Eastview 59 Shakopee 51 – Top Ten Performers

<p>Third ranked Eastview topped second ranked Shakopee last night 59-51. The Lightning had three players in double figures. Here are our top ten performers from the Lightning/Sabers game.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="957196" first="Henry" last="Shannon III"]</strong> of Eastview (6’6 Sr Forward). There were so many thoughts running through my head watching Henry last night. Here is a collection of what I was thinking:</p> <ul> <li>Henry is playing like an All State honored player. First Team All State even maybe? Something to keep in mind.</li> <li>He’s really good with his back to the basket and so quick into his turn and lefty short touch</li> <li>Defensively his long arms and ability to quickly get a hand on the ball have made him an excellent shot blocker. Shannon did a nice job on Shakopee’s top two scoring options Katona and Wherley.</li> <li>Shannon is also an explosive player going at the rim comfortable facing the basket. He’s somewhat become a Jordan Murphy still frontcourt player for the Lightning</li> <li>Henry finished with 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting both from the field and from the foul line. He blocked six shots and grabbed five boards.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774806" first="Zach" last="Spann"]</strong> of Eastview (6’6 Sr Forward). This was one of Spann’s better games of the year. His third double figure scoring game of the season and his scoring high for the year (17 points on 7 of 10 shooting). You could say he’s saved his best for the biggest game of the year to date! We are all quite familiar with Spann’s ability to finish explosively and that was clear on two transition attacks and a baseline finish. You also have to credit Spann for getting the offense going with two early threes. Once Spann had to be defended away from the basket the Sabers defense was stretched early.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958669" first="Kenji" last="Scales"]</strong> of Eastview (6’1 Sr Guard). Scales is a combo guard but the Lightning have found that they are best when he is playing off the ball as a scorer this year. He still creates shots for others within the excellent halfcourt ball movement of the Eastview offense but Kenji is also the top perimeter shooter (his second half four point play was massive).   Scales is attacking opposing small guards for straight line attacks or even post up chances. Scored 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting including a pair of threes and sinking all three foul shots.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958711" first="Quinten" last="Snell"]</strong> of Shakopee (6’1 Jr Guard). Without Snell the Sabers would have been blow out. With [player_tooltip player_id="850717" first="Cade" last="McGraw"] not playing (Shakopee’s leading scorer) the team leaned on Snell for more playmaking and he was solid. Quinten had 13 points, three assists, and three boards while making half of his ten shot attempts. His three basket second half run gave his team life. A tough guard that understands leverage on the attack, Snell was able to get to the rim against a tough Eastview defense (arguably the top defense in AAAA basketball this year)</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774901" first="Jackson" last="Purcell"]</strong> of Eastiview (6’5 Sr Guard). On most nights Purcell is leaned on for scoring production in addition to his ball handling, offensive ignition duties. Last night his main role was putting the ball on the hands of teammates in good space and Jackson did a fantastic job of it. It really speaks to his potential when you consider that Jackson has shown he can be a reliable wing scorer and be the primary ball handler.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1071107" first="Mick" last="Wherley"]</strong> of Shakopee (6’6 Sr Power Forward). Mick has had a really nice year finishing possessions in the frontcourt plus hitting some face-up shots with range here and there. Last night he came up a couple shots short of where he wanted to be but still gave his team ten points.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="850728" first="Nick" last="Katona"]</strong> of Shakopee (6’6 Jr Forward). Simply put, Katona had a rough night. He rebounded well for his team (8) but they leaned on him offensively and Nick’s jumper just wasn’t on. He had a trouble finishing with the jumper and Katona had a tough time making shots over the arms of Spann and Shannon. The Eastview defense did a good job limiting Nick to seven points.</p> <p><strong>Yonis Mohamud</strong> of Shakopee (6’1 Jr Guard).  Yonis stepped into the starting line-up and knocked out three threes. Gives Shakopee a shooting option.</p> <p><strong>Sam West</strong> of Shakopee (6’4 Jr Forward).  West is so closing to being an excellent all around player. I really like the mentality he has on the floor. Not his best game but Sam is going to be talked about a lot the next year and a half.</p> <p><strong>Brady Schmitz</strong> of Eastview (6’2 Sr Wing). I thought Brady was the quiet spark to this team.   Made some hustle plays off the bench, grabbed five boards, and scored on two different possessions.</p>