I've been to a few places in the Valley, and the fans in Des Moines are by far the most hospitable and welcoming. I wouldn't say that about a couple of other places *cough* Carbondale *cough*...
So this year, once again the Polyfro Basketball Blog took the show on the road to the Knapp Center in Des Moines for the Creighton-Drake tilt on Saturday night. As a graphic designer, I find the Knapp Center to be a doozy. I used to write a piece for a prominent design publication called "Awesomely Bad Design", and I've always regretted not making the Knapp Center the feature of an article there. I won't get into too much here, but the purple banners with yellow highlights that adorn the ceiling are just the tip of the iceberg at this place. When your colors are blue and white, and to a lesser extent, black, why decorate your arena in purple and yellow? The section we sat in had giant aquamarine banners hanging above it; other sections had magenta, brown, and even red. Why, Drake, why?
Despite these visual offenders, we once again enjoyed the experience as well as the game. The fact that Creighton was victorious in a highly entertaining game made it more fun, of course.
I met my college roommate John, who lives in Des Moines, at the game. We came in a side door that brought you literally 100 feet away from the court, and if you know me, that's too tempting to stay away from. So much to his chagrin, I headed courtside, determined to see how far I could get before someone stopped me. The answer: 56 feet, which was a disappointing 44 feet from the edge of the court. I had my telephoto camera, see, and I just wanted some photos, honest! But the guard wasn't having any of it, and banished me to the our upper deck seats.
Up there, I moved up to the railing to get some photos, and was eventually harassed by yet another security guard. But I did get some photos...
I only have photos of pregame warmups, partly because the guards wouldn't let me close enough to take unobstructed shots, but mostly because taking photos during the game precludes me from cheering and making noise.
During the starting lineups, the Drake PA Announcer introduced Creighton's coach as Dan Altman, who I would come to find out later is actually Bizarro Dana, his evil brother. I kind of liked Dan, as he was a more saucy version of his brother. He even drop kicked the ball back to the official after a blown call, something Dana would never do.
Out of the blocks, the game was reminiscent of earlier road games at Peoria and Cedar Falls, as the Jays jumped out to 9-2 lead before the first timeout. Their lead would swell to 28-18, powered by deadly accuracy from behind the arc (6-10 in the first 15 minutes) and dominant play on the interior by Tolliver. But then in a scene reminiscent of earlier games at Terre Haute, Wichita and Honolulu, the Jays fell asleep and let the opponent go on a huge run to end the half, in this case a 14-2 run that gave Drake a 32-30 lead at the break.
Oh, the halftime! A group billed as "The Southwest Iowa Energizers", but who I will call "The Tentpeople" entertained the crowd by dancing rhythmically dancing while wearing brightly hued tent suits. You think I'm making this up?
You bet. At the end of their performance, I gave them a standing ovation, because I for one was fantastically entertained. Not in the way they anticipated, I'm sure, but I was entertained nonetheless.
The Tentpeople put some sort of crazy hex on the arena when they departed, which I'm absolutely convinced is the only believable explanation for the things that happened in the second half. Again, I'm not making this up. Consider these facts:
I. Tom Davis, Co-Star of "Anger Management 2" with Adam Sandler
Classy and mild-mannered Tom Davis went absolutely berserk no less than 4 times in the final 20 minutes of this game. Growing up in Iowa, I saw probably 80-85% of the games he coached at Iowa, and over those 15 years, I can count on one finger the number of times he showed up a referee crew like he did on this night. And after the game, he publicly took shots at the crew and was quoted as saying they blew the game, "I had pretty good look, you know, right in front of the bench. And I try to be as impartial as a I can when I look at those things...but there were 6 or 7 straight calls down the stretch that all went Creighton's way. Um, and that seemed a little unusual." Seriously, Tentpeople. Need more proof?
II. Dana Altman, Kickball Superstar
Midway through a second half muddied by bad officiating on both sides, the ball rolled toward the Creighton bench out of bounds. Altman picked it up, and returned it to the ref not by handing it to him, or by passing it to him, but by lightly DROPKICKING it. Not hard enough to get any real distance, but enough to get a point across -- and enough to cause the ref to come over and say something to him. Hilarious. I've watched Altman since his third year at CU, and have never seen him get T'd up. That was pretty close. The only explanation? Tentpeople. Not yet convinced?
III. Pierce Hibma, Three-Point Assassin
The guy I've derisively called "Tweak" earlier this year turned into a BMOC in the second half of this game, hitting 4 of 5 three pointers including 3 in a row during a 14-0 run that put Creighton ahead for good. But that could happen on any night -- he got hot. But this line?
MISSED LAYUP by Keita, Aliou 03:44 BLOCK by Hibma,Pierce
Yeah, that can only be attributed to one thing. Tentpeople.
***
Early in the second half, Drake raced to a 43-36 lead just one minute after the first media timeout, and things were looking grim for the Jays. Tolliver was in foul trouble, the shots weren't falling, and Drake's crowd was getting into the game. Enter Pierce "Tweak" Hibma, who hit three 3-pointers during a 14-0 stretch over the next 4-1/2 minutes. After the second threeball, John said, "Is Pierce is making a run at the Heee-Haw Player of the Game?" I told him if Pierce hit one more three, he might just seal the deal. 45 seconds later, sure enough, Pierce hit another one. Wonderful.
A 43-36 deficit had been erased and was now a 50-43 lead with 10:32 to play. The game tightened back up over the next 4 minutes, and Creighton took a 59-55 lead into the final media timeout. This is where things got really weird -- and if one were so inclined, more evidence of Tentpeople influence.
Funk hit a driving layup to go up 61-55, but just 10 seconds later, Tolliver picked up his 4th foul. AJ Calvin hit two free throws to make it 61-57. The inbounds pass went to Tolliver, who lost the ball and turned it over -- and a quick jumper from Calvin made it 61-59. Timeout CU.
Out of the timeout, Tolliver was fouled and made 1 of 2 free throws. Calvin got the rebound, but Drake would turn it over without taking a shot 20 seconds later, as Josh Dotzler stole the ball and then called timeout from the middle of a scrum on the floor.
The inbounds pass was stolen when Watts couldn't corral the ball, and an immediate layup made it 62-61 with 90 seconds to play. Oh boy. The next inbounds pass was also stolen, and a Watts foul to prevent an easy bucket put Nick Grant on the line with a chance for Drake to take the lead. Grant hit 1 of 2 to tie it up, but a Funk jumper with 1:15 left put CU right back on top. This was especially sweet, considering after his airball of a three early in the half, the student section yelled "AIRBALL" every time he touched the ball the remainder of the game.
Drake called for timeout, and after getting the ball across halfcourt, Nick Porter stole the ball, seeming to clinch the game for Creighton, and seemingly turning the game into a free-throw contest. But then the referees proved even they were not immune from the Tentpeople when they called Nate Funk for a five-second call.
Seriously, five seconds? With 32 seconds left in a two-point game? Wow. Just...wow. It took us a few moments to figure out what had even happened -- we kept looking at the scoreboard and waiting for a foul to be registered on Funk, or even on someone for an illegal screen, but got nothing. Finally we figured out what had been called, and I was beside myself.
The next sequence was beyond even the scope of the Tentpeople.
Drake was down a bucket with the ball, and could hold for the last shot and send the game into OT -- or hit a 3 and win it. With just over 20 seconds left, Josh Young drove the lane, and Anthony Tolliver stepped in front to draw contact. Tolliver, with 4 fouls, had position and the refs UNBELIEVABLY called a charge. You just don't get that call on the road. Never. Tentpeople influence? Maybe.
I really thought the correct call was a "no-call"; let the basket count (Young had made the hoop after contact) and call no foul either way. Let the players decide it. But there was just too much contact to call nothing -- Drake's fans thought it should have been a foul of Tolliver, his 5th, and one free throw; Creighton's fans probably thought it was a charge. The replay seems to indicate it was indeed a charge. But I'd hate to have to make that call -- it was close.
After Nick Porter was fouled on the inbounds pass, he sank the first throw, and I told John there was no one I wanted on the line in this spot more -- Ice Cold Porter never missed. So of course, he missed the 2nd throw. Of course. Of course!
With a 3-point lead, Drake came down for one last possession, and as Al Stewart put up a good shot, Tolliver rejected it in a perfect symbiosis of timing, hops and pure physical ability. One of the greatest blocks I've ever seen, when you consider time and score. Drake's fans were incensed, sure it was a goaltend. It wasn't, and CU escaped with a 67-62 win.
Drake's Nick Grant seemed to think it was goaltending. "That was goaltending. It was going down." The complete post-game comments are an interesting read.
As the Jays left the court, Nate Funk looked into the student section that had harassed him with the "AIRBALL" chants most of the second half and pointed to the scoreboard.
And with that, another Jays game in Des Moines was complete. But the night was just beginning for me -- after a wardrobe change it was off to the High Life Lounge ("The Champaign of Bars") for celebratory Tangermeister shots. These are Tang and Jaegermeister, and completely nasty, but are a Jays road win in Des Moines tradition. Who am I to mess with tradition?
My buddy Donovan joined in for the celebration.
If those shots weren't washed down with a nice gulp of "Jays win on the road", they would be too nasty to drink. Holy moly.
Incidentally, just how cold was it in Des Moines? A bottle of Bud Light got stuck to my hand. Seriously.
Try 'splainin' that one to your doctor. A little warm water does wonders, though. You bet.
***
For this game, I decided to let a Guest Judge pick the Heee-Haw POTG. My buddy John who was at the game with me decreed that Pierce Hibma was the man, and I tend to agree. His 12 points on 4-5 from behind the arc, 4 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal made for a solid line. And so, for the first time ever, Pierce is the Heee-Haw POTG. Nicely done, buddy.
You bet.
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