(3) SF Washington 63 (1) SF Roosevelt 62 – Five Things to Know

We are only a week into the season but SF Washington and SF Roosevelt may have played the game of the season already.  In a thrilling contests with many turns, the Warriors held on by one. Here are Five Things to Know.  One.  Amazing Game.  This game had the "underdog" Warriors come out fighting with a great defensive effort.  Washington built a 17 point lead only to lose that lead late in the game when the state’s top ranked squad fired back with a change of defensive gameplan.  There were eight different players (both teams combined) who went on scoring possession runs that totaled three scores (or more) in a six possession stretch.  With under ten ticks to go Roosevelt ran an excellent play late with Vance BorchersVanceBorchers6'2" | SGSF Roosevelt | 2022StateSD cutting high to catch and then hitting a hard cutting Michael PaulsonMichaelPaulson6'3" | SGSioux Falls Roosevelt | 2021StateSD for the attempt at the rim.  Eli WilliamsEliWilliams6'1" | SGSioux Falls Washington | 2021StateSD saw the play late but smartly fouled Paulson and Paulson only made one of two foul shots.  Moments later Joe UttechtJoeUttecht6'0" | PGSF Washington | 2022StateSD showed off his baseball (and/or football) arm with a full court strike to sophomore Kael MiedemaKaelMiedema6'8" | CSioux Falls Washington | 2023StateSD for a lay-up with less than two seconds on the clack.  Paulson missed a long tap-in attempt at the buzzer and Washington picked up an exciting victory.  Washington will now say "are we number one?" while people in Yankton are hollering "come get some" as they have a claim to the top spot as well.  Two.  The Warrior Defense.   Washington held a 37-20 halftime lead and a big part of it was their excellent halfcourt defense that forced five first half turnovers as well as several long misses.  Many of those long misses became transition runs directed by Mikele KambaloMikeleKambalo5'8" | PGSF Washington | 2022StateSD and Akok Aguer and the Warrior pair turned those fast break chances into scores.  Kambalo scored a few himself, created a few for others while Akok Aguer took his touches and went to the rim for double figure first half points (Aguer scored 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting).  The Washington defense set up their offense while shutting down the Roosevelt top options.  Washington did a great job switching screens and putting a new defender in the perfect position to take away most Roosevelt first half attacks.  The verbal communication of Eli WilliamsEliWilliams6'1" | SGSioux Falls Washington | 2021StateSD stood out the most plus he played a big part in limiting Tyler FeldkampTylerFeldkamp5'11" | PGSioux Falls Roosevelt | 2021StateSD - who scored 23 in the opener - to three shot attempts in the first half and and only seven points for the game.  Also, Kambalo’s pressure forced Tucker LargeTuckerLarge5'10" | PGSF Roosevelt | 2021StateSD into four first half misses and 3 of 9 shooting for the contest.  [player_tooltip player_id="975533" first="Koor" last="Kuol"] Three.  The Rough Rider Game Changer.  Washington was playing with an excellent halfcourt rhythm building those 37 first half points.  Roosevelt’s switch to a zone trapping pressure defense completely took Washington out of their offensive rhythm.  Roosevelt forced several turnovers with that pressure as well as a number of out of rhythm Washington shot attempts. Koor KuolKoorKuol6'3" | SFSF Roosevelt | 2021StateSD was the point on that pressure and after most Washington mistakes the ball found it’s way to Kuol who scored 13 points for the game (5 of 10 shooting).  Roosevelt’s defensive switch was the biggest coaching decision of the game as it brought Roosevelt back from 17 down and gave them a three point lead late.   Four.  The Game Winner. Joe UttechtJoeUttecht6'0" | PGSF Washington | 2022StateSD’s full court strike caught everybody by surprise.  The 5-foot-10 junior guard did not hesitate as he picked up the ball off the Michael PaulsonMichaelPaulson6'3" | SGSioux Falls Roosevelt | 2021StateSD foul shot make and sent the perfect strike to 6-foot-8 sophomore Kael MiedemaKaelMiedema6'8" | CSioux Falls Washington | 2023StateSD the other way for a catch and finish.  It was the second buzzer beating play of the night for Uttecht who also hit a three-pointer just before the first half buzzer sounded.  And for Miedema it was his second excellent catch of the game (his soft hands grabbed a Kambalo bullet and laid it in earlier in the quarter).  Miedema also did a nice job of rebounding and sending outlet passes so Washington could push the ball.  Kael has 11 points on 5 of 5 shooting plus seven boards playing off the bench.  Uttech had five points, four boards, and four assists.  Five.  Individual Runs.  So many players went on individual runs of their own in this game.  For that we go Basketball in Bullet Points!  Akok Aguer’s quick first step, his length touching in shots going at the rim, and his quick transition push were tings Roosevelt couldn’t keep a body in front of.  The Washington senior 6’2 guard scored a big 15 points with most coming in the first half. Eli WilliamsEliWilliams6'1" | SGSioux Falls Washington | 2021StateSD biggest contributions were his defense on Feldkamp, his defensive communication, his eight boards, and his foul of Paulson (not even sure it was truly a foul) after he reacted late to Paulson’s cut.  Williams had his offensive run making five of six fouls shots in the middle of the game (scored nine points on 2 of 6 shooting from the field).  Tahj Two Bulls scored 11 points for the game but his back to back three-point makes early in the second half countered makes from Roosevelt allowing Washington to hold off their opponents.  Tahj is a 6-foot-4 senior forward for Washington.  Michael PaulsonMichaelPaulson6'3" | SGSioux Falls Roosevelt | 2021StateSD had a bit of a quiet first half for Roosevelt but his three three-point makes in the second half were game changers.  The 6-foot-3 senior wing scored a team high 14 points. Mikele KambaloMikeleKambalo5'8" | PGSF Washington | 2022StateSD and Tucker LargeTuckerLarge5'10" | PGSF Roosevelt | 2021StateSD battled all game.  There were words exchanged, we saw Large throw some forearms, the two of them wrestled each other on the ground while going for the ball, and they intensely went after each other with ball pressure.  Kambalo’s team won and he had ten points, four boards, and four assists (3 of 10fg, 4 of 4ft) while Large had seven boards, four boards and six assists shooting 3 of 9 from the floor and 1 of 3 at the foul line.  Really the only difference was Kambalo being better at the foul line.