TRP wraps up week with cruel "goodbye"

BY MIKE PEDEN

There was no repeat of Tuesday night's Howard Pulley Pro City Summer League contest with the bye team fielded for competitive play, where the outcome was essentially decided in the first half, but the game officially ended close to midnight.

On Thursday night, the expected runaway had to wait until the third quarter, with Sabes-TRP Group wrapping up a perfect week with a win over the bye team 114-83 Thursday night at the St. Paul Salvation Army gym.

The game was officially over at 10:15 p.m.

Overseas player Rich Melzer scored a game-high 37 points and Minnesota recruit Justin Cobbs knocked down 20 for TRP. UW-Stout's Greg Chaisson led the bye team in scoring with 21.

TRP kicked things off with an 11-2 run and it appeared they would run away with the win early, but TRP struggled with their shots in the first half, allowing the bye team to stay in the contest. TRP's lead at halftime was a mere six points.

TRP's lead was cut to two twice at the midway point in the third. The second time, TRP responded with back-to-back three-point plays from Melzer and Cobbs, and a Cobbs dunk capped off an 8-0 run that proved to be the game's key moment.

At the end of the third, TRP was up 84-69. 10 minutes later, TRP outscored the worn out bye team 30-14 in the fourth quarter.

TRP did not leave unscathed. MCTC's William Leftridge was visibly tired in the fourth as he could not hustle to either end of the court. Cobbs was about to make an "unofficial" substitution when the whistle sounded with just under five minutes to play, making the substitution offical.

Cobbs had some shooting problems, but set up a few drives to the basket as he continues to prepare for his Gopher debut.

TRP returns to play next Monday at 8:45 p.m. against the winless Pat Madison Magic.