The Boys Tip-Off is now one for the books, and it featured 5 games matching teams rated no lower than #3 in their respective classes. Even in that lineup, #1A Cherry vs. #3AA Holy Family looked like one of the best games of the day and, yes, it was. There were 17 lead changes, 11 in the 1st half, as Cherry roared back from a 20-13 deficit at the 10 minute mark to lead 34-25 (a 21-5 run) at 3 minutes, and then 6 more lead changes in the 2nd half. Cherry still led by 9 at 47-38 at 13:30, but Holy Family finally took the lead back at 54-53 (a 16-6 run) at 8 minutes. The Fire never led by more than 4, however, and Cherry went ahead for good at 67-66 at 1:54. The final was 73-69.
But, despite losing the game, the spotlight was somewhat on Holy Family and specifically on 6-8 senior post Brayden Carlson, a transfer from East Ridge, who scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 18 rebounds, 7 on the offensive end for the Fire. Carlson was outside the 8-man rotation at East Ridge last year though at 7 ppg he outscored 3 guys who were in that 8-man rotation. He is still finding his place in the Holy Family game plan, what with most of the offense revolving around UMD-bound Kole Hanson and Champlin Park transfer Luke Graff. He scored 12 in his 1st start with the Fire, in an 81-53 win over Watertown-Mayer, then 9 against Chanhassan, as Hanson went off for 47. But, yesterday, Hanson scored just 6 points on 2-of-9 shooting. Graff was very effective, scoring 21 on 5-of-11 3s, 14 of them coming in the 2nd half. But it was Carlson who kept the Fire in the game with his timely scoring, most of it on plays outside the system rather than anything designed for him, and his offensive and defensive rebounding.
Still, Cherry would not be denied. They “competed,” as coach Jordan Christianson described it. They got out-rebounded 41-22, but they out-shot Holy Family 45% to 37% including 37-32% from 3. Cherry’s shot selection was 43 2s and 24 3s; for the Fire it was 38 3s and 30 2s. Aside from Carlson’s 8-of-12, Holy Family made just 5-of-18 2s. Not good. Perhaps more importantly, Cherry forced 17 Holy Family turnovers and scored 26 points off turnovers. U of M recruit Isaac Asuma spent most of the day making Hanson’s life a holy hell, holding Hanson to that 2-of-9 shooting I mentioned previously, and forcing 9 turnovers. Asuma had 4 steals, though Hanson responded with 5 steals of his own.
Cherry plays at a rapid pace on both sides of the ball, with relentless pressure on the ball, and with precision. The result was an occasional funk by the Fire. In the 1st half, as I mentioned, Cherry went from 20-13 down to 34-25 up, a 21-5 run during which Cherry made 9-of-14 FG and the Fire 2-of-7 while turning it over 3 times. Noah Sundquist led the surge with 8 points but more noteworthy was that 6 different Cherry players scored over those 7 minutes. Then in the 2nd half, trailing 57-53, Cherry closed with a 20-12 run, making 7 of its last 11 shots as Sundquist, Carson Brown and Isaac Asuma all scored twice and Isaiah Asuma 3 times. The Fire made one of their last 5 shots and turned it over 4 times.
3 Stars
Isaac Asuma, Cherry, 6-3, sr., combo guard, 26 pts, 10-of-20 FG, 3-of-7 3s, 2-of-4 FT, 9 reb, 4 stls, one turnover, A++ defense on Kole Hanson
Brayden Carlson, Holy Family, 6-8, sr., post, 19 pts, 8-of-12 FG, all 2s, 18 reb, 2 turnovers
Luke Graff, Holy Family, 6-3, sr., wing, 21 pts, 6-of-16 FG, 5-of-11 3s, 4-of-5 FT, 9 reb, 5 asts, 2 stl, 2 turnovers
Oh, OK, I gotta mention Isaiah Asuma, Cherry’s 6-0 9th grade combo guard. He is every bit the athlete of big brother Isaac, it’s just that they give big brother the ball while little brother has to go out and get it for himself. So he outrebounded big brother 7-3 and he got 2 steals. In the end, Isaiah scored 20 on 8-of-17 shooting including 2-of-6 3s and 2-of-2 ones. Cherry is going to be tough again next year even without big brother Isaac. The other 4 starters all return.