The Prep Hoops Perspective: Brainerd 70, Rogers 65

<p>**Photo courtesy of Brainerd Dispatch**</p> <p>It didn’t take many miles to find a AAAA game that had some unfamiliar faces. Tuesday night was a Section 8 matchup of Warriors and Royals that came right down to the wire; Brainerd came out on top in overtime 70-65. Here’s the perspective:</p> <p><strong>Sauer backs up his season. </strong>6-foot-4 senior forward Joey Sauer has been a 20 point scorer this season including a couple 30-spots. I was eager to see his game against a normally solid defensive team like Rogers. He started quietly as the opponents keyed on his strengths: isolated post ups and off-the-catch 3s. Most of his 8 points in the first half came on offensive rebound putbacks, which is a good sign when his natural scoring isn’t coming easy. Then he really became the needed punch for Brainerd in half two as he finished the night strong, tying the game on a putback plus the foul to send it to overtime. He then popped out of the pick and roll for two treys that put the Warriors up for good. 19 points, 12 rebounds for Sauer. Gustavus and Carleton were present watching.</p> <p><strong>A point guard in the truest sense. </strong>We should know senior Mason Malone. The Brainerd senior point guard stands 5-foot-9 with a hungry desire to get in the lane and pass off to open teammates. I think that’s a good definition of a lead guard. Malone tallied 10 assists on the night to go with 10 points, a majority of them on closing free throws to ice the game. Mason is not in our rankings but should break his way in with a steady dose of this kind of play all season by the time he graduates.</p> <p><strong>Rotation of Royal scorers.</strong> I expect four Rogers players to be in the 9-13 points per game range by season’s end. But that also means any one of those four can go for a bigger game. On Tuesday it was Justin Dorr, 6-5 center who worked all night in the paint getting deep post position for rim scores. He was physical from the outset on both ends, also accumulating two blocked shots. He scored 17 points. Then junior guard Jake Hemann scored 12 on 3 treys and some free throws, plus junior forward Thomas Glad added 13 in a versatile way. Not to mention senior Garrett VanEyll scored 11 plus five rebounds and three assists. It’ll be a balanced year for Rogers in the scoring column.</p> <p><strong>Both teams are tough. </strong>The game was full of runs and it looked like at some points Rogers would be in control all night. Then the momentum would shift to Brainerd but the Royals kept clawing back. Then the Warriors were left for dead at the end of regulation but Sauer made a huge play. There’s resilience in both of these clubs and it’ll pay off down the road in conference games. Neither team will wow you with star power or high octane, but they win games their way and will be competitive throughout.</p> <p><strong>What’s next? </strong>I’m guessing this game will be the deciding factor in who gets a home section game in March. These two teams will be vying for the 4/5 seed behind Buffalo, Maple Grove and Moorhead. Rogers will play better competition in the Mississippi 8 (most likely) than Brainerd will in the Central Lakes, but I expect both teams to be in the 11-14 wins range. That’s good news for Rogers who lost their best scorers to graduation and for Brainerd who is hoping for a good next few years of growth under head coach Charlie Schoeck.</p>