Waseca beats JWP, Russell Breaks School Record

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waseca earned a big win over undefeated JWP and in the process Deron Rusell broke the school scoring record. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game Log/Notes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2386616' first='Gavin' last='Bauer'] gets the [player_tooltip player_id='2121332' first='Deron' last='Russell'] assignment and that should be fun.<br><br>We get hometown JWP announcers for this stream which I love. Always fun to listen to the passion of the hometown guys calling the game and it's a packed house too. My favorite quote so far...... "I advised (the students) to get here right after Math Masters and they did". Love it, I dominated Math Masters. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Offensively it was a slow start all around with Waseca missing 7 of their first 8 and JWP missing 9 of their first 13. [player_tooltip player_id='2121332' first='Deron' last='Russell'], [player_tooltip player_id='2386616' first='Gavin' last='Bauer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1560810' first='Daulton' last='Bauer'] - the three stars of the game - all started 1 of 5 from the field. JWP created turnovers and got an 11-2 lead early. Both teams playing man to man.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oh we have a new one...."The Ferris Wheel type shot doesn't go in for Bauer". I am totally stealing that. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2121332' first='Deron' last='Russell']'s third score of this game made him the all time scoring leader in the history of Waseca high school basketball surpassing Kyree Willingham. Deron did it on an attack on which he was fouled and made the basket. They stopped the game and honored Deron over the P.A. which was a very classy thing for JWP to do. Great ovation from the home and visiting crowd!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waseca had the halftime lead 29-26 in what was a half you would have to say was more defensive. The Jays were able to call some sets to get some open looks at the rim and JWP turned Waseca over a number of times for transition scores. The Jays were 11 of 25 from the field with far too many turnovers while JWP was 11 of 36 from the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was a one score game either way for the majority of the contest up to the 42-40 JWP lead with ten minutes to go. A defensive game where any loose ball or any defensive breakdown had to be capitalized on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>JWP got up 44-40 forcing another Jays turnover. If you had to pick a "difference in the game" story at this point it was the Jays turnovers that JWP forced. And then [player_tooltip player_id='2386616' first='Gavin' last='Bauer'] forced Russell into a turnover, a tough miss, and then blocked his shot. That seemed like a major turning point (for a moment). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waseca got down six and quickly had it back within a score (44-46) at the eight minute mark after a timeout. Deron had a steal and score and the Jays went to the flex cut followed by the foul line entry pass to the screener who then sat with a post as his man looked to help for a second. It was about the fourth time Waseca has used this action, and it was Hiller to Wyatt Hager for his fourth score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jays took the lead with five minutes to go as they started to find 6'3 senior post Wyatt Hager more and more. He was getting to his post spots for touches but also getting to the dunker area to catch and finish after teammates got deep in the paint and drew over the help. The Jays had a 52-51 lead with four minutes to go. They then extended that lead with a Deron score and then going to that flex cut-seal from Hager to score yet again. You don't see the same set work over and over and over like that very often but it gave the Jays a 56-51 lead late. This opened the door for Waseca to win 61-57.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Player Performances</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2121332' first='Deron' last='Russell']. Deron broke the school record with an attack to the middle. His jumper was off in the first half but his attempts getting down hill got him to a dozen first half points. Deron isn't just quick, he isn't just a player that can pull or go either way, he is also a very smart scorer. His reads of the defender are at a level only a few players can match. When he saw a defender on his heels for a fraction of a second, or if he saw a lean, Deron was on the attack in moments. JWP had help sinking to him all the time naturally, but at times Russell was even too quick for that. Russell had 25 points, a dozen boards and five assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2386616' first='Gavin' last='Bauer']. The 6'3 Bauer earned the Russell assignment which says something about his competitive fight and agility as a sophomore defending a top ten candidate for Mr. Basketball (a senior award). Had two first half fouls so they had to switch Gavin off Russell until the start of the second half. Once the second half started Gavin was back on Deron, and Gavin's defense forcing the turnover, a tough miss, and then a block at the rim at the second half mid-point was a major momentum turning point for this game. Gavin has a chance to be a special defender, if he's not there already. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gavin's ball handling/dribble separation is much improved and he was able to get through the defense with great body control and balance to score impressively. Bauer has a confidence to him with skill and agility that I think could make him a scholarship player. His upperclassmen years are going to be filled with 30+ games. Gavin had 16 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560810' first='Daulton' last='Bauer']. This is a pace pusher. Waseca had issues getting back in transition defense and getting a body to Daulton who just comes at you as one of the quickest players in Class A basketball. Daulton had 13 points in the first half and it was all going to the rim. Bauer totaled 28 points on his 25 attempts and again, everything in transition or a quick move to the rim. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ethan Hiller. The Waseca senior is a player that I really grew to appreciate as the game moved on. He had the [player_tooltip player_id='2386616' first='Gavin' last='Bauer'] assignment in the half court and I thought he defended well, Ethan set good screens, moved the ball well, got to boards, and when shots came his way the touch was solid. A dependable and tough high school basketball player as a six foot guard. Made clutch foul shots to put the game away, totaled a dozen points and nine rebounds with four assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wyatt Hager. The Hager contribution was simple, and it was big. He set the flex screen, sat down in the post as his man had to help for a moment on the cut giving him instant leverage, Wyatt gave a target, caught, scored, and scored, and scored. Throw in some dunker spot catch and finishes and you had a big game from the senior scoring in the post. Scored 16 points on 8 of 11 shooting. <br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->