Minnetonka 89 Totino-Grace 80: Five Things to Know
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Minnetonka knocked off Totino-Grace in a fun, wild game 89-80. Here are five things you should know from this game. One. One Sided Start. Minnetonka got off to a great start scoring 13 points before the Eagles could even get…
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Continue ReadingMinnetonka knocked off Totino-Grace in a fun, wild game 89-80. Here are five things you should know from this game.
One. One Sided Start. Minnetonka got off to a great start scoring 13 points before the Eagles could even get a shot off! Junior Jordan Cain Jordan Cain 6'3" | SF Minnetonka | 2024 State MN started the game with three makes for the Skippers while TG turned the ball over three straight times. That streak became five Skipper baskets on their first five possessions against five straight turnovers to start the game for Totino-Grace. Tonka had 13 points on the board before Taison Chatman Taison Chatman 6'4" | PG Totino Grace | 2023 State #35 Nation MN hit a three and that was the first shot TG took. The Eagles did grab the lead at one point and they were reasonably close for a good part of the game. That said, getting down 13-0, 29-11, that slow start resulted in the Eagles having to expend way too much energy to chase the game down and it eventually caught up with them. Tonka also had a great start to the second half opening with four unanswered baskets and pushing a 41-39 score to a 50-39 early second half lead.
Two. Cain Up to the Challenge. It was very clear early that Minnetonka was going to allow Minnetonka junior Jordan Cain Jordan Cain 6'3" | SF Minnetonka | 2024 State MN to shoot open perimeter jumpers as the first two he took the opposition sagged back on. Jordan hit a three and a 16 footer. Cain then proceeded to get a feel for his jumper making two more threes later in the contest. That shooting touch then extended to the free throw line where Jordan sank five of six foul shots. Jordan scored nine points within the first three minutes of the game and finished the night with 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting with six rebounds. He also had three explosive rim finishes which gave his team momentum but I thought the four jumpers made stepped up to the challenge and gave his team a quick comfort.
Three. The Playmaker. Junior Andy Stefonowicz Andy Stefonowicz 6'2" | PG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN was brilliant tonight. When Eagle defenders got relaxed on defense, Andy hit cutters with the perfect bounce pass lead. In transition Andy fired passes through the defense to hit shooters in comfort, or cutters streaking to a spot where the defense could not drop or rotate to. Andy attacked for slashing scores and transition scores, made 8 of 9 foul shots, and overall scored his 23 on an impressive 7 of 10 shooting for the game. The amount of comfortable shots he took or created for other Skippers had to have been in the area of 27 or 28 which is a very important number. The Skippers have five players – led by Duke Richardson Duke Richardson 6'2" | CG Minnetonka | 2025 State MN ‘s ten points including two open threes – scored between eight and ten points and Andy did a fantastic job setting them up. With scoring coming from everywhere – and on a great transition push – the Eagle defense was scrambled all night.
Four. The Snub. I will be writing the Race for Mr. Basketball article again this weekend and had Patrick Bath Patrick Bath 6'9" | C Totino Grace | 2023 State MN been on there like he should be I would be talking about him as one of the guys fighting for the last spot of the five. Tonight he was unstoppable. Totino-Grace did a great job feeding him in space and Bath provided the perfect target to catch and complete. When Bath wasn’t able to turn and dunk (four dunks) he was able to turn to a comfortable spot and score on balance. His touch was outstanding tonight as he scored 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting with 7 of 8 foul shots made. Bath worked for a dozen boards, blocked three shots, and I thought his passing out of the post was great too. He had five assists out of the post hitting open jumpshooters.
Five. Taison Brilliance. After an early flurry of turnovers we saw some of that Taison Chatman Taison Chatman 6'4" | PG Totino Grace | 2023 State #35 Nation MN brilliance that has Ohio State excited to have him, and it has him as the state’s top prospect. Chatman took a dozen shots and made eight of them including five threes. The Chatman shooting release is one of total comfort, when you see it, you just feel like the ball will surely drop. Tonight it did plus Chatman dished out eight assists! Taison did a great job of putting the ball where Bath needed it and that was in a comfortable spot with space to work. It was a 19 point game on 12 shots with eight assists.