5 Takeaways: Beulah uses strong defense in win over Carrington
***Photo credit: Dickinson Press***
Beulah’s got a formula for winning figured out for the season. The Miners are going to play stingy defense and lean on two really solid guards. That formula worked Saturday as Beulah got 17 points from Chad Morsette and 15 from Trey Brandt in a 49-36 win over Carrington.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
Beulah’s defense was excellent
The Miners have played a very tough schedule thus far on the young season and with an inexperienced core, offense likely won’t be a constant. Defense and effort have kept them in games against very good teams and if they play the kind of defense they played Saturday, they’ve got a chance to go back to state. The Miners were locked in all night, packing the lane, harassing Carrington ball-handlers and playing great, connected, team defense. They’ve got length in the frontcourt and good athletes in the backcourt and they are clearly well-schooled on that side of the ball. It was impressive how bad they made Carrington’s offense look.
Carrington’s offense looked really bad
Carrington, like Beulah, is breaking a lot of new faces in at this point in the season. The guy the Cardinals are going to lean on is Seth Nelson and he struggled to get anything going until late in the game Saturday. But it felt like they were trying too hard to force the ball to Nelson. There was a lot of standing, staring, holding of the ball and not enough of anything good. I could have counted on my hands the amount of screens I saw set. Carrington’s defense was good but Beulah controlled the tempo and the Cardinals never got much going in transition which certainly hurt their offensive effort. The Cardinals have got a few guys capable of making shots and making plays but Beulah had them completely stifled Saturday.
Seth Nelson had a forgettable afternoon
Nelson’s one of the top juniors in the state regardless of class and he showed that in small flashes Saturday. He’s 6-foot-4, he’s a good leaper and can play at the rim. He’s got a nice looking outside jumper and handles the ball well. But he struggled in a big way Saturday, scoring just 10 points. It was clear that Beulah wasn’t going to let Nelson control the game as they sent a lot of guys in his direction. He was unable to impose his athleticism on the game as Beulah did a great job keeping him off the glass and because there was no space, he always caught the ball against a set defense, far away from the rim. Nelson’s put up some big numbers early in the season, but the Miners had an answer for him Saturday.
Chad Morsette and Trey Brandt controlled the game for Beulah
The Miners seemed in control from the tip Saturday and it was entirely because of Morsette and Brandt. Morsette, a senior guard, finished with 17 points including several key buckets in the third quarter when Carrington did start to put some pressure on. And in the fourth when the Cardinals made one final mini-push, it was Brandt icing the game with a key jumper and assist. Their scoring was important but they also did a good job making sure the tempo of the game remained in their favor.
Beulah’s frontcourt was impressive despite a quiet day on the stat sheet
Shaye Yeager and Jonah Larson combined for just 12 points but they showed how impactful they can be on both ends of the floor. Yeager was key in the effort defending Nelson and he did a great job making Nelson work for everything. Both guys created multiple second chances for the Miners with effort on the offensive glass, outworking the Carrington bigs. Larson probably left eight points on the table with missed bunnies but he’s got really nice footwork and good hands. He got what he wanted inside and I’d bet he’s going to produce more often than not.