A bragging rights weekend

A set of rivalry type games fills my weekend.  That includes a pair of boys/girls doubleheaders which always make for a different vibe.  Plenty of hot dogs, a disappointing lack of pizza and food fit for royalty on the island.  But above all, plenty of competition and entertainment.  A great way to wind down the regular season.

Friday: Roseville 64 Mounds View 53
A chance to see these 2 neighbors in person for the 1st time this season.  After seeing my previews quoted on the TV broadcast of Roseville's season opener, I surely didn't want to hear that again so I figured I better show up.  Great memorabilia from the Roseville TV guy too including a 1991 TWolves program with a pic of a youthful Jeff Munneke (see twitter).  We get the Roseville band and cowbell which is never a bad thing.  An 11-2 Roseville run in the 1st half gives them a lead they would never give up.  Mounds View would hang tough after they got down 13 in the 2nd half.  They would cut the margin to 5 with just under 5 minutes left but an 8-0 Raiders run would put the game out of reach.  Roseville's Yohanes Gebeyehu with 13 of his 19 in the 2nd half.  He knocked down 4 triples.  John Briggs with 11 of his 12 off the bench in the 1st half.  Mounds View frosh Dylan Wheeler with 16 of his 19 in the 2nd half to help keep Mounds View close.  He also had 4 3s.  Center John Montgomery adds 10 of his 12 in the 1st half.

Saturday: #3AAAA Park Center 65 Maple Grove 58
To Park Center for this rescheduled district rivalry.  Its the 3rd game in 3 days for both teams and a quick turnaround from last night.  No Jett's Pizza though?  This makes me sad and I'm always sad that its not Rocky Rococo's.  But at least there's Pepsi.  Maple Grove controls the 1st half to take a 31-25 lead at the break.  But fouls allow Park Center to stay close thanks to a 13-8 edge in made FTs.  For the 2nd half it was inside vs outside.  Inside prevails with too much Dain Dainja.  He scores 15 of his 22 in the 2nd half.  Detavious Frierson and Tommy Chatman each add 12 for the Pirates.  Kyle Dreyer leads Maple Grove with 19 points.  Nate Adams with 3 of his 4 triples in the 2nd half.  He finishes with 16.  Jared Rainey adds 12.  Maple Grove had a couple late chances but couldn't get the game back to even.  Park Center clinches the NW Suburban West Division title as they have both head to head wins with 2 games left and a 2 game lead.  Expect both teams to be 1 seeds come section time so we could see this game again at state.

Saturday: #1AA Minnehaha 79 #1AAA De La Salle 71
To the sold out island for arguably the most anticipated game of this entire season, regular or tourney.  Folks turned away long before the end of the boys JV game at this doubleheader.  SRO 3 rows deep on the baselines and for the boys game the fans behind the camera stand all night but it wasn't a problem for the girls game, strange.  In unrelated news, my knees and feet are absolutely killing me as I write this.  I do manage to make the concession stand before the rush for an outstanding turkey croissant.   That wins the award for most unique concession item of this season.  I know that would bring a smile to Dave Thorson's face.  When I once praised the Lance Johnson recommended wild rice soup at Minnehaha (it won that season's award), Dave was not pleased due to his competitive edge.  He vowed to up the concession game at D the next time I showed up.

As to the actual game, Minnehaha jumps out to an 11-3 lead thanks to a Suggs triple and pair of assists.  D battles back with a trio of Jalen Travis hoops.  1 of those is a stick back and 2nd foul on Suggs.  That happens right after the 2nd foul on Holmgren and we're only midway thru the 1st half.  20-19 DLS at 9:13. Tyrell Terry coast to coast and adds a dunk.  Kameron Givens with a putback and D has a 26-22 lead at 6:37.  Timeout Minnehaha.  Suggs attacking for 2, then a triple and he'll add a FT for a 31-30 Redhawks lead.  Jamison Battle 2 triples and bonus free throws as he picks up his offense.  Suggs with his 3rd foul late in the half but he'll also add the final Minnehaha hoop.  42-38 DLS at the break.

Terry for 3 and then right at Chet Holmgren for a 3 point play.  DLS with their biggest lead 48-40 just over a minute into the 2nd half.  Minnehaha responds with 2 Holmgren hoops plus a free throw and dunk from Prince Aligbe.  Battle with a putback and 2 free throws to keep the DLS lead at 54-47 with 11:47 left.  Another Minnehaha timeout allows them to regroup.  Suggs always attacking and scores, teams trade bombs, Suggs on the drive again for 2 more and an assist to Holmgren for a dunk.  Kaden Johnson for 3, Aligbe with a putback and a turnover for 2 more from Suggs.  16-3 run by Minnehaha and their fans explode.  Loudest opponent crowd roar I've heard on the island.  63-57 Redhawks reclaim the lead with 8:15 left.

Suggs with a 3 point play, then draws a charge on the break against Terry and then a laser to an all alone Aligbe inside for a dunk.  68-60 Minnehaha with 6:35 left.  Terry with 2 free throws and Andrew Irvin with a high arching pull up over the outstretched hand of Holmgren to cut that lead in half with 4 minutes left.  Suggs to Holmgren for the reverse to stop that momentum.  Terry and Suggs trade a couple of scores.  De La Salle misses a couple open looks at 3s in the last minute.  Minnehaha adds a couple of layups off that to close it out.  Jalen Suggs terrific again with 32 points and a bunch of assists (I stopped doing my extra stats due to poor viewing).  He's such a handful off the bounce.  D stopped fouling him on those in the 2nd half but they just ended up as layups.  Chet Holmgren with 15, Prince Aligbe with 13.  Tyrell Terry leads the Islanders with 26 points.  Jamison Battle adds 22.  Really good minutes for Kameron Givens with 13 points.  Everything in the 1st half until a meaningless 3 at the end.   Nothing for the De La Salle bench.  Frosh Donovan Smith with 3 important 1st half 3s off the Minnehaha bench.  Give Minnehaha credit.  They made more plays.  The top guys all played well.  Suggs and Terry were terrific. Great environment, really fun game.