Game 65: Galesburg vs. Minooka (Boy's Basketball)

Game 65
(1/18/10)
Galesburg vs. Minooka (Boy's Basketball)
Martin Luther King Tournament

Following up the great conversations in the hospitality room, I had my second pregame chat with coach Reynolds. This time, we previewed the Streaks matchup with the Minooka Indians. The team came in with a (0-3) tournament record, but gave a very strong Maine South squad a run in the first game of the day.

Speaking of that Maine South squad, it was brought to my attention (unconfirmed), that after the Hawks loss to Galesburg on Saturday afternoon, their coach was so upset he had his team pack their bags and have them ready at the hotel. If they lost against United Township on Saturday night, they would be driving back home, and returning back to Galesburg, with a 4:00 a.m. bus time Monday morning (for their 9:00 a.m. game). That motivation must have worked, in beating the (Class 4A #10) Panthers by 30 points.

After my talk with Reynolds, I returned to my WAIK broadcast booth, and arrived at the same time as my broadcast partner Jimmie Carr. He was on the lookout for the Indians, as he conducts the pregame interviews with the opposing coaches. Minooka showed up early in the second half of the prior game (UTHS/Lakes), and he spoke with their coach Scott Tanaka.

Tanaka grew up in Moline, before moving to Hawaii in fifth grade. He scored 57 points in one game, knocking down 13 three-pointers in high school. Tanaka went to the University of Hawaii, and finished his masters at Illinois State University. I think Jimmie liked to say Tanaka.

While he was interviewing Tanaka, I talked with a couple Minooka assistant coaches, and got some pronunciations. While Jimmie enjoyed saying Tanaka (Tuh-nah-kuh), I got my kicks my saying James Salahuddin, pronounced (Suh-lah-who-deen). Another one of my favorite names on their roster was Parker Parzych (par-zich), but he did not get in the game.

This game had running clock written all over it from the start. The Streaks could do nothing wrong, and take no bad shot. Galesburg jumped out to a 28-4 first quarter lead. Big man Victor Davis had 13 points in the first quarter, and Chad Thompson knocked down a pair of three's.

Minooka actually outscored Galesburg in the second quarter (14-13), but still trailed big, 41-18. At the break, Davis had 17 points, while Minooka's Jacob Butler had 12 of his team's 18 points.

Playing with a spark in that second quarter, it quickly fizzled out. The Streaks would outscore the Indians 16-4 in the third quarter, taking a 57-22 lead, and a running clock in the fourth quarter.

One thing that confused me during the first few minutes of this game was the scoreboard. Galesburg was the visitor in the game, wearing their road uniforms of black shorts and tops and silver trim, while the Indians wore home whites. The scoreboard read Galesburg as the home team.

It was a very quick fourth quarter, with the running clock established with the large deficit. Galesburg would cruise to a 63-29 victory and improve to 12-7 on the season and win the Martin Luther King Tournament title outright with a 4-0 record.

Victor Davis had 20 points, all in the first three quarters, while Dalton Davis added 10 points for the Streaks. Jacob Butler scored a team-high 16 points for Minooka, who dropped to 4-10 on the year.

Following the game, I packed up, strangely since it was only 7:15, and normally I am just starting my pregame show for the night. I was able to catch the first half of the Monmouth-Roseville/Sherrard girl's basketball game on the drive back, but made a pit stop for a late dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. Since my last Asian Zing experience gave my insides some trouble, I toned it down with a dozen Parmesan Garlic tonight.

The Quest File Notes
Game 65
Date: 1/18/10
Result: Galesburg jumps out to huge lead, and goes on to defeat Minooka 63-29
Miles: 50