Five Takeaways: Dominant Defense Leads Assumption to State

<p>DAVENPORT -- For the first time since 2013, Davenport Assumption is off to the 3A state basketball tournament. The Knights punched their ticket to State with a dominant defensive effort, holding Mount Vernon to just 33 points in a 57-33 rout on Tuesday night.</p> <p>With a defensive gameplan focused on limiting Mount Vernon star guard [player_tooltip player_id="530135" first="Keaton" last="Kutcher"], the Knights held him nearly 17 points below his season average, limiting the South Dakota-bound Kutcher to just 6 points on 3-12 shooting. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="964862" first="Dayne" last="Hodge"] was the primary defender on him, face-guarding Kutcher for the majority of the night.</p> <p>While Hodge was outstanding on the defensive end, it was the role players on the offensive end who made the major difference for Assumption, with <strong>Matt Tallman</strong> and <strong>JJ Stratman</strong> combining to score 33 points in the win. </p> <p>Assumption (18-6) earned the 5-seed next week and will face 4-seed Dallas Center-Grimes on Tuesday at 4:00 pm. The Knights were led by Tallman, who had 20 points. Stratman added 13 and Texas-bound [player_tooltip player_id="678937" first="Emarion" last="Ellis"] stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.</p> <p>Mount Vernon’s season ends with a 17-6 record. The Mustangs were led by [player_tooltip player_id="964883" first="Jayden" last="Meeker"], who had 20 points in the loss.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Team</strong></span></td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>1Q</strong></span></td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>2Q</strong></span></td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>3Q</strong></span></td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>4Q</strong></span></td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>F</strong></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;"><strong>Mount Vernon</strong></td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">11</td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">6</td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">9</td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">7</td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">33</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;"><strong>Assumption</strong></td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">18</td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">8</td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">18</td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">13</td> <td style="width: 16.666666666666668%; text-align: center;">57</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mount Vernon:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="964883" first="Jayden" last="Meeker"] 20, [player_tooltip player_id="530135" first="Keaton" last="Kutcher"] 6<br /> <strong>Assumption:</strong> Matt Tallman 20, JJ Stratman 13, [player_tooltip player_id="678937" first="Emarion" last="Ellis"] 12, [player_tooltip player_id="962602" first="Noah" last="Mack"] 5, Tyler Maro 4, Jay Costello 2, [player_tooltip player_id="964862" first="Dayne" last="Hodge"] 1</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Assumption’s role players step up</strong></p> <p>If the Knights are going to make a run next week, they’ll need the role players to play like they did in this one. Tallman and Stratman more than doubled their average output (15.1 points a game) by combined to score 33, and they were both outstanding on the defensive end as well. Tallman had 6 steals and they combined to shoot 5-7 from behind the arc. Arguably the Knights’ two best players - [player_tooltip player_id="678937" first="Emarion" last="Ellis"] and [player_tooltip player_id="962602" first="Noah" last="Mack"] - each missed significant time this year with injuries, and the Knights’ role players were able to gain valuable experience with them sidelined. That experience showed up in a big way here and will be crucial next week in Des Moines. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Dominant defensive effort</strong></p> <p>Of course, a lot of the defensive credit can go to [player_tooltip player_id="964862" first="Dayne" last="Hodge"], who face-guarded Kutcher throughout the game and held him to 6 points on 3-12 shooting. That type of commitment to the gameplan was key for the Knights, but they were also outstanding defensively outside of Hodge. Tallman was great at reading the passing lanes and swiping six steals, turning defense into quick and easy offense. Assumption is long and athletic, and if they can lock in like this, they’ll be a bear at State.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Assumption’s chances at State</strong></p> <p>The Knights will have the highest-regarded player in the 3A field in [player_tooltip player_id="678937" first="Emarion" last="Ellis"]. That’s a big feather in their cap. They played against an all-4A league schedule. Put another feather in there. And their role players gained valuable experience with the top two players sidelined, who are now back in the lineup. This group is extremely dangerous at State next week in what looks like a wide-open 3A field. If they play up to their potential, they might be the best team in the field. They’ll have their hands full with a very talented backcourt from Dallas Center-Grimes in the opening round.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="964883" first="Jayden" last="Meeker"]’s emergence</strong></p> <p>Meeker was a player I enjoyed watching last year for the Mustangs, as he provided energy and a little bit of scoring off the bench for the ’Stangs, averaging 5.1 points a game. With the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id="955270" first="Noah" last="Erickson"], they really needed someone to step up as a reliable scorer alongside Kutcher, and Meeker excelled in that area. The 6-1 wing became a high-level ball-handler with the ability to break down a defense and get to the bucket, and he showed a reliable 3-point stroke as well, en route to averaging 15.6 points a game. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="678937" first="Emarion" last="Ellis"], playmaker</strong></p> <p>Ellis scored "just" 12 points in the Knights win, but he was excellent. The 6-5 wing is an exceptional athlete who impacts the game on both ends of the floor with his length and athleticism. He shot 5-9 from the floor, including 2-2 from 3, and didn’t force anything, but what stood out the most was his playmaking ability. He’s a talented passer who sees the floor really well and he excels at putting his teammates in positions to score. When your most talented player is willing to give up the ball the way Ellis does, it rubs off on the entire team, as evidenced by the way the Knights moved the ball in their win.</p>