Ten Best: Edina vs Wayzata
Edina ended Wayzata’s unbeaten season last night with a hard fought victory on both ends. NHR breaks down the Hornets victory in our own special way. MVP: Walt McGrory. The Hornets guard had 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists…
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Continue ReadingEdina ended Wayzata’s unbeaten season last night with a hard fought victory on both ends. NHR breaks down the Hornets victory in our own special way.
MVP: Walt McGrory. The Hornets guard had 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in a grinder of a game. The Trojans were able to slow his pace early by constantly switching a new defender on Walt. As the game moved on though, Edina slowed the pace in the second half and once Walt got the ball in a position to attack the right defender he took advantage. Knocked out three shots at the arc and had two second half trips to the foul line completed. Made the game winning plays and did it in front of South Dakota State who then offered a scholarship after the game was completed.
Offensive MVP: Jacob Beeninga. From start to finish Jacob likely had the best night of anybody in the gym. His defense really bothered Edina lead guard Anders Nelson in the first half plus Jacob was highly efficient scoring his 20 points on only nine shots. Four steals, four assists, found his way to space with or without the ball to score, and defensively he’s way better than I think people know.
Defensive MVP: Pick One. There were many guys who played hard, and played well defensively. Both teams were scoreless several minutes before the initial zeroes were replaced. I talked about Beeninga already, and this year Gavin Baumgartner has stepped up to show the metro how good he is defensively. Wayzata’s Ben Grosse needs to be instantly talked about for what he can do as he was the primary defender on McGrory to start each possession. Ryan Lindberg is quality in that regard as well.
Edina was excellent in defensive effort, strategy, and execution. Credit the Hornets coaching staff because Wayzata had a terrible time getting good looks. The Hornet ball screen defense had players chasing hard over the top while the screener’s man did a great job of cutting off angles, contesting, and recovering. The effort was team wide including McGrory, Nelson (eight boards and many were long rebound chase downs), Jimmy Connell, Jack Middleton, Luke Glenna, and Michael Hofenning.
The Hornets had a four point lead late and won 56-54, but their defense had earned an even better lead than that. Turnovers were pushed the other way but twice transition lay-ups were missed in the final five minutes. There were also a couple front end one and one misses. If those plays are completed the Edina defense would have won this game without having to worry late. Edina was that good.
Wayzata shot 20 of 50 for the game but eight of those makes were at the arc. Edina contested everything physically around the basket and it bothered every Trojan player who tried to complete.
Top 6th Man:. Luke Glenna. The Hornet junior scored eight points off the bench including two three-pointers (one banked in from the corner at a crazy angle) and more importantly was trusted to be on the floor late defensively.
Top Underclassmen: Beeninga. Jack Middleton. Both are sophomores with Jacob having one of the best games of his season. Jack had a tough shooting night but played within his role down the stretch to help Edina pull this game out.
Top Unsigned Senior: Walt McGrory. In addition to the SDSU Head Coach TJ Otzelberger being in the gym watching Walt, also there was an assistant from Elon taking notes on McGrory. Remember, Elon signed Simon Wright who is a good from of McGrory. Walt also has offers from Maine and Furman this winter.
Best Under the Radar Performance: Nelson on the Glass. As I side this game was a grinder, it was more about several guys defending hard and many players having a tough day shooting. Of the 18 guys who played only three of them made 50 percent of their shots or better (of those that took three or more) and that was Beeninga, Glenna, and Connell.
I would say that Anders Nelson earning his team possession eight times was a lot bigger factor that people would think. He out sprinted and then physically grabbed eight balls to keep possession away from an undefeated team. This was a long possession game so every board was vital.
Best Aspect of the Environment: Energy of Edina CC. Edina has a rare building for basketball that gives the Hornets their own unique environment. It’s not as big as the gyms at other Lake Conference schools but it’s the right size to hold a good crowd plus the building gets very loud. Between the banners on the wall, the basketball memorabilia that greets you on the way into the gym, and the classic Hornet logo and Edina jerseys, it’s a cool place to watch a game. Especially when facing an undefeated team.
Best Story Moving Forward: Edina Ends Streaks, Attempts a New One.
Not only did the Hornets end the Wayzata undefeated season but they also ended their own three game losing streak. Edina had the game with Wayzata last night and then Tartan this Friday so a win was needed. Edina sits at 10-6 with Tartan, Holy Family, Hopkins (who they’ve beaten), Mounds View, Cambridge, STMA, Minneapolis South, and Minneapolis Southwest coming up with the Trojan rematch at the end of the year. I can definitely see Edina going 18-8, or 19-7 heading into the playoffs if they play like they did last night.
Wayazata plays Sioux Falls Lincoln and Sioux Falls Roosevelt this weekend who they should destroy (Roosevelt is winless). Tough games remain with young East Ridge, EP, Hopkins, Rogers, Tonka, and Edina. This looks to be a 22-4 team at worst based on what the schedule has in front of them.
Other: Gavin Baugartner. Not the shooting night that Gavin wanted at 4 of 11 but I believe that Minnesota State-Moorhead is getting a steal. Gavin is a lot more agile than people understanding plus he has good size for a wing at about 6-foot-4 and he works as hard as anybody. Still knocked out three treys on a tough night shooting for his 14 points plus passed the ball well for his four assists, and grabbed eight boards. Such a versatile player.