Wayzata 75, Maple Grove 40 as Trojans move to 2-0 on the season
Your Wayzata Trojans Boys Basketball Team looks like a squad ready to make a deep run into the state basketball playoffs. It’s the first week of the season.
Everyone is talking about the offensive weapons that Wayzata has as they enter the season, including but not limited to Jackson McAndrew and Christian Wiggins. The thing that stuck out tonight to this sports reporter was the Trojans defense–it was stifling.
Early in the contest Wayzata kept Maple Grove from getting comfortable with that stifling defense. The Trojans hardly relented the whole game.
The Crimson had 3 field goals and 10 free throws for their scoring in the first half. Fans in attendance who looked up at the scoreboard at halftime read Wayzata 41, Maple Grove 16.
Seemingly every pass from Maple Grove player to Maple Grove player was tipped or threatened to be tipped. Wayzata players closed out with hands extended while chopping their feet to prevent a drive past by the offense. The Trojans switched from player to player in what can only be characterized as a finely tuned defensive machine.
.In the same way almost every pass was deflected or contested, almost every shot attempt by Maple Grove was contested or deflected. There was seemingly always a hand up in the shooting path of the Crimson. All these actions made the visiting team alter their shots and kept them from scoring.
Of course there was offensive prowess on display tonight as well. Two dunks from Jackson McAndrew and two dunks from Christian Wiggins that brought the crowd to its feet–all four times.
There was also very good shooting, passing, and moving with and without the ball throughout the night. Wayzata players also cheered for each other throughout the whole game, which was awesome to see.
Leaders for the team tonight included Jackson McAndrew with 26 points, Christian Wiggins with 12 points, Brayden Sandmann with 8 points, Drew Nepstad with 8 points, and Evan Johnson and Wyatt McBeth with 5 points a piece.
Head Coach Bryan Schnettler was pleased but still saw some room for improvement from the squad after the game, “Our defense has been good to start the year. There are still a lot of things to improve on, but the guys have played with great effort and that has been fun to see.”
Up next for the Trojans is a visit to Hopkins to play Totino-Grace (1-0 on Saturday December 9th. Totino defeated Hopkins 79-75 last Tuesday.
This team is going to be fun to watch this season.
