Maranatha Christian 71 New Life Academy 62: Five Things to Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Third ranked (AA) Maranatha Christian Academy used ball pressure, balance, and offensive rebounding to knock off newly minted number one (A) ranked New Life Academy. Here are five things to know.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One. MCA Ball Pressure</strong>. I thought Maranatha did a fantastic job pressuring [player_tooltip player_id='1225656' first='Max' last='Briggs'] and forcing turnovers out of him, and some of the other NLA guards. The Mustangs have a load of quick, aggressive backcourt players that as a unit form a menacing structure. Trell McCrimmon, JaRory Purnell, [player_tooltip player_id='962244' first='Matthew' last='Bluford']. Greysn Rennie, and [player_tooltip player_id='1617685' first='Bailey' last='Mcdonald'] just came at their opponents in waves. Not only were they are really good pressuring the ball, they did a great job moving to help spots to contest shots, get sneaky steals, and take chargers (four of them last night). Forwards Nick Anderson and [player_tooltip player_id='1288817' first='Drew' last='Balentine'] did a nice job as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two. The Glass. Not What You Would Expect</strong>. New Life is by far the bigger team. They have 6'8 [player_tooltip player_id='1225651' first='Erick' last='Reader'], 6'7 [player_tooltip player_id='1727584' first='Colton' last='Hendricks'], and two 6'4 strong forwards that all are good players. That said, they could not block out MCA who is really just a team full of 5'11 guards and 6'2/6'3 wings. Purnell (6'1), Anderson (6'4), and Rennie (5'8) crashed the glass like they were falling out of airplanes and NLA could do nothing with it. Anderson finished with an 11 and 12 double-double while Rennie had a 10 and 11 double-double. Purnell had eight boards too and I would say about 14 or 15 of their 31 boards were on the offensive end. Constant second and third chances was a big reason MCA beat NLA. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three. Ten Seniors</strong>. When the ball was tipped last night between the top ranked Class A team (NLA) and the 3rd ranked AA team (MCA) there were ten seniors starting. And that was without [player_tooltip player_id='1617685' first='Bailey' last='Mcdonald'] who has been dealing with a sprained ankle. These are veterans teams which tells you a lot about why both teams have put together a really nice list of wins. Last night the attack of McCrimmon led him to a team high 17 points while senior shooter [player_tooltip player_id='1288756' first='John' last='Kirschling'] had 17 points including three thees to lead NLA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Four. MCA Balance</strong>. I came into this game really wondering if MCA was worth being ranked third in state. They've earned it with their wins including the victory over Maple River, but I was still thinking... are they truly a top three team? After seeing this team compete so hard, and seeing the balance throughout their line-up, I am completely convinced that they've earned their spot. McCrimmon had 17, McDonald came off the bench scoring 15 giving them a real go to guy (really liked his touch on the move), Anderson fought for 11, Rennie fought for his ten, Purnell had eight points, seven boards, and five assists, this is a really balanced team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Five. NLA Next</strong>. New Life Academy has had a great season but MCA gave them issues. That does not mean that NLA can't bounce back and beat Hayfield tomorrow in the Southern Minnesota Hoops Fest. It was a tough day for NLA as Briggs had guards attacking him in multiples all game and there was little relief for him. [player_tooltip player_id='1225651' first='Erick' last='Reader'] had ten boards and four blocks but could barely get shots off because he was called for three offensive fouls that hampered his time and touches. [player_tooltip player_id='1727584' first='Colton' last='Hendricks'] had 13 points but the team needed more than just he and Kirschling offensively. I think NLA will bounce back just find. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->