Filling in the Gaps

The last couple of nights have been dedicated to seeing a couple of local teams in person that I had only caught online up to this point.  Its a couple of compelling games as well.  First a NW Suburban grudge match from January.  Then a Tri-Metro rematch that was a 5 point game in the 1st meeting.

Thursday: #7AAAA Park Center 65 #8AAAA Robbinsdale Armstrong 49
A big time defensive effort from Park Center in the 1st half of this one.  They hold the Falcons to just 15 points in the half.  With Josh Lewis and Detavious Frierson flying around and Dain Dainja blocking shots inside, Armstrong got nothing going.  Add in a pair of 3s from Josh Brown and John Grigsby to provide a perimeter punch.  Adam Biewen got going early in the 2nd half to keep Armstrong within striking distance.  Park Center would try to blow it open with a run started by a big Dainja dunk, 2 Brown triples and a Dainja post up to end it.  All Pirates as they lead 54-30 with 7:30 left.  Sloppy stretch from the Pirates leads to an 14-3 Falcons run.  Lead down to 13 with 2:27 left but Armstrong gets no closer.  Dain Dainja 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks on my sheet.  Josh Brown adds 15 points with 4 3s.  John Grigsby 3 bombs off the bench for 9 along with 9 from David Ijadimbola and Josh Lewis.  Jake Breitbach with 15 to lead Armstrong.  Adam Biewen 10 of his 12 early in the 2nd half.  Armstrong back to back losses vs 2 of the other top teams in the NW Suburban west division.  They fall 2 games behind division leader 12-1 Park Center.  The Pirates face the other 3 top teams in the league all in a row starting next Friday and its in a 1 week stretch.  Totino-Grace with a game left at Park Center but the rest is a bunch of winnable games against the weak north division.  So the Eagles look to have the easiest road to the division crown.

Friday: #10AAA Richfield 89 Fridley 82
I liked Richfield's young talent last year.  But in my season predictions, let's just say I totally botched that one.  I didn't expect the development to happen this quickly.  Their only loss in the last month is at De La Salle.  Richfield totally dominates the paint in the 1st half.  Isaiah Casey Hammond with 19 points.  Big forward Jaden Wollmuth adds 7 points.  Every made FG for Richfield is in the paint.  They get a friendly advantage in the foul count too which leads to a 16-2 edge in free throws attempted.  45-31 Richfield at the break.

The second half is a totally different game.  Isaac Burns and Christian Crockett get hot for Fridley.  Richfield doesn't pound the ball inside.  Fridley is able to generate some turnovers. They cut an 18 point margin all the way down to 4 with 8:43 left.  Casey Hammond gets fouls 4 and 5 in that sequence leaving a big hole inside.  Lamar Grayson has been great all year for the Spartans.  He then scores 8 straight to stop the bleeding.  Wollmuth on the block finds Grayson on the weakside for 2 late layups late to keep the game out of reach.  Lamar Grayson leads all scorers with 29 points.  He scored 21 of those in the 2nd half.  Isaiah Casey Hammond adds 19 of his 22 in the 1st half. Christian Crockett scores 16 of his 21 in the 2nd half to lead Fridley.  Yoal Ruei with 4 3s and 20 points.  Isaac Burns with 13 of his 17 in the 2nd half for Fridley as well.

Richfield is now 6-1 in the Tri-Metro and they just started a stretch of 6 of the final 8 at home.  1 of the road games is another Battle of the Tracks at Holy Angels.  That game will have big section seeding impacts at the top of section 3AAA.  The final game of the year is at home against De La Salle which could be for the league title. Fridley is in a fight with Rocori and Monticello for a possible 2 seed in section 5AAA.  But the schedule is really tough right now.  They've lost 2 in a row on the road to both Richfield schools.  Columbia Heights, at De La Salle and at St. Croix Lutheran are the next 3 games.