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By Tom Schardin, Staff Writer
The Burnsville boys basketball team is clicking on all cylinders.
The Blaze is off to an impressive 5-0 start (3-0 in the Lake Confer-ence), following an easy 81-52 win at Bloomington Kennedy on Dec. 16.
Burnsville went into the game on the heels of a 64-59 non-conference triumph versus Shakopee on Dec. 13 and a 72-60 conference victory at Apple Valley on Dec. 11.
“We are very pleased with how we’ve started,” said Blaze coach Bob Schweim. “I said this before; we have a lot of smart kids on this team who know our system and know how to play the game.”
Junior forward Jack Ghizoni led the Blaze in the win over Kennedy with a career-high 21 points.
“Jack was really attacking the rim,” said Schweim. “He’s getting more and more confident. We expect big games like this from him. He’s a starter for us.”
Burnsville was playing without its top scorer in junior Devon Knopke, who missed the game due to an excused absence from school. School rules require a player to be in school on game days in order to play.
Junior guard Landon Berge also had a career high for the Blaze get-ting playing time in Knopke’s absence. He scored 13 points, while senior center Alex Wheeler had 11. Senior guard Jeff Plummer and junior forward Jeff Fallat each had nine points.
Schweim praised the ball-handling skills of Plummer, who was effec-tive in breaking Kennedy’s pressure defense.
“Plummer played very well,” said Schweim. “What he does for us doesn’t always show up in the box score. He’s not a fancy player, but he’s good with the ball and he gets the job done.”
Against Shakopee, Knopke led the Blaze with 17 points, while senior guard Patrick Rogers had 13 and Ghizoni had 11.
Fallat added eight points, while Wheeler had seven.
In the win over Apple Valley, it was Wheeler’s time to shine. He dominated the paint and led the way with 21 points.
Ghizoni added 14 points, while Knopke had 11 and Plummer had nine.
“Apple Valley is a very good team,” said Schweim. “We played them a little different defensively. They have such quick guards, so we backed off our pressure defense and played very good in the half court.”
The Blaze is back on the floor on Friday, Dec. 19 when it plays host to Lakeville South in a conference game at 7:15 p.m.
Burnsville will be at Owatonna in a non-conference game on Monday, Dec. 22 starting at 7:15 p.m
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