Ultimate Hoops gets introduced at the Edina at Southdale Grand Opening
Noah Carlson (13) and Adam Hoven (18)
The highly-anticipated Grand Opening Event at the Edina at Southdale Life Time took place last night, marking the first brand-new Life Time location in Minnesota in over a decade.
There were two exhibition games played to mark the beginning of Ultimate Hoops at the new club and also to introduce the league experience. Four captains were selected a few weeks ago (Sonny Young-Graves, Izzy Elkaffas, Jake Gave and Ken Farmer) to draft a pool of 24 players.
The first game that took place was between Team Elkaffas and Team Young-Graves, where Team Elkaffas was able to come away with a 66-60 victory.
Team Young-Graves jumped out to an early lead due to the hot shooting from Luke Settergren, who finished the game with a game-high 25 points on 9-19 shooting from the field and 5-9 shooting from deep. That propelled Team Young-Graves to a double-digit lead throughout the first half and eventually a six-point lead at halftime.
Team Elkaffas was able to climb back due to the play of Sam Hanson and Allen Edward-Madding. Hanson dominated inside the paint, abusing opposing defenders with his strength and athleticism, helping him get 18 points and 13 rebounds on 7-8 shooting. Edwards-Madding did more of his damage from the outside, making two of his four 3s (including one right in my face) and finishing with a team-high 22 points.
The second game was another close affair, as Team Gave outlasted Team Farmer 79-78.
This game was vaguely similar to the first affair, as Team Farmer was in control for a majority of the game. Team Farmer got over a double-digit lead due to hot shooting from beyond the arc, hitting 12-31, led by the five made by Mike Healy.
Team Gave battled back, with a lot of possessions going through Caleb Carlson. He was the focal point of the offense through dribble penetrations or post-ups. While he struggled a bit from the field, shooting 9-23, but made up for it by getting to and converting at the line, making 9-10.
The end of the game saw Alex Riley make two clutch free throws with Team Gave down one, giving them a one-point lead with seven seconds left. Team Farmer had a chance to win it at the end, but Brensley Haywood’s attempted game-winner went off the side of the backboard.