MBCA Tournament, Nixa vs. Lafayette: 10 Best
MBCA Tournament, Nixa vs. Lafayette: 10 Best SPRINGFIELD — The Nixa Eagles ran away from a shorthanded Lafayette team en route a 95-63 pasting of the Irish to advance to the semifinals. The Eagles are coming off a 20-win season and…
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Continue ReadingMBCA Tournament, Nixa vs. Lafayette: 10 Best
SPRINGFIELD — The Nixa Eagles ran away from a shorthanded Lafayette team en route a 95-63 pasting of the Irish to advance to the semifinals. The Eagles are coming off a 20-win season and a district championship, while Lafayette advanced to the Class 4 Final Four last season.
The Irish had high expectations with three key members returning this season, but Lehigh signee Caleb Bennett recently went down with a severely sprained ankle and Lafayette was without all its weapons on Thursday.
Scouting report
Nixa Eagles: Are a deep team with plenty of experience, size and good guard play. While many of its members return from last year’s team, the biggest difference might be the improvement of 2019 guard Braeden Combs. The 6’2 point guard scored 15 quick points on Thursday and was the best player on the floor throughout the contest.
Lafayette Irish: Team has two terrific players in 6’4 2017 Sterling Hicks and 6’0 2018 point guard Diego Bernard. But from there, the squad is pretty thin, especially without Bennett. The Irish got some production at times from Trey Washington, Ike Book, Tyson Koch and others, but without Bennett the team was overmatched by Nixa.
MVP: Braeden Combs (Nixa). Is a smooth all-around guard with a nice outside jumper and the ability to control the pace of the game. He teams with Seth Viebrock to give Nixa a pair of solid ball handlers.
Best Offensive Player: Sterling Hicks (Lafayette). Hicks is a smooth offensive performer with a nice all-around game. Stuck a pair of 3-pointers and showed the ability to get all the way to the rim and finish in traffic.
Junkyard Dog: Christian Bundy (Nixa). Was big under the basket at both ends, controlling the boards and making life difficult
Best shooter: Evan Bergmann (Nixa). Made six 3-pointers in the contest. Bergmann has an odd delivery, but he makes them and has a quick release. With the amount of attention the Nixa big men receive in the paint Bergmann helps open things up inside for the Eagles.
Top Bench Player: Nathan Elmer (Nixa). Came off the bench for Nixa and made things happen for the Eagles. Had a 3 and a pair of tip ins inside. Strong 6’0 2018 guard that can do a lot of different things.
Best rebounder: Austin Bracker (Nixa). Really got in the paint and mixed it up at both ends. Strong, physical player.
Name you should know: Diego Bernard (Lafayette). Lightning quick guard that can really play. Flies up and down the court and stays in attack mode. Is really hard to contain off the bounce and has the ability to finish in traffic.
Top underclassmen (2019, 2020): Braeden Combs (Nixa).