Tip Off Classic 5 Takeaways: Breck controls the paint in win over Lake City
Breck picked up another good win in the early-season, getting 22 points from David Roddy on the way to a 57-52 win over Lake City. The Mustangs played terrific defense, closing off the lane while Lake City struggled to connect…
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Continue ReadingBreck picked up another good win in the early-season, getting 22 points from David Roddy on the way to a 57-52 win over Lake City. The Mustangs played terrific defense, closing off the lane while Lake City struggled to connect from the 3-point line throughout the contest.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
David Roddy shook off a slow start and dominated in the second half
Roddy might be the best big man in Class AA and it was clear that once he got going, Lake City had no chance to put up much resistance. He settled a lot in the first half, opting to cast jumpers up and defer to teammates but once he decided to go into the paint, he was a force. Roddy’s ball-handling is very good for a player his size and while his jumper is improved, he’s still at his best when he’s beasting in the paint. Very few teams particularly at the Class AA level will have the athletes that can contend with him.
Reid Gastner showed off perimeter improvement
Roddy’s counterpart – at least on paper – Reid Gastner, finished the game with 19 points while connecting on five 3-pointers. Gastner’s added to his game every year since his freshman season and it would appear as though the perimeter skills he showed during the summer are translating to the winter. From the long-term scope, that development is important as Gastner hasn’t gotten much – if at all – taller since his freshman season and while he’s a strongly built kid, he doesn’t have the length or height to play a true power forward spot in college at 6-foot-3. From a short-term perspective, Gastner will have to resist the temptation to fall in love with the perimeter game because he’s still undoubtedly at his best playing in the middle of the floor or in the paint. Lake City scored just 10 points from 2-point range Saturday. That number has to be higher and Gastner is their best interior scoring option.
Lake City forgot to go inside
10 points for Lake City that didn’t come via the 3-point line. I know 3-point shooting is all the rage now and to some degree it always has been for a lot of outstate, small-town teams, but Lake City is too good to settle for 3-pointers as much as it did. Breck played zone and while that is usually a recipe for long-range offense, Lake City had opportunities to attack Breck’s defense particularly in the middle of the floor and seemed a little too content to pass around the perimeter and hoist from afar. The Tigers have terrific shooters all over the floor and they’ll win a lot of games because of it. But they might’ve lost Saturday because they fell a little too in love with it.
The Breck guards passed another early-season test
Breck is now 3-0 on the season and while Roddy is the main dawg, the Mustangs have gotten solid play from some of their young guards thus far. A win over Cristo Rey Jesuit in the season-opener was a good first test. Getting a win over a state-ranked team with excellent, upperclass guards in Lake City is another. Freshman guard Jimmy Kock was good Saturday, scoring 12 points while sophomore guard Jaren Morton is averaging 13 points per game through three games. If those guys can continue to produce points in complementary fashion while spearheading the defense, Breck is going to be really tough to beat.
The Wohlers brothers give Lake City viable third and fourth scorers
On a day where both Gastner and Nate Heise struggled with their efficiency, the Tigers had a chance to tie the game within the final seconds. Two guys that were key in their second-half surge were Justin and Jake Wohlers. Jake is a junior guard who knocked down four 3-pointers and has been one of the Lake City’s leading scorers in the early part of the year. Justin is a 6-foot-3 freshman who looks like he’ll be the next really good feature guy for the Tigers in a few years when Heise and Gastner are gone. Right now, he’s a good complementary guy. Those two have the shooting ability and athleticism to make a big impact for the Tigers this year and at times Saturday, they showed they are capable of providing a boost when the two stars are struggling.