Ten Best: Sacred Heart vs Beal City
The second meeting between these rivals ended with a second victory for Beal City; this time however, the final score was a bit more lopsided. Ending with a final score of 67-38, Beal City dominated this game in nearly every…
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Continue ReadingThe second meeting between these rivals ended with a second victory for Beal City; this time however, the final score was a bit more lopsided. Ending with a final score of 67-38, Beal City dominated this game in nearly every way from start to finish. What was most impressive, however, was the damage Beal was able to do from beyond the arc – they finished 10-17 from deep, which is a solid 59%. Also, Beal City’s team defense was key an overall great team win, as they were able to force Sacred Heart into 23 turnovers. While Sacred Heart struggled as a whole, sophomore Joe Methner was a bright spot, as he finished with 16 points.
Here’s my Ten Best from the game:
MVP – Lucas Schumacher (Beal City, 2018)
Schumacher was on fire from three the whole night. In fact, he was responsible for 6 of 10 made threes throughout the night. His shots always seemed to come at big, momentum-swinging moments in the game and that’s why he was the most valuable player on the court. He finished with a final line of 20 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Offensive Player of the Game – Lucas Schumacher
This goes hand-in-hand with the MVP, as it was truly one of those games where a scorer simply took over a game for his team. While 20 points is by no means the greatest scoring performance ever, all of his shots came at big moments. Additionally, he barely missed, as he went 7-10 for the game, including 6-7 from deep.
Defensive Player of the Game – Ryan Schafer (Beal City, 2018)
Schafer could’ve easily been MVP of this game alongside Schumacher. These two were by far the two best players on the court and, between the two of them, were responsible for the bulk of Beal’s success. While Schumacher got it done by bombing threes, Schafer did just about everything else. He finished with a final line of 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. He got hot at a huge time, as Sacred Heart had cut the Beal lead to single digits midway through the third quarter. This is when Schafer had his part in taking over the game, scoring 8 straight points and swiping 2 steals within a minute or two. His efforts on the glass and his steal and block totals were unmatched and it was obvious that he was the best defensive player on the court.
Best Intangibles – Ryan Schafer
Typically, players who excel on the defensive side of the ball also have good intangibles, as defense requires a great deal of hustle and heart. Schafer is a prime example of such, with this game being just another great hustle performance. He simply outworks other players and this benefits his team tremendously.
Best Rebounder – Ryan Schafer
Schafer has been Beal City’s best rebounder all season. This is impressive given the fact that he is of average height, rounding out at about 6′. At several points in the game, Sacred Heart would start to get second-chance opportunities by crashing the offensive glass. Schafer did a good job of going up and getting tough rebounds during these stretches.
Best player off the bench – Gabe Natzel (Beal City, 2018)
Neither team had much of an impact from their bench, but Natzel had some solid minutes for Beal throughout the course of the game. While he only scored 3 points, he added 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 3 steals. While this may not be extraordinary by any means, it was by far the best performance by any reserve player.
Best Under-the-Radar Performance – Joe Methner (Sacred Heart, 2018)
Methner has been quietly making a name for himself this season. He’s had several 20 point games this season and, alongside his partner Colton Nelson, has been the leader of this Sacred Heart team. As I said earlier, he was the one bright spot for Sacred Heart this game. He finished with a final line of 16 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Best Underclassmen – Colton Nelson (Sacred Heart, 2019)
Both of these teams are relatively young, and both have an underclassmen that has been huge for them all season. Colton Nelson, a sophomore and one of the best shooters in Mid-Michigan, has been huge for Sacred Heart all year. Logan Chilman, a freshman who started this game for Beal, has been solid all year. This was not the case for either of the promising underclassmen, as they both struggled to find a rhythm. While he shot terrible in this game and failed to make a three, Nelson was able to add a small impact defensively, as he totaled 2 steals and a block. He finished with a final line of 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block.
Another Notable Performance – Kyle Yuncker (Beal City, 2017)
While Schafer and Schumacher were definitely the top two players in the game, senior guard Kyle Yuncker had a quietly solid game for himself. He helped Beal jump out to an early lead with 5 of his 10 points coming in the first quarter. He also contributed on the defense end with 3 steals. He finished with a final line of 10 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.
Story of the Game – Cam Gatrell, 200th Win
Perhaps this is the reason that Beal came out firing on all cylinders. Not only was this a huge rivalry game, this win marked Beal City’s head coach Cam Gatrell’s 200th career win. It was a great overall team win for Beal City and quite a way to reach this milestone.