Hawks continue to roll in Metro West

Prologue
Off to Benilde-St. Margaret's to make up for lost time in seeing them play Chaska.  I missed their game vs Orono back in December so its my 1st look at the Hawks.  Traffic is a nightmare so we have a very sparse crowd but Mound-Westonka head coach Tyler Biwan takes one for the team to scout for sections.  Good hot dog but a left a gap at the end of the bun.  A can of Sprite goes with it.

Number of Teams I've Seen: 139 (54 courts)

Beverage Consumption Counter: 1236.9 ounces (76 days, 105 games, 2 scrimmages added on)

• Pepsi: 572 ounces
• Coke: 192 ounces
• Dr. Pepper: 48 ounces
• Sprite: 140 ounces
• Sierra Mist: 12 ounces
• Barq's Root Beer: 20 ounces
• A&W Root Beer: 36 ounces
• Red Powerade: 100 ounces
• 0 Calorie Fruit Punch Powerade: 20 ounces
• Red Gatorade: 80 ounces
• Water: 500 ml

Hot Dog Counter: 15

Song of the Day
Love the One Your With - Steven Stills

Game Time:
The Benilde-St. Margaret's offense not there and Chaska takes advantage.  Myles Hanson with a 3 point play and 3 the easy way before going coast to coast for 3 more the hard way.  15-3 Hawks at 10:31.  Hanson and Luke Hennen with bombs and the lead is 21-8 at 8:45.  Sam Baker gets BSM back in it with a personal 7-0 run as he goes floater, long 3 on the ball screen and then cherry picks for 2 more.  The Chaska lead down to 6.  Chaska's Jake Hansen then goes to the bench with 2 fouls at the 6:26 mark and will sit most of the rest of the half.  Frosh Joe Dunn goes to the left hand for the 3 point play.  Then Baker finds Marshall Frank for a layup.  BSM goes on a 16-4 run in the last 8 minutes of the half and they're right back in it.  25-24 Chaska at the half.

Jake Hansen went scoreless in the 1st half and then went off in the 2nd half.  He runs out and goes to the euro step reverse to avoid a charge and score.  Baker with a 3 point play countered by a Hansen 3.  Soph sniper Derek Drees with a transition 3 and BSM still within 38-34 with 12:25 to go.  Then its Hansen for 3, driving for a 3 point play and then the shooters bounce on a long straight away 3.  He'l add 2 more drives for buckets and then finish the spurt by running the floor for a 3 point play.  The Chaska run is 19-3 and its blowout city, 57-37 Hawks with 7:30 left.  Chaska goes on to win 69-51

Post Game
Benilde-St. Margaret's falls to 3-6 in the Metro West, 6-15 overall.  Sam Baker scores 19 points to lead the Red Knights.  Derek Drees 11 points with 3 triples for the soph shooter on the wing.  Nobody else more than 7.  Sloppy turnovers and no offensive flow for Benilde-St. Margaret's in this one.  They have a tough trip to Jefferson on Friday but 3 of the last 4 are very winnable.  The Red Knights are still in a dog fight with Holy Family for the 3 seed in 6AAA.

Chaska continues their hot streak.  They started the season 1-3 against the South Suburban including Apple Valley and Eastview.  Since then the Hawks are 14-2 with a 1 point loss to Eden Prairie and a 1 point loss to Shakopee.  Pretty impressive.  They are now 9-0 in the Metro West and remain 2 games clear of Jefferson and Chanhassen.  Jake Hansen goes for all 23 of his points in a monster 2nd half.  16 of those were during the game clinching run.  Soph wing Myles Hanson scored 14 of his 18 in the 1st half.  That included 12 of the 1st 15 Chaska points.  Only 5 field goals from the rest of the roster though.  Chaska makes 23 FTs to 7 for Benilde.  The Hawks host archrival Chanhassen Saturday afternoon.  Chaska likely looking at the 2 seed in 2AAAA behind Shakopee and in front of Jefferson.

Play of the Day
A slightly different twist on a very familiar set.  Let's go 1-4 high and dribble at your shooter on the wing.  Now most times this is a screen away by the shooter (or fake that) and then have the shooter come straight up thru the (always illegal) elevator screen.  But in this instance, Benilde-St. Margaret's had Derek Drees cut directly below the ball side elbow almost like he was going to go all the way across underneath.  But instead of going across, he curls to the top right off the ball side elbow.  Weak side post slams the door for the clean look.