Sherwood 85, Century 61: 10 Best

<p>After a relatively rough go in a tough non-league slate, Sherwood has found its stride in the Pacific Conference. The Bowmen have found a rhythm offensively and it couldn't have been better shown than in their Tuesday night 85-61 victory on the road at Century.</p> <p>The theme of the game was unquestionably three - Sherwood's three-point shooting. From the jump the Bowmen looked to fire away from deep and they had things going. In particular <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/asher-krauel/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/asher-krauel/">Asher Krauel</a></a> was knocking them down but in the end, Sherwood made a season-high 17 threes out of 38 attempts - a .447 percentage. Century made a bit of a run right before halftime to hang in there but the Bowmen simply had too much in the tank in the second half and won going away. Krauel led the way with 17 points, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caden-davis/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caden-davis/">Caden Davis</a></a> added 15, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/blake-jensen/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/blake-jensen/">Blake Jensen</a></a> tallied 11 points and eight rebounds, and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jamison-guerra/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jamison-guerra/">Jamison Guerra</a></a> dished out eight assists as all 11 Sherwood players scored.</p> <p>"We've really talked about the process of getting better every day," said Sherwood head coach Rahim Tufts. "Guys are buying into that and are working really hard in practice. They are playing with confidence and freedom and they are taking a lot of pride in defending and how we play. They're really fun to coach."</p> <p><strong>MVP: <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/asher-krauel/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/asher-krauel/">Asher Krauel</a></a> (2021 Sherwood)</strong></p> <p>Krauel's five threes in the first half set the stage for the Bowmen as they sprinted out to a 12-point lead. You could tell he had his shot on the way he was knocking them down in warmups and it definitely translated over to the game itself. Offensively and defensively, he was the man for Sherwood.</p> <p><strong>Play of the game: Any of the first nine threes in the first half</strong></p> <p>Sherwood was determined to shoot the long range bomb from the outset and it was clear it was their night. In addition to Krauel's five treys, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caden-davis/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caden-davis/">Caden Davis</a></a> hit a couple, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jamison-guerra/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jamison-guerra/">Jamison Guerra</a></a> hit one, as did Nate Merrill off the bench. Century simply had no answer for Sherwood's daggers.</p> <p><strong>Best offensive performance: <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/asher-krauel/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/asher-krauel/">Asher Krauel</a></a> (2021 Sherwood)</strong></p> <p>In addition to his five threes in the first half, Krauel made a nice pull-up 15-footer in the second half - his only points of the period. He ended up leading the Bowmen in scoring with 17 points, finishing 6-for-11 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point range while dishing out a couple of assists.</p> <p><strong>Best defensive performance – <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/asher-krauel/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/asher-krauel/">Asher Krauel</a></a> (2021 Sherwood)</strong></p> <p>Krauel was assigned to Edy Essien, one of Century's top shooters, and the 6-foot-2 guard shadowed him all game long. In addition to tremendous ball denial, Krauel was all over Essien in the man-to-man and the Century junior ended up with only 9 points, with most of them in the second half when the game was already decided.</p> <p><strong>Best guy off the bench – Keallum Colburn (2021 Century)</strong></p> <p>Colburn came off of the pine firing away and the 5-foot-10 guard got things done from three-point range, hitting 5-for-9 from deep on the game. Add in a couple of free throws and the smooth shooter ended up with a team-high 17 points on a night when most of his teammates struggled to get things going from the field.</p> <p><strong>Best intangibles – Zach Ariza (2021 Sherwood)</strong></p> <p>Ariza got some good minutes off of the bench and he was incredibly productive while in the game. The 6-foot-5 junior crashed the boards hard especially on the offensive end and ended up getting a couple of buckets late in the game. His energy was infectious whenever he was on the floor.</p> <p><strong>Best under-the-radar performance – Baydon Kullowatz (2022 Sherwood)</strong></p> <p>Kullowatz started and may have only scored two points, but he did a lot of the other little things that win ball games. The 6-foot-4 wing/forward showed great hustle hitting the boards (5 rebounds) and also impressed with his passing, notching five assists while finding open guys on the perimeter for threes.</p> <p><strong>Best underclassman: Kyle Hamnes (2022 Century)</strong></p> <p>Hamnes started for the Jaguars and immediately looked to score. The 5-foot-10 sophomore is an extremely aggressive offensive player with a power dribble that helps him create space for his shot. He canned a couple of first half threes and ended up with 10 points on the night along with a couple of assists.</p> <p><strong>Best passer: <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jamison-guerra/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jamison-guerra/">Jamison Guerra</a></a> (2020 Sherwood)</strong></p> <p>No surprise as Guerra is the 6A's returning leading assist leader - and is likely the leader again this season - and the senior was once again on point with his dimes. He found guys out on the three-point line as well as working things well with senior teammate <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/blake-jensen/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/blake-jensen/">Blake Jensen</a></a>, finding the big man as he cut to the basket for easy scores.</p> <p><strong>Best story to watch going forward: How far does Sherwood move up?</strong></p> <p>After sweeping through the first round of games in league play, it's pretty clear that the Bowmen are the class of the Pacific Conference. They took some lumps in non-league action but by all indications they may not lose again in the regular season. Currently at #14, how far will they move up in the ratings? Can they snag a top eight seed to secure two home games in the post-season to aid in their goal of reaching the state tournament?</p>