AAA Totino-Grace 61 #2AAA DeLaSalle 58
Third game in 3 days for Totino-Grace and this one is after a return trip from Sioux Falls.  DLS largely controlled this one.  TG takes time down 24-11 at the 6:26 mark of the first half.  Demarion Watson with 2 3s to start the 2nd half and put TG up 34-33.  Cash Chavis 3 buckets and 5 FTs as DLS keeps the lead.  51-46 Islanders as the start the stretch run.  TG with a late run to take over.  Taison Chatman with a tough corner 3 to tie. And 1 with the free throw missed but Demarion Watson puts that back.  Watson then adds a dunk and all of a sudden TG is up 59-53 with 2:20 left.  TG leaves 4 points at the line but DLS misses a late heave to allow TG to steal one.  TG really unable to take advantage of their huge size.  Demarion Watson did come up huge late protecting the rim and with the man level putback late.  8 combined points from Ahjany Lee and Patrick Bath with nothing really in post ups is a difficult recipe.  Taison Chatman showing his elite scoring ability with 18 points to lead TG.  Another quality game from soph Cash Chavis with 21 points to lead DeLaSalle.  Kyle Johnson with 14 points including a clutch late 3 off the Islanders bench.

Czar Insights

An IMAC Grinder

Prologue
Taking our chances again with the NFHS setup its an IMAC matchup on my schedule.  Undefeated St. Paul Academy taking on Providence Academy.  Providence playing without guard Liam Carney in their lineup.  Big loss for the Lions.

Game Time
Jimmy Fafinski taking care of his points and those of Carney as well.  He scores the 1st 11 Providence points. Lions jump out to an 11-2 lead at the 13:19 mark of the first half.  SPA claws back to within 5 thanks to a Clarke Baskerville triple.  Providence with a 9-0 run including a Fafinski bomb to push the lead to 24-10 at the 8:10 mark.  SPA stays with a 2-3 zone that showed some success and it holds Providence to 3 FG the rest of the half, but 2 were putbacks.  Spartans within 30-21 at the half.

Mark McCarthy 2 buckets and 2 FTs for Providence as they keep the lead around the 10 mark.  Brandt Baskerville with a 3 at the 6 minute mark and SPA is hanging around down only 8.  McCarthy with a dangerous foul line jumper with 2:20 left to keep the lead at 10.  Fafinski closes it out with a 3 point play and a tip dunk off a turnover.  Providence wins 62-50.

Post Game
St. Paul Academy falls to 4-1 overall, 1-1 in the IMAC.  They play in the St. Paul Harding tourney next week where I may see them again.  Brandt Baskerville and Tysen Hayes with 14 points each to lead the offense.  Not much offensive firepower so expect them to grind games out with a slow pace.

Providence improves to 2-3 overall, 2-0 in the IMAC.  Jimmy Fafinski too much to handle with 33 points.  4 triples plus attacking the glass off the bounce or getting offensive boards.  Forward Mark McCarthy adds 12 of his 19 in the second half.  They're also limited on offense with Carney out of the lineup (27 points in the 1 game he played).  But McCarthy and Fafinski showed they can fill in.  They'll have to as only 2 other players scored for the Lions.  Providence travels to Dassel-Cokato on Tuesday for their last game before the holidays.

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  Just not enough offense for SPA.

Another Bears and Ponies Classic

Prologue
Its another night of video. This time I take in a must see game of Stillwater at White Bear Lake.  This was a classic last year.  Plus you have 2 of the state's best juniors, Max Shikenjanski and Jack Janicki going at it.  The sad part of doing video is missing out on the fantastic Donatelli's pizza and the WBL pep band. The good news is that it saves me a forever trip home.  Best part of the night was The Horn announcers butchering but being able to fix the pronounciation of Shikenjanski.

Song of the Day: In A Gadda Da Vita - Iron Butterfly

Game Time
White Bear Lake going after Shikenjanski early on his touches.  That holds him without a field goal until the 11:40 mark.  That cuts the Bears lead to 12-9.  Jack Misgen with a pair of triples and 10 points before he picks up a 2nd foul.  Shikenjanski carries the Stillwater offense as expected for the rest of the half.  Janicki and Shikenjanski trade 3s in the last 10 seconds of the half.  30-26 White Bear Lake at the break.

Drew Johnson 3 quick 3s for Stillwater as they start to see shots go in.  Shikenjanski flares off the spin action in the Princeton point series for a triple in there too.  Stillwater takes their 1st lead in forever 40-38 with 12:30 left.  Shikenjanski free throw and an assist cancelled out by a tough Janicki 3.  45 all with 8:50 left.  Janicki with a tip in off a turnover.  Misgen another hoop for a 53-49 WBL lead with about 4 minutes left.

Shikenjanski straight away for 3.  Then he'll convert a turnover for 2 more.  54-53 Stillwater back on top with 3:10 left.  Janicki counters with a tough finish.  Shikenjanski with Tanner Thomson for a bucket.  Janicki to a cutting Misgen for 2 and the foul with 1:34 left.  The free throw is no good.  Shikenjanski with the long pass to a sreaking Thomson for 1 of 2 FTs to tie the game with 90 ticks left.

White Bear Lake turnover and who else but Shikenjanski to convert it with 1:05 to play.  59-57 Ponies on top. White Bear Lake misses a 3 but is fouled on the rebound with 33.8 left to keep it.  Janicki fouled and makes the 1st of 2.  Misses the 2nd, Bears get it back and miss a 3.  Stillwater gets the rebound with 14 seconds left.  White Bear Lake has to foul but they aren't in the bonus.  Stillwater uses a timeout for the inbounds but Janicki steals that.  Timeout WBL with 11.9 to play.  Stillwater gives their 1 foul to give with 7.6 left.  WBL inbounds and mishandles it.  Jump ball to Stillwater with 3.6 left.  They miss the front end but no timeouts left for White Bear Lake.  Heave is no good. Stillwater wins 59-58

Post Game
White Bear Lake falls to 3-2 overall, 1-1 in the Suburban East.  Jack Janicki with 16 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the Bears.  Jack Misgen 10 of his 16 in the first half. He also had to chase Shikenjanski around most of the night.  Nice night from forward Wyatt Hawks with 10 points. Its a junior laden rotation with only 1 senior so a 2 year process here for new coach Greg Burke.  The Bears have another rivalry game at Mahtomedi on Saturday plus a home game with Anoka next week before the holidays.

Stillwater improves to 2-2 overall, 1-1in the Suburban East.  Max Shikenjanski leads the Ponies with 25 points and 4 triples.  Drew Johnson clutch early in the 2nd half with 3 of his 4 triples.  He finishes with 14 points.  Always fun to watch the Princeton Point Series.  They'll even post Shikenjanski a little bit out of it.  The high flare screen after starting down hill off the spin entry is a bear to defend too.  The Ponies get North St. Paul on Saturday before taking their turn at Mahtomedi on Tuesday.

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  In a tight game like this, its the little things that matter.  Stillwater wins the points off of turnovers big despite the actual turnover numbers being close.  Stillwater also more productive putting back the misses they were able to grab.  White Bear Lake had the lead for most of the game and Stillwater never had a lead bigger than 3 but got it done anyway.

Falcons fly by the Rebels

Prologue
No better production than the CCX folks in the northwest metro.  Let's take in their telecast of Robbinsdale Armstrong at Champlin Park in a NW Suburban opener.  New head coach Aaron Kloeppner not available for Champlin Park tonight.  He'll have to wait for his coaching debut.  Armstrong meanwhile is in game 3 of their schedule so no opening night jitters for them.

Game Time
Armstrong goes 1-2-2 press to start and that immediately pays off with a couple of steals for points.  We're even midway thru the first half when the scoreboard goes out.  Then after some play, we have a discussion and 2 points some how come off the scoreboard for Armstrong.  Never got fixed, play on.  Ayo Taki concludes his strong first half with a pair of free throws for Champlin Park.  Lorenzo Andrews great bench energy for Champlin Park with 6 late points.  That run puts Champlin Park up 39-32 at the break.

A pair of free throws see Champlin Park extend that lead to 53-41 with 12:23 left.  Armstrong has their own bench spark.  Its soph Langden College scoring 4 of the next 5 Falcons buckets.  Nice job finding him out of the dunkers spot for layups.  The turnovers starting to mount for Champlin.  Peyton Newburn and Seth Newburn each convert those into buckets during an 11-0 run that allows Armstrong to reclaim the lead.  64-59 Falcons with 3:29 left.  Both Newberns finishing turnovers and getting to the rim at will.  A nice elbow iso set used for some of that and to find College for the layups.  The Rebels are out of gas.  Armstrong wins 75-68.

Post Game
Champlin Park starts the season 0-1 overall and in the NW Suburban.  Ayo Taki with 15 of his 24 points in the first half.  He had 5 triples on the night.  Very productive game for the senior wing.  Luke Graff 3 triples and 11 points.  Lorenzo Andrews nice bench minutes with 8 of his 10 points in the first half.  Champlin Park with only 2 FGs in the last 11 minutes until a game ending 3. 11 of their 27 turnovers in that stretch.  It doesn't get any easier with a trip to Totino-Grace on Thursday and then a home game with Wayzata heading into the holidays.

Armstrong is now 2-1 overall, 1-0 in the NW Suburban.  They played without center Payton Mogire due to illness.  Peyton Newbern leads all scorers with 25 points.  19 points for Seth Newbern.  Not afraid to put their bodies in and take charges or attack the rim.  Owen Skram adds 15 with all 3 Armstrong triples.  Falcons only 3-15 from 3 on the night.  Their 2-2-1 and 1-2-2 3/4 presses were the difference as they forced 27 turnovers for 34 points.  They go into the holidays with home games against Coon Rapids and Minnetonka on Thursday and Saturday this week.

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights. Czar's law violation with exception once again tonight.  Champlin Park shot it well but couldn't take care of it.  54-20 points in the paint as well for Armstrong.

 

Hylanders tame the Mustangs

Prologue
Its a quality game for a Monday night with Maranatha visiting #5AAA Columbia Heights.  Should be a fun matchup of athletic teams that want to get up and down.  Time to make use of that NFHS subscription and take the chance that it works.  Cheadle getting back to back metro duty with the whistle in this one.

Game Time
We get pregame technicals for dunking so Maranatha is up 4-0 before they win the opening tip.  Muja Burton starting his night off strong with a pair of putbacks for Heights.  Maranatha clinging to a 12-11 lead early.  All Columbia Heights after that.  Terrence Brown 8 straight points and Burton adds his first triple of the night.  19-15 Heights as MCA takes a timeout.  Burton 2 more stickbacks.  Turnovers mounting for Maranatha. Heights stretches the lead to 50-32 at the break.  Burton with 4 triples in the 2nd half to make sure there's no resistance.  The lead almost gets to running time but not quite.  Columbia Heights rolls to a 103-74 victory.  Very strange game for Heights with 2 technicals for pregame dunking and 2 more techs for guys not in the book.

Post Game
Maranatha falls to 1-3 with their 3rd straight loss.  But its been a tough schedule with the other 2 losses to Holy Family and SW Christian by a combined 10 points.  Bailey McDonald leads the Mustangs with 26 points.  He hit 3 triples on the night.  Jeremiah La Velle adds 15.  Quick turnaround for their Skyline opener at Cristo Rey.  Then 2 non-conference games at home vs St. Paul opponents (Como Park and Twin Cities Academy) going into the holidays.  They start the new year with a big league home game vs New Life on January 4th.

Columbia Heights is now 2-0 on the season.  They get a week off before hosting Minneapolis Southwest.  Muja Burton with a monster night.  20 of his 36 points coming in the first half.  4 triples and just as many offensive rebound putbacks.  Guard Terrence Brown with a solid outing of 23 points despite leaving some freebies at the charity stripe.  Lots of difference zone type looks from Heights.  1-3-1 type thing, 2-3 and a 3-1-1 halfcourt trap that they used once and got beat on.  My kind of game.

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  Only 6-29 from 3 for the Mustangs compared to 10-21 for Heights. Add in the turnover edge and its blowout city.

 

2021 Breakdown Tipoff Classic Thoughts

So back to the big events with 2021 Breakdown Tipoff Classic returning to the schedule.  We did lose 1 game on the schedule with the Cretin-Derham Hall vs Totino-Grace game being called off.  But overall we had 7 games on the main court.  Here are some thoughts on the games I saw.

Game 1: #6AAAA Eastview 85 Maple Grove 68
Maple Grove would jump out to a 14-7 lead after 6+ minutes of this one.  That's without their top guard Jon Haakenson.  Dylan Omweno provides a spark off the Eastview bench and its all Lightning from there.  An 18-2 run puts Eastview up for good.  49-23 at the break and they cruise from there.  Kenji Scales leads the Lightning with 19 points.  Jamal Ambrose with 14 points and 4 triples in the matchup vs Lincoln Palbicki.  Kayser Hassan continues his breakout season with 14 points.  Dylan Omweno with an energetic 13 points off the bench.  Lefty Ashton Keomysy with 21 points to carry the Maple Grove offense.  Eastview so good and versatile on offense.  Very fun to watch. 

Game 2: #4AAAA Shakopee 87 Minnetonka 79
High powered offense in this one with lots of guard scoring and not much interior play.  Ibo El-Amin picked up a 2nd half technical for his 4th foul that looked like it might allow Shakopee to pull away but it didn't.  Shakopee with an uncharacteristic 17 first half turnovers.  That allowed Tonka to take a 39-37 halftime lead.  The point guards were the story in this one.  Cade McGraw with 27 points for Shakopee to lead all scorers.  That's despite having a splint on his left thumb which forced him to reverse finish everything at the rim with his right hand.  Soph Andy Stefonowicz tried to match him with 15 2nd half points including a couple of deep triples that kept Tonka close.  He finished with 2 2points to lead Minnetonka.  Yonis Mohamud and Nick Katona each with 18 points for Shakopee.  Ibo El-Amin and Jalen Cain both with 18 for Minnetonka.  Shakopee with 12 second chance points in the 2nd half.  That included a couple of those putbacks late to stretch out a 2 point lead to 8.
 
Game 3: Minneapolis South 61 #2AAA De La Salle 58
Most entertaining game of the day here with Minnesota Spartans teammates going at each other.  Nasir Whitlock and Randy McClendon come off the DLS bench in this one but I'm not counting that as they almost immediately come in.  D would use a 14-0 run including a McClendon 4 point play to open up a 1st half double digit lead.  In the 2nd half they couldn't keep the quick South guards off the foul line.  The Tigers had 5 2nd half FGs and 17 of 19 FTs going into the final couple of plays.  

DLS with a 5 point lead with 4:37 left. 2 of those free throws and a putback cut the margin to 1 with 2:56 left.  Then star guard Jerome Williams fouls out with 2:10 left.  De'Mari Larkins 2 FTs for a South 56-55 lead with 1:58 lead after a DLS turnover.  Cash Chavis counters with a 3 for DLS with 1:35 left.  Chiang Ring tips in a miss with 40 seconds left to tie it.  Jump ball to De La Salle with 5.5 left and off the inbound they get an easy look at a wide open 3 that's no good.  Its out of bounds to South with 1.4 left full court.  Larkins will inbound and get it back for a heave from the top of the opposite key and ITS GOOD!!  WOW!  Jerome Williams leads South with 20 points, 13 of 15 FTs.  Chiang Ring 14, De'Mari Larkins 12.  Randy McClendon 14, Cash Chavis with 10 for De La Salle.  Amir Everett 9 pts in solid bench minutes.  In addition to the win at the charity stripe, 30 to 14 points in the paint with Ring controlling the paint for South.

Game 4: #8AAAA Lakeville North 56 #10AAAA Park 43
No Pharrel Payne or Jamari Walker for Park in this one.  Lakeville North saw the return of Nolan Winter to the lineup.  His 24 points on the day, too much for Park to deal with when their size was out of the lineup.  Biggest story of the day though was the 2-3 zone that Lakeville North employed.  I've seen them go 1-2-2 over the years but coach Oxton is an old school man to man guy. That defense held Park to 4 first half field goals for a 25-13 Lakeville North lead.  Evan Bearth with a couple late 3s but Winter diffuses that with a couple buckets and a couple of free throws.  Park never really threatens.  Brayden Fick with 11 of his 16 points in the first half for Park.

Game 5: #5AAAA East Ridge 70 #7AAAA Hopkins 67
Fun battle of talented wing players in this one.  Kendall Blue and CJ O'Hara had themselves a fun back and forth.  O'Hara kept Hopkins close with 16 of his game high 25 points in the 2nd half to keep Hopkins close.  Blue would answer with 17 of his 22 in the second half.  Both players getting to the rim with a nasty dunk each but also knocked down a pair of 3s.  Alex Mattes adds 21 points for East Ridge. Max Wilson with 16 for Hopkins.  I'll be interested to watch the Hopkins offense this season.  Lots of excessive dribbling in this one and that's not the Ken Novak way.  Expect that to be cleaned up along with getting Elvis Nnaji more involved.  He had only 5 points but also spent time guarding Kendall Blue.

Game 6: #3AA Minneapolis North 84 #1AA Minnehaha 81
Biggest crowd of the day for this one.  Minnehaha turns it over 20 times for 20 points in the first 35 possessions of the game.  Looks like they're going to be run out of the building.  North's 1-2-2 3/4 press making it difficult to even get the ball across half court.  Minnehaha ends the game with 35 turnovers to lose the points off turnovers 33-12.  But they hang around by hammering the offensive board (17-6 2nd chance pts advantage).  Minneapolis North leaves a ton of points out there by going 16-37 at the charity stripe.  That include 7 late misses that gave Minnehaha a chance.  Prince Aligbe with 27 points to lead Minnehaha as he was a force inside.  Mercy Miller adds 22, 17 in the first half.  I was surprised how quiet he was late.  Willie Wilson leads 4 North starters in double figures with 21 points.  The Polar 1-2-2 press was fearsome and will be a nightmare in Minneapolis City play.

Game 7: #2AAAA Park Center 66 #1AAAA Wayzata 62
Bragging rights in AAAA also at stake with the top 2 teams in the polls going at it in this one.  Braeden Carrington and Carter Bjerke both pick up their 2nd foul midway thru the first half.  Bjerke sits the rest of the half while Carrington only gets a brief rest.  Wayzata able to extend their lead to 30-21 at the break.  The teams trade buckets to start the 2nd half before Park Center goes on a 14-0 run while Wayzata is mired in a stretch of 11 trips without a basket.  37-32 Pirates ahead as they take time with 12:06 left.  

Wayzata responds out of that timeout with a 10-2 run.  Hayden Tibbits ends that with a layup with 8 minutes left, 42-39 Trojans.  Leo Torbor with a triple and 3 FTs in a 11-2 run that allows the Pirates to break out of a tie game.  4 missed chances at the line late help Wayzata rally back to 1 possession.  But Torbor makes 1 of 2 free throws to seal the victory. 

Park Center only 8-25 from 3 but they held Wayzata to only 15 attempts from 3 with their defense.  Love the improvement of James Spencer inside for Park Center.  He's a guy they can go to in the post from time to time.  Not needed for this team with their firepower, but not sure it was expected either.  Carter Bjerke played far more in the post than I expected.  Probably a case of all of us talking about his top notch shooting and forgetting he can play inside too.

Bjerke leads Wayzata with 15 points.  Spencer Hall with 3 triples and 14 points for the Trojans.  Myles Barnette with a nice night off the bench with 12 points.  Park Center gets no points from their bench.  Leo Torbor 18 points to lead the Pirates.  Ayouba Berthe 15, Cody Pennebaker 13, Braeden Carrington 11.

Czar's All Tipoff Classic Team
Prince Aligbe -Minnehaha
Kendall Blue - East Ridge
Cade McGraw - Shakopee
CJ O'Hara - Hopkins
Nolan Winter - Lakeville North

Czar Insights
For details on exactly what the values in the charts mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  

No need for the Irish to be lucky

Prologue
Only 4 games on the local schedule.  So let's take a break and get some live video work in for tonight's session of Rosemount at Bloomington Jefferson.  The Man of Many Hats leading tonight's officiating crew.  I think I'm screwing up that nickname, apologies to my fellow Wisconsin native.  Video means its the Czar over the stove for food.  That's probably more entertaining than me trying to stay awake watching Jefferson.  Just kidding Jefferson fans, had to find a way to work that in. 

Song of the Day: Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue

Food And Beverage Counter:
Hot Dogs: 2
Sausage Pizza: 1
Coke: 48.9 oz (boo)
Pepsi: 0 oz (hooray!)
A&W Root Beer: 12 oz - 160 calories
Home Cooking: 1

Game Time
Rosemount turns it over on their first 2 trips.  Jefferson hits 3 triples and scores on their first 4 trips.  Now I'm fully awake as Jefferson jumps out to an 11-1 lead. The Jags wouldn't score that many points the rest of the half.  13-4 after 6 trips.  But Rosemount's defense clamps down allowing only 1 basket in 19 possessions.  The Irish go off on a 27-4 run to take a double digit lead.  Caleb Siwek sits the last 4:18 with 2 fouls but Jefferson can't make a run.  That lead ends up being 30-21 at the break.

A Siwek bucket with under 10 minutes left keeps the lead at 46-34. But after a very quiet first half, Daniel Freitag comes to life.  2 free throws, a strip of Siwek that leads to him hitting a 3 and then he'll add another bucket.  CashaunScott-Kobold with a straight away 3 and that cuts the lead to 6.  Then a technical foul on Rosemount after a turnover.  But the Jags only make 1 FT and turn it over on the possession. Then they miss a layup on the next trip.  Siwek 2 freebies countered by Hayden Holland grabbing his own missed 3 and putting it back.  52-49 Rosemount clinging to the lead.

Down the stretch we come and its a set play for a clutch Anish Ramlall triple with 3:15 left.  Freitag puts back a miss. After Ramlall makes bonus free throws, its Freitag for 2 and the foul.  Jefferson makes 2 free throws after a Rosemount turnover and then Rosemount misses a layup. Jefferson ball out of a timeout with 44.4 left down 3.  They run clock and don't get any offense. Another Jags timeout with 20.2 seconds left.  Out of the timeout, its a set play flare screen for Freitag.  Ramlall does a fantastic job fighting over the top of it and the pass isn't there.  Totally blew the play up.  Jefferson in scramble mode. Heave goes out with 0.1 left.  Jags won't be able to tie on the inbound.  Rosemount wins 59-56.

Post Game
Bloomington Jefferson starts their season 0-1.  They are away from home for the rest of the month.  They'll visit Farmington on Saturday.  Soph star Daniel Freitag leads Jefferson with 14 of his 17 points in the second half.  Good set to use him in the post on some weak side duck ins as an attempt to get some easy looks. Hayden Holland with 16 points.  Been interesting to follow his career from playing as a freshman to not seeing much time the last 2 years to being a starting captain now. 

Rosemount improves to 2-0 on the season.  Just like Jefferson they won't be home again until January 6th.  They visit Cooper on Friday.  Then an 11 day break to prepare for the league opener at Shakopee Dec 21st.  Caleb Siwek didn't have a standout night but still topped all scorers with 21 points.  Anish Ramlall with 3 triples and 17 points.  Limited production from the rest of the roster though.  Solid defense getting it done for the Irish

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  The field wins the trifecta as Czar's Law with the usual exception occurs for the 3rd straight night.  Rosemount loses EFG but wins TO% but interestingly enough, not points off turnovers.  Rosemount wins FT Rate and makes 5 more free throws in winning a 3 point game.

The Spiderman Meme Game

Prologue
Off to Benilde St. Margaret's for a season opening game between the #9AAA Red Knights and Mound-Westonka.  Good test for both teams to see where the stand in the always tough grind that is section 6AAA.  Not the mention This is the Spiderman meme game with both teams having Red and White for colors along with both head coaches knowing each other going back to their time with the Gophers.  Small hot dog on the menu along with the beverage delicacy known as A&W.  The Haben Center is yet another gym (see also Spring Lake Park and Cooper in recent years) that has flipped the benches to the other side.  BSM had a nice scorers table but just had a plain setup tonight with the old fashioned card for the possession arrow.  Strange.

Song of the Day: Ode to a Superhero - Weird Al

Food And Beverage Counter:
Hot Dogs: 2
Sausage Pizza: 1
Coke: 48.9 oz (boo)
Pepsi: 0 oz (hooray!)
A&W Root Beer: 12 oz - 160 calories

Game Time
Fantastic start for BSM as they score the 1st 12 points of the game.  Mound-Westonka doesn't get their first field goal until the 9:42 mark.  14-4 BSM at that point.  That's the first 16 trips without a bucket,7 of those resulting in a turnover.  But that bucket breaks the ice for 6 straight trips with a basket. Whitehawks still within striking distance at 22-15. Sam Best with a bucket and triple in an 8-0 BSM run to push the lead right back to 15 at the 4:20 mark and coach Andre Phillips needs another timeout.  Jason Spaeth with a 3 point play for Mound-Westonka to end the scoring for the half.  38-25 Benilde leading at the break.

Frosh Jalen Wilson with a couple quick buckets for BSM before an 9-0 Whitehawks run cuts the lead to 44-38 with 13:39 left.  Now coach Damien Johnson wants a timeout.  Reese Vanderwilt and Jack Eberhart with triples in that run.  Mound turns it over on 6 of their next 7 trips.  Not to mention PG Jake Dallman picks up his 4th foul.  But at 1 point its only 44-40.  Soph Xavier Lumpkin off the bench for BSM with 5 in a row off of turnovers and the lead is back to 56-43 with over 7 minutes left.  David Ijadimbola with a layup and then slams home a turnover to keep the lead at 64-51 with 5 minutes left.  Eberhart goes up and gets called for a charge with 2:45 left and comes down awfully hard and bloodied.  Hope he's OK.  BSM never in danger down the stretch.  They win 77-65.

Post Game
Mound-Westonka starts the season 0-1.  They host St. Croix Lutheran on Friday.  Then a big home rivalry game vs Orono next Tuesday.  That's another game with potentially large section section seeding implications.  Max Swanson terrific inside for the Whitehawks.  He leads all scorers with 25 points, 21 of them in the 2nd half.  Nice finishes inside out of the dribble drive offense. Good feet and the ability to go the other side of the rim and score that way for the big man.  Reese Vanderwilt adds 13.  Their extended 2-3 zone did show some promise.  Also enjoyed how they share the ball.  They shot 14/21 (66.7%) in the 2nd half mostly thanks to Swanson's layups.

Benilde-St. Margaret's starts the season 1-0.  They have a matchup of former Eden Prairie assistants when they visit North St. Paul on Thursday.  Then a big showdown on Saturday in the Southside Showcase against #4 D2 La Crosse Central (WI).  Daniel Ijadimbola with 12 of his 19 in the second half to lead the Red Knights.  Ryan Warren adds 16, Sam Best 11 of his 15 in the 1st half.  Best with 3 triples on the night. Ijadimbola and Warren with 2 bombs each.  They really got into the ball on defense and made it hard on Mound-Westonka to get into their offense.

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights. Just like we saw yesterday, another turnover battle takes care of the game and overcomes a loss of EFG. Mound-Westonka wins EFG and FT Rate but gets beat on the offensive glass and the 21-4 margin in points off of turnovers.  The Whitehawks got 12 turnovers but couldn't convert them.  They also were a bit fortunate to only give up 21 points on 25 turnovers.  29 to 11 margin on the hustle board too.

The EMAC gets it started

Prologue
The opening Monday of the season means its just another EMAC Monday.  Who cares about the cold we'll still watch it in person.  We start it off with a bang as 2 heavyweights get together.  Hiawatha visiting Avail in what initially appears on paper to be Hiawatha's toughest league test of the year.  Both teams really like to get up and down so this one shouldn't be boring.  Nothing like seeing a dad call his kid over to the sideline during a free throw and then have him over while the rest of the team is huddling during halftime.  Like what in the world are we doing?

Song of the Day: Manic Monday - Bangles

Food And Beverage Counter:
Hot Dogs: 1
Sausage Pizza: 1
Coke: 48.9 oz (boo)
Pepsi: 0 oz (hooray!)

Game Time
Hiawatha opens up an 8 point lead midway thru the first half.  As expected, the pace is quick. Avail scoring when they don't turn it over but those turnovers are a major problem (SPOILER ALERT).  They score on 7 out of 9 trips to knock out some of that margin.  Then they score on 7 of their last 10 trips.  Josiah Loge with 2 layups and a pair of freebies in the last couple minutes of the half.  FEAR THE RHINO as Avail jumps in front 43-41 at the half.

Romelle Bell decides to go beast mode for Hiawatha in the 2nd half.  He has 3 buckets and 5 offensive boards before you can blink.  Then Avail turns it over on 7 out of 9 trips.  Bell 3 more inside buckets.  MD Daud with a 3 and a bucket.  Jessye Lewis rejoins the fun with a bucket after a strong first half.  77-55 Hiawatha as we go under 10 minutes left.

But Avail has a league MVP level of player too.  Josiah Schaap 4 bonus free throws sandwiched around a right wing triple.  He adds 2 more freebies and a bucket and we have a game once again.  Avail is back within 79-70 with 6 minutes left thanks to a 13-0 run.  10 point game with just over 4 minutes left.  Benches chirping all night, particularly Hiawatha's side of things.  That results in a technical but Avail makes only 1 free throw and turns it over on the possession.  Big loss of momentum there.  They convert a turnover into a bucket with 1:56 left to cut it to 7.  Bell slams the door with a 3 point play and Daud adds a 3 just to make sure the resistance is over.  Hiawatha wins 97-83

Post Game
Take a deep breath after this one.  This will be one of the faster paced games I see all year with each team going thru 93 possessions.  Both teams now 1-1 on the season.  Hiawatha gains the early inside track to the EMAC title with the win.  Avail continues a 5 game homestand with league games against Liberty and Math & Science next week.  Hiawatha continues a 5 game road trip to start the season with a game at Hmong Academy on Thursday.  They'll end that with a trip to Minneapolis South next Wednesday.

Romelle Bell was the huge difference in this one for Hiawatha.  He goes for 21 of his 27 points in the 2nd half.  Avail with no answer for his physical play in the post or on the glass.  Jessye Lewis with 18 of his 26 in the first half.  That included 4 triples.  MD Daud with the other 4 Hiawatha treys and 18 points.  Daud getting his looks off baseline runner action.  I expected more pick and roll with Lewis or maybe just let Bell pop off that, but didn't see much of it.

Josiah Schaap with 15 of his 20 in the second half to keep Avail close.  Deacon Bock with 21, soph Zach Schaap with 19.  Zach appears to be the third Schaap in line to be a top guy for the Valor over the next couple years.  Both teams not going very deep and heavy reliance on the starters.  Hiawatha effectively using their athletes to pressure full court and cause the turnovers that were the difference in the game.  Avail will have to find an answer to that pressure in the rematch.

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights. This one was a doozy for stats.  Avail gets 35 less FG attempts, loses 2nd chance points 25-8 and the points off turnovers 38-5.  Yet somehow this was a 7 point game late.  Avail actually won 3 of the 4 factors, but losing turnovers 31-12 and giving up 38 points on those and only getting 5 the other way was just too much to overcome.  Czar's Law loses but gets the standard * next to it, winning team did win turnovers with the EFG loss.

 

On the Road Again

Prologue
Its another random Saturday of running around the metro to find games.  Always one of the fun things I do.  So this particular Saturday brings me to 3 games in 3 venues, including 1 new unique venue.

Game 1: Rockford 91 at Burnsville 50
This one was close for about 9 minutes.  Then Rockford totally took over.  Nolan Perry 3 late 3s and Derek Pepin 11 1st half points for an 16 point lead at the break, 42-26.  Pepin then explodes in the 2nd half. He scores 15 straight and 20 out of 22 Rockford points in 1 stretch (only interrupted by a nice Sam Zilmer tip dunk).  In the post, bank in a 3, midrange, it was all working for Pepin.  Pepin ends up with 35 points, 24 in the 2nd half.  4 triples included in that list.  Nolan Perry adds 21, Sam Zilmer 15.  Khalif Bettis with 15 points to lead Burnsville.  Rockford gave up some looks in the middle of their 3-2 zone but otherwise was dominant.  Fun to get another look at Burnsville soph 7 footer Henry Buchanan as well.  He showed some nice footwork inside.

Game 2: Eagle Ridge 78 at Chesterton 50
Chesterton no longer combined with International School this season.  ISM playing a JV only schedule this year.  So Chesterton on their own and that takes this game to their new home court, Holy Family Academy in St. Louis Park.  Nothing like 3 rows of the metal bleachers on 1 side and only 1 scoreboard hung in a corner.  Fun little gym to be in.  Eagle Ridge runs away and hides in this one.  Cade LaFavor 23 points.  Hunter LaFavor adds 14. This was like playing against your younger brother.  They just bullied Chesterton inside.  8th grader JP Musoke adds 15 points with 3 triples on the day.   Mike Hornecker leads Chesterton with 18 points.

Game 3: Two Rivers 59 at St. Croix Lutheran 56 (OT)
After starting my season with 4 blowouts, this 5th game was absolute craziness.  Two Rivers takes a 7 point lead in the 1st half after trailing early.  SCL reclaims the lead but an Eric Lail triple sends Two Rivers to the locker room up 1 at the break.  Two Rivers extends the lead to 9 just after midway thru the 2nd half, but their soph star Jaden Morgan has to sit with 4 fouls.  SCL rallies back and their soph star Jaden Neish buries a 3 with just over 2 minutes left to tie the game at 50.

Two Rivers misses a front end, SCL makes 2 freebies, Morgan buries a 3 for a 53-52 Two Rivers lead wit under 90 seconds left.  2 SCL misses sandwiched around another missed front end..  Then a Two Rivers turnover but SCL can't convert. They have to foul and Two Rivers misses the 3rd front end.  They get the rebound back and make the 1st of 2.  The 2nd is no good and the rebound is out of bounds back to Two Rivers with a 2 point lead and under 15 seconds left.  But they throw it away on the inbounds.  Ben Austin takes that the other way for 2 and the foul with 6.4 seconds left.  Oh My!  Two Rivers ices Austin before the potential go ahead free throw.  That freebie is no good so we're tied.  Sibley throws the quick outlet to halfcourt but Neish steps in front of it and SCL looks to have a layup to win it.  They have a 2 on 1 but a floater at the buzzer is no good and we'll play overtime tied at 54.  

Soph forward Max Mogelson with all 5 Two Rivers points in the OT.  His layup vs the press puts the Warriors up 3 late. SCL turns it over, Two Rivers misses 2 free throws with 2.2 seconds left in the OT.  Making either would have iced the game.  1 last prayer from half court is not answered.  Two Rivers survives 59-56 in overtime after coming up with almost every possible way to attempt to give the game away.  Great bench minutes for Two Rivers from Carson Christensen and Yantuan Colon.  They combined for 18 points.  Sophs Jaden Morgan 10 points and Max Mogelson 9 points.  Ben Austin 15 points to lead St. Croix Lutheran.  Omarion Miller 14 points all in the 1st half before struggling with cramps in the 2nd half.

Czar Insights

Shine the Light

Prologue
Night 2 of the 2021-22 season takes me to Concordia Academy for their season opener vs Kaleidoscope.  This trip is usually one of my more miserable and dangerous trips due to weather and traffic but I beat both tonight.  I was able to enjoy my first hot dog at a high school game since the pandemic began.  In the words of the real Billy Crystal (not the ref), simply MAHVELOUS.  Even that awful beverage known as Coke couldn't spoil the experience.  Fun blackout and spotlights for both team intros.  Yes the Chicago Bulls thing is played out but since I'm from that era, it never gets old.  

Song of the Day: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

Food And Beverage Counter:
Hot Dogs: 1
Coke: 12 oz

Game Time
East Ridge transfer Lorenzo Levy starting at the point for Concordia.  Kaleidoscope going all Jordan Bohannon/Jess Settles/Brad Davison with 3 juniors in the starting lineup who seem like they've been there for a million years.  The Comets hanging around early before AJ Greene heats up for Concordia.  He scores 3 out of 4 buckets for the Beacons as they stretch the lead to 28-14 at the 9:07 mark.  Michael Jude with a pair of 3s for Kaleidoscope to try and keep them close.  Then its bombs away for Concordia and not Kaleidoscope.  Greene keeps his streak going with a pair of bombs in a 4 bucket stretch.  Kaleidscope not guarding the 3 point line or the paint.  The lead explodes to 56-26 at the half.

AJ Kargel sits out the 2nd half for Kaleidoscope with an apparent injury (hand maybe?).  No need to risk him in this one.  The teams trade buckets to start the half.  Then Concordia runs off the next 21 points thanks to a 5 of 7 stretch from deep.  4 straight turnovers for 7 Concordia points in that run too.  68-28 with 13:44 left as the run progresses.  Garbage time from there.  Concordia wins 89-44.

Post Game
Kaleidoscope opens the season 0-1.  Their star PG Michael Jude leads the way with 17 points, 11 in the 1st half.  He made 5 triples.  Mathew Aasen works his way to 14 points inside.  That leaves only 13 points for the rest of the roster.  AJ Kargel scoreless in his limited minutes.  They go home for 2 very winnable games against Lakes International and Chesterton next week.  Then only 1 home game until January 19th.  Defensively whether it was man or their 1-1-3 zone, very little resistance.  Many of the Concordia triples, way too easy.  Swing swing bang.  But I did like their offensive rebounding.  Yes some of that is because of all the 3s they take. But for an undersized team, they get more of those than you expect.

Concordia starts the season 1-0.  They get a week off before hosting United Christian.  Then they go on the road to start league play at New Life.  The Beacons knock down a school record 15 3s from 5 players on the way to the win.  Junior shooter Luc Swanson with 6 of those on his way to 18 points.  AJ Greene with 18 of his game high 23 points in the 1st half.  David Erickson chips in with 12 points.  Soph PG Lorenzo Levy 13 points and a bunch of assists in this one.  I liked what I saw from Levy.  Quick, good passer and shooter plus a good amount of swagger to boot.  Great addition for the Beacons.  It totally changes how they look from last year when AJ Greene was the guy with the ball in his hands most of the time.  Now he's playing in a more natural spot off the ball. 

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights. Interesting stat of of the night was 0 FT attempts for Concordia.  They do win the other 3 Four Factors categories though.  The 3 point shooting     15-33 for Concordia compared to 5-24 for Kaleidoscope.  Concordia to largely keep the Comets from generating points in transition too.  25-4 Concordia edge taking advantage of 16 Kaleidoscope turnovers.

https://twitter.com/tchoopsczar/status/1466991336003887106?s=20

2021-22 Season Opener, Dragon style

Prologue
Season 15 gets underway and why not get a new building and road trip out of the way on night number 1.  I'm off to Lakes International Language Academy in Forest Lake to see the Dragons take on Liberty Classical Academy in the season opener.  This is a rare conference game to start the season.  Since its me, no surprise that its the EMAC.  Had to weave thru the crowd attending the musical/play that was going on across the hall.  Sadly no concessions or programs but we'll make do.

Game Time
Senior guard Cameron Lacy out of the Liberty lineup.  Junior forward Trent Verbeek still providing enough star power with 3 other juniors and a senior in the lineup.  LILA going with 3 sophomores in their starting lineup.  This one was out of hand pretty quickly.  Liberty gets the 1st 7 points of the game and never looks back.  Turnovers starting about midway thru the 1st half allowed this one to get out of hand.  8 turnovers in an 11 possession stretch turn result in a 17-3 run.  33-7 Liberty at that point.  A 7-0 run across halftime sees the lead briefly dip under 20 points.. But Liberty is too big inside for a young LILA lineup.  They pound the glass inside and run away to a 77-32 win.

Post Game
Lakes International Language Academy starts their season 0-1 overall and in the EMAC.  Junior wing Jake Fakler leads the Dragons with 15 points including 3 triples.  Senior guard Joe Navratil adds 12 points.  But only 5 other points from the rest of the roster.  That looks like a season long issue.  They tried 2-3 zone to start and then some 1-2-2 with Fakler on top to change it up but no great answers for the height inside.  Quick turnaround for the Dragons as they go back to back at Nova Classical.  Next week they visit Kaleidoscope before returning home to EMAC play vs Community of Peace on Thursday.

Liberty Classical Academy starts the season 1-0 overall and in the EMAC.  Forward Trent Verbeek leads the Lions with 20 points and a couple of threes.  14 of those points coming in the first half.  Daniel Kneen also very productive banging inside.  He adds 16 points, 10 in the second half.  Great balance with 5 other players having between 6 and 9 points. They too will play Nova next, but not until Tuesday.  That's part of a 2 game home stand with AFSA as the other game.  Then a 3 game road trip starting with a tough game vs recent rival Avail on Monday Dec 13th.  More on Avail on Monday when they have a big EMAC game with Hiawatha.

Czar Insights

For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.  Most notable value here is a 50-8 advantage on points in the paint.  Liberty wins 3 of the Four Factors