Battle at the Lakes: Saturday Recaps
9:00 (17U): Sizzle Nation 63 vs Iowa Ambush 56
It was our first-ever look at Clear Lake’s Zach Lester, and he did not disappoint, flashing some nice quickness to pair with plus athleticism and an ability to create his own looks. But Lester’s 18 points weren’t enough to get his team past this Minnesota squad. A pair of 2017s were standouts for Sizzle Nation, St. Michael’s Asaba Chomilo and Burnsville’s Mohamad Musa, the former of which notched a game-high 22 points. Chomilo was undersized for a post, but his great length and aggressive nature more than made up for his lack of height — he told me after the game his recruitment is still open.
10:05 (17U): Iowa Cornsharks Select 68 vs Minnesota Knights 42
The ‘Sharks loaded up this weekend, adding Barnstormers power forward, Cade Moritz, and Iowa Dynasty point guard, Marco Balderas, to their already stellar lineup. It so happens that those two were the best players in their team’s shellacking of the hometown team. This game was over from the start, and the ‘Sharks — led by Moritz’ 16 points — jumped out to a 20-5 lead and never looked back. This squad could make a lot of noise the remainder of the weekend.
11:10 (17U): Kansas City Magic 71 vs Minnesota Academy-Witthus 68
In what was easily the best game I’ve seen so far this weekend, Max Titus and his Kansas City squad outlasted a very good Minnesota Academy group to take this hard-fought win in overtime. It was a back-and-forth affair, with Academy opening the game with a big lead only to see it cut to four by the break. Then KC started the second half with a 14-0 run, and pushed their lead to as much as 13 before Academy stormed back to send it to overtime. Parker Bjorklund couldn’t get a corner 3 to drop which would have sent to game to sudden death OT, and KC advanced to the final 32 because of it. Titus was one of the better shooters we’ve seen this weekend, the Truman (MO) guard finished with 19 points. Austin Carter (Chanhassen) was very good for Academy, he notched a team-high 18, including five 3s.
2:30 (16U): Machine Elite (MO) 89 vs Wisconsin Hoops Select-Ewing 78
It was the Ben Coughlin show this afternoon at Burnsville High School, and the 5-foot-9 sniper rained in seven 3s — six of them in the second half — to propel his talented squad to a double-digit win over a good Wisconsin opponent. The St. Louis-based program also had a pair of guards, Dallas King and Mello Ball, which both contributed in large doses throughout. Hoops Select’s Cody Riggs (Deforest) was impressive, particularly from beyond the arc, but could never really get into a rhythm. With the win, Machine Elite advances to the round of 32, they’ll play tonight at 7:05, again at Burnsville, for a chance at the Sweet 16.
3:35 (16U): Iowa Cornsharks Select 51 vs Wisconsin Triple Threat 50
In another back-and-forth affair, Trey Hinote and his ‘Sharks squad escaped with the narrowest of victories at Burnsville High School Saturday afternoon. The guys from Wisconsin went bananas to end the first half, finishing with a 12-2 run which put them up 10 at the break. But the Sharks came out and bit back to start the second half, using a 14-2 run of their own to recapture the lead. In crunch-time, Hinote dropped seven straight points for the Sharks, and, fittingly, he hit the free-throw with 5.1 ticks left which gave his team the 51-50 lead. Hinote finished with a team-high 17 points, and Trent Williamson chipped in with 10 tough points. With the win, the ‘Sharks advance to the Sweet 16 of the Gold Bracket, they’ll play tomorrow morning at 10:30.
4:40 (16U): Team Iowa 16U Red 68 vs TC Finest-Vlad (MN) 57
Linn-Mar’s Hayden Passemore was sensational, and the Murray brothers, Kris and Keegan, chipped in with a combined 31 points to help this talented Iowa squad advance to the Sweet 16 of the Gold Bracket. Team Iowa had this game in hand from the beginning, and though it was close at times, never seemed in question. Passemore was utterly impressive using his height and athleticism to notch a game-high 20 points — he’ll be a standout with the Lions the next two seasons. The Minnesota squad was led by bullish point guard Jovan Christian, he scored in a variety of ways to lead his team with 18 points.