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Maple Grove breaks out in the second half to defeat Hopkins

By Ricky Campbell, SportsEngine, 01/14/17, 7:30AM CST

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After being up by two at the half, the Crimson made a run in the second half to defeat the Royals 81-70.




Maple Grove's Brad Davison (34) drives around Hopkins guard Darryl Mayfield for the lay up. Davison scored 41 points for the Crimson in their 81-27 defeat of the Royals in the Class 4A match up on Saturday night. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine


With 46.1 seconds to go in the first half, Maple Grove (10-1, 4-1) senior guard Brad Davison missed a drive to the hoop. Davison was confident the shot was going in and when it didn’t, he slapped his hands together in a brief clap of anger.

It may have been Davison’s only mistake of the night. He finished with 41 points en route to the Crimson’s  81-70 win over Hopkins (10-4, 0-2) Saturday night in the final game of the Super 60 Showcase at the Lindbergh Center.

The University of Wisconsin commit came into the game averaging 24.2 points per game – 17th in the state – and in the top 20 of made three-pointers. Whether it was running the floor for a loose ball, driving the lane when he saw an opening and pulling up for an NBA-depth shot from behind the arc, Davison said it was confidence that carried him and his Maple Grove teammates, who are ranked No. 2 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News.

“Basically it comes down to you gotta do what you gotta do to get the win,” Davison said. “So we came here – it was the business we had to do and we took care of it.

“It’s all confidence…when it’s going, it’s tough to stop. I kind of just rolled with it,” he said.

Maple Grove, riding a six-game win streak that started after a Dec. 16 loss at Park Center, wouldn’t be the strong run-and-gun transition offense it was Saturday without role players, head coach Nick Schroeder said. With Tywhon Pickford finishing the night with 22, and Jack Hutchison and Bubba Horton each finishing with nine, it was a team contribution, he said.

“Brad and Tywhon do a lot of our scoring, but our other guys off the bench and the three guys who start give us quality minutes,” Schroeder said. “They fill their role to the fullest.”

That said, Schroeder knew Davison had a big night, but he didn’t know how big.

“He leads by example, as well as vocally,” Schroeder said. “Forty-one points? I didn’t know he had that many, but it doesn’t surprise me. He got a lot of rhythm shots tonight and when he’s in rhythm, he’s not going to miss many.”

The defending state champion No. 6-4A Royals, who are No. 4 in the state in scoring, were led by Blaise Beauchamp’s 18 points, Joe Hedstrom’s 16, Ishmael El-Amin’s 14 points and Anthony Davis’s 13.

Hopkins has dropped two in a row, after a lopsided loss the night before against Wayzata. They will travel to Patrick Henry High School on Monday.

Maple Grove will continue its conference play on Tuesday at home against Robbinsdale Armstrong.


Tywhon Pickford (3) drive the baseline in the second half. Pickford tallied 22 points for Maple Grove. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

First Report

Maple Grove topped Hopkins 81-70 Saturday at the Lindbergh Center after senior guard and University of Wisconsin commit Brad Davison finished with 41 points.

It was the all-Davison show for Maple Grove (9-1, 4-1); the senior guard hit six three-pointers and finished 9 of 12 from the free-throw line. It wasn’t just shooting, either. Davison was laying out and hustling nearly every play for the 36 minutes he turned in.

Tywhon Pickford scored 22 for Maple Grove, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, and Jack Hutchison and Bubba Horton each finished with nine.

Maple Grove hasn’t lost since Dec. 16, stretching its win streak to six.

The Royals, ranked No. 6-4A and dropping to 10-4 on the season, spread the ball around, with Blaise Beauchamp finishing with 18, Joe Hedstrom with 16 and Ishmael El-Amin with 14. Last year’s state champs had to switch guards on Davison, but after being down as many as seven, it was too little too late.

Coming off a lopsided loss to Wayzata on Friday, Hopkins (10-4, 0-2), who came into the game No. 4 in scoring throughout Minnesota, will travel to Patrick Henry High School on Monday.

Maple Grove will continue its conference play on Tuesday at home against Robbinsdale Armstrong.

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Freshman guard Blaise Beauchamp led the Royals in scoring with 18 points. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

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