By the time of the final buzzer, it had become the Tyus Jones show.
But over the first 8:30, when the game was decided, it was the Harry Sonie show. Sonie, an unsung 5-10 junior guard for the Apple Valley Eagles, scored 10 points as Apple Valley sprinted to a quick 21-3 lead over the Henry Sibley Warriors.
Sonie opened the scoring at 16:40 with a fast-break lay-up off a Dustin Fronk feed. A minute later Fronk scored another fast-break layup off of a steal, and another 40 seconds later he added a 3 off a feed by Robert Tobroxen. Sibley's Nick Golberg scored 3 points, then the Eagles went back to work. Jones scored yet another fast-break layup off a steal, then Sonie hit a 3 from the top of the key as Sibley dared him to shoot. Mitch Hechsel scored off the offensive glass on another fast-break opportunity, Then Sonie hit a 3 off the fast-break, Hechsel hit a 2 off a Jones feed and Sonie a pair of throws after an offensive board.
As you can see, Sonie had lots of help, and not only from Tyus Jones, who ultimately scored 32 points to Sonie's 20. But Fronk was also in double figures with 13 and Hechsel with 12, and both helped trigger the Eagles fast break that broke the Warriors right out of the gate.
And they had lots of help from the Warriors themselves. Sibley started off playing with poise, protecting the ball and getting good looks at the basket. But only 1-of-their-first-18 good looks went down and stayed down. And, as the shots refused to go down and Sibley fell further and further behind, the shot selection quickly deteriorated. A timeout finally was called at 10:43 and at 17-3. but Apple Valley scored the 1st 2 buckets coming out of the timeout.
Sibley's Adam Heussner hit a pair of 3s for Sibley, who was able to trade buckets the rest of the half. But that's also when Jones also took over, hitting a 3 from the left wing, 2 on a drive into the lane, a fast-break layup off the defensive glass, then another fast-break layup off a Jones steal, making it 34-12 at 5:44. Later, as the final seconds of the first half ticked away, Jones got trapped at the top of the key. He split the trap but lost control of the ball, which bounced toward the Sibley defender in the lane. Jones put it into another gear to beat the Warrior to the ball, and touch-passed it to Hechsel underneath the basket for the final 2 that doubled up the half-time score 46-23.
Sibley won the 2nd half 39-34 by dramatically improving their shooting, from 8-of-33 (24 percent) in the first half to 15-of-28 (54 percent) in the 2nd. Unfortunately for them, the Eagles shot 56 percent in each half. The Warriors also had 23 turnovers on the night to just 10 for the Eagles.
Sibley is not a young team, but they're a junior team. (Okay, 6-7 center Alex Stafford and guard Dante Grant are seniors.) In any event, they've got some pieces and some potential. Stafford has some nice offensive moves and plays solid on the defensive glass. Heussner has a terrific 3 point shot, and his teammates found him with the skip pass all night long. Still, when the game was still on the line, those darn shots just wouldn't go down. I mean, what's with that.
The bottom line would seem to be that they have some pieces, but no glue. Nobody who can orchestrate the pieces and get the ball to guys in the places where they need to be receiving it. Nobody to protect the ball. And the defense was pretty much non-existent. The Eagles beat 'em down the floor repeatedly, which is not a good thing.
Meanwhile, as one former coach said to me, Apple Valley's not a one-man team. Jones has lots of help. But, hey, we're gonna talk about Jones anyway. First, let's acknowledge that he turned the ball over 7 times. But, seriously, his ball-handling and passing are nothing short of spectacular, but you knew that. He gets to the rim anytime he wants, but you knew that. But I don't know if you knew that he can shoot out the lights. Last night, he made 12-of-15 FG attempts including 2-of-3 from outside the arc. And 4-of-4 FT. And there were 4 rebounds and 4 steals and 3 assists to go along with those 32 points.
What I like best is that he plays the game at a pretty good pace. But every now and then, when he needs a little bit extra, he shifts into a higher gear and he is just gone.
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