Byron 66 Lake City 27 – Five Things to Know

<p>A veteran Byron team was way too much for a young Lake City squad on Monday leading to a 66-27 game.  There were a few takeaways we could give you after the contest. </p> <p><strong>One.  A Top Ten Squad</strong>.   Byron looks as deep and talented as just about anybody outside of the top two squads in Class AAA basketball.   I suspect that it won’t be long before they are climbing to the near top five area as they have a veteran point guard (Jake Braaten), a talented nationally ranked big ([player_tooltip player_id="891901" first="Ahjany" last="Lee"]), and a lot of experienced wings that can play.   My guess is they will likely be deeper than or as deep as all the squads in that 6-10 range (Marshall, Mankato East, Austin, South St. Paul, and Hibbing) and maybe a few others.  What if nobody losses in that top ten?  Then we have to squeeze in a tie someplace.  </p> <p><strong>Two.  Another Two</strong>.  A key item that can separate the Bears is the physical ability of [player_tooltip player_id="958741" first="Jaxon" last="Marine"] and [player_tooltip player_id="774920" first="Easton" last="Hulke"].  Byron had for dunks versus Lake City and three of them came from Marine and Hulke who are both 6-foot-3, strong, and have some explosion to them.  Hulke had 11 points and eight rebounds while Marine totaled 14 points and six boards in the running time game.  Lake City’s forwards weren’t strong enough and active enough to keep either player off the glass or from cutting to the rim and scoring.  Marine and Hulke are the type of pieces that can be the depth of a very good team.  Each would be a star big number producer at some of the other schools in their league but at Byron the pair are two vital pieces of a contender. </p> <p><strong>Three.  What’s Up at Lake City</strong>?  Nothing to complicated.  It’s a young, inexperienced team that ran into one of the bigger schools in the area and that bigger school is talented and experienced.  It’s as simple as that.  The Tigers opened their season with a 71-50 win over Pine Island so this isn’t a team that’s about to fall into a rut, it was just a tough night.  That night junior [player_tooltip player_id="796956" first="Justin" last="Wohlers"] had a career high 28 points with six boards while freshman Hunter Lorenson had 15 points and eight boards in his first varsity start.  Junior [player_tooltip player_id="958776" first="Carson" last="Matzke"] also had double figures in that game while freshman Jaden Shones was also solid.  Throw in 6-foot-5 sophomore starter Ryan Heise and you have a very young team that will have ups and downs and one of those downs was against a top squad.  The Tigers will be dangerous again sooner than later. </p> <p><strong>Four</strong>. <strong>Ahjany</strong>.  [player_tooltip player_id="891901" first="Ahjany" last="Lee"]’s name has risen to a very high level.  With that comes a lot of opportunity, but his every move is watched as well.  Every play he makes positive or negative will have a response to it.  Against Lake City, Lee fell into foul trouble that limited his time, and it was a balanced effort so shots were spread out.  Lee had a couple energetic blocks and three assists moving the ball to cutters at the rim.  Ahjany scored four times and grabbed six boards.  The play that stood out the most was a steal, a push the other way, and a runner that was floated in over two defenders.  It was the type of play that only high level prospects make. Ahjany was 4 of 8 from the field and had a early seat.  </p> <p><strong>Five.  High Percentage Shots</strong>.  Byron made 19 of 27 first half shots and 17 of those 19 scores were lay-ups or dunks.  Byron’s quick transition as well as their rapid ball movement finding cutters led to a game where jumpers weren’t even needed. The Bears made only two threes as they only took five threes that I could remember.  In addition, Byron won the rebound battle 41 to 14 which is a lot of quick transition off of defensive boards as well as a load of put-backs.  It was an easier game for Byron but they made it an easier game in the way they played. Jake Braaten finished with 11 points making half of his ten shots plus dished out six assists. </p>