Game 48: Ridgewood @ Monmouth-Roseville (Boy's Basketball)

Game 48
(1/5/10)
Ridgewood @ Monmouth-Roseville (Boy's Basketball)

First broadcast of 2010, and I must say it turned out to be the best broadcast of the year! Of course, no other games to compare to, lol. A long day at the office, with meetings and an early day. Normally I head to the office in late morning due to the late night work, but I was so cooped up following the holiday tournament just waiting to go back to work. I don't do well with little to do, though the house is clean.

With a multitude of events occuring this week, managing the equipment and making sure where it goes and who has what becomes a difficult daily task. Our broadcaster John Ring has one set of equipment, Gary Petersen keeps the other bag for the Galesburg broadcasts, and I have an equipment bag. With three broken headsets, I have been using my personal set for my broadcasts much of the year. Getting a headstart on the rest of the week, the equipment mish-mash was dealt with just before heading to the gym. Two of our employees are hosting an ag show in DeKalb on Wednesday and Thursday, so even more mixups can occur with the equipment. Let's hope not!

An extremely cold night, and cold week. About 7 degrees at game time. Good thing, we're indoors. In addition, Monmouth-Roseville High School may just be the warmest/hottest gym to broadcast in western Illinois. With the extreme cold it was actually pretty comfortable.

Arrived about 20 minutes before the JV tipoff. MRHS is one of my least favorite broadcast locations. I believe I went into detail earlier about the setup. A narrow bridge to reach the broadcast point (bridge just added this year, a 4 foot hop has been needed in the past), poor vision of the main scoreboard, and hard to wade through the crowd sitting near the access point.

Everything is set up and good to go, while checking some things for the broadcast, gathering stats, and getting notes ready for the pregame interview with Titans coach Chuck Grant. Spoke with coach Grant just before halftime of the JV game. The Titans looked really lackadaisical during the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. Coach Grant said his team really hasn't had much enthusiasm in recent days, either.

The JV Titans beat Ridgewood in a blowout (forget the score and didn't write it down). Prior to the game, the CD for the National Anthem didn't fire. Normally I go to break during the Anthem, but the choral group at the high school sang it last game, so we kept it live. Of course the time I keep it live for a recorded version, it doesn't work. Thankfully, choral director Kevin Ferry saved the day, coming out from the hallway where he was taking tickets to sing a rowsing rendition of the National Anthem. Game on!

Ridgewood dressed just eight varsity players. Hard to believe in its first year co-op between Alwood and Cambridge High Schools. For those wondering why two high schools of their size (still small, but not overly small) needed to co-op, there is your answer. Alwood in recent years had some decent teams, while Cambridge has been able to compete as well, but numbers are obviously very low this season.

This game started out very ugly, 19 turnovers in the first quarter, as they came in bunches. Ridgewood led much of the first half as the Titans turned the ball over on some errant passes, and couldn't make any shots. Alex Bresnahan put the hosts up 13-10 at the buzzer with a baseline jumper. Monmouth-Roseville's leading scorer had been held to single digits in several games leading up to tonight, but he poured in a game-high 18 points in this one, lighting it up in the third quarter with 11 points alone.

The shots started to fall in the second quarter for Monmouth-Roseville, scoring 25 points in the second, eight minutes. Ridgewood's Brian Norberg nailed a couple three-pointers, and had nine points at the break. The Titans forced 21 first half turnovers, as Ridgewood really struggled against the hosts pressure defense. Monmouth-Roseville JV coach Doug Dennison joined us on the halftime show, talking about his young Titans (5-2). Their season gets rolling here in the second half.

It was more of the same in the third quarter for the Titans, scoring 26 points to Ridgewood's 11. My broadcast partner Jeff Thompson was tracking turnovers and points scored by the Spartans, and predicted that the visitors would equal their amount of turnovers and points scored. He ended up being very close (44 turnovers, 46 points).

Monmouth-Roseville iced out the win with many reserves getting action late in the game, preserving a 80-46 win, improving to (6-5) on the season, while Ridgewood dropped to (2-12).

After the game, Rick Chick brought up a couple hot dogs. I hadn't even realized it, but I had not eaten since lunch. Hot dogs are a big no-no for me, as I have high blood pressure. I gave in, and ate a couple. I checked my blood pressure when I arrived home (165/95). I am supposed to (doctor's orders) track it daily, but choose to ignore it and make excuses during the long road trips and long hours. My goal for the end of the season: Broadcast 100 (or more) games, while keeping my diastolic reading BELOW 100.

The Quest File Notes
Game 48
Date: 1/5/10
Result: Monmouth-Roseville Forces 44 turnovers and allows just 46 points in beating Ridgewood (80-46)
Miles: 70