Breakdown Tip Off Classic 5 Takeaways: BOLD vs. Minneota

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The late afternoon matchup on the East Court of the Breakdown Tip Off Classic featured two of the preseason top teams in Class A as BOLD, fresh off a state championship appearance in football, bested Minneota, 78-53. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are five takeaways from the contest:</span></p> <p><strong>Gavin Vosika and Drew Sagedahl took over the game</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With Jordan Sagedahl out with an injury, the two other members of BOLD’s returning big three stepped it up in a big way. Vosika overcame a slow start to finish the game with 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, while Sagedahl piled up 33 points including a flurry to turn a 2-point halftime lead into a double-digit lead early in the second half. They simply dominated the game on both ends of the floor. </span></p> <p>Both guys knocked down three 3-pointers each and they just looked like they had more juice than the Minneota guards. Sagedahl was aggressive looking for his shot from deep while also getting to the paint and finishing at the rim. Vosika was a force on both ends of the floor, putting pressure on the ball, playing great help defense (picking up five steals in the process) and feasting in transition.</p> <p><strong>Logan Sussner was a one-man wrecking crew inside</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Minneota eventually ran out of gas against a superior BOLD group but a bright spot for the Vikings was undoubtedly big man Logan Sussner. The 6-foot-3 senior scored 27 points and hauled in double-digit rebounds, single handedly keeping the game close early on. Sussner was active on the offensive glass, finished everything around the rim, stepped out and knocked down a couple of jumpers and carved out space in the paint. He’s going to have to be a constant for the Vikings this year. </span></p> <p><strong>BOLD’s defense triggered its offense</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">BOLD’s style of play is going to give a lot of teams problems because the Warriors have so much speed and athleticism. They aren’t the biggest team, but they rebound well as a collective group and they put so much pressure on the ball and the passing lanes. BOLD’s offense got  going in the second half and a big part of that was the Warriors getting stops, ending possessions with either rebounds or steals and getting out into transition.</span></p> <p><strong>Minneota struggled on the perimeter</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Vikings ran their offense through Sussner inside with Jacob Hennen out and while that worked for a while, Minneota couldn’t keep up with BOLD. Nolan Boerboom scored 11 points, knocking down a few perimeter shots but the Vikings struggled mightily to shoot from outside the paint. Sussner is a load inside and that’ll allow a lot of the perimeter guys extra room to operate, but on Saturday, they had a hard time taking advantage.</span></p> <p><strong>Expectations?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Coming into the year, both these teams were viewed as top-five teams in Class A, with state championship aspirations. BOLD did little to dispel any of that hype with a terrific performance despite arguably its best player missing with an injury. Minneota was undermanned too, but the Vikings won’t be getting Hennen back, so the Vikings will have to find a way to make things work in a tough conference and section. </span></p>