MHT Semi-Final: Millard North vs. Omaha Central

Richard Stockton

January 1, 2021 @ 03:25 PM

Final Score: Millard North 73 – Omaha Central 60 <div class="lee-article-text"> CHS: [player_tooltip player_id="890463" first="Denim" last="Johnson"] 20, [player_tooltip player_id="890589" first="Jayden" last="Dawson"] 13, [player_tooltip player_id="890466" first="Jaren" last="Marshall"] 10, [player_tooltip player_id="890569" first="PJ" last="Davis"] 9, Fai Germany 8. </div> <div class="lee-article-text"> MNHS: [player_tooltip player_id="773443" first="Hunter" last="Sallis"] 19, [player_tooltip player_id="890471" first="Tyler" last="Sandoval"] 17, [player_tooltip player_id="787647" first="Jasen" last="Green"] 11, [player_tooltip player_id="890461" first="Jadin" last="Johnson"] 9, [player_tooltip player_id="890479" first="Saint" last="Thomas"] 8, Nick Dolezal 8, Neal Mosser 1. </div>   Central kept it close in the first half, and was able to shrink the Mustangs lead to 8 points a few times in the second half, but Millard North controlled this one throughout. Early on, it was clear that Millard North’s length and size was overwhelming Central in the half-court. The Eagles were playing an all-guard lineup with [player_tooltip player_id="890463" first="Denim" last="Johnson"] (6’1") playing the five. In the first quarter, both teams were meticulously trying to create shots, which favored the Mustangs. [player_tooltip player_id="890479" first="Saint" last="Thomas"] was able to muscle past the smaller Central guards and create penetration for the kick out. Defensively, the length of the Mustangs was stifling any ryhthm their opponents were trying to manufacture. But the Eagles came out of the first period break with a plan: push the tempo and force the Mustang bigs to run with them. It proved successful, even off of made baskets. The Eagles chipped away at their deficit using their speed. https://youtu.be/fcBuv6Dh0BI The interchangeability of the Eagles’ lineup produces an equal-opportunity system. Jay Dawson, [player_tooltip player_id="890463" first="Denim" last="Johnson"], [player_tooltip player_id="890569" first="PJ" last="Davis"], and [player_tooltip player_id="890469" first="Faisaun" last="Germany"] all did a great job of probing the lane for the kickout, and they attacked the closeout strong, and were able to put the Mustangs in the blender. The Eagles went into halftime only down four, and had to be feeling good about the position they put themselves in against the more talented Millard North team. The Mustangs responded strongly in the third, though, and pushed their lead to double-digits, never looking back. Central had periodic success with pushing the pace, but Millard North did a much better job of getting back, getting deflections, and using Central’s aggressiveness against them. With the lead increasing Eagles coach Eric Behrens elected to 3/4 court press. With a few exceptions, the Mustangs broke the press rather easily, and had favorable matchups around the rim with so much of the traffic still lagging near mid-court. One of the plays of the game, came when an unchecked [player_tooltip player_id="787647" first="Jasen" last="Green"] pulls down the offensive rebound before quickly rising up off two feet and slamming it home. https://youtu.be/EihAfITJUn0 Millard North beat the press with quick passing, and when the shot misses, three Mustangs are near the rim with only two smaller Eagles guards in front of them, and Green makes a great play. In the final quarter, [player_tooltip player_id="890479" first="Saint" last="Thomas"] completely took over the game for the Mustangs. Despite his low scoring output, he was maybe the Mustangs’ most important offensive player of the day. He dissected the Central defense the entire second half regardless of what they tried. He beat the press, made the right decisions against the Central double-teams, and had great impact off-ball. Down the stretch, he repeatedly put a stop to any Central push with his great decision making. https://youtu.be/Yi4CQWy_ARY Millard North now moves on to the Metro Holiday Tournament Finals against undefeated #2 Bellevue West, who defeated Creighton Prep on the other side of the bracket. The championship takes place this Saturday at 7:15 PM, and you can watch that <a href="https://youtu.be/amRpTjT8kmY">here</a>.