Five Takeaways: STA steamrolls Holy Angels
Cadets get off and running early, never letting up
An early 9-7 STA lead turned into a 27-9 lead at half thanks in part to a clean 16-0 run. Junior PG Jack Thompson had seven points and 6-6 senior George Stewart had six to lead the Cadets. After half it was more of the same, and the subs got in with about nine minutes left. 62-36 was the final for a game that was weirdly fast … 65 minutes from first tip to final buzzer. Thompson and Stewart led all scorers with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Holy Angels showed out
One thing you can say for AHA is that their student section showed up, big time. They more than tripled the STA contingent. The crew was loud, rowdy, and loved their seniors.
Who gets Vascellaro?
Sam Vascellaro from STA is one of the top remaining senior talents. At 6-5 and versatile, he has had D2s sniffing but, in my opinion, he will likely end up at a top D3 program. MIAC powers St. John’s and St. Thomas had assistants watching intently.
Sleeper hunting
We know about Vascellaro and Thompson, and we know about Ryan Mazurek (South Dakota football commit). But one guy whom I just learned about tonight was Noah Chamberlain. He’s a junior guard listed at 6-foot-5 (generous) who had some aggressive baseline makes early as well as a crafty find inside to a teammate. I’m hearing he’ll play for Heat MacDonald in the spring. Gram O’Malley is a 5-8 senior shooter who heated up early in the second half.
Section final is set
Looking at the 3AAA section title game, St. Thomas Academy and St. Croix Lutheran will make for a good matchup. Garett Maag and Vascellaro are a likely match-up, and both teams spread the ball out with passing very well. An X-factor might be Adam Arroyo, SCL’s undersized forward who has been putting up 14 PPG and is very crafty.