Breakdown Tip-Off Classic notes, day two

Day two of the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic saw a great St. Cloud Tech vs. Tartan game ended by a Nate Wolters buzzer beater, some strong performances from Ethan Wragge, Jalen Jaspers, Tydan Storrusten, and Dylan Rodriguez, and a few more young players stepped into the spotlight.

PLAYER NOTES FROM DAY TWO

Tydan Storrusten, Pelican Rapids, senior - With Dyami Starks injured the face-off with he and Storrusten was non-existent and the 6-foot-2 guard from Pelican Rapids dominated the contest. Tydan did a lot of everything with 28 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds. Tydan can play point for a division two school or play quarterback at the D2 or FCS college level and bets are he will receive offers from programs of both sports. The Vikings won 78-41 over Duluth East.

Dylan Rodriguez, Blaine, senior - The UMD commit started a little slow missing his first four jumpshots but once he got into a flow Blaine ran over Cloquet 63-47. Dylan shot nine of 20 from the field plus he hit all three of his free throw attempts. His final totals were 24 points and ten boards.

RaRa Jones, Cloquet, junior - Not only does RaRa have the most intriguing name of all this past weekend, he also had one of the more interesting stories. The 6-foot-3 wing has just begun his second season ever playing basketball but already he is capable of scoring in double figures because of his athletic ability. RaRa is very raw but somebody to keep an eye on this season and heading into his senior year.

Chad Calcaterra, Cloquet, junior - Chad finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and four blocks in the loss. His performance was more explained in a separate story that can be found by clicking on his name linking his database page.

Brett Ervin, Eden Prairie, junior - Ervin scored several of his points inside and he does an outstanding job of using leverage to clear space, and than finish with quick moves and a soft touch.

Ethan Wragge, Eden Prairie, senior - Wragge caught fire quickly and had this game not been such a blowout he may have continued to have a career high. Ethan scored on nine of 15 shots including five three-pointers and he showed a lot of his arsenal. Ethan made deep treys and long jumpers pulling up as well as set, coming off screens or just catching on a curl. He made these shots with Aaron Richter trailing right on his hip but Wragge only needed a slight amount of space to pull up and hit. His release is extremely fast and Ethan can square up quickly to balance himself. Wragge finished with 23 points, five boards, and played very physical with West bruiser Ben Dobson not the crowd saw Wragge not backing down at all. The overall impression was that Wragge caught fire with one of the state's best defenders all over him.

Derek Peterson, Tartan, senior - Peterson is a senior who has beat some odds to become a team captain and leader for the Titans. Derek did a decent job of keeping Nate Wolters in front of him limiting some of the Tech senior's production until Peterson found himself in foul trouble. Peterson tied with Marc Sonnen for the team lead with 12 points.

Nate Wolters, St. Cloud Tech, senior - What can you say about Wolters? He just has a knack for making the big play late and that was the case once again in the Tip-Off Classic. First the Tech senior hit a 14 foot pull-up to tie the game at 52 or 54 and than Wolters took the basketball with 15 seconds to go, attacked the rim with five seconds remaining, and than scored about five feet from the rim kissing the game winner off the glass with a second to go. Nate broke out late for 17 points with the biggest coming in the clutch. The amount of clutch shots he has hit in the final minutes of games in the past year is incredible. And once again Wolters showed that not only can he score but Nate also sits down and defends extremely well.

Tyler Gimmestad, Marshall, senior - Gimmestad scored 20 points with eight boards and he was able to keep his team in the game until late when the Tigers ran out of gas. Marshall's star was able to score regularly on the Islanders inside when his teammates could get him the basketball.

A.J. Barker, DeLaSalle, senior - Barker was limited by the Marshall defense to zero points in the first half until he hit a buzzer beater from about 24 feet to give DeLaSalle the lead 24-22 going into the break. Than the Tigers went to a box and one defense and A. J. had the room he needed to get hot and he did just that hitting five triples in the second half on his way to 20 points for the game.

Jalen Jaspers, DeLaSalle, junior - There was a question as to if Jaspers would be able to carry a hefty scoring load for coach Dave Thorson and that question looked to be answered in the first DeLaSalle game of the season. Jalen put up 17 first half points scoring from all angles attacking the rim and hitting pull-up jumpers. Than in the second half the 6-foot-2 and physically strong Jaspers hit a pair of 14-footers despite being chased in a box-and-one defense because of his ability. Jalen also showcased his defensive skills pressuring across the arc and his all out will was exhibited when Jaspers dove for a loose ball into the bench. Jaspers finished his 30-point night with a very physical one-handed jam off a steal.

Jonah Travis, DeLaSalle, sophomore - The 6-foot-4 Travis snatched 12 rebounds and than highlighted the performance with a tip-dunk flying over three other athletes. It was his only made field goal but it definitely made an impact on the viewers.