Ten Best: North St. Paul vs. Tartan
I trekked the entire length of I-694 to catch an 8 p.m. rivalry tip between Polars and Titans in a Metro East tilt. Many high-level talents in the gym from both squads and a cool little Tartan gym made for a…
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Continue ReadingI trekked the entire length of I-694 to catch an 8 p.m. rivalry tip between Polars and Titans in a Metro East tilt. Many high-level talents in the gym from both squads and a cool little Tartan gym made for a fun atmosphere. Tartan’s depth and hot shooting was too much for the Polars in the end, and Tartan pulled away for an 87-61 victory. Here are the top performances!
MVP: Jordan Horn (PG, 6-2, Sr., Tartan)
Horn’s blend of patience and aggressiveness with the basketball in his hands hurt North St. Paul in a lot of ways. He knocked out multiple pull-up treys and attacked the rim for a total of 18 points. Horn added three assists on dropoffs and hounded the smaller Polar guards for several steals. His composure was a key piece of the Titan second-half run to blow open the lead.
Best offensive performance: Goodnews Kpegeol (G, 6-5, Jr., North St. Paul)
On a night where it was hard to come by an open look, Kpegeol provided some spark by creating his own shot in a variety of ways. He was in attack mode early drawing fouls, and put in a couple nice stepback bombs as well. His minutes were limited because of foul trouble (he played about 12 total) but when he was in the game, North St. Paul’s offense was potent. 18 points on Friday night for Kpegeol.
Best defensive performance: Joevon Walker (PF, 6-5, Sr., Tartan)
Walker proved again how reliable he is in the paint on both ends, even though he isn’t extremely tall. He’s definitely improved conditioning and tone so he can sustain longer runs in the game. Walker contributed three monster blocks and six boards along with an array of pretty post moves for seven points.
Best performance off the bench: Damien Goergen (F, 6-3, Sr., Tartan)
The burly backup center affectionately nicknamed “Chico” was an impressive replacement for Walker when needed. He showed some touch and quickness on the block and scored seven points for the Titans. Also had a pretty assist leading to a bucket plus the foul.
Best intangibles: Bryce Phillips (PG, 5-11, Jr., North St. Paul)
I really enjoy watching Phillips play. He’s a slippery point guard with a feel for the basket. He provided 16 points on midrange jumpers and layups through contact. While Kpegeol was sitting he was the only Polar to provide scoring support. He never quit and kept attacking even as the game became out of reach.
Best under-the-radar performance: Jordan Thompson (G, 6-2, Sr., Tartan)
Thompson might have had the most energy all night. In the early Tartan flurry of treys, he hit three of them, and converted loose balls into fast breaks the other way. Finished with 17 points and many hustle plays for the Titans. He’s a good juco or D3 guy to check on.
Best shooter: Noah Whalen (SG, 6-2, Sr., Tartan)
If you need a wide-open three, look no further than Noah Whalen. His elevation and balance each time he rises up to shoot are things of beauty. He had 16 points on four makes from deep to push the lead early on for Tartan.
Best underclassman: Antwan Kimmons (G, 5-9. So., Tartan)
The waterbug sophomore is a starter for the experienced Tartan squad and showed very well, pushing the pace and distributing to scorers like Horn and Whalen. He penetrated the lane and extended plays by kicking out for shooters and slashers to take opportunity. He’ll be a mainstay for another two seasons under Coach Klingsporn.
Best moment: Horn’s 1,000th ceremony
Before the game, Tartan took a few minutes to honor Jordan Horn’s accomplishment of reaching the 1,000 point mark. It occurred back in December at the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic against Armstrong. Jordan is also now Tartan’s fifth all-time leading scorer, and after last night, sits at 1,255 career points. A big moment for him, congrats!
Best storyline moving forward: Section 4AAAA
It’s hard to gauge how the seedings will turn out here; Woodbury and Cretin-Derham Hall are both in the Suburban East while Tartan and NSP are in the Metro East. NSP will probably end up the 4 seed, while the battle for #1 probably comes down to the Cretin-Woodbury matchup in February and Tartan running through the rest of their league. My guess is it will go Tartan-CDH-Woodbury-NSP. Another exciting playoff picture there, just like last year!