Class AA State Tournament: Why JCC & Braham are moving on

<strong><em>Why Braham is moving on over St. Croix Lutheran.  </em></strong> This was an exciting game with a lot of talent and many different angles to cover.  For one, I thought Braham’s guards (<strong>Chris Olson and John Larson</strong> being the main ones) did a fantastic job rebounding amongst size and then pushing the ball.  The Crusaders really struggled to get back in transition and stop the ball especially against <strong>Ryan Larson</strong>.  Also, the Crusaders did not do a good job closing out on shooters to the right angles (bad spacing too) and they did a lazy job of getting a hand up against the best Bombers from Braham.  The Olsons are dangerous shooters and they simply had too much space to work with. That said, the biggest momentum switches in the game happened because of poor whistles from the officials. In a game of this magnitude with this much talent on the floor the officials cannot call a third foul in the first half on <strong>Ade Murkey</strong>, the best player on the floor, when he literally did nothing but watch a give dive by.  That completely changed the flow of the game and gave the Bombers the edge.  Also, late in the game, one of the two Crusaders with double-doubles <strong>Trenton Krueger</strong> fouled out on a charging call in the open floor when his team had gained the momentum cutting a lead in half.  It was a bang bang play and tough to call but the defender was moving to his left still and then fell back before contact was made.  The offense has to get that call with it being close and unsure and Krueger getting foul five.  Tough call to make for sure but it’s too bad the official had to hurt a team like that. With that said, I still believe that Braham played the better team game and Coach <strong>Jeff Eklund</strong> did the better job of making decisions of rotations, sets, etc.  They earned this win, I just would have liked to see those key momentum switches come all from the team, and not two big ones come from the officials. Braham was led by the 24 points and ten rebounds from Chris Olson.  He was joined in double figures by Ryan Larson who totaled 22 points, six assists, and five boards while John Larson and Alec Olson each had 17 points.  For the Crusaders <strong>Ade Murkey</strong> exploded for 26 points, a dozen boards, four assists, and a putback dunk that will forever live in the minds of fans.  Trenton Krueger had 24 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out and <strong>Aage Rovney</strong> scored 16. <strong><em>Why JCC is moving on over Annandale. </em></strong>Early in the game <strong>Bodey Behrends</strong> swatted two shots of Annandale on attacks and although the Cardinals were able to grab an early lead, they rarely even attempted shots near the rim because of the threat that Bodey would either swat or alter shots in the area he patrols. With Bodey scoring with his back to the basket on one end along with teammates <strong>Colton Timmer and Matt Ringkob</strong> producing in the paint, JCC held an edge in quality of high percentage shots. <strong>Ryan Christopher’s</strong> high efforts on the defensive end resulted in forced turnovers as well as halted possessions as he also was key to what JCC did defensively.  Then in the second half Annandale wasn’t able to keep Bodey off the offensive boards and they weren’t able to rotate in their zone defense nor in their man to man to get hands in the face of Ringkob who sunk three treys.  Bodey was even better on the defensive end in the second half accumulating five more blocks and with each passing minute of the game JCC built a lead as they simply had better opportunities to create scores. About half of the Cardinal shots came at the arc and they only made seven so the threat of Behrends definitely was a game changer. Bodey Behrends scored 20 points including three dunks, he blocked eight shots, and grabbed six rebounds. Matt Ringkob had 19 points (three treys made) with six rebounds.<strong> Colton Timmer</strong> finished with five field goals also reaching double figures. Annandale made nine shots total inside the arc and shot 30 percent for the game. <strong> Alex Hohenstein</strong> had a team high 12 for Annandale. <strong><em>State Title Game Preview. </em></strong> Bodey Behrends completely changed the game with guard dominated Annandale.  Can he do the same to Braham’s explosive line-up of guards?  It will be a much tougher task.  Annandale is a good team but Chris and Alec Olson as well as Ryan and John Larson are a different level of talent than what Annandale threw at Jackson County Central. Bodey can have the same type of impact against Braham in the halfcourt set but Braham will shoot the ball much better at the arc than Annandale did.  Also, the Bombers will fly up the floor meaning it will be hard for Behrends and Timmer to get back and have a consistent effect on the Bombers attempts.  Simply put, Christopher and Behrends guide a strong defense but Brhaham is a different animal. JCC is an okay match-up though.  Braham really doesn’t have an answer for Bodey besides aggressive Connor Tschumper (Colton Timmer is similar to Tschumper but Connor will likely have to guard Connor) and hard working Ryan Christopher’s defense will make Chris Olson work for space.  Alec Olson an Jacob Christopher are similar while Matt Ringkob and John Larson are strong wings.  Bodey is the JCC ex-factor that Braham doesn’t have a match-up for while Ryan Larson is the guy for Braham that JCC can’t match-up with speed wise.