Ten Best: Eden Prairie vs. Wayzata
A guard-heavy Lake Conference opener with multiple underclassman attractions, we should all be glad the game between Eagles and Trojans was not canceled. The contest went down to the wire and stellar performances were seen all across the board, ranging…
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Continue ReadingA guard-heavy Lake Conference opener with multiple underclassman attractions, we should all be glad the game between Eagles and Trojans was not canceled. The contest went down to the wire and stellar performances were seen all across the board, ranging from Gavin Baumgartner and Owen Chose‘s steady senior production to young new faces stepping up like Luke Paulson and Austin Andrews. Baumgartner had an all-around night on the stat sheet supported by Drew Galinson, and Chose filled up the scoring tally all night long.
Wayzata jumped out early thanks to seniors setting the tone but the Eagles fought back despite very little success beyond the arc. Role players made their presence known for both teams and it led to a tie game after 36 minutes of play thanks to an improbable buzzer beater. Galinson was too much for EP at the end and sealed it with free throws late, and it was 75-71 when EP hit a last second trey to make the deficit one point. With the 75-74 final, Wayzata moves to 3-0 on the year and first in the Lake, while Eden Prairie falls to 3-2 and 5th in the Lake.
MVP: Gavin Baumgartner (SF, 6-4, Sr., Wayzata)
Gavin didn’t explode in any way on Friday. But having multiple ticks in the scorebook in a bunch of categories says something about his leadership and versatility. His line was ten points/eight rebounds/five assists/three steals/one block. Even though he fouled out in overtime, he never allowed his body language to slack. Great night for the MSU-Moorhead signee.
Best offensive performance: Owen Chose (SG, 6-1, Sr., Eden Prairie)
Owen Chose has one of the slickest mid-range jumpers in the state, hands down. He couldn’t get free looks outside the three-point line so he willed his dribble into the lane, created separation and hit contested 2s. A hard-earned 26 for him to lead the Eagles back into the game.
Best defensive performance: Wayzata as a whole
Last year EP was a straight shooting team. Five guards and wings that were all threats from outside. This year is mostly the same, with Chose spearheading a deep attack featuring Kyler Kluge, Antonio Montero and Andrews, Wayzata impressed me with their constant chasing of the Eagle sharpshooters, not giving breathing room to anyone. They also forced the usually sure-handed Kluge into four turnovers. Nice job by all Trojans on the defensive end.
Best performance off the bench: Bryce Hampel (F, 6-5, Sr., Wayzata)
A rangy stretch four off the bench for Wayzata, Bryce Hampel gave the Trojans more life than anyone on Friday. He worked his tail off to get 11 points and seven boards while guarding the opposing center as well. His several hustle buckets helped the gym come alive as Wayzata made their run in the second half.
Best play: Pahl somehow hits buzzer-beater to add four minutes to the game
Down three with ten seconds to go in regulation, Kyler Kluge comes up the court but is stifled by the aforementioned Wayzata perimeter defense. Kluge desperately flings it to senior Will Pahl, who heaves a 26-footer over three defenders’ arms and banks it to put the game in overtime. The atmosphere in the gym before that shot went in was that the game was over. Pahl had other plans.
Best underclassman: Austin Andrews (F, 6-5, Fr., Eden Prairie)
To preface this category, understand that Andrews’ frosh teammate Drake Dobbs and Wayzata sophomores Jacob Beeninga and Luke Paulson all could have been the winner here as well. But Andrews arguably was the reason that EP even stayed close in the first half; the youthful forward scored 11 before the intermission, mostly on free throw attempts after crafty moves inside. Also knocked out a corner trey and baseline 15-foot jumper. Disappeared in the second half a little but overall a nice game from the young gun.
Best shooter: Drew Galinson (G, 6-1, Jr., Wayzata)
Zero points through 18 minutes for starting 2-guard Drew Galinson. Then all of a sudden he sinks four threes on consecutive possessions to push Wayzata back into the lead to begin half two. He has nice clean shooting form and his feet were set on all attempts. Very convincing case for this category by the junior.
Best under-the-radar performance: Jacob Beeninga (PG. 6-0, So., Wayzata)
Trojan coach Bryan Schnettler is enjoying the luxury of steady point guard play from one year to another, in brother form. 2016 grad Johnny Beeninga is up north in Moorhead and his little bro is picking up right where he left off. Jacob plays D1 MN on the grassroots circuit and impressed many last season. Now he takes the reins of the Wayzata squad and commands it very keenly. Eight points and two assists for him tonight, with no turnovers. Very solid game and he has the job for two more years.
Best storyline moving forward: Lake Conference shakeout
Hopkins fell to Edina on Friday. Wayzata beat EP. Minnetonka is waiting to show their share of firepower against the rest of the league. Nobody thought anyone would touch Hopkins, but now that it happened, does that make it more likely for Wayzata to jump to the top? Even then, EP lost by just one point to the Trojans. They’re still competitive. The Lake might be tougher and closer than people thought it would this season.
Best aspect of the environment: Wayzata students, present and past
The “Trojan Troops” were in full force on Friday night with pinstriped pants and a jersey-out in effect. They got rowdy pretty quickly thanks to a pair of dunks by Baumgartner and Ryan Lindberg burying a trey. Not only were the current fans in attendance, I spotted a few Trojan alumni in the house as well. Former hoopers Jack Sowada, Joe Lauer and Brady Galbraith sat high up in the bleachers, observing the new-look Wayzata squad.