Midwest Summer Shootout: Saturday Recaps
10:05 (17U): KC Elite 65 vs Iowa United Select 40
There was a couple Stanton standouts from the Iowa squad in this game, but after a scoring burst to start the second half, this Kansas City squad got away with an easy win this morning in Ames. It was 32-25 at the break, and skilled 2019 Stanton guard Drake Johnson had his United Select team very much alive after netting 17 points by the break. But sloppy play to start the second half by Iowa was greatly capitalized upon by Kansas City, and this one was out of hand by midway through the second half. Stanton, though, may be looking good next season; in addition to Johnson, rising senior and 6’8 post, Dillon Rocha, proved to be a tough defender and proficient rebounder.
11:10 (16U): Sioux City Bombers 74 vs Minnesota Nice 51
The powers that be for the Sioux City Bombers have assembled a nice group of 16U talent, and did so by mixing and matching players from the 2019 and 2020 classes. The talented Iowa group raced out to an early advantage, and this one was really never close. A hidden gem was unearthed in this one as Sioux City-based Dillon Harrison played great while notching 16 points. We say “based” in Sioux City because he actually attends Comenius School for Creative, in South Carolina, during his regular seasons. We notified the Prep Hoops guys in the Palmetto State of his play today, so he’s on their radar. Sioux City East guard Jack Peterson had a slow start, but came alive in the second half to make great play after great play — he finished with a team-high 18 points. Bradyn Larson shot lights out for the Minnesota squad, the Owatonna rising junior scored a game-high 27 points.
12:15 (15U): Omaha Elite II 60 vs Iowa Intensity 51
It was a bit of a sloppy game, from both parties involved, and in the end it was Omaha which was able to stave off an Intensity comeback and come away with the win. If there’s a bright spot for this young Intensity group, it’s that they certainly do not quit. There were several occasions where it seemed like an all-out rout was coming, but the boys from Iowa played tough throughout and never let that occur. The ringleader of the tough play is Lynnville-Sully rising sophomore Blaize Kuhlmann, the active guard was sensational defensively, setting the tone each time down the floor. Grinnell rising sophomore Jake Hull was scoring in a variety of ways, he led Intensity with 16 points.
1:20 (16U): Minnesota Heat-Ismail 75 vs Iowa Intensity 36
This Minnesota squad is nice, and should be one that makes a deep run tomorrow on Championship Sunday. Frieley (MN) rising junior Casey Fisher was the best player we saw up to that point — he was slicing and dicing Intensity, seemingly doing whatever he wanted en route to a game-high 17 points. The Heat unit is well-rounded, with size, speed, ball-handlers and shooters, and it was never close in this one. The 2019 Intensity squad was reportedly missing some guys, but did not play particularly well, regardless. One guy who stood out was West Marshall rising junior, Joe Halverson. The stretch-four is long and versatile, he finished with a team-high 11 points.
2:25 (15U): South Dakota Network 60 vs All Iowa Attack Black 57
This was easily the best game of the day, both talent-wise and closeness-wise. Really, it was tight throughout, and though the South Dakota guys started to pull away late, the Attack group never let up, and made it exciting towards the final seconds. The difference-maker in this game was 6’5 O’Gorman (SD) small forward Akoi Akoi. He was out due to foul trouble in the first half, and his team was down two at the break. But he came out red-hot in the second half, and within the first few minutes, his Network squad has captured the lead, and almost pushed it to double-digits a couple of times. Attack Black has a nice trio with Vasko Novakonvic, Tyler Sansgaard and Zach Huff, all three can shoot it, and they combined for 43 of the teams 67 points. Both of these teams could make deep runs into the 16U bracket.