Minneapolis DeLasalle over Waunakee

On Saturday Waunakee faced easily their biggest test of the year going against a great team from Minnesota in Minneapolis DeLasalle. You could say that Waunakee really hadn't been tested up until this point with the exception of Wauwatosa East and this was a chance for them to really show themselves. Yes Waunakee did lose this game but, they showed they are a top team and can play with anyone in the state. DeLasalle is a team that always has a shot to make it to state in Minnesota, are ranked top 10 in the largest division, and believe they have been to state twice recently.

Waunakee came out in their 1-3-1 zone defense which they played nearly the entire game with the exception of a few possessions which really seemed to cause DeLasalle some trouble. Athletically DeLasalle was far superior and it showed early on as DeLasalle jumped out to the early lead but, Waunakee came back with good defense, rebounding, and their typical patients. With DeLasalle's athletic advante I thought that it was a mistake for Waunakee to use their full court pressure but, I was wrong as the pressure forced DeLasalle into some turnovers and they only got a couple baskets on the fast break. After one quarter Waunakee was up 13-12 but, that was the only quarter they ended with the lead. In the second quarter DeLasalle got something going on the offensive end behind the three point shooting of 6'3 sophomore Riley Dearring who seemed to have unlimited range hitting some very deep threes as he appeared to be the only DeLasalle player that could really shoot. Waunakee couldn't get the scoring going throughout the entire game as I've said before they really only have two big scorers in their pair of 6'2 seniors Beau Murray and Jared Staege. With Staege struggling it was up to Murray who really struggled with DeLasalle's height and athleticism. Normally Murray can rise up over defenders and hit the mid range shot but, in this game he had at least a handful of shots that got swatted back in his face. At the half DeLasalle was up 21-19.

In the second half it was all Murray for Waunakee as it seemed he took 75% of their shots and got fouled a good portion of the time and it seemed he spent the entire second half at the free throw line. For DeLasalle everything seemed to be a struggle for them against the zone defense but, luckily Waunakee was having just as much trouble scoring. Right around the beginning of the fourth quarter DeLasalle finally was able to penetrate the Waunakee zone and drive to the hoop which allowed them to jump out and get a small lead on Waunakee, who kept clawing back in the game behind Murray scoring with the clock stopped. In the end though Murray couldn't do it himself and Waunakee lost their first game of the year in a low scoring game 42-37.

Top Players
Riley Dearing 6'3 sophomore DeLasalle- Sharpshooter from the outside and just realized that he is a sophomore which I never would of guessed watching him. Also showed a nice 15 foot jumper.
Jonah Travis 6'6 senior DeLasalle- Moves very well without the ball. Showed a knack for finding openings in the Waunakee zone and was able to score on the inside. Also was a shot blocker on the defense end and showed the ability to get off the floor very quickly.
Bretson McNeal 6'0 senior DeLasalle- Really showed himself late in the game as he was money from the free throw line to seal the game and had a couple nice drives to the hoop and scored late in the game.
Beau Murray 6'2 senior Waunakee- Love his mid range jumper and is able to get defenders off their feet on the shot fake and then is able to draw the foul. Scored 10 points from the free throw line alone.

Box Score
DeLasalle- Riley 13 McNeal 10 Travis 7 Melvin Collins 5 Robert Ndondo-Lay 4 Marcas Dorsey 2 Tyler Moore 1 Sam Menzel 0 Jacob Dickson 0 LaMonte Hall 0
Waunakee- Murray 20 Joe Tagarelli 7 Staege 5 Jacob Soper 2 Austin Maly 2 Zak Hougland 1 Ross Maly 0 Andrew Dorscheid 0 Ben Cable 0 Dylan DesRochers 0 Will Decorah 0 Tim Keenan 0

Like I said earlier despite losing this game I felt that Waunakee really showed themselves against a team that would probably win state in D2 for Wisconsin and would have a shot at D1. Waunakee continued to reaffirm their #1 ranking in D2.