Ten Best: Class AA State Tournament
The Class AA session was also very entertaining this evening with each game having value in itss own way. Here is our Ten Best for the Class AA quarterfinals.
MVP. Michael Schaefer. The St. Cloud Cathedral wing/forward was incredible knocking out all four of his three-point attempts, 13 of 15 foul shots, and over half of his 15 shots. Scored a very efficient 33 points on 15 attempts plus pulled down 15 rebounds in the Crusaders overtime win over NRHEG.
Best Offensive Player. Mitchell Plombon. If Michael was MVP, Mitchell was right behind him as Best Offensive Player of the day. Mitch found himself at the foul line eight times for his seven makes plus he scored on 8 of 14 shots for his 25 points. Had seven boards as well.
Best Offensive Player Part 2. Jacob Christopher. No JCC didn’t win but Jacob was memorable, and at times very entertaining. He scored 33 points on 10 of 17 shooting and did it in showman style. He scored an And1 and dropped his finger to let people know. The senior weaved through five Cardinals to score in acrobatic fashion and the crowd went wild. He hit a three and looked at his bench with arms out wide. It was a fun performance, and an outstanding performance.
Best Defensive Player(s). Trenton Peterson/Nick Bieniek. It’s them at the top of the Annandale defense again. They didn’t stop Jacob Christopher but they sure did stop everyone else. What was the non Jacob Christopher numbers? 11 for 48. Credit this two defensive leaders (among others). Bieniek hit four treys for his 14 points too while Peterson hit two and had four assists.
Best Supporting Role Performance. JaVonni Bickham. The Minnehaha Academy 6-foot-5 power forward used his size to score around the basket but what really caught my attention was his step-back from 17, his face-up 15-footer, and his ability to attack off a ball screen into a shot creation. He had 19 points on nine attempts.
Best Underclassmen. Jalen Suggs. Jalen didn’t have his best day because of an injury, some foul trouble, and several turnovers but even on a tougher day he is better than most, or all. Jalen scored a highly efficient 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting plus he was the game’s best rebounder with a dozen. Went to the line to shoot seven of nine from the foul line too. Played a very mature game scoring wise despite having some frustrations.
Best Peformance Off the Bench. Benji Lundberg. The junior reserve not only hit the amazing shot to send the game into overtime but Lundberg also had a game high 18 points for the Panthers. Benji made seven of 15 shots, grabbed six boards, and dished out a team high four assists.
Best Under the Radar Performance. Marc Kjos/Nathan Heise. The loss to Minnehaha Academy is nothing to hang the head about and Kjos and Heise deserve some recognition for the years and the game they had. Both players hit four threes and scored 18 points. Kjos is a heady player that also scored on a pretty fake into a glass kiss and an attacking floater. Heise shot 47 percent from the arc this year as a six foot freshman guard. He’s deadly with his feet set in space.
Best Clutch FT Shooter. Jarod Wilken. JCC took attempts away from him for much of the game and made others beat them and they did (AJ Hinz had a double double of 12 and 15). Jarod only had six shot attempts. Jarod was able to build double-double numbers with 9 of 11 foul shooting and most of it was down the stretch. He scored 18 points with 10 boards.
Other. Trey Jacobs. Crosby-Ironton took a lot of the drama out of the game early and Jacobs, a senior guard, did a lot of the offensive work. He made all six of his foul shots, scored 26 on 10 of 13 shooting, and pretty much controlled the game with his offense. NDSU football signed Noah Gindorff had 15 and 14 in support.