Storm rages over Cadets

Prologue
I close out the pre-holiday portion of my season schedule with game 31 being my 1st ever trip to St. Thomas Academy (after 8 years, I finally get there, last non-charter school in the 494 loop on my list I think).  They took on Chanhassen and much to The Czar's dismay, no 9A game to see one of the kids who played on the 2015 team I helped coach this past spring.  Hot Dog and split bun get a D rating.  Sioux Falls, Concordia and a late appearance from MN Fury director Ben Davis among the dignitaries on hand.

Song of the Day
Riders on the Storm - The Doors

Game Time
Chanhassen goes to a set lob with Brandon Arnold up and over the D to Kevin Jensen for a dunk to start the game.  We'll draw that up below.  Sjoberg for 3, Jensen for 3 and backdoor for 2 more.  Sjoberg long distance 3, Jensen layup, Sjoberg to Harrison Patt for a layup and a Sjoberg jumper.  17-16 Cadets inside of 10 minute mark.  Arnold with the pretty bounce pass on the break to Jensen for a dunk.  Sjoberg on the post for 2 followed by a 3.  Jensen gets loose for a wide open 2 handed flush, another backcut for 2 and left all alone on a double team for an easy layup.  29-22 Storm open up the lead but Sjoberg knocks down back to back bombs followed by a John Gould 3.  9-0 run for the Cadets before Jensen steps off the left block on a drive and knocks down a wing 3.  32-31 Chanhassen at the break.  Sjoberg 19 points on 5 3s.  Jensen 3 dunks and 20 points.  41 of the 63 points in the game from those 2.

Sjoberg starts the second half with another 3 for a 34-32 Cadets lead.  Jensen gets knocked down and has to sit out for 2:34 early in the half.  Arnold comes up big with 3 assists for layups (1 for a 3 point play) in that stretch.  43-37 Chanhassen up with 14:04 left.  The same set that started the game is another dunk for Jensen from Arnold.  Arnold then for 3 followed by a Cole Otto 3 after a St. Thomas timeout.  51-39 Storm with 11:35 left after the 19-5 run.  11-2 over the last 2:30.  Arnold back to back assists for Joey Stark layups, then he hits frosh Joey Witthus for another easy bucket with 8 minutes left.  Sjoberg on the post for 2.  Arnold to Otto for another layup.  Sjoberg fades for 3, Arnold to Jack Kozlowski for a layup.  Gould with a jumper and 2 free throws and a pair of Sjoberg free throws.  66-56 Storm with 4:11 left.  Chanhassen finishes the game with another 11-2 spurt highlighted by Arnold to Jensen for a dunk.  Storm win 77-58.

Post Game
For St. Thomas Academy, Thomas Sjoberg 36 points with 8 triples.  12-25 FGs on my sheet.  Senior John Gould with 12 as the only other Cadet in double figures.  Cadets get a big game from Sjoberg but can't find enough firepower or stop easy buckets.  We'll see if teams really try to box and 1 Sjoberg or similar tactics to put stress on the rest of the Cadets offense during the rest of the season.  The Cadets fall to 2-3 and host St. Paul Central next Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference game.

For Chanhassen, Kevin Jensen scores 20 of his 31 in the first half.  He ends up with a handful of dunks (5) and I only had him missing 1 shot on my sheet.  Cole Otto with 16, Joey Stark with 12.  Brandon Arnold only 5 points but at least 11 assists (just counting the ones I mentioned here).  Great timing on passes and easy passes, nothing fancy, to get buckets.  Took good care of the ball too so an impressive performance from the senior point guard.  Chanhassen is now 5-2.  The 2 losses are close ones to Lakeville North where they had the lead (68-66 loss) and a 5 point OT loss at Buffalo.  They play next week at Augsburg in the Best Buy Holiday Classic.  Hopkins, Minnetonka and Johnson will get the publicity there, but don't sleep on the Storm.

Czar's Note 12/22/11: Post game reports show Arnold with 16 assists for the game.  

Play of the Day
Point guard Arnold starts on the left wing, big sets first ball screen and rolls toward rim, Jensen sets the 2nd ball screen right behind that (staggered) as he comes from the back side block.  Other 2 players space on opposite site.  1st screener instead of continuing his roll to block (where Jensen started) for post up opportunity, reverses and goes back high to set the back screen for Jensen going to the rim.