Back with Randolph over Green Lake

Finally back with the some game action after being off for almost two weeks. Checked out a top division five matchup between Green Lake and Randolph. Randolph is always a perennial power and Green Lake has 6'6 junior Matt Van Scyoc. In researching some information I found that Green Lake has an enrollment of under 100 students so I figured it would be a small school and gym and Green Lake didn't disappoint. The gym was smaller then my middle school gym as they only had bleachers on one half of the gym with very limited seating.

After watching the JV game where Green Lake lost 50-9 and went about eight minutes without even getting a shot off I was alittle nervous that the Varsity game would have a similar result. Luckly though Green Lake had Van Scyoc who really carried Green Lake and wouldn't allow them to be blown out. Coming out Randolph played their normal man to man defense and had 6'3 sophomore Aaron Retzlaff guarding Van Scyoc. Retzlaff did a very good job guarding Van Scyoc and made things difficult early for him. Van Scyoc preferred to play on the perimeter and I felt that he would of been better off trying to post the smaller defender. The few times though he did go in the post Randolph did a very good job of defending him as a team bringing over weak side help over the top. Luckly for Green Lake 5'10 senior Curtis Morgan got his shot going early to carry them but, after one they were down 14-13. On the other side Randolph ran their offense very deliberately against the Green Lake 2-3 zone defense. They would typically find Retzlaff or 6'4 senior TJ Huizenga around the free throw line and they would then find the other one cutting on the baseline for the easy layup or in Huizenga's case take one dribble to the hoop and score on some nice up and under layups. Randolph was also able to get the transition game going primarily when Huizenga would get the steal or rebound. Huizenga really looks to push the ball every opportunity he gets. When Retzlaff went to the bench Van Scyoc was able to get things going and got Green Lake a 21-20 halftime lead.

In the second half though Randolph really got things going controlling the glass on both ends of the court and playing some solid defense forcing Green Lake to turn the ball over. Randolph went up 34-29 after three quarters behind a pair of threes from 6'2 senior Brian Kampstra. The game appeared to be going to blow out stage when once again Retzlaff went to the bench and Van Scyoc got hot hitting a pair of threes from the outside. In the end though Green Lake was forced to foul and Randolph got the 52-40 win. Depth was probably a big issue though as Green Lake played only six players the entire game and three of which never sat the entire game. On the other side Randoloph played eight players in their rotation and each player knows their job so well and run their stuff so well one through eight.

Top Players
Matt Van Scyoc 6'6 junior Green Lake- Has really improved from a year ago. When he gets the ball is ready to shoot immediately and can shoot over most defenders. Has a very nice shot from 15 foot out to the three point line.
Curtis Morgan 5'10 senior Green Lake- Has a very nice step back shot that he seemed to be able to get off at any time even when he really wasn't open and over taller defenders.
TJ Huizenga 6'4 senior Randolph- Still has the great defense that he came to be known for a year ago but, has really improved on the offensive side. Does a nice job of using his length to finish at the rim in a variety of ways, solid rebounder as well.
Aaron Retzlaff 6'3 sophomore Randolph- Didn't do much scoring but, just looks like a great player and is pretty built for a sophomore. Did a very nice job of finding open teammates in good positions and as mention earlier did a great job of guarding the bigger Van Scoyc.

Box Score
Green Lake 40- Van Scyoc 23 Noah Polcyn 8 Morgan 7 Nate Andrews 2 Zane Manning 0 Kuba Tordoff 0
Randolph 52- Huizenga 24 Kampstra 8 Cody Reuter 7 Retzlaff 4 Mike Thoreson 4 Jay Peters 2 Brandon Zimmerman 2 Jon Roberts 1 Miles Taylor 0

Green Lake will only go as far as Matt Van Scyoc will carry them but, being in D5 that will carry them pretty far and as long as he is hot they will win their regional and find their way to sectionals. Randolph is maybe not as strong as years past but, they still are a pretty good team and will probably only get challenged by the likes of Benton, Green Bay NEW Lutheran, and Sheboygan Lutheran, unless they have a terrible terrible game or someone gets extremely hot, which can happen any give game. Randolph will again make it to state but, I don't know if they will be my pick to win it.