Ten Best: St. Cloud Cathedral vs Melrose
MVP. Coach Matt Meyer. Don’t do this much but I think Coach Matt Meyer was great tonight. His early timeout changed momentum, I thought he did a great job pulling the trigger on subs (and when he brought Michael Schaefer back from four fouls), and Meyer did a great job mixing up his calls and strategy offensively. Excellent job Coach.
Top Offensive Player. Michael Schaefer. His late The touch from distance is usually the first thing I mention when talking about him but tonight Schaefer was outstanding moving off the ball and finishing while taking on contact. His weave through several defenders followed by an And1 completion was the game winning play in my opinion. Scored on 9 of 15 shots and all six of his free throws. Off ball movement was fantastic.
Top Offensive Player Part 2. Dillon Haider. Dillon is a monster competitor. His fire is something I haven’t seen much of. Countered a team of Cathedral players making plays by getting through several Melrose defenders over and over. Scored on 13 of 24 shots including three treys for his 33 points against multiple defenders. Gained a new respect for this young man because the battle he has should earn everybody’s respect.
Top Underclassmen. Jackson Baustian Jangula/Nicholas Schaefer. These two remind you of how young this team is. The main rotation has one senior and these two are sophomores. Schaefer knocked out three treys, had a big And1, and sent in a huge pass for a clutch assist for his team. And JB Jangula dribbled all over the building without being touched plus had the greatest wrap-around no look pass I’ve seen in a long time. Schaefer totaled nine points while Jangula had six points and seven assists.
Top Off the Bench. Nick Schaefer. Need to mention it one more time as Nick made some clutch plays. Three of them in fact: the steal into a pull-up three, the assist for a huge score after a Melrose run, and an And1 that brought the rough off the place.
Toughest Break. Melrose losing two. Not only did Brady Birch and his 11 points and 6 rebounds foul out but Melrose also lost reserve Jordan Klaphake to an injury. With so many Cathedral weapons coming at them it really hurt Melrose to be down two guys.
Clutch Play. Mitchell Plombon and Keaton LeClaire. Both players stepped up big when Schaefer hot hurt. Plombon attacked the cup for three key scores (two of which were face-up attacks off the dribble) and LeClarie, the lone senior, knocked down a pair of jumpers on his way to a dozen points, four assists, and handles that kept the ball from the Dutchmen. Plombon was really a third MVP in this game making 9 of 16 shots for his 21 points and a game high seven boards. His touch has really grown to be consistently comfortable from mid-range and he was the best athlete on the floor with his quick bounce.
Best Aspect of the Environment. Unreal. The crowds were great, the students had original and fun cheers, the building was packed, and the noise was thunderous. The huge plays made by Haider, Schaefer, Schaefer, Plombon, Jangula, and others won’t be soon forgotten. This will be a game to remember.
Best Story Moving Forward. Both teams. Melrose has guys that were on a state title team and they rarely lost. This was nine losses in three years for these kids. A great run.
And Cathedral, they don’t even play a senior and they made this run. They have been waiting for a team to make this run for years and it’s finally here.
Top Prospect(s). Schaefer and Plombon. It was a team effort for Cathedral but Melrose did not have a match-up for both of these forwards. Birch could work on one but limiting both was next to impossible. With Plombon being as talented as he is, the fourth foul on Schaefer really meant nothing. Both are scholarship kids.