Its a rubber match between Lake Conference rivals for the 2011 Class AAAA state championship as Eden Prairie takes on Hopkins. Eden Prairie shot the lights out in the 1st meeting to pull the upset, while Hopkins won the 2nd meeting. Hopkins let teams hang around in their first 2 games at Target Center until late before double digit wins.
A steal by Joe Coleman and then he charges on the other end. 4-2 Hopkins at the 14:27 mark and Coleman has 2 fouls. Coleman then steps in and draws a charge. Coleman bailed out on a short jumper and he steps up and makes both freebies. 4 of the first 6 and Hopkins leads 6-4 at the 12:55 mark. That's Dylan Stewart's 2nd foul for EP which is a big loss. Siyani Chambers great quickness to jump around a post feed and take it the other way for a Marvin Singleton layup. 10-4 Hopkins at the 11:37 mark and Eden Prairie takes timeout after giving up 6 in a row. Coleman takes a breather and Grant Soderberg makes back to back 3s to tie the game at 14 inside of 9 minutes. Connor Nord with his 2nd nice assist of the night to Derek Dedeker and Soderberg leaks out for a free throw. 17 all at 8:04. He's strong to the rim and EP leads 19-17 at the 6:50 mark. Coleman slips a ball screen and Chambers with the perfect feed for the Coleman 2 handed flush. 21-19 Hopkins at the 5:29 mark. The lead stretches to 7 before a Sander Mohn 3 with 2:30 left in the half. That counters a Chambers 3 and steal for 2 more. 32-28 Hopkins at half. EP has the recipe going again with 11-17 shooting, 4-4 from 3 but Hopkins is shooting 13-24 on their end. Eden Prairie with 10 turnovers for 12 Hopkins points is the difference.
After fine halftime entertainment by the Alexandria Aces, there's the Let's Go Nick sign in the crowd held up by a youngster to catch my eye. That's for Nick Jorgensen of Hopkins. Demetrius Martin for 3 on a skip as the close out wasn't far enough. Joe Coleman with a tough turnaround inside and Singleton on the post. An EP turnover and a Zach Stahl FT pullup and its 46-30 Hopkins at the 11:20 mark when Eden Prairie takes the much needed timeout. 14-2 run this half for Hopkins. EP shooting 1-11 and that just won't do it. Dylan Stewart replies with 2 free throws and a bucket followed by a Soderberg 3 and Stewart puts back a FT miss to cut the lead to 8 with 8:49 to play. Dedeker scores with 5:33 left and the lead is cut to 6. Hopkins nicely spacing the floor with 2 guard slots filled up high, the lane open and taking the time on their possessions. Its a possession over a minute and a half long for 2 Coleman FTs. 3:55 left and Hopkins up 54-46. Hopkins turns it over and Nord with a nice drive to the rim for 2 with 2:45 left, 54-48 Hopkins. Zach Stahl for 2 and Singleton steps up and makes 2 FTs iwth 2:10 left and the lead is double digits again. Coleman a nice cut and better pass from Chambers for the layup as we're distracted by 4 beach balls going in the Hopkins student section. Repeat that as Coleman finishes again and puts back his missed free throw with 1:15 left. Bench empties with 29.2 left with Hopkins stars holding up 3 fingers for the third consecutive title. Andre McDonald with a huge block as the exclamation point. Hopkins wins 64-52.
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins with 22 point and 8 rebounds. Zach Stahl 10 points and 8 boards. Siyani Chambers 12 and 5 assists. Marvin Singleton 15 points. Hopkins shoots 56.8% for the game. Grant Soderberg 16 points to lead Eden Prairie. They shoot 44.2% for the game with 16 turnovers that turned into 18 Hopkins points.
My Class AAAA All-Tournament Ballot
Joe Coleman - Hopkins (MVP)
Marvin Singleton - Hopkins
Siyani Chambers - Hopkins
Dylan Stewart - Eden Prairie
Connor Nord - Eden Prairie
Joey Sonnenfeld - Osseo
Terez Van Pelt - Osseo
Raijon Kelly - CDH (replaced by Zach Stahl of Hopkins)
Cortez Tillman - CDH
Taylor Montero - CDH (replaced by Grant Soderberg of Eden Prairie)
Total tournament attendance once again shows a dramatic decline. This year's attendance was 48,274 down from 55,731 last year.
Showing posts with label Marvin Singleton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marvin Singleton. Show all posts
2011 State Tourney Day 2 Class AAAA
Class AAAA Semifinals
Game 1: Hopkins vs Cretin-Derham Hall
CJ Neumann comes out and scores on the post as CDH opens a 4-0 lead in the first minute. Pull the ball out! Then a Hopkins block and putback followed by a Siyani Chambers steal and layup for a 6-4 Hopkins lead. Coleman with a layup off a great misdirection zone set. 12-9 Hopkins at the first break. Marvin Singleton runs for a layup, Zach Stahl out and about for a 3 point play. 11:35 first half with Hopkins up 18-9 (18-5 run). Cortez Tillman up and under Joe Coleman and Raijon Kelly for 3. Then a pair of Hopkins turnovers and CDH goes to THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE and can't gain the lead. Hopkins running nice sets and action against the zone as Coleman gets a dunk from Chambers. Add in unselfish play on the break as Coleman goes to Stahl to Singleton for layup and the Hopkins lead is 28-22 inside 4 minutes. Raijon Kelly picks up his 3rd foul at the 2:57 mark and has to sit. CJ Neumann with a huge dunk just before halftime. Hopkins 34-28 at half. Hopkins shoots 50% overall but only 1-8 from 3. 8 offensive boards for the Royals.
Another easy backside layup for Coleman and a Singleton putback. CDH needs a quick timeout down 41-30 at the 16:15 mark. CDH back on a 9-0 run ending with a Neumann 3 (something he's added to his game this year). CDH switches over to a 1-3-1. Singleton seals the backside defender and finishes through a Kelly block. Coleman dunks after a CDH miss and a Demetrius Martin layup on a turnover. 50-43 Hopkins with 9:45 left. Coleman with a putback and inside the 9 minute mark CDH finally has to go man to man. Coleman on the inside and a 3rd chance is a Singleton putback. Nick Jorgenson for 3 and CDH needs a timeout. 60-45 Hopkins with 5:51 left and the rest is elementary. Coleman runs out for a flying 1 handed dunk as icing on the cake with 1:20 left. Hopkins wins.
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins with 29 and 9 boards. He shoots 12 of 16 with everything at the rim. Marvin Singleton a double double of 15 and 12. Siyani Chambers 10 points and 10 assists. Raijon Kelly 16 points for CDH. Cortez Tillman played well with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. Hopkins shoots 52.7% but only 4-17 from 3. Big number was a 42-18 advantage on the glass with 17-5 on the offensive glass. CDH didn't play that poorly with 44.2% shooting and only 10 turnovers but they gave up too many easy baskets early in the game with their zone.
Game 2: Eden Prairie vs Osseo
Sad to see Jerrod Bervin in the stands rather than on the court for Osseo. Connor Nord with a couple of quick hoops including a nice post move to give EP a 4-0 lead. Joey Sonnenfeld for 3 to cut the EP to 8-7. Nord inside for a free throw and an assist to Sander Mohn for layup. 13-7 EP at the 11:02 mark. After an Osseo 3, Nord on the post for 2 more. 19-13 EP inside 7 to play. Tough defense both ways with Eden Prairie cleaning up on the glass. Bridge Tusler with a steal for a layup and a block leads to a DJ Hebert layup on the other end. to cut the margin to 4. EP with 2 FTs for a 27-21 hafltime lead.
Nord to Soderberg for a pretty backdoor cut before a Van Pelt 3 cuts the lead to 31-28. After a drought its Van Pelt to Bridge Tusler, Osseo hanging close down 33-31 with 13 minutes left. Nord on the post for back to back buckets. He adds a nice outlet to Dylan Stewart for a nice finish. 43-35 EP with 9:28 left and they take a strange timeout. Ian Thiesen picks up his 4th with 7:38 left and has to sit. Dylan Stewart's 2 FTs take us to a TV timeout at 6:58, EP up 48-42. Stewart with a nice block on a Van Pelt drive. Later a tough drive for 2 more and a cut to the post and lefty finish. 55-45 EP inside 4 to play. DJ Hebert 2 FTs, and EP walks for a Joey Sonnenfeld 3. 57-52 EP with 1:28 left. EP makes their free throws and a Derek Dedeker 3 point play seals it. EP wins 67-56 and will play Hopkins for the state title.
Dylan Stewart with 24 and 8, Connor Nord 18 and 9 for Eden Prairie. Joey Sonnenfeld 21 for Osseo. EP outrebounds Osseo 51-21 in a major surprise. Teams shoot well in the second half after a cold 1st half. 19-60 in the first half. 25-45 in the second half.
Game 1: Hopkins vs Cretin-Derham Hall
CJ Neumann comes out and scores on the post as CDH opens a 4-0 lead in the first minute. Pull the ball out! Then a Hopkins block and putback followed by a Siyani Chambers steal and layup for a 6-4 Hopkins lead. Coleman with a layup off a great misdirection zone set. 12-9 Hopkins at the first break. Marvin Singleton runs for a layup, Zach Stahl out and about for a 3 point play. 11:35 first half with Hopkins up 18-9 (18-5 run). Cortez Tillman up and under Joe Coleman and Raijon Kelly for 3. Then a pair of Hopkins turnovers and CDH goes to THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE and can't gain the lead. Hopkins running nice sets and action against the zone as Coleman gets a dunk from Chambers. Add in unselfish play on the break as Coleman goes to Stahl to Singleton for layup and the Hopkins lead is 28-22 inside 4 minutes. Raijon Kelly picks up his 3rd foul at the 2:57 mark and has to sit. CJ Neumann with a huge dunk just before halftime. Hopkins 34-28 at half. Hopkins shoots 50% overall but only 1-8 from 3. 8 offensive boards for the Royals.
Another easy backside layup for Coleman and a Singleton putback. CDH needs a quick timeout down 41-30 at the 16:15 mark. CDH back on a 9-0 run ending with a Neumann 3 (something he's added to his game this year). CDH switches over to a 1-3-1. Singleton seals the backside defender and finishes through a Kelly block. Coleman dunks after a CDH miss and a Demetrius Martin layup on a turnover. 50-43 Hopkins with 9:45 left. Coleman with a putback and inside the 9 minute mark CDH finally has to go man to man. Coleman on the inside and a 3rd chance is a Singleton putback. Nick Jorgenson for 3 and CDH needs a timeout. 60-45 Hopkins with 5:51 left and the rest is elementary. Coleman runs out for a flying 1 handed dunk as icing on the cake with 1:20 left. Hopkins wins.
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins with 29 and 9 boards. He shoots 12 of 16 with everything at the rim. Marvin Singleton a double double of 15 and 12. Siyani Chambers 10 points and 10 assists. Raijon Kelly 16 points for CDH. Cortez Tillman played well with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. Hopkins shoots 52.7% but only 4-17 from 3. Big number was a 42-18 advantage on the glass with 17-5 on the offensive glass. CDH didn't play that poorly with 44.2% shooting and only 10 turnovers but they gave up too many easy baskets early in the game with their zone.
Game 2: Eden Prairie vs Osseo
Sad to see Jerrod Bervin in the stands rather than on the court for Osseo. Connor Nord with a couple of quick hoops including a nice post move to give EP a 4-0 lead. Joey Sonnenfeld for 3 to cut the EP to 8-7. Nord inside for a free throw and an assist to Sander Mohn for layup. 13-7 EP at the 11:02 mark. After an Osseo 3, Nord on the post for 2 more. 19-13 EP inside 7 to play. Tough defense both ways with Eden Prairie cleaning up on the glass. Bridge Tusler with a steal for a layup and a block leads to a DJ Hebert layup on the other end. to cut the margin to 4. EP with 2 FTs for a 27-21 hafltime lead.
Nord to Soderberg for a pretty backdoor cut before a Van Pelt 3 cuts the lead to 31-28. After a drought its Van Pelt to Bridge Tusler, Osseo hanging close down 33-31 with 13 minutes left. Nord on the post for back to back buckets. He adds a nice outlet to Dylan Stewart for a nice finish. 43-35 EP with 9:28 left and they take a strange timeout. Ian Thiesen picks up his 4th with 7:38 left and has to sit. Dylan Stewart's 2 FTs take us to a TV timeout at 6:58, EP up 48-42. Stewart with a nice block on a Van Pelt drive. Later a tough drive for 2 more and a cut to the post and lefty finish. 55-45 EP inside 4 to play. DJ Hebert 2 FTs, and EP walks for a Joey Sonnenfeld 3. 57-52 EP with 1:28 left. EP makes their free throws and a Derek Dedeker 3 point play seals it. EP wins 67-56 and will play Hopkins for the state title.
Dylan Stewart with 24 and 8, Connor Nord 18 and 9 for Eden Prairie. Joey Sonnenfeld 21 for Osseo. EP outrebounds Osseo 51-21 in a major surprise. Teams shoot well in the second half after a cold 1st half. 19-60 in the first half. 25-45 in the second half.
Eden Prairie shoots down Hopkins
Labels:
Joe Coleman,
Marvin Singleton
Prologue
Welcome to the new Lake Conference #3AAAA Eden Prairie. You start your adventure in the league with a trip to #1AAAA Hopkins. These teams also ranked 1 and 2 in the CzarPI and QRF so on paper this one looks to be a dandy, though I had low expectations. A quality Walking Taco as always at Hopkins. Pretty good crowd and the Mr Basketball committee moved from front row to an obscure spot by coaches farther up. Pretty good crowd on hand as well, but no Hopkins pep band which would have been a nice addition. But we do get the Hopkins mascot which is quality. You know the result so let's pick a fitting song. The band is an easy choice.
Song of the Day
The Eagles - Life in the Fast Lane
Game Time
Eden Prairie hanging around early with a Dylan Stewart putback and then Conner Nord to Jacob Foss on a nice interior pass for a layup. Then Grant Soderberg, once, twice, three times 3 is nice. 18-12 EP at 12:25. Marvin Singleton with 2 putbacks before EP goes off. Stewart with a nice spin for 2 and a skip pass finds Jack Klukas for 3. Stewart leaves with his second foul with 8:31 left in the half and EP isn't affected. Klukas for 3, skip to Soderberg for another 3, Blake Wragge for 3. Soderberg with a pair of layups and then an offensive rebound is kicked out to Klukas for 3. 44-26 Eden Prairie with the shocking lead at half after a 26-10 run over the last 11 minutes. 9 bombs in the half for Eden Prairie.
After some paint surely came off the walls of the Hopkins locker room at half, they come out with a purpose. Hopkins 3 quick drives to the rim for 5 of 6 free throws (Coleman 3 of 4). 48-33 only 1:05 into the half and Hopkins is at another level and the feel of a huge run is there. Soderberg backdoor to push the lead right back to 18 at 13:50. Singleton with a layup, Zach Stahl with a 3 point play and Coleman for 3. 54-43 EP with 11:15 left. Stewart back to back layups and we're back to 15. He sits with foul #4 at 9:41. Singleton all over the place in the 2nd half. On the post for 2, then a clutch block and he rewards himself with a 3 point play on the other end. 8:12 left, 62-51 EP. Soderberg drive and kick back to Wragge for the only EP 3 of the 2nd half. 2 EP FTs at 5:29 put them up 69-53 and they've done a nice job of weathering the storm.
But that was just the first wave. Coleman with a putback, Singleton on a drive, a turnover results in a Coleman 3, a missed layup and Coleman lays it in on the other end. EP misses, Hopkins misses 2 chances but EP turns it over and Demetrius Martin nails a 3. Singleton with another clutch block and he puts back a miss on the other end. Holy cow, Hopkins is within 69-67 with 1:40 left after a 14-0 run. Out of a timeout, a great play call on the sideline out of bounds for a Stewart layup and then Hopkins turns it over for a Stewart FT. 72-67 EP with 1:07 left. Chambers 2 free throws and Soderberg misses a front end with 44.7 left. Singleton goes to the hoop for 2 to cut the lead to 1. Sander Mohn 2 FTs for EP. 74-71 Eden Prairie with 28.4 left. Hopkins takes their last timeout with the ball. Its a well executed Howard Pulley look for a Joe Coleman 3 that is short. Marvin Singleton gets the board. Ball becomes loose and a jump ball goes to Eden Prairie with 10 seconds left. Stewart makes 1 of 2 and forces a tieup on his miss with 6.3 left. Hopkins is out of timeouts so this one is effectively over. Hopkins misses at the buzzer and Eden Prairie pulls the shocking upset 75-71.
Post Game
For Hopkins, Marvin Singleton leads the way with 24 and 12, most of those in the 2nd half. Interesting enough it was drives and putbacks that did the work. Very little in the way of actual postups. Joe Coleman 7-15 for 23 points and 7 rebounds. He'd like to have 4 or 5 looks back though as he had some bunnies that he normally makes not go in. I had him 2-6 in actual shooting with a couple of 3s. But giving up 9 3s was the dagger in the first half. Hopkins 22-48 from the floor and 5-17 from 3. The Royals fall to 15-1, 0-1 and host Wayzata on Friday
Eden Prairie is now 14-2, 1-0. Grant Soderberg leads the way with 18 of his 22 points in the first half. 9-15 shooting including 4 of 6 from 3 on my sheet. Dylan Stewart was plagued by foul trouble all night but he still finished with 18 points (12 in the 2nd half) and 6 rebounds on 7-9 shooting. Jack Klukas 5-5, 4-4 from 3 (all 1st half) for 14 points. Eden Prairie shoots 27-41 for the game, 10-14 from 3 (9-13 1st half). They host Minnetonka Friday before a tough 3 game road stretch starts on Saturday.
The teams meet again on February 18th at Eden Prairie. Great trivia question from Mr. Basketball chairman Ken Lien tonight. Name the last team to beat 2 #1s on the road in back to back games. (For the record I don't know). Remember Eden Prairie won at #1AAA DeLaSalle last Saturday. Hopkins could have done it if Johnson would have beat Hyde Park in the Best Buy Holiday Classic.
Late Game Strategy Thoughts
Now I'm in no position to be critical of a coach that has won 600 some games and has forgotten more basketball than I'll ever know, but I didn't like coach Novak's strategy in the last 30 seconds. Out of Eden Prairie 2 free throws and 28.4 left in a 1 possession game, he took his last timeout. That effectively takes 7-9 seconds off the clock because the clock runs after a made basket. That shortens the game when Hopkins would want the game to be extended With that much time left, I think you call Siyani Chambers over (an experienced point guard and your floor leader) and have him get you into something quick to the rim and look for the best shot, 2 or 3. Keep the pressure on Eden Prairie to make free throws since I felt they appeared at a breaking point for most of the second half. It would also have saved the timeout if they needed a 3 later or to stop the clock after a made bucket.
I think it also handcuffed Hopkins into having to go for a 3 early since they wouldn't have had a timeout to draw a play up later or stop the clock. That said, going early may be the best look at 3 that you'll get. Coach Novak had Martin curl off of 2 left elbow screens and then had Coleman flare off of Singleton to the left wing after his initial screen for the open 3. The play was well designed (Howard Pulley 16s ran the same thing for Tyus Jones during the summer with Tyler Vaughan coming off that double), perfectly executed and Coleman got a clean look that was on line but short. Your best player gets a clean look to tie and you show confidence in your star, great call right? I understand the logic and there are good principles in it but I don't like the call.. I've documented Coleman's shooting plenty here. With guys like Siyani Chambers, Demetrius Martin, Nick Jorgenson, Jamal Davis and Zach Stahl (who had fouled out), you have plenty of options for shooters that I would rather have seen shoot that 3. My alternative is this. I think the same play with Coleman curling hard to the basket off that left elbow double screen would have been a great first option for a quick 2 with one of those other shooters flaring off for the wide open 3 as a 2nd option.
Welcome to the new Lake Conference #3AAAA Eden Prairie. You start your adventure in the league with a trip to #1AAAA Hopkins. These teams also ranked 1 and 2 in the CzarPI and QRF so on paper this one looks to be a dandy, though I had low expectations. A quality Walking Taco as always at Hopkins. Pretty good crowd and the Mr Basketball committee moved from front row to an obscure spot by coaches farther up. Pretty good crowd on hand as well, but no Hopkins pep band which would have been a nice addition. But we do get the Hopkins mascot which is quality. You know the result so let's pick a fitting song. The band is an easy choice.
Song of the Day
The Eagles - Life in the Fast Lane
Game Time
Eden Prairie hanging around early with a Dylan Stewart putback and then Conner Nord to Jacob Foss on a nice interior pass for a layup. Then Grant Soderberg, once, twice, three times 3 is nice. 18-12 EP at 12:25. Marvin Singleton with 2 putbacks before EP goes off. Stewart with a nice spin for 2 and a skip pass finds Jack Klukas for 3. Stewart leaves with his second foul with 8:31 left in the half and EP isn't affected. Klukas for 3, skip to Soderberg for another 3, Blake Wragge for 3. Soderberg with a pair of layups and then an offensive rebound is kicked out to Klukas for 3. 44-26 Eden Prairie with the shocking lead at half after a 26-10 run over the last 11 minutes. 9 bombs in the half for Eden Prairie.
After some paint surely came off the walls of the Hopkins locker room at half, they come out with a purpose. Hopkins 3 quick drives to the rim for 5 of 6 free throws (Coleman 3 of 4). 48-33 only 1:05 into the half and Hopkins is at another level and the feel of a huge run is there. Soderberg backdoor to push the lead right back to 18 at 13:50. Singleton with a layup, Zach Stahl with a 3 point play and Coleman for 3. 54-43 EP with 11:15 left. Stewart back to back layups and we're back to 15. He sits with foul #4 at 9:41. Singleton all over the place in the 2nd half. On the post for 2, then a clutch block and he rewards himself with a 3 point play on the other end. 8:12 left, 62-51 EP. Soderberg drive and kick back to Wragge for the only EP 3 of the 2nd half. 2 EP FTs at 5:29 put them up 69-53 and they've done a nice job of weathering the storm.
But that was just the first wave. Coleman with a putback, Singleton on a drive, a turnover results in a Coleman 3, a missed layup and Coleman lays it in on the other end. EP misses, Hopkins misses 2 chances but EP turns it over and Demetrius Martin nails a 3. Singleton with another clutch block and he puts back a miss on the other end. Holy cow, Hopkins is within 69-67 with 1:40 left after a 14-0 run. Out of a timeout, a great play call on the sideline out of bounds for a Stewart layup and then Hopkins turns it over for a Stewart FT. 72-67 EP with 1:07 left. Chambers 2 free throws and Soderberg misses a front end with 44.7 left. Singleton goes to the hoop for 2 to cut the lead to 1. Sander Mohn 2 FTs for EP. 74-71 Eden Prairie with 28.4 left. Hopkins takes their last timeout with the ball. Its a well executed Howard Pulley look for a Joe Coleman 3 that is short. Marvin Singleton gets the board. Ball becomes loose and a jump ball goes to Eden Prairie with 10 seconds left. Stewart makes 1 of 2 and forces a tieup on his miss with 6.3 left. Hopkins is out of timeouts so this one is effectively over. Hopkins misses at the buzzer and Eden Prairie pulls the shocking upset 75-71.
Post Game
For Hopkins, Marvin Singleton leads the way with 24 and 12, most of those in the 2nd half. Interesting enough it was drives and putbacks that did the work. Very little in the way of actual postups. Joe Coleman 7-15 for 23 points and 7 rebounds. He'd like to have 4 or 5 looks back though as he had some bunnies that he normally makes not go in. I had him 2-6 in actual shooting with a couple of 3s. But giving up 9 3s was the dagger in the first half. Hopkins 22-48 from the floor and 5-17 from 3. The Royals fall to 15-1, 0-1 and host Wayzata on Friday
Eden Prairie is now 14-2, 1-0. Grant Soderberg leads the way with 18 of his 22 points in the first half. 9-15 shooting including 4 of 6 from 3 on my sheet. Dylan Stewart was plagued by foul trouble all night but he still finished with 18 points (12 in the 2nd half) and 6 rebounds on 7-9 shooting. Jack Klukas 5-5, 4-4 from 3 (all 1st half) for 14 points. Eden Prairie shoots 27-41 for the game, 10-14 from 3 (9-13 1st half). They host Minnetonka Friday before a tough 3 game road stretch starts on Saturday.
The teams meet again on February 18th at Eden Prairie. Great trivia question from Mr. Basketball chairman Ken Lien tonight. Name the last team to beat 2 #1s on the road in back to back games. (For the record I don't know). Remember Eden Prairie won at #1AAA DeLaSalle last Saturday. Hopkins could have done it if Johnson would have beat Hyde Park in the Best Buy Holiday Classic.
Late Game Strategy Thoughts
Now I'm in no position to be critical of a coach that has won 600 some games and has forgotten more basketball than I'll ever know, but I didn't like coach Novak's strategy in the last 30 seconds. Out of Eden Prairie 2 free throws and 28.4 left in a 1 possession game, he took his last timeout. That effectively takes 7-9 seconds off the clock because the clock runs after a made basket. That shortens the game when Hopkins would want the game to be extended With that much time left, I think you call Siyani Chambers over (an experienced point guard and your floor leader) and have him get you into something quick to the rim and look for the best shot, 2 or 3. Keep the pressure on Eden Prairie to make free throws since I felt they appeared at a breaking point for most of the second half. It would also have saved the timeout if they needed a 3 later or to stop the clock after a made bucket.
I think it also handcuffed Hopkins into having to go for a 3 early since they wouldn't have had a timeout to draw a play up later or stop the clock. That said, going early may be the best look at 3 that you'll get. Coach Novak had Martin curl off of 2 left elbow screens and then had Coleman flare off of Singleton to the left wing after his initial screen for the open 3. The play was well designed (Howard Pulley 16s ran the same thing for Tyus Jones during the summer with Tyler Vaughan coming off that double), perfectly executed and Coleman got a clean look that was on line but short. Your best player gets a clean look to tie and you show confidence in your star, great call right? I understand the logic and there are good principles in it but I don't like the call.. I've documented Coleman's shooting plenty here. With guys like Siyani Chambers, Demetrius Martin, Nick Jorgenson, Jamal Davis and Zach Stahl (who had fouled out), you have plenty of options for shooters that I would rather have seen shoot that 3. My alternative is this. I think the same play with Coleman curling hard to the basket off that left elbow double screen would have been a great first option for a quick 2 with one of those other shooters flaring off for the wide open 3 as a 2nd option.
2011 Border Battle Observations
Labels:
Joe Coleman,
Marvin Singleton,
Siyani Chambers
Prologue
To St. Cloud Tech for the 5th annual Border Battle. Minnesota won last year 5-0 on Wisconsin soil so cheeseheads looking for revenge with a quality lineup of guards across the board. Minnesota defending home turf with the top 2 ranked teams in 4A and #6AAA Apollo in their home town. Respectable hot dog at the cramped concession stand, but props to the Breakdown folks for providing the media with Papa John's. I thought dibs on 1 piece per came called was fair (this was after game 4). I did the color commentary for 5 of the games on Webcast America. Links will be included below to go back and watch any of the games.
Song of the Day
Border Song - Elton John
Game 1: #2AAAA Tartan vs #2-D2 Seymour (Watch it here)
An outstanding opener between 2 of the best traditions in either state. Tartan hosted the inaugural Border Battle and Seymour beat Henry in that same Border Battle. Tartan uses 4 3s from 4 players and 3 interior buckets from Joel Awich to jump out to a 22-8 lead at the 9:05 mark of the 1st half. The rest of the half is all Seymour. Luke Preiner hits another 3 and the lead is 25-12. They use top scorer Cal Skogman in high pick and roll, usually with their other star Phil Romback and usually in transitions and Tartan has no answers. Skogman is in on the last 16 points of the half (11 + 2 ast to Romback for 5 more points) as Seymour finishes on a 14-0 run. 28-27 Seymour at half. Then 5 more out of the break for Skogman. That's involvement in 21 straight over 8:40. He nails another 3 and after a Seymour 3 its 46-34 Seymour with 12:05 left. Tartan had some success vs 1-3-1 with dribble penetration but it went away against 2-3 zone (something Hill-Murray has had great success with against the Titans). Tartan makes an adjustment to set high screens against the 2-3 and it works. Darrion Strong heats up for Tartan with back to back buckets to cut the lead to 6. Then another nice pullup and a tough 3 point play tie the game at 52 with 6 minutes left. Seymour with the ball up 3 late but can't hang on. After a turnover, 2 free throws cut the margin to 1, then 2 missed Seymour FTs with 49.4 left and Awich inside for an easy 2 puts Tartan back ahead with 35 seconds left. Seymour misses 2 or 3 good looks before Tartan makes 2 more freebies. Seymour can't convert at the end and Tartan comes back for a 62-59 win. Darrion Strong 13 of his 15 points in the second half to bring Tartan back. Joel Awich 14 points and 7 rebounds. Cal Skogman 25 points, Phil Romback 20 points for Seymour.
Game 2: Rocori vs #3-D3 Manitowoc Roncalli (Watch it here)
WOW is all I can say to this one. Rocori chooses to go man in the 1st half against the feared motion offense of Roncalli and all the Jets do is drain 11 3s to finish the half on a 21-10 run. Jets star Ben Stelzer (Michigan Tech signee) with 7 3s by himself. Rocori plays zone in the 2nd half and cuts the lead to 45-42 with 10:30 left behind 2 Jonah Eisenschenk buckets. But Stelzer counters with a 4 point play on his 9th 3 of the day. He sits with 4 fouls at the 7:55 mark and Roncalli up 4. Coach Joe Rux rolls the dice and brings him back in with a 54-50 lead and 6:08 left. All Stelzer does is score 8 of the last 10 Roncalli points to close the game out. Roncalli wins 64-54. Stelzer finishes with 10 3s and 41 points. Roncalli finished with 14 3s , 14 FTs and 4 2s. Jonah Eisenschenk 24 points, Nate Meyer 14 for Rocori.
Game 3: St. Cloud Cathedral vs #1-D3 La Crosse Aquinas (Watch it here)
After hammering my alma mater last night, Aquinas comes to town to play St. Cloud Cathedral. The first half Cathedral gives Aquinas all they want. It takes a Bronson Koenig high jumper at the halftime buzzer to tie the game at 32. Cathedral not keeping Evan Pederson out of the lane as he had 5 assists in the half for easy buckets. But Aquinas can't handle Joe Burt as he puts up 15 points in the half. Great matchup with Burt and Koenig going at each other. Bjorn Bjorklund with a 3 and then Scottie Rucks on the baseline drive to keep Cathedral up 46-45 with 10 minutes left. Koenig with a 3 off a set and then coast to coast for a 3 point play to put Aquinas up 55-48. Cathedral cuts the lead to 59-57 with 4:14 left as Koenig takes 3 quick shots and misses when it looked like Aquinas wanted to run some time off. Bjorklund 5 poitns in the run. But Koenig comes back and posts Burt for a 3 point play. Then a sweet pass to Jimmy Ancius for a 3 point play to push the lead to 8 and that's the dagger. Aquinas wins 71-64. Bronson Koenig 26 points, 13 of those after Cathedral took the 46-45 lead. Joe Burt 23 in a quality effort for Cathedral. Bjorn Bjorklund 14 of his 20 in the second half.
Game 4: #1AAAA Hopkins vs Madison East (Watch it here)
This one was over right from the start. Joe Coleman for 2 and a 3 point play. Siyani Chambers with a steal for 2 and then a long ball. 16-2 Hopkins at the 12:08 mark. East couldn't make a shot on the Nimrod Hilliard kickouts but it wouldn't have matter. The lead gets to 31-6 at 7:50, etc etc etc. Hopkins rolls 93-53 with the stars seeing limited action. Nick Jorgenson leads Hopkins with 20 points. Joe Coleman 15 points, 4 rebounds and a highlight block. 0-1 on outside shooting. Marvin Singleton 13. Jake Wright 11 as the frosh saw plenty of 1st half time in this one. Nimrod Hilliard 25 points for East and I had 9 turnovers on my sheet. But he is really fun to watch with his ridiculous quickness.
Game 5: #6AAA St. Cloud Apollo vs #11-D2 Rice Lake (Watch it here)
Rice Lake finishes the 1st half on a 12-2 run to flip the score to a 34-29 halftime lead. Wally Ellenson with 4 highlight reel blocks in the half. The duo of Simon Krych and Blake Maslonkowski producing inside for Apollo. Apollo comes back with their own run out of halftime of 14-3 to take a 43-37 lead inside of 13 minutes remaining. Krych doing work inside for a 3 point play 54-50 Apollo lead. Ellenson quiet to this point in the half banks in a 3 from the left corner (ridiculous) and another 3 at 4:55 for a 58-56 Rice Lake lead. Maslonkowski with a 3 point play countered by a Ellenson pullup. Mas on the post again for 2 with 45 seconds left. Nice play to go right to score after going left most of the game. 62-61 Rice Lake. Ellenson 1 free throw and then Ellenson is roaming on D and appears to tie up Krych but a foul is called. Krych is clutch with both freebies with 10.7 left to tie the game at 63. Rice Lake goes with no time out. Dribble up the right wing and hand off to the lefty Ellenson, he gets another screen at the top of the key but there's nothing there. He fades from 3 against great defense as the buzzer sounds and BOOM goes the dynamite as the 3 goes in for the win. 66-63 Rice Lake wins as Apollo sees another buzzer beater. He finishes with 25 points to lead all scorers. Simon Krych 23 points, Blake Maslonkowski 13 for the Eagles.
Game 6: Baldwin-Woodville at St. Cloud Tech (Watch it here)
To the late game and in a surprise, just nothing for Baldwin-Woodville in the first half. Star point guard Ryan Benoy goes scoreless and has 3 fouls. Tyler Heitmann has 14 points in the half to keep the Blackhawks close. But after a 5-0 Baldwin-Woodville start, the half is all Tech after a 20-5 run. 34-21 Tech at half but not putting it away either. Benoy picks up his 4th foul at 16:45 and has to sit. Tech Frosh Andy Foley with a pair of tough hoops early in the half as Tech extends the lead to 18. Down 13 with 11:15 to play, he comes back in and why not. Benoy finally on the board with a 3 at the 7:50 mark after an 0-7 FG start. Alex Matchinsky with a pair of free throws and Tech keeps the lead at 16 with just over 7 minutes left. But that 3 sparked Benoy. 1 basket, then a 3 point play and a pull up. He follows 2 missed Tech free throws with 2 made free throws of his own. Those 9 in a row cut the Tech lead to 55-48 with 5:05 left. Don't leave just yet. Matchinsky back to back hoops before a Benoy 3 vs a Tech zone cuts the lead to 59-53 with 4:05 left. Matchinsky scores again and Benoy fouls out with 1:58 left. Baldwin-Woodville won't get any closer. Tech makes their free throws to win 71-57. Alex Matchinsky with 18 of his 30 for Tech in the first half. Freshman Andy Foley 14 of his 19 in the second half with 6 late free throws to ice the game. Tyler Heitman 14 of his 20 in the first half to lead Baldwin-Woodville. Ryan Benoy all 15 of his points in a 3:45 span late in the 2nd half where the Blackhawks outscored Tech 19-8.
The series splits 3 and 3. Minnesota leads all time 15-11. Each state has won 2 years and this year's split. Next year's event is at Sun Prairie, WI. Here are the participants for what should be another outstanding.
WI: Sun Prairie, Waunakee, Wisconsin Dells, Madison Edgewood, La Crosse Aquinas and Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau.
MN: Tartan, DeLaSalle, Maranatha, Maple River, Prior Lake and Grand Rapids
The Czar's All Border Battle Team
Ben Stelzer - Manitowoc Roncalli (MVP)
Wally Ellenson - Rice Lake
Alex Matchinsky - St. Cloud Tech
Calahan Skogman - Seymour
Darrion Strong - Tartan
Bronson Koenig - La Crosse Aquinas
Joe Burt - St. Cloud Cathedral
Simon Krych - St. Cloud Apollo
Nathan Meyer- Rocori
Joe Coleman - Hopkins
To St. Cloud Tech for the 5th annual Border Battle. Minnesota won last year 5-0 on Wisconsin soil so cheeseheads looking for revenge with a quality lineup of guards across the board. Minnesota defending home turf with the top 2 ranked teams in 4A and #6AAA Apollo in their home town. Respectable hot dog at the cramped concession stand, but props to the Breakdown folks for providing the media with Papa John's. I thought dibs on 1 piece per came called was fair (this was after game 4). I did the color commentary for 5 of the games on Webcast America. Links will be included below to go back and watch any of the games.
Song of the Day
Border Song - Elton John
Game 1: #2AAAA Tartan vs #2-D2 Seymour (Watch it here)
An outstanding opener between 2 of the best traditions in either state. Tartan hosted the inaugural Border Battle and Seymour beat Henry in that same Border Battle. Tartan uses 4 3s from 4 players and 3 interior buckets from Joel Awich to jump out to a 22-8 lead at the 9:05 mark of the 1st half. The rest of the half is all Seymour. Luke Preiner hits another 3 and the lead is 25-12. They use top scorer Cal Skogman in high pick and roll, usually with their other star Phil Romback and usually in transitions and Tartan has no answers. Skogman is in on the last 16 points of the half (11 + 2 ast to Romback for 5 more points) as Seymour finishes on a 14-0 run. 28-27 Seymour at half. Then 5 more out of the break for Skogman. That's involvement in 21 straight over 8:40. He nails another 3 and after a Seymour 3 its 46-34 Seymour with 12:05 left. Tartan had some success vs 1-3-1 with dribble penetration but it went away against 2-3 zone (something Hill-Murray has had great success with against the Titans). Tartan makes an adjustment to set high screens against the 2-3 and it works. Darrion Strong heats up for Tartan with back to back buckets to cut the lead to 6. Then another nice pullup and a tough 3 point play tie the game at 52 with 6 minutes left. Seymour with the ball up 3 late but can't hang on. After a turnover, 2 free throws cut the margin to 1, then 2 missed Seymour FTs with 49.4 left and Awich inside for an easy 2 puts Tartan back ahead with 35 seconds left. Seymour misses 2 or 3 good looks before Tartan makes 2 more freebies. Seymour can't convert at the end and Tartan comes back for a 62-59 win. Darrion Strong 13 of his 15 points in the second half to bring Tartan back. Joel Awich 14 points and 7 rebounds. Cal Skogman 25 points, Phil Romback 20 points for Seymour.
Game 2: Rocori vs #3-D3 Manitowoc Roncalli (Watch it here)
WOW is all I can say to this one. Rocori chooses to go man in the 1st half against the feared motion offense of Roncalli and all the Jets do is drain 11 3s to finish the half on a 21-10 run. Jets star Ben Stelzer (Michigan Tech signee) with 7 3s by himself. Rocori plays zone in the 2nd half and cuts the lead to 45-42 with 10:30 left behind 2 Jonah Eisenschenk buckets. But Stelzer counters with a 4 point play on his 9th 3 of the day. He sits with 4 fouls at the 7:55 mark and Roncalli up 4. Coach Joe Rux rolls the dice and brings him back in with a 54-50 lead and 6:08 left. All Stelzer does is score 8 of the last 10 Roncalli points to close the game out. Roncalli wins 64-54. Stelzer finishes with 10 3s and 41 points. Roncalli finished with 14 3s , 14 FTs and 4 2s. Jonah Eisenschenk 24 points, Nate Meyer 14 for Rocori.
Game 3: St. Cloud Cathedral vs #1-D3 La Crosse Aquinas (Watch it here)
After hammering my alma mater last night, Aquinas comes to town to play St. Cloud Cathedral. The first half Cathedral gives Aquinas all they want. It takes a Bronson Koenig high jumper at the halftime buzzer to tie the game at 32. Cathedral not keeping Evan Pederson out of the lane as he had 5 assists in the half for easy buckets. But Aquinas can't handle Joe Burt as he puts up 15 points in the half. Great matchup with Burt and Koenig going at each other. Bjorn Bjorklund with a 3 and then Scottie Rucks on the baseline drive to keep Cathedral up 46-45 with 10 minutes left. Koenig with a 3 off a set and then coast to coast for a 3 point play to put Aquinas up 55-48. Cathedral cuts the lead to 59-57 with 4:14 left as Koenig takes 3 quick shots and misses when it looked like Aquinas wanted to run some time off. Bjorklund 5 poitns in the run. But Koenig comes back and posts Burt for a 3 point play. Then a sweet pass to Jimmy Ancius for a 3 point play to push the lead to 8 and that's the dagger. Aquinas wins 71-64. Bronson Koenig 26 points, 13 of those after Cathedral took the 46-45 lead. Joe Burt 23 in a quality effort for Cathedral. Bjorn Bjorklund 14 of his 20 in the second half.
Game 4: #1AAAA Hopkins vs Madison East (Watch it here)
This one was over right from the start. Joe Coleman for 2 and a 3 point play. Siyani Chambers with a steal for 2 and then a long ball. 16-2 Hopkins at the 12:08 mark. East couldn't make a shot on the Nimrod Hilliard kickouts but it wouldn't have matter. The lead gets to 31-6 at 7:50, etc etc etc. Hopkins rolls 93-53 with the stars seeing limited action. Nick Jorgenson leads Hopkins with 20 points. Joe Coleman 15 points, 4 rebounds and a highlight block. 0-1 on outside shooting. Marvin Singleton 13. Jake Wright 11 as the frosh saw plenty of 1st half time in this one. Nimrod Hilliard 25 points for East and I had 9 turnovers on my sheet. But he is really fun to watch with his ridiculous quickness.
Game 5: #6AAA St. Cloud Apollo vs #11-D2 Rice Lake (Watch it here)
Rice Lake finishes the 1st half on a 12-2 run to flip the score to a 34-29 halftime lead. Wally Ellenson with 4 highlight reel blocks in the half. The duo of Simon Krych and Blake Maslonkowski producing inside for Apollo. Apollo comes back with their own run out of halftime of 14-3 to take a 43-37 lead inside of 13 minutes remaining. Krych doing work inside for a 3 point play 54-50 Apollo lead. Ellenson quiet to this point in the half banks in a 3 from the left corner (ridiculous) and another 3 at 4:55 for a 58-56 Rice Lake lead. Maslonkowski with a 3 point play countered by a Ellenson pullup. Mas on the post again for 2 with 45 seconds left. Nice play to go right to score after going left most of the game. 62-61 Rice Lake. Ellenson 1 free throw and then Ellenson is roaming on D and appears to tie up Krych but a foul is called. Krych is clutch with both freebies with 10.7 left to tie the game at 63. Rice Lake goes with no time out. Dribble up the right wing and hand off to the lefty Ellenson, he gets another screen at the top of the key but there's nothing there. He fades from 3 against great defense as the buzzer sounds and BOOM goes the dynamite as the 3 goes in for the win. 66-63 Rice Lake wins as Apollo sees another buzzer beater. He finishes with 25 points to lead all scorers. Simon Krych 23 points, Blake Maslonkowski 13 for the Eagles.
Game 6: Baldwin-Woodville at St. Cloud Tech (Watch it here)
To the late game and in a surprise, just nothing for Baldwin-Woodville in the first half. Star point guard Ryan Benoy goes scoreless and has 3 fouls. Tyler Heitmann has 14 points in the half to keep the Blackhawks close. But after a 5-0 Baldwin-Woodville start, the half is all Tech after a 20-5 run. 34-21 Tech at half but not putting it away either. Benoy picks up his 4th foul at 16:45 and has to sit. Tech Frosh Andy Foley with a pair of tough hoops early in the half as Tech extends the lead to 18. Down 13 with 11:15 to play, he comes back in and why not. Benoy finally on the board with a 3 at the 7:50 mark after an 0-7 FG start. Alex Matchinsky with a pair of free throws and Tech keeps the lead at 16 with just over 7 minutes left. But that 3 sparked Benoy. 1 basket, then a 3 point play and a pull up. He follows 2 missed Tech free throws with 2 made free throws of his own. Those 9 in a row cut the Tech lead to 55-48 with 5:05 left. Don't leave just yet. Matchinsky back to back hoops before a Benoy 3 vs a Tech zone cuts the lead to 59-53 with 4:05 left. Matchinsky scores again and Benoy fouls out with 1:58 left. Baldwin-Woodville won't get any closer. Tech makes their free throws to win 71-57. Alex Matchinsky with 18 of his 30 for Tech in the first half. Freshman Andy Foley 14 of his 19 in the second half with 6 late free throws to ice the game. Tyler Heitman 14 of his 20 in the first half to lead Baldwin-Woodville. Ryan Benoy all 15 of his points in a 3:45 span late in the 2nd half where the Blackhawks outscored Tech 19-8.
The series splits 3 and 3. Minnesota leads all time 15-11. Each state has won 2 years and this year's split. Next year's event is at Sun Prairie, WI. Here are the participants for what should be another outstanding.
WI: Sun Prairie, Waunakee, Wisconsin Dells, Madison Edgewood, La Crosse Aquinas and Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau.
MN: Tartan, DeLaSalle, Maranatha, Maple River, Prior Lake and Grand Rapids
The Czar's All Border Battle Team
Ben Stelzer - Manitowoc Roncalli (MVP)
Wally Ellenson - Rice Lake
Alex Matchinsky - St. Cloud Tech
Calahan Skogman - Seymour
Darrion Strong - Tartan
Bronson Koenig - La Crosse Aquinas
Joe Burt - St. Cloud Cathedral
Simon Krych - St. Cloud Apollo
Nathan Meyer- Rocori
Joe Coleman - Hopkins
Thoughts from a pair of 4A games
First some thoughts on the Tech/Champlin Park game which I saw the last 11 minutes of. Really strange that Champlin Park got a 44-42 lead and then was in a huge hurry to throw up tough shots like they were down 10 with 30 seconds left. A game the Rebels definitely should have won.
As to the 4A semi between Hopkins and Sibley. I arrive at halftime to see an absolutely HUGE Sibley student section at 1 end of the court. Its top to bottom filling the entire corner section. Props to those students.Combined with a small Hopkins section. At the 1st TV Timeout , 5 guys with 3 fouls and Sibley nursing a 40-36 lead. Big time feel to this one. The 1st guy with 4 could make a difference if it happens quickly.
Its Rostampour (really?) with 13:25 left and coach Dasovich has to go get him. Surprised Jordan Jackson hasn't attacked Siyani Chambers and his 3 fouls more. Singleton stops Krueser, then takes him to the rim for a miss and blocks Grant. That leads to Chambers going to the line to tie the game. Kreuser not strong enough to dominate Singleton on the offensive end and now quick enough to stop him on the defense end so a very tough matchup with Rostampour down with 4 fouls. Good timeout at 12:21 by coach Dasovich as you can feel Hopkins picking up the mighty mo.
Coleman with a steal and he tips it out and runs it down for 2 off the wrong foot and Hopkins goes up 41-40. Danger time for the Warriors here. Kreuser misses 2 chances and Coleman converts 2 freebies at 10:18 . 44-40 Hopkins and that gets Rostampour back in at 10:03. How long will he last? Chambers picks up his 4th at the 9:45 mark trying to stop a pass to Kreuser. DJ Peterson taking over the full time point guard duties now. Nice luxury for coach Novak. Also gives Hopkins a bigger lineup with Zach Stahl replacing Chambers.
Hopkins getting a couple of good high post looks vs the Sibley 2-3. Coleman misses one and puts back a miss after that. Singleton converts the other. Still 50-46 Hopkins wiht 7:45 remaining as the teams continue to trade buckets. Kreuser gets his 4th at 7:11. Jake Goldberg replaces him. Coleman picks a Rostampour skip out of the post at 6:45 and goes the other way for the 2 handed hammer. Singleton vs Rostampour now. Fun matchup. Hopkins going right at Rostampour with 2 postups that Singleton scores on. 57-50 Hopkins with 5:20 left. Singleton and Rostampour go tumbling at the other end. Hopkins wants a double foul to get rid of Rostampour but they won't get it. He makes the bonus freebies with 4:39 left for a TV Timeout. Kreuser was at the table so we'll see both Sibley bigs in with 4. 59-54 Hopkins.
Singleton dribbling the spots off the ball trying to attack Kreuser and he turns it over for 2 Jackson freebies. 3:54 left Chambers returns for the Royals. 59-55 as Jackson makes 1 of 2. Kreuser tips a miss in his own basket and Rostampour puts back a miss on his end. 61-57 Hopkins 3 minutes left. Nice pullup jumper by Stahl before getting to Kreuser. Jackson fouled 93 feet away and makes 2 with 2:43 left and we have the final TV timeout. 63-59 Hopkins leads. Sibley has to figure out a way to get a stop.
And they get the turnover. Set postup for Rostampour on the right box and he goes jump hook over the left shoulder at 2:10. Standard set and a good call. Jackson picks up his fourth out high and DJ Peterson shoots 2 at the 1:57 mark. He makes 1 of 2 so Sibley is now within 1 possession. Jimmy Ryan straightaway for 3 and the Sibley section erupts. Hopkins brings the ball to the frontcourt and takes time with 1:27 left. 64 all and this REALLY gets interesting now.
Coleman drives and Kreuser takes the charge with 1:17 left. I know coach Dasovich has siad he may be better at taking charges than blocking shots. Rostampour past Stahl on a postup and he misses. The ball is tipped out and Coleman has a wideopen track Grant gets the left shoulder which is meaningless with 53.5 left as Coleman converts. He misses the free throw but Stahl grabs it and Kreuser fouls out at 51.6. What a turnaround. Stahl gets 2 freebies and misses both. Goldberg grabs the board. Coleman reaches in and tips it away. Its off Rostampour with 49 seconds left. Unbelievable. Coleman fouled with 47.2 left and he makes 1 of 2. 67-64 Hopkins. Jackson right to the rack for 2 with 35 seconds left. Timeout Sibley down 67-66. Lots of time. Coleman 6-10, Singleton 5-8 from the line to this point. Coleman drives and makes a dangerous pass that is tipped out with 25.2 left. Sibley didn't look to foul at all and Coleman would have been a good candidate. But nobody really sticks out as an outstanding foul shooter.
Sibley elects not to foul Coleman but they get DJ Peterson with 20.2 left. He comes in 37 of 60 from the line on the year. He steps up and makes both pure for a 69-66 lead. Sibley pushes and has a passed tipped away. Sibley uses their last timeout with the ball in their half and 10.6 left. With no timeouts, you almost have to play for the 3 here as Hopkins could just let the clock run out on a 2. The ball goes right looking for Jimmy Ryan running the baseline. Nothing there. The ball is reversed to Dante Grant who takes a dribble and ducks under Singleton and banks in a left wing 3 with 2.5 remaining. Absolutely crazy. Best shot I've seen all year. The clocks runs out and we have a table review (new this year by rule). Coaches are called over by the offiicals. Its a 3 and there's no time left. 69 all and we will play overtime. UNREAL! Am I actually courtside watching this??
Nice pick and roll finds Singleton and no help and that puts Hopkins up 73-69. Sibley called for a moving screen. Hopkins goes dribble weave and Grant blocks DJ Peterson from behind. Jimmy Ryan cashes it in with a 3 from the left corner. Timeout Hopkins up 73-72 with 1:35 left and the ball. Singleton catches at the high post and gets called for changing pivot feet on a basic turn. Have to see that again to see if he actually walked. But Sibley turns it over on the other end with 1:12 left. Grant fouls out at 1:04 to put Chambers on the line. He makes both without issue. 75-72 Hopkins. Jackson to the rim and spins for a call with 54.4 left. He makes 1 of 2 and Sibley almost grabs the board after a pair of tips. 75-73 Hopkins with 33.5 left when Jeremiah Tolbert gets fouled. The first is around and out after a "In Your Head" chant from the Sibley students (HA!). The chant starts again and the 2nd is short. Jackson to Ryan who's on the NBA line for 3. Hopkins rushes back the other way. Ball ends up with Coleman going strong and Rostampour fouls out with 7.2 left. Now we have a loud building but the Sibley fans are behind the shooter. 1st is around and down and the 2nd is short. Sibley rebounds and takes timeout. Its an extra long timeout as the time remaining is reviewed on the monitor. Its set to 5.7.
With Kreuser and Rostampour gone, seems awfully tough to think that a 2nd OT would favor Sibley. Jordan Jackson with buzzer beaters in the last 2 games against CDH and Eastview. It has to be all him here. Jackson splits a double team to catch but then a lob pass is turned over. Singleton heaves at the buzzer and its long. We'll play double overtime.
The parade to the foul line continues in the 2nd OT as Singleton makes 2 and Chambers makes 2. 80-76 with 3:01 left in the OT. Chambers fouls out at 2:50 for a pair of Jordan Jackson free throws to cut the lead in half. Peterson drives and finishes right handed at 2:30. Jackson spins, falls away and banks at 2:20. Crazy difficult shot that he's athletic enough to make. Jackson reaches in and he's gone with 5 at 2:07. That's the 3rd starter and 4th guy for Sibley to foul out. Sibley now with 2 freshman on the floor and a reserve who has played minimal minutes. Coleman makes 1 of 2 before a missed Sibley 3. Peterson puts it on the deck and he earnes a trip to the line. He makes 1 with 1:45 left. 84-80 Hopkins leads and Sibley takes timeout with 1:40 left.
Jimmy Ryan goes quick for 2. 90 seconds left and Hopkins by 2. Hopkins in no hurry to score. Sibley gets a trap on Peterson but a quick foul is called when it looked like they may have a steal. Peterson makes 1 of 2 with 44.1 left. Nick Goldberg gets a great look at a 3 from the right corner with 30 seconds left and its no good. Singleton grabs the board and he's fouled with 25.7 left. He makes 1 of 2 for a 4 point Hopkins lead. Hopkins gets a doubleteam and a tip away. Coleman puts on the exclamation point with a big 2 handed dunk. Hopkins goes on to win an amazing game 90-82.
Hopkins wins this one and keeps it interesting at the line. They shoot 39-58 from the charity stripe to 18-24 for Sibley. No team had a lead bigger than 9. Joe Coleman 25 and 7 for Hopkins. Marvin Singleton 22 points. Jordan Jackson 25 for Sibley. Soph Dante Grant comes up big with 20 points. Mike Rostampour 13 and 12. Czar's Note 3/24/10 The 39-58 FT shooting for Hopkins is a record for most free throws taken and attempted.
As to the 4A semi between Hopkins and Sibley. I arrive at halftime to see an absolutely HUGE Sibley student section at 1 end of the court. Its top to bottom filling the entire corner section. Props to those students.Combined with a small Hopkins section. At the 1st TV Timeout , 5 guys with 3 fouls and Sibley nursing a 40-36 lead. Big time feel to this one. The 1st guy with 4 could make a difference if it happens quickly.
Its Rostampour (really?) with 13:25 left and coach Dasovich has to go get him. Surprised Jordan Jackson hasn't attacked Siyani Chambers and his 3 fouls more. Singleton stops Krueser, then takes him to the rim for a miss and blocks Grant. That leads to Chambers going to the line to tie the game. Kreuser not strong enough to dominate Singleton on the offensive end and now quick enough to stop him on the defense end so a very tough matchup with Rostampour down with 4 fouls. Good timeout at 12:21 by coach Dasovich as you can feel Hopkins picking up the mighty mo.
Coleman with a steal and he tips it out and runs it down for 2 off the wrong foot and Hopkins goes up 41-40. Danger time for the Warriors here. Kreuser misses 2 chances and Coleman converts 2 freebies at 10:18 . 44-40 Hopkins and that gets Rostampour back in at 10:03. How long will he last? Chambers picks up his 4th at the 9:45 mark trying to stop a pass to Kreuser. DJ Peterson taking over the full time point guard duties now. Nice luxury for coach Novak. Also gives Hopkins a bigger lineup with Zach Stahl replacing Chambers.
Hopkins getting a couple of good high post looks vs the Sibley 2-3. Coleman misses one and puts back a miss after that. Singleton converts the other. Still 50-46 Hopkins wiht 7:45 remaining as the teams continue to trade buckets. Kreuser gets his 4th at 7:11. Jake Goldberg replaces him. Coleman picks a Rostampour skip out of the post at 6:45 and goes the other way for the 2 handed hammer. Singleton vs Rostampour now. Fun matchup. Hopkins going right at Rostampour with 2 postups that Singleton scores on. 57-50 Hopkins with 5:20 left. Singleton and Rostampour go tumbling at the other end. Hopkins wants a double foul to get rid of Rostampour but they won't get it. He makes the bonus freebies with 4:39 left for a TV Timeout. Kreuser was at the table so we'll see both Sibley bigs in with 4. 59-54 Hopkins.
Singleton dribbling the spots off the ball trying to attack Kreuser and he turns it over for 2 Jackson freebies. 3:54 left Chambers returns for the Royals. 59-55 as Jackson makes 1 of 2. Kreuser tips a miss in his own basket and Rostampour puts back a miss on his end. 61-57 Hopkins 3 minutes left. Nice pullup jumper by Stahl before getting to Kreuser. Jackson fouled 93 feet away and makes 2 with 2:43 left and we have the final TV timeout. 63-59 Hopkins leads. Sibley has to figure out a way to get a stop.
And they get the turnover. Set postup for Rostampour on the right box and he goes jump hook over the left shoulder at 2:10. Standard set and a good call. Jackson picks up his fourth out high and DJ Peterson shoots 2 at the 1:57 mark. He makes 1 of 2 so Sibley is now within 1 possession. Jimmy Ryan straightaway for 3 and the Sibley section erupts. Hopkins brings the ball to the frontcourt and takes time with 1:27 left. 64 all and this REALLY gets interesting now.
Coleman drives and Kreuser takes the charge with 1:17 left. I know coach Dasovich has siad he may be better at taking charges than blocking shots. Rostampour past Stahl on a postup and he misses. The ball is tipped out and Coleman has a wideopen track Grant gets the left shoulder which is meaningless with 53.5 left as Coleman converts. He misses the free throw but Stahl grabs it and Kreuser fouls out at 51.6. What a turnaround. Stahl gets 2 freebies and misses both. Goldberg grabs the board. Coleman reaches in and tips it away. Its off Rostampour with 49 seconds left. Unbelievable. Coleman fouled with 47.2 left and he makes 1 of 2. 67-64 Hopkins. Jackson right to the rack for 2 with 35 seconds left. Timeout Sibley down 67-66. Lots of time. Coleman 6-10, Singleton 5-8 from the line to this point. Coleman drives and makes a dangerous pass that is tipped out with 25.2 left. Sibley didn't look to foul at all and Coleman would have been a good candidate. But nobody really sticks out as an outstanding foul shooter.
Sibley elects not to foul Coleman but they get DJ Peterson with 20.2 left. He comes in 37 of 60 from the line on the year. He steps up and makes both pure for a 69-66 lead. Sibley pushes and has a passed tipped away. Sibley uses their last timeout with the ball in their half and 10.6 left. With no timeouts, you almost have to play for the 3 here as Hopkins could just let the clock run out on a 2. The ball goes right looking for Jimmy Ryan running the baseline. Nothing there. The ball is reversed to Dante Grant who takes a dribble and ducks under Singleton and banks in a left wing 3 with 2.5 remaining. Absolutely crazy. Best shot I've seen all year. The clocks runs out and we have a table review (new this year by rule). Coaches are called over by the offiicals. Its a 3 and there's no time left. 69 all and we will play overtime. UNREAL! Am I actually courtside watching this??
Nice pick and roll finds Singleton and no help and that puts Hopkins up 73-69. Sibley called for a moving screen. Hopkins goes dribble weave and Grant blocks DJ Peterson from behind. Jimmy Ryan cashes it in with a 3 from the left corner. Timeout Hopkins up 73-72 with 1:35 left and the ball. Singleton catches at the high post and gets called for changing pivot feet on a basic turn. Have to see that again to see if he actually walked. But Sibley turns it over on the other end with 1:12 left. Grant fouls out at 1:04 to put Chambers on the line. He makes both without issue. 75-72 Hopkins. Jackson to the rim and spins for a call with 54.4 left. He makes 1 of 2 and Sibley almost grabs the board after a pair of tips. 75-73 Hopkins with 33.5 left when Jeremiah Tolbert gets fouled. The first is around and out after a "In Your Head" chant from the Sibley students (HA!). The chant starts again and the 2nd is short. Jackson to Ryan who's on the NBA line for 3. Hopkins rushes back the other way. Ball ends up with Coleman going strong and Rostampour fouls out with 7.2 left. Now we have a loud building but the Sibley fans are behind the shooter. 1st is around and down and the 2nd is short. Sibley rebounds and takes timeout. Its an extra long timeout as the time remaining is reviewed on the monitor. Its set to 5.7.
With Kreuser and Rostampour gone, seems awfully tough to think that a 2nd OT would favor Sibley. Jordan Jackson with buzzer beaters in the last 2 games against CDH and Eastview. It has to be all him here. Jackson splits a double team to catch but then a lob pass is turned over. Singleton heaves at the buzzer and its long. We'll play double overtime.
The parade to the foul line continues in the 2nd OT as Singleton makes 2 and Chambers makes 2. 80-76 with 3:01 left in the OT. Chambers fouls out at 2:50 for a pair of Jordan Jackson free throws to cut the lead in half. Peterson drives and finishes right handed at 2:30. Jackson spins, falls away and banks at 2:20. Crazy difficult shot that he's athletic enough to make. Jackson reaches in and he's gone with 5 at 2:07. That's the 3rd starter and 4th guy for Sibley to foul out. Sibley now with 2 freshman on the floor and a reserve who has played minimal minutes. Coleman makes 1 of 2 before a missed Sibley 3. Peterson puts it on the deck and he earnes a trip to the line. He makes 1 with 1:45 left. 84-80 Hopkins leads and Sibley takes timeout with 1:40 left.
Jimmy Ryan goes quick for 2. 90 seconds left and Hopkins by 2. Hopkins in no hurry to score. Sibley gets a trap on Peterson but a quick foul is called when it looked like they may have a steal. Peterson makes 1 of 2 with 44.1 left. Nick Goldberg gets a great look at a 3 from the right corner with 30 seconds left and its no good. Singleton grabs the board and he's fouled with 25.7 left. He makes 1 of 2 for a 4 point Hopkins lead. Hopkins gets a doubleteam and a tip away. Coleman puts on the exclamation point with a big 2 handed dunk. Hopkins goes on to win an amazing game 90-82.
Hopkins wins this one and keeps it interesting at the line. They shoot 39-58 from the charity stripe to 18-24 for Sibley. No team had a lead bigger than 9. Joe Coleman 25 and 7 for Hopkins. Marvin Singleton 22 points. Jordan Jackson 25 for Sibley. Soph Dante Grant comes up big with 20 points. Mike Rostampour 13 and 12. Czar's Note 3/24/10 The 39-58 FT shooting for Hopkins is a record for most free throws taken and attempted.
Hopkins Tonka thoughts
Labels:
Cole Stefan,
DJ Peterson,
Joe Coleman,
Marvin Singleton
Prologue
To Hopkins I go for the annual rivalry game with Minnetonka. This obviously isn't the same Minnetonka team of years gone by. But I wanted to see what they were like under a new coach. We have the Hopkins band and inexplicably 3 members of the Mr Basketball committee. If they're still evaluating all 25 finalists, the committee isn't getting the job done. Its stuff like this that puts Ray Cowles as a finalist instead of Nate Wolters.
Game Time
Cole Stefan for 3 to put Tonka up 5-4 early. Joe Coleman with a nice give and go from DJ Peterson and then his 2nd dunk of the night from a turnover. He has all 8 Hopkins points. Another Tonka turnover gives Coleman his 3rd dunk of the night. Chad Howard with a 3 for the Skippers to cut the Hopkins lead to 18-12 inside of 10 minutes. Then Hopkins starts to roll. The inbound to Coleman on the right block, passer goes by and Coleman spins for a 2 handed dunk. Nice concept using him there when they've historically used their biggest big in that spot. They can also throw it up to him for a dunk if he's face guarded. Simple read and react set, but its been very very effective for years for the Royals. Coleman with another bunny. Cam Selmer for 3. DJ Peterson with a layup and a jumper after a big Zach Stahl block. He follows it with a pair of free throws. Its a 15-2 Hopkins run in just under 3 minutes to push the lead to 33-14 at the 6:35 mark. Tor Anderson with 3 straight triples for Tonka but those are countered by 3 Jeremiah Tolbert bombs and another strike from Selmer. Coleman runs out for a dunk and the lead is 24. Anderson beats the halftime buzzer to cut the Hopkins lead to 49-28 at the half.
Coleman shows off range in the second half with a pair of triples. Zach Stahl on the post at its a 62-37 game at the 14 minute mark. Leonard Glass with a lob dunk off a turnover and a Nick Latzke 3 cut the lead to 18. But Hopkins pushes the lead right back to 26 with a Riley Dearring layup, Marvin Singleton on the block and layups from Stahl and Selmer. 70-44 with 9:45 left. Tonka does have 1 run in their system along with some sloppy play from Hopkins. Latzke for 3 followed by an area code 3 from Stefan. Dearring with a 3 point play to keep the lead at 24 with 8:43 left. Leonard Glass with 4 straight, Stefan with another long NBA 3 and then he goes screen/roll with Glass for 2 more. 74-59 Hopkins and there's still 6:35 left. The Skippers miss a couple of chances and Hopkins pounces to put this away comfortably 96-69.
For Minnetonka, Nick Latzke leads the way with 15 of his 19 points in the second half. 8-13 overall with 6-8 and 3 triples in that second half. Tor Anderson with 11 of his 17 late in the first half to keep the game somewhat respectable. Cole Stefan 5-12 for 13 points with 3 triples. Leonard Glass 12 points to also reach double figures. Interesting that the Skippers ran quite a bit of what looked like 4 out 1 in motion and got away from some of the dribble drive stuff they've been known for. The Skippers fall to 11-13 and have lost 8 out of 12. That's the 6th worse record in the second but the 2nd best power ranking. I think they have to be behind North and Armstrong. Now, if they get Minneapolis South and Alonzo Traylor in the 4/5 game at home and Armstrong gets St. Louis Park in the 3/6 game, now you've got a pair of very interesting games. Traylor is a bad matchup for Tonka and St. Louis Park knocked off Armstrong this season. But Armstrong is playing well now. On the other hand, if Tonka gets Armstrong and South plays St. Louis Park, those games could be ugly. Armstrong has Tonka's number and Traylor would be a major factor against the Orioles.
For Hopkins, Joe Coleman 18 of his 24 points in the first half on nothing outside of 2 inches before knocking down a pair of 3s in the second half. Zach Stahl active around the basket and knocked down a pair of 3s for 16 points . Quiet night for Marvin Singleton with only 9 points and 5 rebounds. Not many opportunities to look for him on the block. DJ Peterson with the best game I've seen him play this year. 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and quality defense on Stefan. Hopkins won't get the chance to avenge the loss to Johnson but somehow I think they'd like to see North again in section play. The Polars took out the Royals 66-63 the night before the TWolves Shootout.
To Hopkins I go for the annual rivalry game with Minnetonka. This obviously isn't the same Minnetonka team of years gone by. But I wanted to see what they were like under a new coach. We have the Hopkins band and inexplicably 3 members of the Mr Basketball committee. If they're still evaluating all 25 finalists, the committee isn't getting the job done. Its stuff like this that puts Ray Cowles as a finalist instead of Nate Wolters.
Game Time
Cole Stefan for 3 to put Tonka up 5-4 early. Joe Coleman with a nice give and go from DJ Peterson and then his 2nd dunk of the night from a turnover. He has all 8 Hopkins points. Another Tonka turnover gives Coleman his 3rd dunk of the night. Chad Howard with a 3 for the Skippers to cut the Hopkins lead to 18-12 inside of 10 minutes. Then Hopkins starts to roll. The inbound to Coleman on the right block, passer goes by and Coleman spins for a 2 handed dunk. Nice concept using him there when they've historically used their biggest big in that spot. They can also throw it up to him for a dunk if he's face guarded. Simple read and react set, but its been very very effective for years for the Royals. Coleman with another bunny. Cam Selmer for 3. DJ Peterson with a layup and a jumper after a big Zach Stahl block. He follows it with a pair of free throws. Its a 15-2 Hopkins run in just under 3 minutes to push the lead to 33-14 at the 6:35 mark. Tor Anderson with 3 straight triples for Tonka but those are countered by 3 Jeremiah Tolbert bombs and another strike from Selmer. Coleman runs out for a dunk and the lead is 24. Anderson beats the halftime buzzer to cut the Hopkins lead to 49-28 at the half.
Coleman shows off range in the second half with a pair of triples. Zach Stahl on the post at its a 62-37 game at the 14 minute mark. Leonard Glass with a lob dunk off a turnover and a Nick Latzke 3 cut the lead to 18. But Hopkins pushes the lead right back to 26 with a Riley Dearring layup, Marvin Singleton on the block and layups from Stahl and Selmer. 70-44 with 9:45 left. Tonka does have 1 run in their system along with some sloppy play from Hopkins. Latzke for 3 followed by an area code 3 from Stefan. Dearring with a 3 point play to keep the lead at 24 with 8:43 left. Leonard Glass with 4 straight, Stefan with another long NBA 3 and then he goes screen/roll with Glass for 2 more. 74-59 Hopkins and there's still 6:35 left. The Skippers miss a couple of chances and Hopkins pounces to put this away comfortably 96-69.
For Minnetonka, Nick Latzke leads the way with 15 of his 19 points in the second half. 8-13 overall with 6-8 and 3 triples in that second half. Tor Anderson with 11 of his 17 late in the first half to keep the game somewhat respectable. Cole Stefan 5-12 for 13 points with 3 triples. Leonard Glass 12 points to also reach double figures. Interesting that the Skippers ran quite a bit of what looked like 4 out 1 in motion and got away from some of the dribble drive stuff they've been known for. The Skippers fall to 11-13 and have lost 8 out of 12. That's the 6th worse record in the second but the 2nd best power ranking. I think they have to be behind North and Armstrong. Now, if they get Minneapolis South and Alonzo Traylor in the 4/5 game at home and Armstrong gets St. Louis Park in the 3/6 game, now you've got a pair of very interesting games. Traylor is a bad matchup for Tonka and St. Louis Park knocked off Armstrong this season. But Armstrong is playing well now. On the other hand, if Tonka gets Armstrong and South plays St. Louis Park, those games could be ugly. Armstrong has Tonka's number and Traylor would be a major factor against the Orioles.
For Hopkins, Joe Coleman 18 of his 24 points in the first half on nothing outside of 2 inches before knocking down a pair of 3s in the second half. Zach Stahl active around the basket and knocked down a pair of 3s for 16 points . Quiet night for Marvin Singleton with only 9 points and 5 rebounds. Not many opportunities to look for him on the block. DJ Peterson with the best game I've seen him play this year. 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and quality defense on Stefan. Hopkins won't get the chance to avenge the loss to Johnson but somehow I think they'd like to see North again in section play. The Polars took out the Royals 66-63 the night before the TWolves Shootout.
Hopkins wins war against Cooper
Labels:
Calvin Godfrey,
DJ Peterson,
Joe Coleman,
Marvin Singleton
Prologue
Good crowd in the house tonight as #4 Hopkins hosted #2 Cooper. We even had a 2nd half appearance from GopherHole.com's GopherLady. Those of you who are long time readers will know that I've linked many of her outstanding player interviews from here. Hard for me to link to a Gopher site since I despise the rodents in all their forms but I have to give credit where much credit is overdue. Nice to finally put a face to the name tonight. And where else can I find another native Wisconsinite? 2 words for the rest of the night, "The Works". (would you rather the lame cliche, so nice gotta have it twice?) We're having everything but the black olives on the Taco in a Bag (sour cream is good for maintaining the waistline) and the rare choice of Dr. Pepper tonight. Though seeing a Pepsi cabinet with almost all Coke products in it was amusing.
Game Time
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins to a quick start. He has a putback, a steal for a dunk and catches a pass off a flex cut and goes to the reverse layup all in 1 motion. Timeout Cooper. Siyani Chambers to DJ Peterson for a layup and a drive for 2 of his own. Cooper needs another timeout at 10:16 down 19-7. Cooper can't buy a basket to this point despite trying to get Calvin Godfrey touches on the left box. Out of the timeout Darry Jones with a great backcut but botches the 2 handed dunk. No better sign of how Cooper's night has gone than that. Coleman converts a layup on the other end to push the lead to 14, yikes. But Cooper stays with Godfrey and makes a comeback. He finally converts from the post and then a picture perfect baseline dropstep from the left box for 2 more. Terry Glass with a jumper and a drive for 2 more. Terrence Averyheart for 3 and then 3 the hard way. And looky here, 23 all at the 5:50 mark after a 16-2 Cooper run over 3:35. Coleman walks and no call for a 3 point play countered by an Averyheart backcut for 2. Marvin Singleton taking advantage of his quickness vs Godfrey on the offensive end. He goes up and under Godfrey for a 3 point play and then another 3 point play after Godfrey gambled for a steal out high and didn't get it. 33-27 Hopkins at the 3:57 mark. Godfrey gets pulled and after going back in, he backs off of Singleton who drains a 3. Godfrey converts a dump down for 2 and then a late hoop to pull the Hawks within 41-38 at the half.
Coleman with 2 freebies, Singleton lets Godfrey fly by and lays it in. Chambers drives and goes to the reverse to push the lead to 9 with 16 minutes left. Timeout Cooper. Averyheart for 3, Godfrey with a big block for a Jones dunk. Hopkins then with a rash of turnovers including not converting a 4 on 1 break. Brandon Harrison on the post for 2 at 13:05 to cut the Hopkins lead to 47-45. 5 free throws push the lead back to 7 at the 10:22 and we have another timeout. Coleman with a 3 point play at 9:40 to push the lead to 11 and it looks like the Royals will pull away. Singleton scores against Godfrey in the post for Godfrey's 4th foul. That comes at 8:55. Coleman splits the D at 8:30 and Hopkins leads 60-48. Godfrey converts an offensive rebound with 6 minutes left, but the Hopkins lead is still 10.
Then this one gets a bit crazy. Godfrey with a block that turns into 2 and the foul. The foul is on Singleton, his fourth and then he gets a technical which is a personal. That's #5 and he's gone and there's still 4:53 left and the teams are yapping. Glass converts the technicals and then before the inbounds, away from the Cooper basket, Godfrey gets an elbow up on DJ Peterson's chin which no ref saw but the entire crowd did. Really chippy at this point. Elijah Swen nails a 3 on the possession and hold the phone, Hopkins only leads by 5, 68-63 with 4:42 left. Chambers with a pair of free throws at 4:34 and coach Johnson inexplicably takes Cooper's last timeout. Hopkins tries to put it away with Coleman inside and then a layup off an assist from Riley Dearring. 74-65 Royals with 3:15 left. Godfrey fouled in the act of shooting at 3:02 and we have another Hopkins technical. I think for slamming the ball. Godfrey makes 1, Averyheart converts the technicals but Godfrey misses a bunny on the possession. Jones misses another bunny for Cooper on the next possession. But after a Hopkins miss, Jones makes a great save on an errant pass and Glass scoops for the hoop at 1:50, 74-71 Hopkins. Chambers with 1 free throw countered by a Godfrey putback at 1:30, 75-73 Hopkins. Dearring with 2 clutch freebies at 1:12. Godfrey open inside but Averyheart won't throw it to him. No problem though as Averyheart drives and goes glass with 42 seconds left. 77-75 Hopkins leads. Godfrey fouls out at 27.5 bumping Chambers who calmly buries both free throws. Averyheart forces a stepback 3 that's no good. Swen nails a 3 at the buzzer that doesn't matter as Hopkins wins a real war 83-78.
For Cooper, they fall to 14-2 going into a big North Suburban showdown on Monday at Columbia Heights. Calvin Godfrey 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks on my sheet. But only 2-10 from the charity stripe with 9-17 from the floor with 3 missed bunnies early. Terrence Averyheart leads the way with 25 points in a clutch performance. Darry Jones very quiet with only 8 points. Godfrey spent most of the night on the left box with Brandon Harrison playing the right box and moving up to the high post for some high/low action.
For Hopkins, they also are 14-2 and no rest for the weary with a trip to #2AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's tomorrow afternoon to play the rested Red Knights who haven't played since Tuesday. Very tough game. BSM on a 7 game winning streak since the league loss to Cooper to start the month. Joe Coleman leads the way with 19 of his 33 points in the 2nd half. Marvin Singleton had to face Godfrey most of the night but still finished with 21 points and 8 boards on my sheet. Siyani Chambers with 10 points and 5 of 6 free throws in the last 5 minutes to keep Hopkins ahead. Interesting trend for Hopkins as athletic guards tend to give them problems (North, Johnson and now Cooper). I think Hopkins gambles more out of their pressure man to man defense than I've seen in a long time and that surprises me consider how good they are traditionally on defense.
Joe Coleman photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
Good crowd in the house tonight as #4 Hopkins hosted #2 Cooper. We even had a 2nd half appearance from GopherHole.com's GopherLady. Those of you who are long time readers will know that I've linked many of her outstanding player interviews from here. Hard for me to link to a Gopher site since I despise the rodents in all their forms but I have to give credit where much credit is overdue. Nice to finally put a face to the name tonight. And where else can I find another native Wisconsinite? 2 words for the rest of the night, "The Works". (would you rather the lame cliche, so nice gotta have it twice?) We're having everything but the black olives on the Taco in a Bag (sour cream is good for maintaining the waistline) and the rare choice of Dr. Pepper tonight. Though seeing a Pepsi cabinet with almost all Coke products in it was amusing.
Game Time
Joe Coleman leads Hopkins to a quick start. He has a putback, a steal for a dunk and catches a pass off a flex cut and goes to the reverse layup all in 1 motion. Timeout Cooper. Siyani Chambers to DJ Peterson for a layup and a drive for 2 of his own. Cooper needs another timeout at 10:16 down 19-7. Cooper can't buy a basket to this point despite trying to get Calvin Godfrey touches on the left box. Out of the timeout Darry Jones with a great backcut but botches the 2 handed dunk. No better sign of how Cooper's night has gone than that. Coleman converts a layup on the other end to push the lead to 14, yikes. But Cooper stays with Godfrey and makes a comeback. He finally converts from the post and then a picture perfect baseline dropstep from the left box for 2 more. Terry Glass with a jumper and a drive for 2 more. Terrence Averyheart for 3 and then 3 the hard way. And looky here, 23 all at the 5:50 mark after a 16-2 Cooper run over 3:35. Coleman walks and no call for a 3 point play countered by an Averyheart backcut for 2. Marvin Singleton taking advantage of his quickness vs Godfrey on the offensive end. He goes up and under Godfrey for a 3 point play and then another 3 point play after Godfrey gambled for a steal out high and didn't get it. 33-27 Hopkins at the 3:57 mark. Godfrey gets pulled and after going back in, he backs off of Singleton who drains a 3. Godfrey converts a dump down for 2 and then a late hoop to pull the Hawks within 41-38 at the half.
Coleman with 2 freebies, Singleton lets Godfrey fly by and lays it in. Chambers drives and goes to the reverse to push the lead to 9 with 16 minutes left. Timeout Cooper. Averyheart for 3, Godfrey with a big block for a Jones dunk. Hopkins then with a rash of turnovers including not converting a 4 on 1 break. Brandon Harrison on the post for 2 at 13:05 to cut the Hopkins lead to 47-45. 5 free throws push the lead back to 7 at the 10:22 and we have another timeout. Coleman with a 3 point play at 9:40 to push the lead to 11 and it looks like the Royals will pull away. Singleton scores against Godfrey in the post for Godfrey's 4th foul. That comes at 8:55. Coleman splits the D at 8:30 and Hopkins leads 60-48. Godfrey converts an offensive rebound with 6 minutes left, but the Hopkins lead is still 10.
Then this one gets a bit crazy. Godfrey with a block that turns into 2 and the foul. The foul is on Singleton, his fourth and then he gets a technical which is a personal. That's #5 and he's gone and there's still 4:53 left and the teams are yapping. Glass converts the technicals and then before the inbounds, away from the Cooper basket, Godfrey gets an elbow up on DJ Peterson's chin which no ref saw but the entire crowd did. Really chippy at this point. Elijah Swen nails a 3 on the possession and hold the phone, Hopkins only leads by 5, 68-63 with 4:42 left. Chambers with a pair of free throws at 4:34 and coach Johnson inexplicably takes Cooper's last timeout. Hopkins tries to put it away with Coleman inside and then a layup off an assist from Riley Dearring. 74-65 Royals with 3:15 left. Godfrey fouled in the act of shooting at 3:02 and we have another Hopkins technical. I think for slamming the ball. Godfrey makes 1, Averyheart converts the technicals but Godfrey misses a bunny on the possession. Jones misses another bunny for Cooper on the next possession. But after a Hopkins miss, Jones makes a great save on an errant pass and Glass scoops for the hoop at 1:50, 74-71 Hopkins. Chambers with 1 free throw countered by a Godfrey putback at 1:30, 75-73 Hopkins. Dearring with 2 clutch freebies at 1:12. Godfrey open inside but Averyheart won't throw it to him. No problem though as Averyheart drives and goes glass with 42 seconds left. 77-75 Hopkins leads. Godfrey fouls out at 27.5 bumping Chambers who calmly buries both free throws. Averyheart forces a stepback 3 that's no good. Swen nails a 3 at the buzzer that doesn't matter as Hopkins wins a real war 83-78.
For Cooper, they fall to 14-2 going into a big North Suburban showdown on Monday at Columbia Heights. Calvin Godfrey 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks on my sheet. But only 2-10 from the charity stripe with 9-17 from the floor with 3 missed bunnies early. Terrence Averyheart leads the way with 25 points in a clutch performance. Darry Jones very quiet with only 8 points. Godfrey spent most of the night on the left box with Brandon Harrison playing the right box and moving up to the high post for some high/low action.
For Hopkins, they also are 14-2 and no rest for the weary with a trip to #2AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's tomorrow afternoon to play the rested Red Knights who haven't played since Tuesday. Very tough game. BSM on a 7 game winning streak since the league loss to Cooper to start the month. Joe Coleman leads the way with 19 of his 33 points in the 2nd half. Marvin Singleton had to face Godfrey most of the night but still finished with 21 points and 8 boards on my sheet. Siyani Chambers with 10 points and 5 of 6 free throws in the last 5 minutes to keep Hopkins ahead. Interesting trend for Hopkins as athletic guards tend to give them problems (North, Johnson and now Cooper). I think Hopkins gambles more out of their pressure man to man defense than I've seen in a long time and that surprises me consider how good they are traditionally on defense.
Joe Coleman photo courtesy of MNPhotoNet.net
2010 TWolves Shootout Thoughts
Here are my thoughts from the 2010 TWolves Shootout
Game 1: Orono vs #6AAA Grand Rapids
Tight game at the half before a 12-2 second half Orono run puts them up by 6 with 8 minutes left. Grand Rapids right back with a 10-0 run to regain the lead. 6'8 post Kevin Rabbers with 6 points in the run, Eric Stark with the other 4 and an assist in the run. 5 point Grand Rapids lead with 1:30 to go in regulation but they can't hold it. Jordan Smith goes glass and the foul with 54.7 left and Grand Rapids can't snag the rebound. That's gets putback to cut the lead to 2. Then 2 missed free throws. Jeremy Borg (19 and 12 in a big game for him) slips a screen for an easy layup to tie the game and force OT. Orono gets the 1st 9 of OT and they win 74-65 easily. Jordan Smith 25 points on 9-21 shooting on my sheet to lead Orono. For Grand Rapids, Eric Stark 18 points but 6-21 shooting. Michael Johnson 15 points but was quiet in the 2nd half. Nice upset win for Orono and its not out of the question that we could see these teams again at state with Orono leading the power rankings in section 5 and Grand Rapids being the favorite in section 7.
Game 2: #4AA Staples-Motley vs #2A Minnesota Transitions
Staples-Motley tries to slow the pace with a 1-3-1 but their bigs still get in foul trouble vs Kevin Noreen despite double and triple teaming. Jon Bristow with 3 fouls in 7 minutes. Rodney Owens with a great start for MTS. He gets a layup and then a steal for 2 more to push MTS to a 6 point lead. Staples hangs around but Owens with another steal for a dunk and then he finds a cutting Kevin Noreen for a layup. 23-15 MTS with 7:18 left to force a Staples-Motley timeout. Out of the timeout, MTS holds the ball vs the 1-3-1. Staples has to go man and this one is over. Staples-Motley gets 1 field goal in the last 9 minutes. 33-18 MTS at the half. 2nd half, MTS picks apart the man D. Staples-Motley goes the 1st 7 minutes without a field goal in the 2nd half. So 1 field goal in 16 minutes across halftime, ouch. 58-36 easy win for MTS in a game that I thought would be very close since both teams had tight losses to Columbia Heights. Kevin Noreen with 24 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet (officially listed at 12). Jordan Riewer in and out of the lineup all day as there were issues with blood on his uniform. Only 3 points for him.
Game 3: #7AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville vs #1AA Crosby-Ironton
A possible state semifinal preview between these 2 teams. PEM was previously ranked #1, now CI on top. Interesting 2-3 matchup zone from Crosby-Ironton. PEM playing 1-3-1 most of the way though they surprisingly went man late. CI with no size and Cole Olstad was just a beast for PEM. CI had no answer for him and the Rangers couldn't get any offense besides Mark Hoge. Very close all the way to the end. Crosby with many chances late to tie that didn't convert. PEM hits late free throws for a hard fought 51-41 win. Mark Hoge 17 for CI. Cole Olstad 23 for PEM.
Game 4: Henry Sibley vs North Lawndale College Prep (IL)
Paul Bunch, big body inside for NLCP. But he sat a lot in the 1st half. When he was in, he was a factor blocking shots. 2nd half story was Jermaine Winfield of NLCP. He dominated inside on his way to 18 points, most inside in the 2nd half. 50 all with 5 minutes left when Winfield scores inside for the lead. Sibley then turns it over for 2 free throws. Rostampour misses a front end and Bunch follows up a miss with a dunk. That's a 6 point cushion but NLCP pulls the ball out too early and Sibley almost makes them pay. But 2 Winfield putbacks and a steal finally puts the one out of reacy. 62-54 North Lawndale wins. Paul Bunch 11 points 7 boards and 7 blocks. Jake Kreuser with a nice day of 15 pts and 14 boards with 3 blocks. Mike Rostampour with another interior struggle against good inside talent. He struggled against Christian Faith Academy's athletes over the holidays and was only 3-14 inside yesterday, but he did have 14 boards.
Game 5: Linn-Mar, IA vs Minnetonka
Fun game here. Marcus Paige with a floater for a 6 point LM lead early. Then sharpshooters Matt Bohannon and Cole Stefan trade deep 3s. Paige wraps the ball around and goes for a layup to get a nice oooh from the crowd. 21-13 Linn-Mar inside of 9 minutes. But Stefan with a pair of bombs in a 14-5 Tonka run over the last 3:15 of the half. 36-31 Skippers at the half. 2 Tonka turnovers equal layups and then Paige with a 3 for a 55-46 Linn-Mar lead with 11:40 to go. Stefan and Chad Howard with back to back 3s to cut the lead to 3 with 10:45 left. Paige for 3 again. Bohannon with a 3 and its 64-55 Linn-Mar with 8:30 left. Tor Anderson 2 freebies, Nick Latzke with a block for a Leonard Glass layup and a Stefan layup. 64-61 Linn-Mar with 7:33 to go. Another Stefan bomb keeps Tonka close 70-66 with 5:40 to go. Paige with an assist and Bohannon with a foul line jumper. Stefan inside 2 countered by a Paige pullup. Stefan from New York City for 3 countered by a Paige drive. Linn-Mar doesn't let Tonka get back and then make free throws for a 88-71 win. Cole Stefan with 8 triples from every metro suburb, 16-24 shooting as he goes completely nuts for 40 points. Linn-Mar is more than Paige (20 pts and 6 assists, 16 and 4 of those in 2nd half). Matt Bohannon is a nice mid to low-major shooting guard (younger brother of UW's Jason Bohannon). He finished with 26 points and 4 triples of his own. Interesting that Minnetonka took Tor Anderson off of Paige in the 2nd half and moved him over to defend Bohannon in the 2nd half.
Game 6: #1AAAA Hopkins vs #8AAAA Champlin Park
This one to me had blowout written all over it with Hopkins losing at North on Friday. But as I was doing podcast for the 1st half of this one I see Brandon Davis knock down back to back triples from Jasper Duberry to force 1 Hopkins timeout down 11. Then its 33-19 Champlin Park with 2:57 left in the first half. Duberry for 3 at the first half buzzer and Champlin Park is up 10. DJ Peterson with 3 quick fouls and sits for a large part of the half. Hopkins went deep into the bench with a couple of guys (Selmer, Martin) who normally aren't in the rotation.
2nd half Hopkins awakens with pressure defense and ice cold Champlin Park shooting. A 26-4 Hopkins run over the 1st 9:10 of the second half puts the Royals up 54-42 with 9:50 left. Joe Coleman with a 3 and 2 old-fashioned 3 point plays on not smart fouls during the run. The lead stays at 10-12 points and it looks like Hopkins will just cruise. But its not quite over. Duberry a pair of freebies at 3:16, Coleman misses 2 freebies, Brandon Davis 2 freebies, DJ Peterson misses a front end, Josh Pella with a tip. A tieup goes to Champlin Park and Pella tips in a miss and gets fouled for a 3 point play. All of a sudden its 70-67 Hopkins with 1:09 left. But Siyani Chambers makes 4 big free throws to put this one away. 74-69 Hopkins wins. Joe Coleman with 24 points and a pair of 3s during the game. Nice to see him shoot the ball better. Marvin Singleton 20 points as there wasn't a good answer for him inside. Jasper Duberry leads Champlin Park with 17 points. Jordan Reibling with 11 points off the Rebels bench as he was 1 of 5 Rebels in double figures.
Game 1: Orono vs #6AAA Grand Rapids
Tight game at the half before a 12-2 second half Orono run puts them up by 6 with 8 minutes left. Grand Rapids right back with a 10-0 run to regain the lead. 6'8 post Kevin Rabbers with 6 points in the run, Eric Stark with the other 4 and an assist in the run. 5 point Grand Rapids lead with 1:30 to go in regulation but they can't hold it. Jordan Smith goes glass and the foul with 54.7 left and Grand Rapids can't snag the rebound. That's gets putback to cut the lead to 2. Then 2 missed free throws. Jeremy Borg (19 and 12 in a big game for him) slips a screen for an easy layup to tie the game and force OT. Orono gets the 1st 9 of OT and they win 74-65 easily. Jordan Smith 25 points on 9-21 shooting on my sheet to lead Orono. For Grand Rapids, Eric Stark 18 points but 6-21 shooting. Michael Johnson 15 points but was quiet in the 2nd half. Nice upset win for Orono and its not out of the question that we could see these teams again at state with Orono leading the power rankings in section 5 and Grand Rapids being the favorite in section 7.
Game 2: #4AA Staples-Motley vs #2A Minnesota Transitions
Staples-Motley tries to slow the pace with a 1-3-1 but their bigs still get in foul trouble vs Kevin Noreen despite double and triple teaming. Jon Bristow with 3 fouls in 7 minutes. Rodney Owens with a great start for MTS. He gets a layup and then a steal for 2 more to push MTS to a 6 point lead. Staples hangs around but Owens with another steal for a dunk and then he finds a cutting Kevin Noreen for a layup. 23-15 MTS with 7:18 left to force a Staples-Motley timeout. Out of the timeout, MTS holds the ball vs the 1-3-1. Staples has to go man and this one is over. Staples-Motley gets 1 field goal in the last 9 minutes. 33-18 MTS at the half. 2nd half, MTS picks apart the man D. Staples-Motley goes the 1st 7 minutes without a field goal in the 2nd half. So 1 field goal in 16 minutes across halftime, ouch. 58-36 easy win for MTS in a game that I thought would be very close since both teams had tight losses to Columbia Heights. Kevin Noreen with 24 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet (officially listed at 12). Jordan Riewer in and out of the lineup all day as there were issues with blood on his uniform. Only 3 points for him.
Game 3: #7AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville vs #1AA Crosby-Ironton
A possible state semifinal preview between these 2 teams. PEM was previously ranked #1, now CI on top. Interesting 2-3 matchup zone from Crosby-Ironton. PEM playing 1-3-1 most of the way though they surprisingly went man late. CI with no size and Cole Olstad was just a beast for PEM. CI had no answer for him and the Rangers couldn't get any offense besides Mark Hoge. Very close all the way to the end. Crosby with many chances late to tie that didn't convert. PEM hits late free throws for a hard fought 51-41 win. Mark Hoge 17 for CI. Cole Olstad 23 for PEM.
Game 4: Henry Sibley vs North Lawndale College Prep (IL)
Paul Bunch, big body inside for NLCP. But he sat a lot in the 1st half. When he was in, he was a factor blocking shots. 2nd half story was Jermaine Winfield of NLCP. He dominated inside on his way to 18 points, most inside in the 2nd half. 50 all with 5 minutes left when Winfield scores inside for the lead. Sibley then turns it over for 2 free throws. Rostampour misses a front end and Bunch follows up a miss with a dunk. That's a 6 point cushion but NLCP pulls the ball out too early and Sibley almost makes them pay. But 2 Winfield putbacks and a steal finally puts the one out of reacy. 62-54 North Lawndale wins. Paul Bunch 11 points 7 boards and 7 blocks. Jake Kreuser with a nice day of 15 pts and 14 boards with 3 blocks. Mike Rostampour with another interior struggle against good inside talent. He struggled against Christian Faith Academy's athletes over the holidays and was only 3-14 inside yesterday, but he did have 14 boards.
Game 5: Linn-Mar, IA vs Minnetonka
Fun game here. Marcus Paige with a floater for a 6 point LM lead early. Then sharpshooters Matt Bohannon and Cole Stefan trade deep 3s. Paige wraps the ball around and goes for a layup to get a nice oooh from the crowd. 21-13 Linn-Mar inside of 9 minutes. But Stefan with a pair of bombs in a 14-5 Tonka run over the last 3:15 of the half. 36-31 Skippers at the half. 2 Tonka turnovers equal layups and then Paige with a 3 for a 55-46 Linn-Mar lead with 11:40 to go. Stefan and Chad Howard with back to back 3s to cut the lead to 3 with 10:45 left. Paige for 3 again. Bohannon with a 3 and its 64-55 Linn-Mar with 8:30 left. Tor Anderson 2 freebies, Nick Latzke with a block for a Leonard Glass layup and a Stefan layup. 64-61 Linn-Mar with 7:33 to go. Another Stefan bomb keeps Tonka close 70-66 with 5:40 to go. Paige with an assist and Bohannon with a foul line jumper. Stefan inside 2 countered by a Paige pullup. Stefan from New York City for 3 countered by a Paige drive. Linn-Mar doesn't let Tonka get back and then make free throws for a 88-71 win. Cole Stefan with 8 triples from every metro suburb, 16-24 shooting as he goes completely nuts for 40 points. Linn-Mar is more than Paige (20 pts and 6 assists, 16 and 4 of those in 2nd half). Matt Bohannon is a nice mid to low-major shooting guard (younger brother of UW's Jason Bohannon). He finished with 26 points and 4 triples of his own. Interesting that Minnetonka took Tor Anderson off of Paige in the 2nd half and moved him over to defend Bohannon in the 2nd half.
Game 6: #1AAAA Hopkins vs #8AAAA Champlin Park
This one to me had blowout written all over it with Hopkins losing at North on Friday. But as I was doing podcast for the 1st half of this one I see Brandon Davis knock down back to back triples from Jasper Duberry to force 1 Hopkins timeout down 11. Then its 33-19 Champlin Park with 2:57 left in the first half. Duberry for 3 at the first half buzzer and Champlin Park is up 10. DJ Peterson with 3 quick fouls and sits for a large part of the half. Hopkins went deep into the bench with a couple of guys (Selmer, Martin) who normally aren't in the rotation.
2nd half Hopkins awakens with pressure defense and ice cold Champlin Park shooting. A 26-4 Hopkins run over the 1st 9:10 of the second half puts the Royals up 54-42 with 9:50 left. Joe Coleman with a 3 and 2 old-fashioned 3 point plays on not smart fouls during the run. The lead stays at 10-12 points and it looks like Hopkins will just cruise. But its not quite over. Duberry a pair of freebies at 3:16, Coleman misses 2 freebies, Brandon Davis 2 freebies, DJ Peterson misses a front end, Josh Pella with a tip. A tieup goes to Champlin Park and Pella tips in a miss and gets fouled for a 3 point play. All of a sudden its 70-67 Hopkins with 1:09 left. But Siyani Chambers makes 4 big free throws to put this one away. 74-69 Hopkins wins. Joe Coleman with 24 points and a pair of 3s during the game. Nice to see him shoot the ball better. Marvin Singleton 20 points as there wasn't a good answer for him inside. Jasper Duberry leads Champlin Park with 17 points. Jordan Reibling with 11 points off the Rebels bench as he was 1 of 5 Rebels in double figures.
2009 Best Buy Holiday Classic Title Day
Prologue
We love the Davanni's pizza but 2 bucks for a 12 oz can of soda. That'll break me of my drinking habit in a hurry. Nice setup at Augsburg but the introduction takes forever to say (Ernie Anderson court at Si Melby Hall). 1st 2 games minimal attendance, but a nice crowd for the championship game.
Game 1: St. Louis Park (2-6) vs Minneapolis Roosevelt (1-5)
St. Louis Park looks like they're going to run away with this one early. Alex Koch for 3. Joe Zangel with a 3 point play and a putback for an 11-4 start. Then Koch for 3 again for an 18-8 lead. Calvin Jenkins with a pair of baskets and a James Smith hoop at 9:35 cuts the Park lead to 18-14. Koch with a putback and a pair of bombs and another hoop to blow this one open. 38-20 St. Louis Park at the break and Koch has 22. Its a 22 point game with 8:30 left before Roosevelt applies the press to the reserves and makes this one close. 65-56 St. Louis Park wins. Alex Koch with 28 in the win on 11-20 shooting on my sheet. 5 triples in that. Calvin Jenkins leads Roosevelt with 15 points.
Game 2: Chicago Julian vs Milwaukee Marshall (5th place game)
Gotta love the blue hoodies on the Marshall warmups. Even the Chicago kids appeared to have a laugh at that. Worth noting that these teams were staying at the same hotel and got to know each other a bit. Julian with a late first half run to take a 37-26 halftime lead. They close it out 72-21. Julian star Walter Lemon with 22 points. Aristede Brattchet with 17 for Marshall. Fun contest of athletic teams that was a lot like an AAU game.
Game 3: Henry Sibley (4-3) vs Christian Faith Academy, NC (3rd Place Game)
4 all early after a Jordan Jackson follow dunk. CFA applying pressure to get out to a 22-13 lead at the 8:46 mark with superstar 8th grader Andrew Wiggins scoring 7 in a row. But Sibley withstands the early heat. Jake Kreuser gets it going inside with a postup and a putback. Jordan Jackson with 6 free throws thanks to the bonus. Kreuser again inside for 2 postups to put Sibley on top. They take a 32-30 lead to the half. 19-8 run over the last 8:45.
Sibley tries to pull away but can't. 43 all at the 13:53 mark. Then 6 straight Sibley points push the lead to 7 with 8:17 left. Chris Bultena with a big 3 at the 6 minute mark for a 55-49 Sibley lead. CFA cuts into the lead but Sibley hanging on up 59-56 with 2:54 left when Kreuser fouls out. Big play when Sibley runs a postup for Rostampour that gets smashed down and converted to a pair of CFA free throws. 59 all with 1:24 left. Sibley holds for 1 shot and gets 2 looks including a decent look from Jimmy Ryan at the horn that's no good and we'll play OT.
Wiggins quiet but opens the OT with a triple for the first CFA lead since late in the first half. Then Rostampour fouls out at 3:13 of the OT. Too much to ask with both bigs gone. CFA makes enough free throws to withstand 9 late Jordan Jackson points. 78-74 CFA wins. Jordan Jackson with 30 points. Mike Rostampour with a tough night against the long and athletic CFA bigs. I had him 1-15 on my sheet with a 10 and 10 double-double. Jake Kreuser 13 points and 9 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins with 22 for CFA.
Game 4: #1AAAA Hopkins (7-0) vs #1AAA St. Paul Johnson (8-0) (Championship)
The crowd finally files in for this battle of titans. A 13-4 Johnson run over 3:20 forces a Hopkins timeout with 10:15 left in the half. 19-12 Govs lead. Marvin Singleton strong inside for 2 at 9:23 with the foul that puts Hopkins in the bonus. Zach Stahl with a nice lefty bank, a Riley Dearring layup at 8:15 and 2 Singleton freebies cut the lead to 26-24. 29 all after a Siyani Chambers nails triple at 5:57 for Hopkins. Back and forth action. 42-39 Johnson at the half.
Jeremiah Tolbert for 3 and a nice catch of a lob and reverse layup by Joe Coleman put Hopkins on top quickly in the 2nd half. Johnson counters with 2 pairs of freebies. Anthony Lee with a steal for 2, Roosevelt Scott with a big 3 and a Hopkins turnover for a Estan Tyler layup conclude another Johnson spurt. 58-49 Johnson with 12:03 left and Hopkins needs a timeout after the 8-2 run. Hopkins has to have a run in them don't they? DJ Peterson and Riley Dearring score to cut the margin to 64-63 with 8:15 left. After a pair of Siyani Chambers free throws, Hopkins is down 66-65 with 7:33 left.
Johnson has all the answers. Jordan Pluff a pair of free throws. Zach Stahl misses a front end and Donte Warlick converts a layup on the other end. Pluff with a floater countered by 2 Stahl free throws. Then a huge Marcus Marshall triple at the 5 minute mark to push the Johnson lead to 75-67. Anthony Lee drives for 2. 77-69 Govs with 3:55 left. Hopkins can't convert a pair of Tyler turnovers in the next minute. Johnson misses free throws late to keep Hopkins in it. 82-78 with 15.3 left and Hopkins forces a jump ball but it goes to Johnson. Estan Tyler seals the deal with 4 freebies. Johnson wins 86-78 to cement their status as the top team in the metro.
Estan Tyler leads all scorers with 20 points. He didn't shoot it particularly well (6-15) and did have turnovers but he did out play Siyani Chambers at the point. Another struggle for DJ Peterson as well for Hopkins. Jordan Pluff absolutely fearless tonight with 16 points. Roosevelt Scott with 12 points in limited minutes. Marvin Singleton was a beast inside with 18 points and 9 rebounds for Hopkins. Joe Coleman with 18 points and hit a jump shot tonight which was nice to see. Zach Stahl with nice bench minutes for the Royals. The Govs depth was a factor in this one as Hopkins did appear to wear down in the second half.
We love the Davanni's pizza but 2 bucks for a 12 oz can of soda. That'll break me of my drinking habit in a hurry. Nice setup at Augsburg but the introduction takes forever to say (Ernie Anderson court at Si Melby Hall). 1st 2 games minimal attendance, but a nice crowd for the championship game.
Game 1: St. Louis Park (2-6) vs Minneapolis Roosevelt (1-5)
St. Louis Park looks like they're going to run away with this one early. Alex Koch for 3. Joe Zangel with a 3 point play and a putback for an 11-4 start. Then Koch for 3 again for an 18-8 lead. Calvin Jenkins with a pair of baskets and a James Smith hoop at 9:35 cuts the Park lead to 18-14. Koch with a putback and a pair of bombs and another hoop to blow this one open. 38-20 St. Louis Park at the break and Koch has 22. Its a 22 point game with 8:30 left before Roosevelt applies the press to the reserves and makes this one close. 65-56 St. Louis Park wins. Alex Koch with 28 in the win on 11-20 shooting on my sheet. 5 triples in that. Calvin Jenkins leads Roosevelt with 15 points.
Game 2: Chicago Julian vs Milwaukee Marshall (5th place game)
Gotta love the blue hoodies on the Marshall warmups. Even the Chicago kids appeared to have a laugh at that. Worth noting that these teams were staying at the same hotel and got to know each other a bit. Julian with a late first half run to take a 37-26 halftime lead. They close it out 72-21. Julian star Walter Lemon with 22 points. Aristede Brattchet with 17 for Marshall. Fun contest of athletic teams that was a lot like an AAU game.
Game 3: Henry Sibley (4-3) vs Christian Faith Academy, NC (3rd Place Game)
4 all early after a Jordan Jackson follow dunk. CFA applying pressure to get out to a 22-13 lead at the 8:46 mark with superstar 8th grader Andrew Wiggins scoring 7 in a row. But Sibley withstands the early heat. Jake Kreuser gets it going inside with a postup and a putback. Jordan Jackson with 6 free throws thanks to the bonus. Kreuser again inside for 2 postups to put Sibley on top. They take a 32-30 lead to the half. 19-8 run over the last 8:45.
Sibley tries to pull away but can't. 43 all at the 13:53 mark. Then 6 straight Sibley points push the lead to 7 with 8:17 left. Chris Bultena with a big 3 at the 6 minute mark for a 55-49 Sibley lead. CFA cuts into the lead but Sibley hanging on up 59-56 with 2:54 left when Kreuser fouls out. Big play when Sibley runs a postup for Rostampour that gets smashed down and converted to a pair of CFA free throws. 59 all with 1:24 left. Sibley holds for 1 shot and gets 2 looks including a decent look from Jimmy Ryan at the horn that's no good and we'll play OT.
Wiggins quiet but opens the OT with a triple for the first CFA lead since late in the first half. Then Rostampour fouls out at 3:13 of the OT. Too much to ask with both bigs gone. CFA makes enough free throws to withstand 9 late Jordan Jackson points. 78-74 CFA wins. Jordan Jackson with 30 points. Mike Rostampour with a tough night against the long and athletic CFA bigs. I had him 1-15 on my sheet with a 10 and 10 double-double. Jake Kreuser 13 points and 9 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins with 22 for CFA.
Game 4: #1AAAA Hopkins (7-0) vs #1AAA St. Paul Johnson (8-0) (Championship)
The crowd finally files in for this battle of titans. A 13-4 Johnson run over 3:20 forces a Hopkins timeout with 10:15 left in the half. 19-12 Govs lead. Marvin Singleton strong inside for 2 at 9:23 with the foul that puts Hopkins in the bonus. Zach Stahl with a nice lefty bank, a Riley Dearring layup at 8:15 and 2 Singleton freebies cut the lead to 26-24. 29 all after a Siyani Chambers nails triple at 5:57 for Hopkins. Back and forth action. 42-39 Johnson at the half.
Jeremiah Tolbert for 3 and a nice catch of a lob and reverse layup by Joe Coleman put Hopkins on top quickly in the 2nd half. Johnson counters with 2 pairs of freebies. Anthony Lee with a steal for 2, Roosevelt Scott with a big 3 and a Hopkins turnover for a Estan Tyler layup conclude another Johnson spurt. 58-49 Johnson with 12:03 left and Hopkins needs a timeout after the 8-2 run. Hopkins has to have a run in them don't they? DJ Peterson and Riley Dearring score to cut the margin to 64-63 with 8:15 left. After a pair of Siyani Chambers free throws, Hopkins is down 66-65 with 7:33 left.
Johnson has all the answers. Jordan Pluff a pair of free throws. Zach Stahl misses a front end and Donte Warlick converts a layup on the other end. Pluff with a floater countered by 2 Stahl free throws. Then a huge Marcus Marshall triple at the 5 minute mark to push the Johnson lead to 75-67. Anthony Lee drives for 2. 77-69 Govs with 3:55 left. Hopkins can't convert a pair of Tyler turnovers in the next minute. Johnson misses free throws late to keep Hopkins in it. 82-78 with 15.3 left and Hopkins forces a jump ball but it goes to Johnson. Estan Tyler seals the deal with 4 freebies. Johnson wins 86-78 to cement their status as the top team in the metro.
Estan Tyler leads all scorers with 20 points. He didn't shoot it particularly well (6-15) and did have turnovers but he did out play Siyani Chambers at the point. Another struggle for DJ Peterson as well for Hopkins. Jordan Pluff absolutely fearless tonight with 16 points. Roosevelt Scott with 12 points in limited minutes. Marvin Singleton was a beast inside with 18 points and 9 rebounds for Hopkins. Joe Coleman with 18 points and hit a jump shot tonight which was nice to see. Zach Stahl with nice bench minutes for the Royals. The Govs depth was a factor in this one as Hopkins did appear to wear down in the second half.
Breakdown Tip-Off Classic Thoughts
What a day at the 2009 Breakdown Tip-Off Classic. 20 of the 24 boys teams were ranked and 3 of the 4 unranked teams had stars to follow. Some thoughts on what I saw.
Session 1: #4A Sebeka vs #2AA New London-Spicer
"Moose" Johnson for NLS was just that. Sebeka had no answer for him. Sebeka's Joey Cuperus and John Clark are a duo that any class A team would be glad to have. Sebeka with a 3 point lead with 1:40 left and the teams trade turnovers. Moose with a putback and then a steal to give NLS a chance for the lead but they turn it over. Ryan Sharp with a layup and Sebeka is back up 3 with 30 seconds left. Jayme Moten with 2 FTs with 8.4 left and then NLS forces a turnover. They get the ball with 2.9 left at their free throw line. Motem catches the inbound takes 2 dribbles makes a good but slow pass to Erik Tengwall who knocked down the left corner 3 at the buzzer for the thrilling win. He beat the buzzer but I thought it took more than 2.9. Great finish.
Session 2:
Waconia broke open a close game with a 18-2 run over the last 8:30 of the 1st half for a 39-21 halftime lead. Waconia rolled from there for a 75-55 win. Marshall Bjorklund with 28 and 15 but he had no help in this one. Great job creating space with his strength, particularly by using the left shoulder. Shelby Moats on the other hand had help. Really like what Danny Fischbach is doing for them and Ben Korteum can knock down 3s in a hurry.
#1AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville was down 3 at half to Minneapolis North. Cole Olstad quiet but he hit a 3 at the halftime buzzer for 10 first half points. He finishes with 24 as PEM wins 81-74. No Pengi Mboma or Malik El-Amin for North which definitely would have helped.
Session 3:
Great game between #4AA Staples-Motley and #4AAA Columbia Heights. 22-16 Staples with 6 to go in the first half before a 19-8 Heights run. 35-33 Heights at the break. Columbia Heights continues the spurt into the 2nd half. Jacob Thomas with a 3 and a bucket for push the lead to 53-42 with 14:25 left. The lead gets to 13 before Staples gets hot. Derek Wolhowe with a pair of triples in a big Cardinals run. 74 all with 4:15 left. Staples-Motley star guard Jordan Riewer with a pair of assists and then a continuation 3 point play. 82-76 Staples-Motley with 1:38 left. Columbia Heights with 5 straight turnovers trying to hold the ball vs the Staples 1-2-2 in that stretch. Thomas right back with a tough triple to cut the lead in half. Harold Rainey strips Riewer for a layup and then another Staples turnover. Thomas with 2 FTs at 36.8 and Heights is back on top 83-82. Staples with a miss but Thomas misses the front end of the 1 and 1 with 13.8 left. Riewer fouled and makes 2 FTs with 8.4 left. Heights pushes to half-court and takes time with 4.8 left. Thomas gets a decent look in the corner but its blocked. Gerard Bapiste finds the rebound and puts it back at the buzzer for the thrilling 85-84 Columbia Heights win. Riewer has committed to Jamestown and he'll be a very good player for them. Despite the 2 late turnovers, he was clutch down the stretch. Jacob Thomas with another huge performance.
Session 4:
#2AAA De La Salle vs #10AAAA Osseo. Strange game as it just felt like D was winning the entire way but Osseo was ahead on the scoreboard. Tight all the way though. Aaron Anderson with a great pass to Chris McMorris for a backdoor dunk at 3:50 and Joey Sonnefeld (playing post with 8th grader Ian Theisen) on the post for 2. 56-50 Osseo with 2:47 left. De La Salle not going away. John Hertle with a steal for 2 and a Bretson McNeal bomb give D the 57-56 lead with 1:10 left. John Rowland tips in a miss with 40 seconds left and Osseo is back on top. McNeal misses and Chris McMorris is fouled with 17.9 left. He makes the first and misses the 2nd. No timeout for D as they call a standard set play for Jalen Jaspers. As he attempts to come off a screen from the low post to the top of the key he gets absoluted mugged and tackled. No call for the 2nd time in the game on that. Not to mention it was right in front of the D bench. WOW. Its a broken play and D misses. 60-57 Osseo wins and coach Thorson stares down the refs as they leave. You can't blame him either.
I saw the last 12 minutes of Lakeville South and #1AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's. Soph PG Isaiah Zierden was outstanding in the time I saw. And wow is Benilde deep. Sophs Will Dunn, Sanjay Lumpkin, and Danon Briggs with Zierden all seeing minutes. BSM wins 99-87.
Session 5
#3AAAA Henry Sibley vs Cloquet. The matchup of bigs was entertaining as Jake Kreuser played about as well as I've ever seen him play. 7 points and 7 rebounds in the first half against an overmatched Cloquet squad. Jimmy Ryan continues to shoot well with another pair of triples. 37-16 Sibley at half and they roll.
Talk about a rebound. #10AA Minnehaha took #7AA Braham behind the woodshed for a 81-51 win. Didn't see any of it but I wouldn't have expected that.
Session 6
1st half #3A Minnesota Transitions vs #7AAA Minneapolis Henry. MTS playing zone, Kevin Noreen getting his. 23-7 MTS over the last 6:15 of the first half for a 51-35 halftime lead. But MTS needed OT to hang on 85-83. Disturbing trend for MTS as they let Minnehaha back in on Tuesday and now gave up a lead to Henry. And how does MTS only score 34 points in the last 22 minutes?
Then all of the big game of the day #1AAAA Hopkins vs #2AAAA Tartan. Or it should have been. Tartan with the 1st 4 points of the game and that's their highlight. Hopkins scores the next 19 points. Tartan fights back to within 5 in the first half. 34-23 Hopkins at the break. More Hopkins in the 2nd half as they start the half on a 13-5 run. Hopkins wins 81-66. Joe Coleman with 31 points and again all within 2 feet. Marvin Singleton was matched up with the Preiner twins most of the night in a very difficult matchup for Tartan. He finished with 23 and 9. Tim Lubke was the top scorer for Tartan with 14 points.
Session 7
#5AAAA Chaska at #7AAAA Minnetonka. 3 starters in street clothes for the hosts but they weren't going to lay down in this one. Chaska's super junior Ross Travis left late in the first half with an apparent back injury. 42-39 Tonka at half. Max Watts with a great hustle play for a 3 point play. 60-50 Chaska with 11:13 left. Minnetonka comes all the way back. Andrew Turnblad with a 3 point play to give the Skippers the 68-67 lead with 7:11 left. 74 in the last 2:30. 77-74 Minnetonka after a Blake Nelson 3 at 2:10. Jake White with a putback and 2 free throws to keep Chaska within 1. The teams trade free throws before a Jacob Meyer triple with 8.6 left ties the game at 83 and sends us to OT. Max Watts with a big triple at the 1:33 mark of OT. 94-89 Chaska and they win 99-92. Jake White with 29 points and Max Watts huge again for the Hawks with 26 points. Chad Howard out of his mind stepping up for Minnetonka with 29 points. Nick Latzke outstanding again as he also had 29 points.
Saw a few early minutes of the #8AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall vs #6AAAA Champlin Park game. All 3 of the star sophs for CDH (Montero, Neumann and Tillman) all on the floor. Interesting to see Raijon Kelly and Tillman on the floor at the same time. Look for Neumann to have a bigger role now that Clay Horne has moved out east. Too bad many people didn't see the end of this one as CDH held on 82-80 in double OT.
Session 1: #4A Sebeka vs #2AA New London-Spicer
"Moose" Johnson for NLS was just that. Sebeka had no answer for him. Sebeka's Joey Cuperus and John Clark are a duo that any class A team would be glad to have. Sebeka with a 3 point lead with 1:40 left and the teams trade turnovers. Moose with a putback and then a steal to give NLS a chance for the lead but they turn it over. Ryan Sharp with a layup and Sebeka is back up 3 with 30 seconds left. Jayme Moten with 2 FTs with 8.4 left and then NLS forces a turnover. They get the ball with 2.9 left at their free throw line. Motem catches the inbound takes 2 dribbles makes a good but slow pass to Erik Tengwall who knocked down the left corner 3 at the buzzer for the thrilling win. He beat the buzzer but I thought it took more than 2.9. Great finish.
Session 2:
Waconia broke open a close game with a 18-2 run over the last 8:30 of the 1st half for a 39-21 halftime lead. Waconia rolled from there for a 75-55 win. Marshall Bjorklund with 28 and 15 but he had no help in this one. Great job creating space with his strength, particularly by using the left shoulder. Shelby Moats on the other hand had help. Really like what Danny Fischbach is doing for them and Ben Korteum can knock down 3s in a hurry.
#1AA Plainview-Elgin-Millville was down 3 at half to Minneapolis North. Cole Olstad quiet but he hit a 3 at the halftime buzzer for 10 first half points. He finishes with 24 as PEM wins 81-74. No Pengi Mboma or Malik El-Amin for North which definitely would have helped.
Session 3:
Great game between #4AA Staples-Motley and #4AAA Columbia Heights. 22-16 Staples with 6 to go in the first half before a 19-8 Heights run. 35-33 Heights at the break. Columbia Heights continues the spurt into the 2nd half. Jacob Thomas with a 3 and a bucket for push the lead to 53-42 with 14:25 left. The lead gets to 13 before Staples gets hot. Derek Wolhowe with a pair of triples in a big Cardinals run. 74 all with 4:15 left. Staples-Motley star guard Jordan Riewer with a pair of assists and then a continuation 3 point play. 82-76 Staples-Motley with 1:38 left. Columbia Heights with 5 straight turnovers trying to hold the ball vs the Staples 1-2-2 in that stretch. Thomas right back with a tough triple to cut the lead in half. Harold Rainey strips Riewer for a layup and then another Staples turnover. Thomas with 2 FTs at 36.8 and Heights is back on top 83-82. Staples with a miss but Thomas misses the front end of the 1 and 1 with 13.8 left. Riewer fouled and makes 2 FTs with 8.4 left. Heights pushes to half-court and takes time with 4.8 left. Thomas gets a decent look in the corner but its blocked. Gerard Bapiste finds the rebound and puts it back at the buzzer for the thrilling 85-84 Columbia Heights win. Riewer has committed to Jamestown and he'll be a very good player for them. Despite the 2 late turnovers, he was clutch down the stretch. Jacob Thomas with another huge performance.
Session 4:
#2AAA De La Salle vs #10AAAA Osseo. Strange game as it just felt like D was winning the entire way but Osseo was ahead on the scoreboard. Tight all the way though. Aaron Anderson with a great pass to Chris McMorris for a backdoor dunk at 3:50 and Joey Sonnefeld (playing post with 8th grader Ian Theisen) on the post for 2. 56-50 Osseo with 2:47 left. De La Salle not going away. John Hertle with a steal for 2 and a Bretson McNeal bomb give D the 57-56 lead with 1:10 left. John Rowland tips in a miss with 40 seconds left and Osseo is back on top. McNeal misses and Chris McMorris is fouled with 17.9 left. He makes the first and misses the 2nd. No timeout for D as they call a standard set play for Jalen Jaspers. As he attempts to come off a screen from the low post to the top of the key he gets absoluted mugged and tackled. No call for the 2nd time in the game on that. Not to mention it was right in front of the D bench. WOW. Its a broken play and D misses. 60-57 Osseo wins and coach Thorson stares down the refs as they leave. You can't blame him either.
I saw the last 12 minutes of Lakeville South and #1AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's. Soph PG Isaiah Zierden was outstanding in the time I saw. And wow is Benilde deep. Sophs Will Dunn, Sanjay Lumpkin, and Danon Briggs with Zierden all seeing minutes. BSM wins 99-87.
Session 5
#3AAAA Henry Sibley vs Cloquet. The matchup of bigs was entertaining as Jake Kreuser played about as well as I've ever seen him play. 7 points and 7 rebounds in the first half against an overmatched Cloquet squad. Jimmy Ryan continues to shoot well with another pair of triples. 37-16 Sibley at half and they roll.
Talk about a rebound. #10AA Minnehaha took #7AA Braham behind the woodshed for a 81-51 win. Didn't see any of it but I wouldn't have expected that.
Session 6
1st half #3A Minnesota Transitions vs #7AAA Minneapolis Henry. MTS playing zone, Kevin Noreen getting his. 23-7 MTS over the last 6:15 of the first half for a 51-35 halftime lead. But MTS needed OT to hang on 85-83. Disturbing trend for MTS as they let Minnehaha back in on Tuesday and now gave up a lead to Henry. And how does MTS only score 34 points in the last 22 minutes?
Then all of the big game of the day #1AAAA Hopkins vs #2AAAA Tartan. Or it should have been. Tartan with the 1st 4 points of the game and that's their highlight. Hopkins scores the next 19 points. Tartan fights back to within 5 in the first half. 34-23 Hopkins at the break. More Hopkins in the 2nd half as they start the half on a 13-5 run. Hopkins wins 81-66. Joe Coleman with 31 points and again all within 2 feet. Marvin Singleton was matched up with the Preiner twins most of the night in a very difficult matchup for Tartan. He finished with 23 and 9. Tim Lubke was the top scorer for Tartan with 14 points.
Session 7
#5AAAA Chaska at #7AAAA Minnetonka. 3 starters in street clothes for the hosts but they weren't going to lay down in this one. Chaska's super junior Ross Travis left late in the first half with an apparent back injury. 42-39 Tonka at half. Max Watts with a great hustle play for a 3 point play. 60-50 Chaska with 11:13 left. Minnetonka comes all the way back. Andrew Turnblad with a 3 point play to give the Skippers the 68-67 lead with 7:11 left. 74 in the last 2:30. 77-74 Minnetonka after a Blake Nelson 3 at 2:10. Jake White with a putback and 2 free throws to keep Chaska within 1. The teams trade free throws before a Jacob Meyer triple with 8.6 left ties the game at 83 and sends us to OT. Max Watts with a big triple at the 1:33 mark of OT. 94-89 Chaska and they win 99-92. Jake White with 29 points and Max Watts huge again for the Hawks with 26 points. Chad Howard out of his mind stepping up for Minnetonka with 29 points. Nick Latzke outstanding again as he also had 29 points.
Saw a few early minutes of the #8AAAA Cretin-Derham Hall vs #6AAAA Champlin Park game. All 3 of the star sophs for CDH (Montero, Neumann and Tillman) all on the floor. Interesting to see Raijon Kelly and Tillman on the floor at the same time. Look for Neumann to have a bigger role now that Clay Horne has moved out east. Too bad many people didn't see the end of this one as CDH held on 82-80 in double OT.
Hopkins at Columbia Heights thoughts
Prologue
I've got 1 hand in my pocket and other has fallen off due to frostbite. Brutal walk up the hill to Columbia Heights as the #4AAA Hylanders host #1AAAA Hopkins. Always like the pizza at Heights and on the way back to my seat, we get Rene Pulley sighting #1 of the season. Zach Lofton in street clothes for this one but Heights does have Andrew Hanson. And before I know it, I have a whole host of people join me behind the scorers table. A shout out to Rogers shooting guard Trevor Morlock for putting up with The Czar for this one.
Game Time
Interesting look from Hopkins as they start small with Joe Coleman at the 4, Marvin Singleton at the 5 and the 5th starter is ... Jeremiah Tolbert. I've been waiting for that forever. Columbia Heights comes out zone and DJ Peterson goes over the top to Joe Coleman for an alley-oop dunk to get us started. Peterson has the assignment guarding Jacob Thomas on the other end. Thomas beats Coleman for a layup after beating him earlier for a step back jumper. 8 quick Thomas points. 12-11 Heights at the 12:45 mark. Then it falls apart for Heights. Marvin Singleton dunks, then Coleman dunks a pair of turnovers. 9-0 Hopkins run forces a Heights timeout. 20-12 Hopkins at the 10:51 mark. Coleman with 10 quick ones on 3 dunks and 2 layups. Highlight moment in the 1st half. Peterson blocks Thomas who gets it back only to be blocked by Coleman. Back the other way we go and Coleman goes up over the top to hammer home a miss. 27-17 Hopkins at the 6:45 mark but it feels like 25. Singleton 2 FTs, Coleman lays in an inbound lob and dunks, Siyani Chambers for 3 to push the lead to 19 before an NBA bomb at the horn cuts the Hopkins lead to 46-30 at halftime.
The momentum carries to the 2nd half. Harold Rainey is hot. Coleman dunks again at 13:40 to keep the lead at 11. Thomas then with a great block for a Rainey layup, then Thomas with a putback for a 3 point play and a swooping layup and all of a sudden its 54-50 with 12:12 to go and Hopkins takes time. 23-8 run over 6 minutes for Heights with Thomas a major factor in it. Heights goes to the bench and Hopkins gets a couple of strategic traps that ignite a 15-0 run over the next 3:12. Heights needs a timeout as the lead is back to 19, 69-50. Heights tries to make 1 more run as they cut the lead to 14, but with Chambers on the bench with 4 fouls, Heights leaves Cameron Selmer alone for an easy corner 3. Until the clock dies at the 1:39 mark, this one is elementary. Game is called as the clock is toast. Hopkins wins 95-71 (I think, but the clock was dead) (Czar's Note 12/10/09: Final Score was reported as 95-78, Jacob Thomas with 38 vs the 35 I had)
For Columbia Heights, Jacob Thomas finishes with 35 points on 13-29 shooting on my sheet to go with 7 rebounds. Step backs, drives, pull from NBA range, heat checks. A bit of everything. He tried to carry the Hylanders but to no avail. Turnovers really hurt Heights in this one but due credit should also go the Hopkins defense for their on-ball pressure. For Heights, they've got a tough one with Staples-Motley on Saturday at Minnetonka. Andrew Hanson was coming off an injury and started but he saw limited time in the 2nd half due to matchups.
For Hopkins, Joe Coleman leads the way with 29 points on 13-20 shooting (7 layups, 6 dunks). Marvin Singleton 25 and 14 on 11-15 shooting. He even got to show off some ball skills late. Both guys were way too much inside as they dominated the paint. Riley Dearring with 12 points on 3-9 shooting. He took a couple of rushed shots but that will come with experience. Despite late foul trouble, gotta like what Siyani Chambers did on the defensive end at the point of the defense. Interesting that frosh Dearring and soph Zach Stahl were the only rotation guys off the bench in this one for the Royals. Hopkins has a trap game with Maple Grove on Friday before taking on Tartan on Saturday at Minnetonka.
I've got 1 hand in my pocket and other has fallen off due to frostbite. Brutal walk up the hill to Columbia Heights as the #4AAA Hylanders host #1AAAA Hopkins. Always like the pizza at Heights and on the way back to my seat, we get Rene Pulley sighting #1 of the season. Zach Lofton in street clothes for this one but Heights does have Andrew Hanson. And before I know it, I have a whole host of people join me behind the scorers table. A shout out to Rogers shooting guard Trevor Morlock for putting up with The Czar for this one.
Game Time
Interesting look from Hopkins as they start small with Joe Coleman at the 4, Marvin Singleton at the 5 and the 5th starter is ... Jeremiah Tolbert. I've been waiting for that forever. Columbia Heights comes out zone and DJ Peterson goes over the top to Joe Coleman for an alley-oop dunk to get us started. Peterson has the assignment guarding Jacob Thomas on the other end. Thomas beats Coleman for a layup after beating him earlier for a step back jumper. 8 quick Thomas points. 12-11 Heights at the 12:45 mark. Then it falls apart for Heights. Marvin Singleton dunks, then Coleman dunks a pair of turnovers. 9-0 Hopkins run forces a Heights timeout. 20-12 Hopkins at the 10:51 mark. Coleman with 10 quick ones on 3 dunks and 2 layups. Highlight moment in the 1st half. Peterson blocks Thomas who gets it back only to be blocked by Coleman. Back the other way we go and Coleman goes up over the top to hammer home a miss. 27-17 Hopkins at the 6:45 mark but it feels like 25. Singleton 2 FTs, Coleman lays in an inbound lob and dunks, Siyani Chambers for 3 to push the lead to 19 before an NBA bomb at the horn cuts the Hopkins lead to 46-30 at halftime.
The momentum carries to the 2nd half. Harold Rainey is hot. Coleman dunks again at 13:40 to keep the lead at 11. Thomas then with a great block for a Rainey layup, then Thomas with a putback for a 3 point play and a swooping layup and all of a sudden its 54-50 with 12:12 to go and Hopkins takes time. 23-8 run over 6 minutes for Heights with Thomas a major factor in it. Heights goes to the bench and Hopkins gets a couple of strategic traps that ignite a 15-0 run over the next 3:12. Heights needs a timeout as the lead is back to 19, 69-50. Heights tries to make 1 more run as they cut the lead to 14, but with Chambers on the bench with 4 fouls, Heights leaves Cameron Selmer alone for an easy corner 3. Until the clock dies at the 1:39 mark, this one is elementary. Game is called as the clock is toast. Hopkins wins 95-71 (I think, but the clock was dead) (Czar's Note 12/10/09: Final Score was reported as 95-78, Jacob Thomas with 38 vs the 35 I had)
For Columbia Heights, Jacob Thomas finishes with 35 points on 13-29 shooting on my sheet to go with 7 rebounds. Step backs, drives, pull from NBA range, heat checks. A bit of everything. He tried to carry the Hylanders but to no avail. Turnovers really hurt Heights in this one but due credit should also go the Hopkins defense for their on-ball pressure. For Heights, they've got a tough one with Staples-Motley on Saturday at Minnetonka. Andrew Hanson was coming off an injury and started but he saw limited time in the 2nd half due to matchups.
For Hopkins, Joe Coleman leads the way with 29 points on 13-20 shooting (7 layups, 6 dunks). Marvin Singleton 25 and 14 on 11-15 shooting. He even got to show off some ball skills late. Both guys were way too much inside as they dominated the paint. Riley Dearring with 12 points on 3-9 shooting. He took a couple of rushed shots but that will come with experience. Despite late foul trouble, gotta like what Siyani Chambers did on the defensive end at the point of the defense. Interesting that frosh Dearring and soph Zach Stahl were the only rotation guys off the bench in this one for the Royals. Hopkins has a trap game with Maple Grove on Friday before taking on Tartan on Saturday at Minnetonka.
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