Rebel against basketball authority

Prologue
The NW Suburban takes over this section of the Czar's schedule.  A full slate of games tonight and Friday to get in.  So I take the chance to see Champlin Park host Spring Lake Park.  I avoid the home concession hot dogs for the evening to save for the weekend.

Song of the Day: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

Food and Beverage Counter
Mug Root Beer - 12 oz (170 Cal)
Pepsi - 12 oz (150 Cal)

1 Parlour Burger
2 hot dogs

Game Time
Spring Lake Park starts the game with a make then misses 12 straight shots.  That sets the tone for the evening.  Champlin Park not doing much better from the field.  Kaleb Skelly breaks the cold streak for Spring Lake Park and the Panthers are only down 10-7 at the 9:10 mark.  Champlin's star post Francis Nwaokorie sits with 2 fouls at the 7:26 mark after a dicey dipping the shoulder call.  Skelly gets his 2nd just after that.  Trey Johnston with bonus freebies and a driving bucket to give the Panther offense a late boost.  Last bucket of the half puts Spring Lake Park up 21-20 at the half.   Teams combine for 16-60 FG shooting (0-11 from 3) with 15 turnovers.

After a streak of bad shooting in the 1st half, its a streak of turnovers that does Spring Lake Park in the 2nd half.  They turn it over on 10 of their 1st 15 possessions of the 2nd half.  Champlin Park with a layup drill getting hoops on 10 of 12 possessions.  PG Josh Strong with a triple to start the big Rebels run.  Francis Nwaokorie with a And 1 dunk.  Champlin Park opens up a 46-30 lead with 9 minutes left.

Spring Lake Park tries to rally with 3 free throws from Johnston and a Skelly triple to cut it to 10.  Then its a pair of Champlin Park turnovers that result in a Johnston steal for a bucket and 1 of 2 free throws.  That cuts the lead to 52-47 with 3:25 left.  Champlin Park stops the bleeding with a couple more easy buckets.  They seal it with 7 of 8 FTs to end the game.  Champlin Park wins 65-50.

Post Game
Spring Lake Park falls to 1-1 overall and in the NW Suburban standings.  Tough and quick turnaround for the Panthers as they host neighbor #2AAA Totino-Grace on Friday night.  That's a non-conference contest as part of the 13/5 league schedule this season.  Trey Johnston leads the Panthers with 15 points.  Kaleb Skelly adds 11.  25 turnovers were just a killer.  That had nothing to do with a press or trap.  Champlin Park just played basic man to man so much of the damage was self-inflicted.  Not to mention the Siberian level cold shooting of 16-54.

Champlin Park improves to 2-0 on the season and in league play.  Josh Strong leads the Rebels with 23 of his 25 points in the 2nd half.  Most of those on easy buckets at the rim.  He did add a couple of 3s to go with 7-8 FT shooting.  Francis Nwaokorie largely held in check with 12 points.  The Panther size did a respectable job on him.  Champlin Park also has a tough turnaround on Friday with a trip to #8AAAA Maple Grove.  After a cold first half of their own, they shoot 15-19 in the 2nd half.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Champlin Park	Spring Lake Park
Effective FG %	53.1%	32.4%
Offensive Rebound %	25.8%	47.9%
Free Throw Rate	43.8%	46.3%
Turnover %	26.4%	35.2%
Points Per Possession	0.90	0.70

The teams split the 4 factors but Champlin Park wins the 2 factors that I deem most important.  Those are EFG% and TO%.  Huge advantage in EFG too much to deal with.  The turnover margin was a big factor in that as it generated easy buckets.  Spring Lake Park's offensive board edge played a bigger factor in the 1st half than it did in the 2nd half.