10 Best: Shiloh Christian New Year’s Invite Day 1
(Photo by Tom Stromme, Bismarck Tribune) By Josh Haugen The first night of the Shiloh Christian New Year’s Invite at Shiloh Christian High in Bismarck, N.D. had just about everything you could hope to see in a basketball game. There…
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Continue Reading(Photo by Tom Stromme, Bismarck Tribune)
By Josh Haugen
The first night of the Shiloh Christian New Year’s Invite at Shiloh Christian High in Bismarck, N.D. had just about everything you could hope to see in a basketball game. There was a two-handed poster dunk and a foul, a 6’9” center nailed a three pointer, and there was a half-court buzzer beater to end a first half.
A field of four very talented teams promised entertaining basketball, and they delivered. The first matchup between the #3 Dickinson Trinity Titans and the Our Redeemer’s Knights was tight after a fast-paced first half that was still low scoring because of tough shooting and great defense. Dickinson Trinity led 30-25. Then came the third quarter and Trinity shifted back into a classic Titan slow-it-down style on offense that allowed them to set up their defense and apply pressure. That pressure turned the game from a nail-biter into a breeze as the final score was 68-44 in favor of Dickinson Trinity.
The next game between the #4 Shiloh Christian Skyhawks and the Oak Grove Grovers was tight after every quarter, posting 19-15, 39-38, 60-59, and 73-72 splits all in favor of Oak Grove except for the last one. Strong guard play and outside shooting was the story in this game as both teams got hot from deep early and never cooled down.
MVP: Canaan Fagerlund, Shiloh Christian, So., G. It was Fagerlund’s shooting and drive-and-kick assists that kept Shiloh in the game when Oak Grove’s Andrew Christianson and Bryce Bakkegard were raining points from the outside, and it was Fagerlund’s defense that helped the Skyhawks win on the final play when he got in the way of a pass headed toward Christianson on the final play.
Play of the Day: Shiloh Christian just managed to get the ball across the court before being trapped by the harassing Oak Grove defense. Shiloh’s sophomore center Macauley Young had to step out to the three point line as a safety valve away from the trap. The defense didn’t follow him out there once he had the ball because the 6’9” center isn’t going to shoot from that far, right? Right!? Wrong. Young squared up and let it fly with warranted confidence. He nailed the shot to make his teammates and the crowd go nuts.
Best offensive performance: Andrew Christianson, Oak Grove, Jr, G. Christianson hit a few threes in the first quarter to warm himself up, and didn’t cool down for the rest of the game. And when the defense started to close better at the three point line he created different opportunities for himself and his teammates.
Best defensive performance: Dickinson Trinity backcourt. They were putting pressure on the Our Redeemer’s guards the whole game, but really cranked up the speed on defense in the second half. The Dickinson Trinity guards were picking off every other pass for almost the entire third quarter. The Titan backcourt mainly consisted of seniors Kendall and Lucas Jones, and junior Noah Sickler, but each guard that came off the bench provided the same energy and speed that the starters had. Their defense was the main reason the Titans outscored the Knights 27-6 in the third.
Best guy off the bench: Jace Pulst, Oak Grove, Sr, G. Pulst came off the bench and provided all the confidence on the offensive end of a player who has been starting his entire career. His great speed and ball control allowed him to get into the paint with ease where he had a solid pull-up jump shot from 10-15 feet. His defense was key as well, as whenever he was in he was charged with guarding Shiloh Christian’s sharp-shooting senior guard, Nick Pfaff.
Best intangibles: Shawn Stoltz, Dickinson Trinity, Sr, F. Stoltz was the most talented player on the floor during his game, but he didn’t show it by filling the stat sheet. He showed it by playing great defense on Our Redeemer’s 6’9” center Dalton Steede and keeping as many rebounds out of his reach as possible. Stoltz showed his ability to finish with either hand as he drove the baseline multiple times toward a layup on either side. (There’s nothing intangible about it, but Stoltz capped his night off with a thunderous two handed slashing dunk and a foul over Steede. Steede was blocking everything in this game, but he couldn’t get to this one.)
Best under-the-radar performance: Tayten Mau, Our Redeemers’s, Jr, G. Mau fell victim to Trinity’s pressure in the third quarter just as anyone else would have, but for the rest of the game he played very well. He showed smooth ball handling abilities and nailed some fearless shots from deep.
Best Underclassman: Fagerlund. As just a sophomore, Canaan Fagerlund has become the leader of this Shiloh Christian team on both ends of the court. When the team needs someone to create offense, he is the one with the ball.
Best story to watch moving forward: Macauley Young’s range. Young started the game by hitting a 15-foot jump shot from the baseline that nobody but his teammates thought he was going to shoot. Later on he hit a three pointer that was already talked about above. That three was not rushed shot late in the shot clock; it was a rhythm three that he felt confident taking. If that kind of range continues to develop for the 6’9” sophomore, then he will become even more of a matchup nightmare than he already is.
Best Matchup: Nick Pfaff (Shiloh Christian) vs. Andrew Christianson (Oak Grove). These two weren’t always guarding each other, but they still had a great back-and-forth going on the offensive end. Whenever one of them would hit a three, the other would come right back down and respond. These two were a big reason why this game remained so close, yet high scoring at the same time.
The two games to be played today (1/7) will be #3 Dickinson Trinity vs. #4 Shiloh Christian and Our Redeemer’s Christian vs. Fargo Oak Grove.