Lines of the Night: Minnesota High School Basketball is Back!

Jared Martinson

December 3, 2021 @ 10:54 AM

The 2021-22 Minnesota high school basketball season opened last night with more than 50 games around the state, including some big games from names old and new. Let’s run down some of the best of Thursday evening in MN hoops! Josiah Schaap, Avail Academy - FEAR THE RHINO! The Valor of Avail got a nice win over PACT Charter in a high-octane contest 97-76 Thursday in Ramsey. The horn of the rhino was senior guard Josiah Schaap, who poured in 27 points to lead the way. On the other side, the Panthers got 23 points on seven triples from sophomore Micah Givand and 24 from fellow soph [player_tooltip player_id="1284230" first="Victor" last="Nyabuto"]. [player_tooltip player_id="958636" first="Alonzo" last="Dodd"], South St. Paul - He’s not a triple-double threat for no reason, folks. The Packers escaped against a tough and experienced Eagan squad 69-68 last night led by Dodd’s 24 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. He’s an excellent facilitator offensively, and when he can bust a fast break on a turnover SSP is tough to contain. Eagan’s [player_tooltip player_id="962213" first="Emmanuel" last="Schmitter"] scored 26 in the loss. [player_tooltip player_id="958755" first="Trevor" last="Johnson"], North Branch - The Vikings got a monster win over highly regarded Rockford 65-60 on the road, one that we certainly wouldn’t have expected on paper. But senior [player_tooltip player_id="958755" first="Trevor" last="Johnson"] stepped up in a big way, scoring a third of his team’s output for 22 points en route to the big win. Nice to see them celebrate deservedly after the game. [player_tooltip player_id="1284231" first="Will" last="Strandemo"], Delano - The best sophomore you don’t know about is lefty sharpshooter [player_tooltip player_id="1284231" first="Will" last="Strandemo"] of Delano. He was a starter as a freshman on last season’s superb section final team and now takes the reins as a main offensive option. The Tigers hosted St. Anthony Village and won to the tune of a 72-49 final, with Strandemo knocking down threes and one dribble pull up jumpers for a total of 31 points. [player_tooltip player_id="1288752" first="Liban" last="Tushar"], Minneapolis Edison - What a night for the Tommies, taking down Holy Angels 72-62 in the season opener. Guard [player_tooltip player_id="1288752" first="Liban" last="Tushar"] dropped 27 in the first half alone to pace Edison, and [player_tooltip player_id="1142942" first="Micah" last="Young"] added 24 to support. [player_tooltip player_id="1288733" first="Isaac" last="Asuma"], Cherry - One of the games of the night was Cherry against Deer River, and it lived up to the hype. The Tigers prevailed 74-64 against a talented Deer River squad in a possible section final preview. [player_tooltip player_id="1288733" first="Isaac" last="Asuma"] was tremendous with 32 points to lead the way. Two other Cherry players, Noah Asuma and Sam Serna, added 18 and 13 respectively. [player_tooltip player_id="958748" first="Ashton" last="Sivilay"], Jordan - I think Ashton has the top scoring line of opening night, dropping 42 in a huge win and subsection final rematch of last season. Jordan defeated Glencoe-Silver Lake 78-72 Thursday. Sivilay, a senior guard and also a strong football player, is picking up the scoring responsibility early with his elite shooting ability. For GSL, [player_tooltip player_id="958704" first="Mitchel" last="Jaskowiak"] scored 28 and [player_tooltip player_id="1284132" first="Eli" last="Ehrke"] added 24. [player_tooltip player_id="1188850" first="John" last="Mueller"], Watertown-Mayer - There was great belief that John would take another big step this season as a junior and he delivered in a rivalry game to open the season against Lester Prairie. The 6-5 wing forward poured in 27 points as the Royals defeated LP 60-38. Mueller’s size and ability to stretch the floor against slower defenders makes him a mismatch nightmare.