Twin Cities Summer Classic

TWIN CITIES SUMMER CLASSIC

July 12-15, 2008
Minneapolis, MN

Pool Assignments

Pool Play

Bracket

Competing Teams
MPLS Redhawks
43 Hoops Harris
Elite Sports Select
Minnesota Heat Black
MSB Roadrunners
MN Comets Elite
Minnesota Xplosion
94 Feet of Game
Minnesota Magic Black
Terry Porter Elite
Hoop Masters
Big Game Sports
43 Hoops Gameli
Mac Irvine Fire
Upstate Elite

Full Monday Recap by TC Hoops Czar

Full Sunday Recap by TC Hoops Czar

Full Saturday Recap by TC Hoops Czar

--Game 1

Minnesota Xplosion 63 - Magic Black 75

Jack Ghizoni 17, Steve Bailey 16, Jordan Reibling 8

By: The TC Hoops Czar

This session is all about the 16U pool of death. Kevin Noreen joined the Magic Black squad for their game with the MN Xplosion. As the Xplosion struggle on the glass, Noreen makes his first appearance at 12:25 with Josh Pella guarding him in a entertaining matchup. The Magic get out to a 14-8 lead after Deron Murphy finds Noreen for a layup with 10 minutes left in the half. The rest of the half is back and forth and a Magic 3 at the horn makes it 37-36 Magic Black at the half. A 9-2 run out of halftime topped off by a Steve Bailey 3 gives the Xplosion a 45-39 lead with 14 minutes left. With the score 52-50 and about 10 minutes left, Noreen makes 1 of 2 FTs and then gets 2 straight layups on postups to give the Magic a 57-50 lead with 7 minutes to play and they won't look back. Magic-Black wins 75-63. Kevin Noreen with 14 points and Deron Murphy with 10 points for the Magic. Jack Ghizoni with 17 points to lead the Xplosion.

--Game 2

Minnesota Xplosion 77 - Upstate Elite (MI) 68

Jordan Reibling 22, Josh Pella 17, Steve Bailey 11

The second pool game was against Upstate Elite from Michigan. Upstate got off to a quick start taking a 14-4 lead over Xplosion in the first few minutes. As most games have momentum swings, Xplosion's was just around the corner. After getting down 10 points early, Xplosion came alive, pulling down rebounds, getting quick transition baskets and picking pockets relentlessly. A flurry of points came from Josh Pella and Jordan Reibling as they combined for 21 first half points. Defense stepped up also as Xplosion was able to hold the Upstate Elite to only 13 additional points. Halftime score was Xplosion by 11, 38-27. Second half continued much like the first half with Xplosion withstanding a small Upstate comeback attempt. Upstate was able to cut the lead to 8 a few times but the "X" was able to stop the runs each time. Final score was 77-68.

--Game 3

Minnesota Xplosion 59 - Minneapolis Redhawks 60

Jack Ghizoni 16, Rick Starck 12, Jordan Reibling 11, Josh Pella 10

Final game of pool play would be against a very athletic Redhawks team. Redhawks have played most tournaments this season at the 17U level. John Rowland (Osseo) and Dalton Graff (Osseo) are just a few of the players that are big contributors for the Redhawks. Xplosion came out in a man to man putting ball pressure everywhere and forcing the Redhawks to take bad shots. Josh Pella continued to go strong to the basket early and was able to get to the line on 4 separate occasions in the first half alone. Halftime score was Xplosion up 27-25. Second half would be a defensive battle as the Redhawks tightened it up a bit. With both teams trying to get to the basket Redhawks finally go up by 1 with :30 left in the game. After a missed shot by the Xplosion, Redhawks get the rebound and are bringing it down court. A pass is made at half court and Rick Starck dives to intercept it. With a tip of the ball he is able to stay on his feet, he stumbles but is able to control the ball as he brings it down court. Redhawks are able to cover the basket and Xplosion pulls it back out. Redhawks have 4 fouls to give and there is only :20 seconds on the clock. The fouls are given just as Xplosion tries to make a move to score, eating up the clock. With :04 seconds left, Xplosion inbounds the ball to Reibling in the corner, Redhawks had him covered with 3 players and Reibling passes it to Rick Starck at the top of the 3 point line. Starck has already hit one three pointer in the game and with :01 second on the clock he shoots another. The shot was straight as can be but had just a tiny bit too much on it as it came off the back of the rim. Minneapolis Redhawks win 60-59. Josh Pella collected his 10th double double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

--Game 4

Minnesota Xplosion 68 - MN Heat 55

Jack Ghizoni 18, Josh Pella 14, Jordan Reibling 10

First round of the Championship bracket would have the #3 seed, Minnesota Xplosion, against the #2 seed, Minnesota Heat. Minnesota Heat is a tremendous program ran by Willie Vang with teams at every age level. Xplosion comes out quick both hitting outside shots and getting to the rim. Jack Ghizoni has 14 points in the first half and Xplosion lead by 13 by a score of 39-26. In the second half the Heat would not go away getting to within 4 points on 2 occasions, one of which was with 4:22 left in the game. Xplosion was able to answer each Heat run with some big shots from Jordan Reibling and Josh Pella. Xplosion go on a nice run of their own to win, 68-55.

--Game 5 (Quarter Finals)

Minnesota Xplosion 46 - Comets Elite 69

Josh Pella 12, Rick Starck 12, Jordan Reibling 6

With the win against Minnesota Heat, Minnesota Xplosion advance to the elite 8 and would face the Comets Elite. In the previous 3 meetings, Xplosion won the first meeting at the Magic Super Regional. Comets Elite won at the Jayhawk Invitational and at the AAU district championships when Xplosion blew a huge lead. Additions to the Comets Elite team that stand out for the weekend is Taylor Filipek of the Minnesota Magic Elite. Right out of the gate, Jordan Reibling drops two 3 pointers but Comets regroup quickly and go on a 12-0 run. Halftime score was 25-38. Second half was again a display of pure athleticism by the Comets Elite as they played a great game and would advance to the semi-final game against the Redhawks. Final score was 46-69.