Advertisement
football Edit

MN Pump N Run wins Denver event

This weekend Minnesota Pump N Run made their national debut at the Double Pump Spring Tournament in Denver. After 2 easy victories in pool play, Pump N Run moved on to elimination play on Saturday afternoon.
The round of 32 game was played against Wyoming and Pump N Run started with a bang. Carlos Emmory with 2 huge dunks, Kevin Noreen finishes with 2 hands and then Emmory almost gets his elbow hung on the rim for a monstrous dunk. That sets the tone in a 14-4 start. Wyoming's 2-3 zone does allow them to keep the game close and after a pair of triples the gap is closed to 26-22 with 4:15 left in the half. Pump N Run finishes the half with a Noreen 3 for a 41-27 halftime lead. Dyami Starks with 3 triples in the first 4 minutes of the second half to blow the game open for a 71-45 Pump N Run win. Steve Tecker with an impressive performance in this game as well. Pump N Run then defeated the I Can All Stars #2 team in another blowout to advance to the final 8 on Sunday.
Advertisement
Quarterfinals
The Sunday opener for Pump N Run was against 2D1 Basketball Academy. 2D1 gets out to a very quick start forcing turnovers with their athleticism for a 17-6 lead in the first 7 minutes. The lead is as big as 16 points late in the 1st half, but Pump N Run cuts the deficit to 41-29 at the break. In addition to the turnovers, Willie Hankins of 2D1 scored 17 points in the half and had a large hand in the 11 points from James Boyd with his penetration drawing defenders.
Pump N Run cuts the lead from 15 to 6 on an Emmory dunk with 9:49 remaining. Then a turnover results in a Noreen triple and he gets a good look at another three that would have cut the lead to 2. But 2D1 uses Hankins on a side screen and roll to push the lead back to 12, 64-52 with 5:10 left. Then Pump N Run comes to life. Tecker gets a steal that leads to a Starks three and then Tecker converts another 2D1 turnover against pressure into a bucket. That concludes an 11-0 run over 1:40. 64-63 2D1 with 3:29 remaining to play. Tecker with 2 free throws with 2:07 remaining to tie the game at 67. Starks with a triple and Pump N Run leads by 3 with 1:50 left. That's an 18-3 run over 3:20 for Pump N Run. Hankins misses a pair of tough triples against Tecker on one end. On the other end, Tecker makes 4 free throws in the last 30 seconds to seal a thrilling 75-70 come from behind win. Tecker scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half. Emmory scored 12 of his 16 in the second half.
Semifinals
In the semis, Pump N Run took on D1E (Derrick Rose Elite). Carlos Emmory with 2 huge follow up dunks for a 16-12 Pump N Run lead at the 9:30 mark of the first half. Pump N Run was playing 2-3 zone and D1E was not making shots, but that was the best offense as D1E went to the glass and scored the misses. Ryan Boatright gets hot for D1E and scores 7 in a row to put D1E up 22-19. That's part of D1E heating up from deep against the zone. Their fourth triple of the half gives them a 28-23 lead and forces Pump N Run out of the zone defense. D1E nails another triple at the halftime horn for a 36-31 halftime lead.
Kevin Noreen hot in the second half to bring Pump N Run back. He gets back to back 3 point plays as part of scoring 9 straight Pump N Run points. D1E still leads 54-52 with 2:56 remaining. After 1 Steve Tecker free throw, D1E converts a layup with 1 minute remaining for a 58-54 lead. Carlos Emmory then drains a rare triple with 40.1 seconds left. On the shot, Pump N Run's Jonathon Crockett commits a foul. After discussion, the 3 counts and D1E will shoot the bonus on the other end. That's no good and back comes Pump N Run. Emmory gets the ball on the right block and goes to the glass. As the ball appears that it might roll off the rim or already be off the side of the rim, D1E knocks it away and goaltending is called with 21.4 left. That gives Pump N Run a 59-58 lead. D1E comes back down and misses and the rebound goes to Crockett who has no one in front of him and that's an easy layup. A half court attempt at the horn is no good and Pump N Run wins 61-58 in controversial fashion. The goaltending call was a very close call and D1E was extremely upset about it. Kevin Noreen with 12 of his 16 points in the second half. Carlos Emmory scored 22 points. Ryan Boatright with 13 of his 16 points for D1E in the first half.
Championship
The championship game was played against Team Odom. One member of Team Odom is 2011 star Darius Nelson, younger brother of former Duke player DeMarcus Nelson. 9-4 Team Odom leads early, but Pump N Run again using the 2-3 zone and with great results in this one. Team Odom with no answer for it as they looked sluggish. 38-24 Pump N Run with the halftime lead. Nelson with 10 points in the half for Team Odom. Kevin Noreen with 11 for Pump N Run. The lead expands in the second half as Aaron Anderson gets going. He nails a triple, Noreen with a layup, Starks for 3 and then Emmory slashes down the lane and brings down the house with a tomahawk dunk that's his biggest dunk of the season for an emphatic nail in the coffin. 57-37 with 7:45 to play and the rest is just playing out the string. Pump N Run wins the 2009 Double Pump Spring Tournament 17U Championship 75-53. Kevin Noreen scored 18 points, Carlos Emmory scored 14 points and Aaron Anderson scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.
Advertisement