Section Scout: No. 3 Lake City over No. 2 St. Charles in 1AA semis
Photo courtesy of Kyle Stevens/Red Wing Republican Eagle
The second of two Section 1AA semifinal games featured two of the best offensive teams in the section in St. Charles and Lake City. For all the firepower on the court, it was Lake City coming away with a 50-38 win in what could be best described as “gritty.”
After losing a 76-67 game to the Saints earlier in the season, the Tigers slowed the game down, limiting St. Charles to just 42 total shot attempts and it worked to perfection because once they got a lead, they played keep away.
Here were some things that stood out from the game:
Lake City’s guards: Mitch Marien and Marc Kjos form a diminutive but lethal duo capable of handling the ball for large stretches while also effectively playing without it. Both guys are built like safeties in football and they both use their strength to dominate the game from a physical standpoint on the perimeter.
Marien is the lone senior starter for the Tigers and he serves as something of an emotional leader for what is an incredibly young group. He scored 13 points to lead the Tigers in the game Saturday and his ability to get into gaps and create looks for his teammates either on the 3-point line or inside gave the Saints fits all afternoon.
Kjos was dealing with an illness leading up to the game and he wasn’t his usual aggressive self in terms of looking for shots, but even in scoring just two points, Kjos had his fingerprints all over the win. Like Marien, Kjos is very strong with the ball and played a huge part in controlling the tempo of the game.
He was also excellent on the defensive end spending time on Kaden Vaughn, Keagan Maloney and Justin Ruhberg at times. Just a junior, Kjos is a player to watch this upcoming summer and into next year. He’s undersized, but he should absolutely draw a lot of college interest at least at the DIII level.
Tigers Control Tempo: It’s been said many times but it’s worth repeating: the team that controls the tempo is usually the team that wins. Lake City had a great game plan going in and executed it to perfection. The Tigers controlled the tempo all afternoon, keeping the high-octane Saints out of transition and off the 3-point line. Everything was played in the half court and because St. Charles had a hard time getting away from the pesky Lake City defenders, the perimeter guys like Maloney, Ruhberg and Drew Leistikow couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively by way of the 3-point line.
St. Charles averaged 76 points per game in the regular season. The Saints scored 17 in the second half. The Tigers played excellent defense but a huge factor in that effort was their ability to control the pace and keep the Saints from ever getting anything easy.
Lake City Freshmen: The Tigers were supposed to have to rebuild this season after graduating a huge senior class a year ago. A couple of freshmen helped fast-track that whole process in a big way.
Reid Gastner and Nathan Heise started all year for the Tigers and averaged double figures in scoring. Both guys were excellent Saturday in what almost assuredly amounted to the biggest game of their young careers.
Gastner looks like an upperclassman already. At 6-foot-4 and in possession of a strong frame, Gastner is more than capable of holding his own inside against opposing bigs. He’s got good shooting touch and looks comfortable shooting the ball anywhere out to about the 3-point line. He’s a good passer and has the ball handling ability to create his own offense in small spaces. He had a stretch in the second half Saturday where he put the Lake City offense on his back and helped them get separation from the Saints.
Heise is a sniper from the perimeter and known as a gym rat in the Tiger program. He isn’t tasked with a ton of ball handling responsibility right now because Marien and Kjos are so good, but he’s poised with the ball and looks like a guy who will eventually be very good at running the offense while also being lethal from the 3-point line. The thing that impressed me most with Heise was his defensive ability. St. Charles tried to post him up on several occasions and he held his own inside. He also did a great job chasing Saints off the 3-point line throughout the game.
Those youngster are playing beyond their years now. It’s exciting to think about how good they’ll be when they can drive.
Other Standouts/Players to watch:
Keagan Maloney (St. Charles, Jr) – Maloney was the one guy who seemed to be able to get anything going for the Saints Saturday, scoring 16 points and dishing out four assists. He got the free throw line eight times and while he didn’t have a quickness advantage against the Lake City guards, he used his strength and craft to get into the lane and make things happen. He’s going to play Minnesota Select this summer and should continue to draw DIII interest as a combo guard.
Kaden Vaughn (St. Charles, Jr.) – Vaughn led the Saints in scoring this season, averaging 17 points per game. Vaughn fits the “sniper” role to perfection as he’s active off the ball, using screens and angles to get free space. And he doesn’t need a lot space to get a shot off. Vaughn knocked down a pair of triples against the Tigers and got five shots off. Slowing him down was clearly a huge part of the gameplan for Lake City and it worked. But he’s a guy to watch this summer for college teams looking for elite shooters.
Justin Ruhberg (St. Charles, Sr.) – Perhaps the ultimate what-if for the St. Charles season would be focused on what a healthy Ruhberg could’ve done for the Saints. Ruhberg missed about half the season for St. Charles and came back in a limited role for his senior year. He was held scoreless in his final high school game and it was clear that he’s not all the way back yet from that injury. It hasn’t even been nine months since he tore his ACL, so that’s not surprising. He’ll play at the DIII level and he’s known as a fabulous shooter.