Ten Best: St. Charles vs. Watertown-Mayer
The second game of the day at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic pitted two of the top teams in Class AA, St. Charles and Watertown-Mayer against each other. Ultimately the game came down to one simple fact. One team had…
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Continue ReadingThe second game of the day at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic pitted two of the top teams in Class AA, St. Charles and Watertown-Mayer against each other.
Ultimately the game came down to one simple fact. One team had Trae Berhow and the other didn’t.
Berhow and fellow senior McKinley Gehlhausen combined for 51 points as the Royals beat the Saints 70-59. A strong start gave the Royals a 16-point halftime and despite a flurry of 3-pointers in the second half, the Saints, who were without top player Justin Ruhberg, couldn’t quite pull off the comeback. Keagan Maloney led the Saints in scoring with 20 points.
MVP: Trae Berhow (Watertown-Mayer)
Berhow made his presence felt early and often Saturday, scoring 14 of his 30 points in the first half while playing engaged defense. Berhow used his athleticism to control the transition game and his size/strength to get a key bucket whenever the game slowed down.
Best Offensive Performance: Berhow (Watertown-Mayer)
Berhow scored 30 points and made it look relatively easy. He did it all, hitting three 3-pointers, scoring on drives and in transition. He caught the ball and scored in the mid post on at least one occasion, got to the offensive glass and he created scoring opportunities for his teammates. Berhow showed why he’s one of the top players in the state Saturday and the Saints didn’t have an answer for him when in man defense.
Best Defensive Performance: McKinley Gehlhausen (Watertown-Mayer)
Gehlhausen had a big game on both ends Saturday, providing an interior presence that a team like the Saints simply doesn’t see often. The 6-foot-8 senior made his presence felt early in the game, swatting two shots in the first five minutes. After that, the Saints offensive approach involved a lot of jump shots.
Best Play: Berhow tip dunk (Watertown-Mayer)
It had been a dominant first half by Berhow on both ends and he capped off a terrific first frame with a big tip dunk on a missed 3-pointer. One dunk isn’t that big of a deal, but it was a play that made people realize what kind of athleticism edge Berhow held over the rest of the players on the floor.
Best Guy off the Bench: Ryan McCormick (St. Charles)
The 6-foot senior only scored three points in the game but he gave the Saints a great spark. St. Charles made the game interesting in the second half and a guy who made a low-key big impact was McCormick. His played solid defense. And his ability to keep the ball moving so that other guys could get into a rhythm was important.
Best Underclassman: Drew Leistikow (St. Charles)
Leistikow had a quiet game for the Saints, scoring five points. But he made a difference on the defensive end and his ability to make plays in the zone press helped the Saints get back into the game in the second half. As a sophomore, he’s not going to be a big featured guy on the offensive end. But his ability to make an impact without the ball in his hands makes him extremely valuable.
Best Under-the-Radar Performance: Carson Jensen (St. Charles)
Without its best overall player, St. Charles needed forward Carson Jensen to step up and make plays and for the most part, he did. The 6-foot-4 senior scored 13 points and was active on the boards. He scored on several impressive drives, finishing in traffic over Gehlhausen on a couple of occasions. Jensen also knocked down a 3-pointer and dished out several assists.
Best Shooter: Kaden Vaughn (St. Charles)
Vaughn was instrumental in the Saints’ near second-half comeback. The 6-foot junior knocked down five 3-pointers in the game and scored 12 points in the second half. His stroke is beautiful but an impressive facet of his game was his ability to use screens off the ball. There are a lot of good stand still shooters all over the state. But a lot of those guys are easy to stop with a simple face guard defender. Vaughn did a great job setting up his defenders, changing directions and running them off screens. And when he got room to shoot, he made the most of it.
Best Intangibles: Ethan McCleary (Watertown-Mayer)
McCleary scored just two points in the game but his physical style of the court frustrated St. Charles players throughout the morning. McCleary was active on the glass and his defensive versatility was a big key in the Royals ultimately pulling out the victory. His value won’t show up much in the box score, but McClearly looks like the quintessential player that teammates love and opponents can’t stand.
Best Coaching/Strategy: Zone press (St. Charles)
When the Saints tried to defend the Royals man-to-man in the half court, the results were borderline disastrous. They couldn’t keep up with Trae Berhow and couldn’t slow down McKinley Gehlhausen in the half court. The Saints got back into the game by using zone pressure, forcing turnovers and scoring before going against a set defense.
Head coach Terry Knothe has been around for a long time and is one of the best coaches in the state. His ability to make adjustments on the fly almost got the Saints an improbable comeback win. It’s early in the season and it’s unlikely that the Saints will see many teams with the type of size Watertown-Mayer’s got. But he may have something with that zone press. The Saints have the athletes that can make it work and a havoc-style defense might be the best way to combat their lack of great size.