Jacob Anderson takes a layup for Maple Grove. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, SportsEngine
Maple Grove is a team that prides itself on defense.
The Crimson go into every game with the goal to hold their opponents under 60 points.
That was a tall ask on Tuesday night, as they faced an Andover team that was averaging 80.78 points a game coming into this matchup.
Maple Grove achieved its goal and came away with a 68-58 victory, handing Andover its first conference loss of the season.
Photo gallery: Maple Grove vs. Andover
“We take a lot of pride in playing defense and holding teams,” Maple Grove head coach Nick Schroeder said. “That’s something that we stress and talk about on a daily basis and work on a daily basis and our kids really buy into that end of the floor. I thought our guys competed and played to their ability and beyond on that end of the floor tonight and held a great scoring team to 58 points.”
The Crimson (7-2, 3-1) certainly bought in tonight, as the 58 points the Huskies (6-4, 3-1) scored marks a new season low by 11 points.
Strong defensive efforts have become a benchmark for the Crimson, and so far their season has been defined by reaching the goal of holding teams to under 60. They’re 7-0 when they do, and 0-2 when they don’t (66 points allowed against Hopkins and 65 allowed against Totino-Grace).
On top of their great defense, the Crimson dominated two other aspects of the game: rebounds and free throws. The Crimson out-rebounded the Huskies 42-21, which helped them get plenty of second-chance opportunities. The Crimson also hit 11 of their 18 free throws — plenty of which came when the Huskies were fouling to extend the game — while the Huskies hit one of their three attempts.
Raoul Vaidya led the offensive effort for the Crimson, as he led the team with 20 points and five assists. He scored 16 of those points in the second half, as the Huskies started playing off him and he took advantage.
“If they’re going to see me as more of a playmaker, I can attack,” Vaidya said. “It’s all about making the right decision and if it’s my day to shoot and they’re giving me that, then I’m going to do that.”
Schroeder was impressed with his entire offense today, with Vaidya leading the way.
“Raoul has the ball in his hands a lot, but he dictates pace of play and who’s getting it and where they’re getting it,” he said. “Guys are stepping up and knocking down shots and I love the balance of our team offensively.”
Ben Kopetzki, who’s 30.5 points per game are third most in the state, led the Huskies offense with 23 points and six assists.
Maple Grove's Henry Stang drives down the court. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, SportsEngine
First Report
Maple Grove went on the road Tuesday night and came away with a 68-58 victory over conference foe Andover.
The game was even throughout, with neither team taking a lead larger than 10 at any point. The Huskies (6-4, 3-1) went into the locker room at halftime with a 30-27 lead thanks in large part to the play of point guard Ben Kopetzki. He put up 14 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 23 while adding six assists.
The Crimson (7-2, 3-1) slowed down Kopetzki and the Andover offense more successfully in the second half. The Huskies went cold down the stretch as the Crimson consistently made free throws to seal the game.
On offense, they were led by Raoul Vaidya, who did more than just score a team-high 20 points. He also had a team-high five assists and grabbed six rebounds.
All five of the Crimson’s starters scored at least seven points, and Henry Stang (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Lincoln Palbicki (14 points, 11 rebounds) each recorded a double-double.
Landyn Nelson provided a consistent threat to the Crimson defense, as he scored 15 points, with most of those coming from threes.
Andover's Tate Johnson takes a jump shot over a defender. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, SportsEngine
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