The Race for Mr. Basketball: Contenders Stepping Up!

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We saw some massive performances this week from the contenders, here is your race!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Leaders</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are looking at a race that could come down to the final games of championship Saturday. Is anybody a head in the race? Tough to know, [player_tooltip player_id='962218' first='Nasir' last='Whitlock'] and [player_tooltip player_id='962212' first='Boden' last='Kapke'] both have their teams at number one while [player_tooltip player_id='962214' first='Nolan' last='Winter'] has the Panthers at second still with only two losses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962212' first='Boden' last='Kapke'] of Holy Family.</strong> Boden had 26 points with 12 rebounds as Holy Family defeated Delano Friday night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962214' first='Nolan' last='Winter'] of Lakeville North</strong>. Winter scored 24 and had an early seat as the Panthers beat Apple Valley 80-48 last Thursday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962218' first='Nasir' last='Whitlock'] of DeLaSalle</strong>. Whitlock poured in 31 points on Saturday as the Islanders crushed Fridley 91-54. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Final Five Contenders</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962206' first='Max' last='Shikenjanski'] of Stillwater</strong>. Max knocked out seven three pointers on his way to a 42 point outing against a solid Roseville team (with 7 boards and 6 assists!). Huge outing in a game the Ponies needed to have. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962199' first='CJ' last='O'Hara'] of Park Center.</strong> The Pirates lost their first game of the season to Elk River on Friday. O'Hara scored 11 points with 8 rebounds and three blocks shooting 5 of 14 from the field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1491756' first='Nate' last='Dahl'] of Buffalo</strong>. Dahl put up 33 points with a dozen rebounds as Buffalo beat Hopkins for the second time this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1167554' first='Hayden' last='Tibbits'] of Wayzata</strong>. The Trojans blew out Minneapolis North by a running time number with Hayden scoring 26 with 8 assists before taking an early seat. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>In Chase</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962198' first='Taison' last='Chatman'] of Totino-Grace</strong>. Chatman had 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists as the Eagles defeated Spring Lake Park on Friday night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962210' first='Quyavant' last='Douglas'] of Brooklyn Center.</strong> Friday's game with Eagle Ridge was cancelled.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962246' first='Ben' last='Kopetzki'] of Andover.</strong> Ben's Andover team did not play a game over the past weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Snubs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1189958' first='Isaiah' last='Hagen'] of Orono</strong>. Isaiah just went and put up 36 points in a huge game with BSM also grabbing a dozen boards. Fourth 30+ game in a big game this year against a top opponent. Horrible overlook here. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223070' first='Patrick' last='Bath'] of Totino-Grace.</strong> Another averaging hitting game of 19 and 14 for the other big snub on the list. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='962224' first='Will' last='Opsahl'] of Goodhue</strong>. Will scored 23 points with 9 rebounds and 5 assists in a win over Fillmore Central. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->