According to senior Aaron Ellingson, Chanhassen demands near perfection on the court, and it is crucial to eliminate any possible mistake.

“I always remember (Chanhassen) is very disciplined, and they will make you pay if you make mistakes,” Ellingson said.

Coach Dave Breitenbucher said Chanhassen’s aggressive play style will not affect the team’s performance.

“Channhassen, they’re physical,” Breitenbucher said. “I don’t think the physicality of their play will bother us too much, but it’s going to be an interesting game.”

According to senior Stanley Jackson, in previous years

Park had to put up a good fight since Chanhassen challenged the team.

“We’ve played them before,” Jackson said. “The first game we did pretty good against them, but the second game they were making a lot of their shots.”

Ellingson said Chanhassen will provide great competition for Park due to similar matchups. 

“I remember them having some shooters and some size down low,” Ellingson said. “They like to push the ball in transition, so it will be a good matchup for us.”

Breitenbucher said the team has improved on protecting the ball and staying on offense. 

“Our guards have been taking care of the basketball,” Breitenbucher said. “I’m always preaching being under 10 turnovers by March, and we’ve had games already where we’re under 10 turnovers.”

Ellingson said the team needs to play strong both halves in order to reach success. 

“Something we struggled with early this year was not starting strong, and not staying consistent,” Ellingson said. “We just need to focus on playing 36 minutes of hard basketball.”

Park will play against Channhasan at 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at St. Louis Park High School.