10 Best: Ankeny (56) at Centennial (55)
Ankeny — Drew Maschoff gained possession of the ball with 80 seconds left in the game, his team locked in a 55-55 tie with crosstown rival Ankeny Centennial. And with strength, sharp ball-handling and savvy, the 6-foot-3 Sioux Falls signee…
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Continue ReadingAnkeny — Drew Maschoff gained possession of the ball with 80 seconds left in the game, his team locked in a 55-55 tie with crosstown rival Ankeny Centennial.
And with strength, sharp ball-handling and savvy, the 6-foot-3 Sioux Falls signee was able to hold the ball the entire 1:20, and eventually broke to the hoop where he was fouled and sent to the line.
Here's that video #iahsbkb pic.twitter.com/Yh3kPhVHLO
— TJ Rushing (@TjRushing) December 21, 2016
With two seconds left — the game still tied at 55 — Maschoff went to the line, the north vs south Ankeny outcome on the line with him.
He missed the first, and then Centennial called a timeout — they wanted to ice him.
It did not work, and Maschoff calmly knocked in the second free throw after the timeout. An errant inbound by the Jaguars ensured the Ankeny win.
Drew Maschoff sank the second. Ankeny up 56-55 with 2 secs left #iahsbkb pic.twitter.com/vWWyCoMid1
— TJ Rushing (@TjRushing) December 21, 2016
Maschoff led the Hawks with 24 points, newcomer and coach’s son Dillon Carlson chipped in with 8. Brandon Van Meter hit some key shots late Centennial, he led them with 13 points, sophomore Ben Breeding added 10.
Team Scoring
Ankeny 17 6 12 21 — 56
Centennial 7 15 17 16 — 55
Ankeny (56) — Drew Maschoff 24, Dillon Carlson 8, Blaine Hawkins 6, AJ Jackson 6, Deagan Riordan 4, Reece Pitz 4, Nolan Otten 2, Keegan Ferree 2.
Centennial (55) — Brandon Van Meter 13, Ben Breeding 10, Hunter Strait 9, Connor Kasperbauer 7, Jackson Brannan 6, Zach Kluver 4, Carter Bachman 4, Ben Heimer 2.
MVP: Drew Maschoff (Ankeny)
The Sioux Falls-signee is the easy nominee for this choice. There were a lot of great players on the floor tonight; Hunter Strait, Connor Kasperbauer, Ben Breeding, Dillon Carlson, but none came even close to shining as brightly as Maschoff.
Play of the Game: Maschoff 3 to Answer
Ankeny trailed by as many six in the last part of the fourth quarter, and each time they had an answer. With just under three minutes to play Centennial’s Brandon Van Meter knocked in his third triple of the game to put his team up three. Centennial would look for a stop and a stall after that, but instead, within four seconds of the Van Meter make, Maschoff came down and without hesitation busted a triple of his own — the rest is history.
Best Quote: Dillon Carlson on Maschoff
“No doubt (he was going to sink it), we have confident in him, and everything he does we believe in. It doesn’t matter if he’s jacking threes or whatever, we believe in him every time.”
Best Offensive Performance: Drew Maschoff (Ankeny)
His 24 points came in very Maschoff-esque variety. He hit three 3s, had a big-time breakaway dunk, and got to the line often, where he was 9-10. The kid can do it all, and will be virtually unarguable the remainder of his senior season.
Best Defensive Performance: Hunter Strait (Centennial)
Strait is coming off the bench as the sixth man for the Jags, but it only took him 1:36 to check in. He seems to still be shaking off some nerves early, but got going late. And his string of fourth quarter steals is what gave the Jags a seemingly comfortable six point lead in the fourth quarter.
Best Underclassmen: Ben Breeding (Centennial)
He was a load down low, and with some good size, nice strength and great length, he was able to go 5-5 from the floor en route to 10 points.
I'm convinced that Ankeny Centennial big-man Ben Breeding is one of the best sophomores in the state #iahsbkb
— TJ Rushing (@TjRushing) December 21, 2016
Best Player off the Bench: Brandon Van Meter (Centennial)
We didn’t know much about the 5-foot-10 junior coming into this game, but he made his presence felt in a big way. He was 5-6 from the floor and hit three 3s — two critical ones in the fourth quarter — en route to a team-high 13 points.
Best Intangibles: Hunter Strait (Centennial)
Strait struggled tonight, he had some costly turnovers early and did not shoot the ball particularly well (2-8). But the fact remains, and it was pretty clear tonight, that his skill level is a cut above the rest. Once he settles in with his new team, things could get very dicey for opponents.
Story to Watch: Centennial Chemistry
Centennial started the season 4-1, but has dropped two in a row since Cedar Rapids Washington transfer Hunter Strait joined the team for game action. Is Strait to blame for the losses? Certainly not, those two Ls were to good teams. But whenever you add new players to an established roster there’s likely to be some some turbulence. With a two week break coming, look for the junior point guard to get exponentially more comfortable with his new team. And then watch out for the Jags come 2017.