2021 Capitol City Classic Day 2 Thoughts

Prologue
After a visit from the Crown Prince to enjoy the fine Siberian weather for the Winter Classic, let's review my final games of the holiday week.  I took in 6 games at Day 2 of the 1st annual Capitol City Classic at Concordia-St. Paul.  Long time since I've been at the Gangelhoff Center.  It will be interesting to see how many of the local teams that have previously gone to St. Cloud end up coming to this event in the future.

Game 1: Owatonna 62 #9AAAA Osseo 54
Owatonna comes in as one of the favorites in section 1AAAA and the Big 9.  Brayden Williams with a huge 2nd half for Owatonna.  He knocks down 5 triples and scores 21 of his 25 in that half.  Osseo has the lead down to 1 but then turns it over 8 times in a stretch of 15 possessions.  The last 2 of those turn into triples for Williams and an 8-0 run.  Owatonna 43-32 at that point and that's too much to overcome.  Benard Omooria with a couple of triples cancelled out by 2 more Williams triples kills any Osseo chance.  Ty Creger with 10 of his 14 for Owatonna in the 1st half.  Benard Omooria 16 pts, Lewis Cargeor 15 to lead Osseo.  Tyriece Waits held to 4 points for Osseo was also critical.

Game 2: Waconia 47 Holy Angels 36
Offense really hard to come by in this one.  Both teams under 33% EFG for the game.  AHA only 2 FG in their 1st 17 trips.  That's followed by a Waconia stretch across halftime with no FG in 11 trips.  This was a 5 point game with 11:15 left before AHA went 16 straight trips without a field goal until the final 3 possessions.  Waconia outscores the Stars 14-3 in that stretch to close the game out.  Waconia 15 made free throws to only 12 FT attempts for Holy Angels.  Balanced scoring for Waconia with Noah Bonick scoring 11 points. Ty Miller and Joe Meath add 10 each.  Rob Issa 7 points at the end of the game to lead Holy Angels with 14 points.

Game 3: St. Thomas Academy 63 Mound-Westonka 55
One of the good stories of this season is St. Thomas Academy.  They held Mound-Westonka to 1 FG in the 1st 17 possessions of the 2nd half (add in the last 2 of the 1st half for a 1-19 streak).  That allowed the Cadets to flip a 5 point halftime deficit.  Jack Chamberlain would convert 2 Mound-Westonka turnovers into a bucket and bonus free throws.  That would break open a 3 point game in the last 2:30.  Only a difference of 1 turnover, but STA got 12 more points off of turnovers in the game.  Jack Chamberlain 22 points, Nathan Johnson 15 to lead the Cadets.  Jason Spaeth 20 points, Jake Dallman 16 points for Mound-Westonka.

Game 4: #3 D2 La Crosse Central (WI) 63 #3AAAA Wayzata 54
My alma mater comes in on a hot streak with 2 wins over top 5 teams in Madison right before the holiday.  Only loss on the season (a major surprise) is to Benilde-St. Margaret's in the Southside Showcase in mid-December.  Wayzata jumped on them 9-0 after 4 trips.  Central would hold Wayzata scoreless the last 6+ minutes and finish the 1st half on a 9-0 run of their own to take a 24-22 lead to halftime.  

A critical point near the midpoint of the second half.  A shooting foul on Wayzata plus a player technical.  Central makes all 4 free throws and converts the possession.  That 6 point trip turns a 2 point game into an 8 point game.  Central would play a ton of 2-3 zone and give up 9 3s in the half.  I'm sitting there going nuts saying GET OUT OF THE ZONE and wondering how long can you stay in it.  But Wayzata only shoots 13-35 from 3 and only 14 attempts from 2.  Central's 5 long defenders were a problem for the Trojans.  Central won on the glass, in the paint and at the foul line. Wayzata despite all those 3s, never really threatened after the 6 point possession.  Central returns here to play Hopkins in the South Metro Showcase at Burnsville Jan 22nd.  Wish that game would be in the Border Battle.

Carter Bjerke 3 triples and 13 of his 15 points in the 2nd half.  Ryan Harvey 9 of his 12 points in the 1st half in the hot Wayzata start.  Central with 3 starters in double figures led by 15 points from seniors Devon Fielding and Colin Adams.

Game 5: #8AAA Benilde-St. Margaret's 98 Richfield 81
Benilde-St. Margaret's lost on day 1 to Holy Angels.  They were also depleted for this game with veteran guards Maddox Alipate and Ryan Warren unavailable.  Very sloppy game with 56 turnovers and 62 free throws.  25 Richfield turnovers for 41 BSM points got the young BSM roster out and running.  Soph guard Jayden Daisy 12 pts and frosh forward Abu Keita 16 points off the BSM bench. Frosh Jalen Wilson continues to play well with 18 points.  Senior Camden Carter 17 points and 3 triples in a solid fill-in starting role.  PG Mitchell January 22 points to lead Richfield

Game 6: #3AAA South St. Paul 78 #6AAA Mankato West 62
What a great way to end 2021 with the annual White Jacket Game.  A little last minute planning pulls that off after not doing the game last season.  For those who don't know this is the annual game that I attend with SSP coach Matt McCollister wearing his white suit coat.  Its a tradition that goes back many seasons.

As to the game, South St. Paul's man defense really disrupted Mankato West's offense and didn't get hammered inside despite a size disadvantage.  Then on the offensive end, the usual problems of trying to slow down Devin Newsome and Alonzo Dodd.  Newsome 18 points and Dodd 17 points drive the offense. But getting 4 3s and a combined 25 points from lefties Shawn West-Zimpel and Kaiden Moua was just as critical.  10-18 from 3 for SSP makes them awfully tough to beat.  Newsome is a major problem off the bounce and a steal for whomever gets him at this point.  Strong, quick and can finish and shoots it well enough that you have to respect it.

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