2019-20 Season Tipoff

Prologue
Its a friendly Minnesota season opener as I venture back to Minneapolis Roosevelt for another opening night.  Howard Pulley coaching pals Willie Braziel and Mike Walker sit on opposite benches as coach Braziel brings his Columbia Heights squad into the city for game number 1.  Its a fully recognized AAU crew on duty for the evening.  For those of you wondering, despite it being Pulley guys, we don't get The Reverend though.  Roosevelt closing the opposite bleachers and swapping the scorers table and benches to that side.  Made for a much cozier feel.  The 500 ml bottle of Coke beverage option goes with a basic hot dog on a slightly stale bun.

Song of the Day: Downtown Train - Rod Stewart

Number of Teams I've Seen: 4 (2 games, 2 buildings, 0 online)

Beverage Ticker: 16.9 ounces (200 calories)

• Coke: 16.9 ounces (200 calories)

Food Ticker:

• Hot Dogs:1
• Pizza:0
• Walking Tacos: 0
• Extra: 0

Game Time:
Its a slow start on both ends.  Heights not happy with their start and coach Braziel takes time just over 2 minutes and his Hylanders down 3-2.  That inspires a 14-4 spurt over the next 5+ minutes.  But a couple of sloppy turnovers and a bad triple trigger a Roosevelt 5-0 mini-run.  16-12 Columbia Heights as we reach the midpoint of the first half.  Jordan Jones with a pair of tough triples and 12 points already.  Heights opens the game up from there with a 16-0 run over the next 6:45.  Elijah Williams with a free throw and bucket to start it.  Star soph Muja Burton with a triple, a nice cut for a 3 point play and a jumper to finish it.  36-20 Columbia Heights at half.  They'll turn it into a blowout with a 17-2 run to the midpoint of the 2nd half.  Jones and Burton leading that run to push the lead to 62-31 with 9:02 left.  We quickly get running time and garbage time from there.  Columbia Heights rolls to a 80-43 victory.

Post Game:
Minneapolis Roosevelt falls to 0-1 with the loss.  Dennis Holte leads the Teddies with 9 points off the bench.  Mustafa Salad chips in with 8 and he looks to be their best offensive option.  I had Roosevelt for at least 23 turnovers which didn't help the cause.  It doesn't get any easier with a trip to Cristo Rey on Monday.  They'll then host Bloomington Kennedy on Thursday before jumping into Minneapolis City play the following week.

Senior guard Jordan Jones leads Columbia Heights with 27 points including 3 triples.  Soph wing Muja Burton adds a couple of triples of his own.  He finished with 21 points.  They'll stay on the road next week with trips to Mahtomedi and St. Thomas Academy.  That Mahtomedi game is an important one for position behind Minnehaha in section 4AAA.  That leads into a tough schedule stretch from mid-December into mid-January.