A wild 2022 opening night

Prologue
Its opening night of the 2022 season.  No better place to be than in the gym.  I ventured out to Twin Cities Academy for their east side non-conference showdown against Hill-Murray.  Cornell Pillow making his head coaching debut for Twin Cities Academy with his entire staff decked out.  Even had his freshman coach in a bowtie.  Super slick.  Its a super tight and cramped setup at TCA and no concessions.  But that's the beauty of being in the gym.  TCA rebuilding with a boatload of youth after the graduation of the McNeal twins.  Hill-Murray with only 3 seniors as they continue their rebuild.

Game Time
Fouls quickly mount in this one.  After the 1st 8 or 9 minutes go quickly the rest of the half was like walking in quicksand.  Fouls and free throws and turnovers and no flow.  Hill-Murray would open a 15-10 lead before TCA wiped that away with a 9-0 run.  The Pioneers going about 5 minutes scoreless during that stretch.  But they pull back to even and we go to the break tied at 27.  27 fouls and 27 turnovers in the half.

The second half picks up though with Hill-Murray making a quick spurt out of the gate.  TCA PG Jamal Randle with a 3 triple and 3 free throws being fouled on another.  We're even at 40 with 13 minutes left.  Pioneers on another spurt with their leader Xavier Daniels going hoop and harm for a 5 point Hill-Murray lead as we go under 9 minutes left.

The home Tigers go on their big run of the night.  Frosh Jacob Stiele had to sit with 3 fouls in the 1st half.  He finishes off a stretch of scoring 10 straight for TCA with a short baseline jumper and a straight away bomb to tie the game.  Then forward Giovanni Alonso with 2 triples of his own.  That's all part of a 17-4 TCA run.  That puts the Tigers up 64-56 with 3:38 left and Hill-Murray needs time.

3 straight turnovers for TCA and 3 free throws from Daniels as Hill-Murray tries to rally.  Randle makes 4 straight free throws for TCA and they lead by 6 with 55 seconds left.  Then the craziness begins.  Pioneer putback and TCA misses 2 free throws.  Then we have a foul on a 3 point attempt with 23.7 left.  With a chance to cut the lead to 1, the 1st 2 FTs are no good.  Then a TCA sub steps on the floor before the 3rd FT.  Its a technical foul for too many men.  Oh my!  The 3rd of the 3 FTs is no good but the 2 technicals are made.  Not to mention Hill-Murray gets the ball back down 2.  But they turn it over.  TCA makes 1 of 2 free throws.  Time out Hill-Murray with 16.4 left.  Its Zach Frey with the left corner 3 off the drive and kick.  1 last chance for TCA with 7.5 left.  They go high ball screen and its called illegal with 3.1 left.  Hill-Murray misses a heave and we'll play free opening night basketball tied at 71.  7-1 Hill-Murray run in the last 55 seconds for force the OT.

The first OT is a snooze fest with only 1 bucket.  That bucket was from Hill-Murray.  TCA would hold for 1 and not score.  So that means more free basketball.  HOORAY!

Andrew Emelife converts 2 dumpoffs for layups to start the overtime.  That helps TCA jump out to a 5 point lead as Stiele adds a right corner 3.  Hill-Murray ties it on a Frey layup with 1:05 left.  TCA again tries to hold for last shot.  Its Alonso off the bounce and his right wing fadeaway is no good.  Daniels has the rebound for Hill-Murray and he gets fouled with 8.1 left.  Daniels makes the 1st misses the 2nd.  TCA can't get a shot off.  Hill-Murray steals one in a double overtime thriller 81-80.

Post Game
Twin Cities Academy falls to 0-1 on the season.  They play Saturday at noon at Harding.  Junior forward Giovanni Alonso is much improved.  He knocked down 4 3s and topped the Tigers in scoring with 24 points.  Frosh Jacob Stiele with 3 triples and 20 points.  Soph PG Jamal Randle added 17 points.  The Tigers play a fun dribble drive style and they'll let Alonso work off the bounce.  6'8 8th grader Mustafa Mohamed sees rotation time for a group that has 5 underclassmen and only 1 senior.

Hill-Murray starts 1-0 for the season.  Power wing Xavier Daniels bullied his way to a game high 26 points.  Soph guard Joe McGurran added 21 points.  Always fun to see the old Johnny Orr, Al McGuire 2-3 high offense in action.  Brad Underwood and Dana Altman most known for it in today's game.  The Pioneers came out in 2-3 zone to start the 2nd half and it was effective.  Was a little surprised they didn't get back to it down the stretch or in the overtimes.  They host St. Paul Academy in their next game on Tuesday. 

Czar Insights

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It wasn't pretty but it was entertaining.  At least 56 fouls.  Teams combine for 40-81 from the free throw line.  49 turnovers plus cold shooting.  Hill-Murray 5-24 from deep but hammered the offensive glass for 30 offensive boards.  Granted both teams numbers on the offensive board are inflated by the huge number of missed free throws.  20 extra FG attempts lead to 4 more makes.  But this one never should have gone to overtime.  Between missed free throws, turnovers and the late technical, this is a game TCA will want to learn from as its one they should have closed out without overtime.