Minnetonka 12/11
Ian Wang #22
Lakers turn defense into a statement: Prior Lake 65, Minnetonka 31
Minnetonka, Thursday, Dec. 11 — First road game. First win. The Prior Lake Lakers packed their defense for the trip to Minnetonka and smothered the Skippers, 65–31, in a wire‑to‑wire performance that felt like a corner-turning.
A smaller five, a bigger bite
With Colten Gunderson out, Prior Lake rolled with a smaller starting five — Kobby Sam‑Brew, Ian Wang, Cole Brinkman, Max Dubore, and Kolby Thompson — against a Minnetonka group that lacked a true post. Less size? No problem. The Lakers five featured speed and switchability and set the tone from the jump.
The plan: switch, squeeze, and suffocate
From possession one, the blueprint was obvious: switch every screen, pressure the ball, deny every pass, and make the Skippers work for anything resembling a clean touch. Offensively, the Lakers kept it simple and ruthless — get downhill, attack the rim, and kick to open shooters when help collapsed.
The results on both ends of the court were notable. Prior Lake’s pressure limited Minnetonka to 17 first‑half points, then turned the screws tighter after the break. Only Anthony Ortiz cracked double figures for the Skippers, finishing with 12 — a testament to how little daylight the perimeter saw and how barren the paint was without a true post presence.
Turnover math that matters
Two days ago, giveaways were the story. Tonight, they were an afterthought. Prior Lake coughed it up just nine times, starving Minnetonka of transition fuel and keeping the scoreboard tilted toward the navy and gold. When you switch, stay connected, and don’t hand out free possessions, 65–31 happens.
Balanced buckets, hungry glass
The Lakers once again had a balanced scoring attack in all facets of the game:
Sam‑Brew 11, Brinkman 11, Thompson 10, Trey Theis 9
Rebounding shared the load, too:
Wang 4, Thompson 4, Brinkman 4
Table‑setting was committee‑style:
Thompson 2 assists, with a host of Lakers chipping in one each.
A feel‑good finish
Late in the fourth, a few JV Lakers earned varsity minutes — and a couple cashed their first varsity points in front of a loud bench. It was the perfect capper to a night built on defensive effort and team unity.
What it means
It’s win No. 1 of the season, and it looked like a blueprint: defend like crazy, own the possession game, trust balanced scoring. The Lakers will try to stack it quickly with a Saturday matchup against Edina.
Program round‑up
9A: Prior Lake 66–58 (win)
9B: Prior Lake 21–58 (loss)
10th Grade: Prior Lake 52–60 (loss)
JV: Prior Lake 61–40 (win)