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Edina victorious against Shakopee in Eden Prairie holiday tournament

By Luke Hanlon, SportsEngine , 12/26/17, 8:30AM CST

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With the win, the Hornets snapped a two-game skid.

Edina senior guard Anders Nelson (4) brings the ball into the front court as Shakopee sophomore guard Will Cordes (55) plays close defense as the Hornets win 74-66.  Photo by Travis Ellison, SportsEngine

Edina senior guard Anders Nelson (4) brings the ball into the front court as Shakopee sophomore guard Will Cordes (55) plays close defense as the Hornets win 74-66. Photo by Travis Ellison, SportsEngine

In a game that’s decided by less than 10 points, sometimes the result can be determined by a single player. So far this season, that player has been Anders Nelson for Edina, who is averaging over 25.3 points per game.

This was not the case in Edina’s 74-66 win over Shakopee in Eden Prairie on Wednesday night.

Nelson finished with 10 points, but the Hornets’ offense picked up the slack, with players like Jack Middleton and Charlie Fischer scoring 23 and 17 points, respectively.

“We knew through our stretch of tough competition that we need to get everyone involved, and Anders has done a tremendous job with 25 a game, but he’s not a kid who’s going to care about scoring 25 as much as just making sure we win a game, so he got his teammates involved,” Edina coach Joe Burger said after the win.

The Hornets, who are ranked No. 6 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, moved the ball with ease all game long, contently rotating the defense and setting up open shots. This showed from the three-point line, where the Hornets made the Sabers (4-3, 0-1) pay for leaving shooters to help on defense.

“That’s our style of play,” Burger said of the team’s success form deep. “At any given time we got four pretty decent shooters on the floor and we like to space teams out.”

Charles Katona led the way for the Sabers, scoring 21 points, grabbing eight rebounds and adding two blocks.

This was another tough game on Edina’s nonconference schedule, as they’ve already played Class 4A powers Cretin-Derham Hall, Apple Valley, Chaska and Park Center. This is something that Burger set up intentionally, hoping to prepare his Hornets (5-3, 0-1) for the Lake Conference.

 “We’re not doing it to rattle off a bunch of wins or go into conference play undefeated, we’re scheduling the teams that we’re scheduling to make sure we’re playing our best basketball when it matters,” Burger said.

Shakopee sophomore guard Will Cordes (55) drives past Edina senior guard Anders Nelson (4) on his way to the basket late in the second half as Shakopee falls to Edina 74-66. Photo by Travis Ellison, SportsEngine

Shakopee sophomore guard Will Cordes (55) drives past Edina senior guard Anders Nelson (4) on his way to the basket late in the second half as Shakopee falls to Edina 74-66. Photo by Travis Ellison, SportsEngine

Photo Gallery

Edina head coach Joe Burger paces the sideline during a close scoring first half as Edina goes on to win 74-66. Photo by Travis Ellison, SportsEngine

Edina coach Joe Burger paces the sideline during a close scoring first half as Edina goes on to win 74-66. Photo by Travis Ellison, SportsEngine

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