Top Ten Players from Maple Grove 81 Alexandria 74

After watching the Crimson defeat the Cards 81-74 on the road we ran through the top ten players from last night, how they played and what they did to stand out. We also talked about an interesting game in terms of flow.   Game Flow. Last night had its oddities. Some of that was match-up related, some of that was the defense that was played, and some of it had to do with the officiating.   I think it's important to note that SMSU signed [player_tooltip player_id='2118495' first='Talan' last='Witt'] is out this month meaning Alexandria is short one of their three big scoring options. That definitely puts more pressure on [player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt'] as well as [player_tooltip player_id='2115657' first='Gavin' last='Roderick']. A big part of the game was Witt and Roderick taking 48 of the team's 62 field goals. It's not that they shouldn't take a lot of shots, its that many were difficult attempts. [player_tooltip player_id='2115658' first='Myles' last='Gray'], [player_tooltip player_id='2126865' first='Grady' last='Starzl'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2119601' first='Thomas' last='Hinrichs'] are good enough high school basketball players to be taking more than six shots COMBINED. The Maple Grove defense did a very good job limiting the ball movement the Cards wanted and as the game wore on you could see that the reliance on Witt and Roderick (and eventually [player_tooltip player_id='2126867' first='Blake' last='Scholl'] some) became greater and greater. That will surely change when Talan returns but Gray, Hinrichs and Starzl can do more offensively than we saw.   This was also a weird game in that it seemed to be Touch Foul Tuesday. I don't think the foul shot attempts were overwhelming (16 for Alex, 19 for MG) and it really didn't start that way. It was like something changed at the half and any type of contact became contact. We couldn't see the player foul counts on the monitor but it seemed like Alex was dealing with some foul trouble at times.   Overall, I think Alexandria had the depth of talent along with home court advantage to win the game but I thought Maple Grove played a better team game especially defensively, to earn the win.   One. [player_tooltip player_id='2126467' first='Baboucarr' last='Ann'] of Maple Grove. With Witt all over Iversen, Ann did some of the ball handling and did a nice job with it. Maple Grove had some struggles with the zone at first but they adapted and Ann was a part of that. Ann was also the scorer MG leaned on with Iversen being chased by Witt, and he did the job well making 12 of 19 field goal attempts and 5 of 7 free throws with four threes made for a 33 point night.   Two. [player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt'] of Maple Grove. Witts seemed to do his part in limiting Iversen and he scored 30 points that included a 14 point second half run with four threes made that changed the game. Witt did need 26 attempts to get to that 30 but his scoring range and ability to hit contested attempts is really impressive. Good all around game.   Three. [player_tooltip player_id='1560739' first='Max' last='Iversen'] of Maple Grove. With Witt all over him I really liked how Max didn't force anything and allowed his teammates to use the space given, and have success (after the early turnover struggles with the zone). Max had his moments with a couple threes and a key And1, plus he put the game away with late foul shots, but to me the biggest part was reading the game and allowing the depth of his team to have success. A 15 point night on nine attempts.   Four. [player_tooltip player_id='2126867' first='Blake' last='Scholl'] of Alexandria. The junior stepped up when Alex needed offense desperately. He hit three threes, scored inside, and scored late in the game in key spots. He's a big, strong, skilled frontcourt player that had 15 points on only six attempts. Came through late.   Five. [player_tooltip player_id='2126108' first='Jack' last='Thelen'] of Maple Grove. Jack had a run of struggle making some shots early but when you have to think back to Gray/Hinrichs/Starzl here. Thelen had two blocks, changed some other shots, and completely stood there and took away spots where active wings and forwards like Gray/Hinrichs/Starzl usually score off the ball near the rim. Grabbed a game high eight boards with 11 points on eight attempts (three of our at the foul line).   Six. [player_tooltip player_id='2115657' first='Gavin' last='Roderick'] of Alexandria. After a tough start missing his first six shots, Gavin got going attacking the rim from all angles. Roderick has had some big scoring games lately (46 against Sartell) so that pop is there, but it was just there in parts last night as the Crimson had a seven footer in the lane bothering shots and Roderick just had the one three last night. Scored 23 points on 8 of 22 shooting which is a good number after a tough start.   Seven. [player_tooltip player_id='1960892' first='Henry' last='Knutson'] of Maple Grove. This was an odd game in that neither team had many attempts for their supporting players, and these are teams with good supporting players like Henry. Knutson hit two threes and scored his 11 points on four attempts. Did his job defensively as his man barely took a shot, got to help spots too.   Eight. [player_tooltip player_id='2126442' first='Bennett' last='Cizadlo'] of Maple Grove. Made two threes, moved the ball well, grabbed five boards. Only took four shots but another guy that helped limit the Alex depth.   Nine. [player_tooltip player_id='2115658' first='Myles' last='Gray'] of Alexandria. Took two shots, made them both. Grabbed a team high six rebounds. Dished out a team high four assists. Defended well.   Ten. [player_tooltip player_id='2121341' first='Gavin' last='Elmquist'] of Maple Grove. Stepped off the bench and made a triple.

After watching the Crimson defeat the Cards 81-74 on the road we ran through the top ten players from last night, how they played and what they did to stand out. We also talked about an interesting game in terms of flow.