Crater at Thurston: Five Takeaways
According to the OSAA rankings, two of the top three teams in 5A faced off Thursday night. The showdown did not disappoint. Although Crater led the entire game, the outcome was not decided until Tyson Haas’s final shot for Thurston missed and the visiting Comets held on for a 47-45 victory. They improved to 15-1 and 5-1 in Midwestern League play and Thurston fell to 12-3 (4-2). Here’s what stood out:
(Pictured: Isaac Lange and the hair he hasn’t cut since elementary school.)
Will somebody stop that guy?
In the interior, Crater’s Kiefer Edwards was unstoppable. He finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists. Several times, he grabbed offensive rebounds and banked them back in for easy buckets. He missed his first dunk attempt—an alley oop thrown to him by sophomore point guard Jayden Vranes, but slammed home two others. He is a prototypical big, as long as your prototypical big dunks several times a game. The 6-foot-6 post is being recruited by NAIA, JuCo and D-III schools.
As always, Edwards guarded the opposing team’s best player. Against Thurston, that was 6-foot-2 junior guard Isaac Lange. Edwards did a terrific job defending him, such as on the final possession, below. “The kid can play offense,” Crater coach Chris Schmerbach said of Edwards. “But the reason we won tonight is because he D’d up and rebounded.”
Trailing by 2 with 12 seconds left, Thurston is forced to put up a tough one as time expires. Good defense by Crater. The Comets beat the Colts by 2. #opreps pic.twitter.com/WCGXKuIKoV
— Hayes Gardner (@HayesGardner) January 26, 2018
Thurston’s Colt
Thurston’s leading horse is Isaac Lange, an explosive guard with a mane of black hair. The junior is a budding star with freakish speed and athleticism. Thurston coach Blaine Liberatore said he’s “the fastest kid I’ve ever seen.” When Edwards guarded Lange, it was a matchup of elites. “He’s their guy. He’s our guy. We’re going to find out who can play,” Schmerbach said of that defensive decision.
Lange didn’t get his first basket until 3:40 remained in the first half. At that point, he was 0 of his first 7 from the field. He finished with 14 points to lead the Colts, but was largely contained. He did show off his athleticism. At one point, he narrowly missed a one-handed jam that would’ve found its way onto a poster, but he showcased his leaping ability in snatching rebounds.
Tall treys
The two teams combined for just six three-pointers on Thursday and three of those came in the first quarter from Crater freshman Nathan Bittle. The 6-foot-7 freshman nailed three spot up treys to help the Comets to a 15-10 lead after the opening eight minutes. His size and shooting are reminiscent of West Salem senior Tyke Thompson. Bittle also played great defense, both on his man and in help D. He finished with three blocks. “He gives a lot of help on defense, blocked shots and a lot of length,” Edwards said. “He has good vision, too.”
Thurston’s supporting stable
Thurston’s best player is Isaac Lange, but they’re a good team with other players, as well. 6-foot-4 senior Sterling Minor scored 7 points and, although outmatched, guarded Kiefer Edwards successfully at times. Mason Miller, a 6-foot-7 junior post, was a beast on the boards and also finished with 10 points.
The Vranes brothers
Crater’s backcourt duo is a couple of brothers in sophomore Jayden Vranes and senior Mason Vranes. Jayden, a lefty point guard, made several nifty plays to penetrate the defense for buckets or dump offs to Edwards. Mason, in his third year on the varsity, played reliably and hit a big second half three-pointer. He also had a great quote in regards to Edwards many dunks this season: “I mean, we’re used to it at this point because he has like 70 dunks this season.”
(For more prep hoops coverage, follow @HayesGardner on Twitter.)