Five Takeaways: West Fargo Sheyenne gets gritty in win over West Fargo
Even with a strong start to the year, West Fargo Sheyenne Head Coach Tom Kirchoffner wanted see improvement on the defensive end of the floor. If the Mustangs defend like they did Saturday, they are going to be incredibly difficult…
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Continue ReadingEven with a strong start to the year, West Fargo Sheyenne Head Coach Tom Kirchoffner wanted see improvement on the defensive end of the floor. If the Mustangs defend like they did Saturday, they are going to be incredibly difficult to beat.
Behind 24 points from Blake Berg and a staunch defensive effort, West Fargo Sheyenne beat West Fargo 65-45. The win sends West Fargo Sheyenne to 4-0 on the year while the Packers drop to 2-2.
Here are five takeaways from the contest:
The Mustangs’ defense gave West Fargo fits
West Fargo Sheyenne has a high-powered offense and with three double-figure scoring guards, a trio of bigs than can contribute in a variety of ways and solid depth, it’s easy to focus on what the Mustangs can do offensively. But the story of the game Saturday was how good they were on the defensive end of the floor. Chuck Dubois is an unheralded starting forward who spent most of the afternoon defending West Fargo big man Hunter Lyman. Lyman came into the game averaging 17 points per game. He had five Saturday. Dubois, and Jah’Heem Leake, did a great job not allowing Lyman to establish anything in the low post.
Tyler Terhark spent most of the game checking Carson Hegerle and took him out of the game after the first two or three minutes. And Blake Berg and Barika Kpeenu were terrific harassing starting point guard Matt Miller all game.
Some of the Packers’ struggles on offense were self-inflicted, but the Mustangs took away everything they rely on, walling off the paint and making the Packers beat them from the outside. And they weren’t able to.
Blake Berg and Tyler Terhark took the game over offensively
West Fargo Sheyenne got 24 points and 11 rebounds from Berg and 11 points and 12 boards from Terhark. They combined to score 22 in the second half and every time the Packers would make a mini run to make the game interesting, it seemed like either Berg or Terhark would provide an answer. They used their size and explosiveness to simply abuse the smaller West Fargo perimeter guys, routinely getting into the paint and either drawing fouls or finishing in traffic. They also combined for seven offensive rebounds. They didn’t settle for outside shots. They got downhill and put pressure on the rim.
Hunter Lyman and Matt Miller struggled mightily
Three field goals. That’s how many Miller and Lyman combined for Saturday. Lyman was saddled with foul trouble for a big chunk of the first half, but when he was in, he had one paint touch. In the second half, he had a few more opportunities but also forced several uncharacteristically bad shots. He didn’t get anything on the offensive glass and wasn’t real active off the ball.
Miller was ice cold throughout the game, struggling to get into the paint and finish against the longer, athletic Sheyenne guards. He missed a number of 3-point attempts that he is good enough to consistently make but he just never got anything easy.
West Fargo is going to win a lot of games this winter because those two guys are among the best at their respective positions in the EDC; but Sheyenne completely took those two out of the game.
Carter Birrenkott was a bright spot for the Packers
On a day where very little went right for West Fargo, Carter Birrenkott was a bright spot. The 6-foot-5 junior forward finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and added two blocks. He is strong in the mid-post and has excellent touch. He had to manufacture pretty much all of his points and showed he can. He’s got a solid turnaround jumper and showed he can create his own offense off the dribble. His interior defense was solid and he rebounds in and out of his area. He’s off to a very good start this year and looks like a potential All-League player.
Coach’s Thoughts
Great defensive effort by our guys, that was something we really wanted to focus on. Defense and rebounding. I thought our guys did an awesome job taking control of the game. Our guys did an outstanding job playing team defense and rebounding. We just wanted to wear their guys out. Our seniors really stepped up. Our seniors have really taken ownership of things and they have done a great job leading us.” – Tom Kirchoffner