Tatum puts up 20 in win over Jefferson

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Under the guidance of a new coach, the Rosemount boys basketball team couldn’t expect to be perfect at the outset of the season.

All teams take time early in the season to work out any potential kinks. The Irish are no different.

Rosemount is going through development process, and coach Bryan Schnettler likes what he sees in his team — for the most part.

The Irish beat bloomington Jefferson last week but lot to Tuesday at Lakeville South.

“We are playing alright,” Schnettler said. “I think we have some very good moments and I think we see some things that we definitely need to work on. (Tuesday) we lost by five points and they are a good team, but it’s a team we can beat. They’re good, but we have some things to fix and that’s why they beat us (Tuesday).”

The Irish traveled to Lakeville South on Tuesday and took their first loss of the season in a 71-66 final. Rosemount beat Bloomington Jefferson 70-69 late last week in Bloomington.

The first three games have offered very different results. The Irish had a 14-point win in the opener, followed by a pair of close contests.

Tuesday’s loss at Lakeville South offered more aspects for Rosemount to work on.

“We have to finish better,” Schnettler said. “We missed a lot of lay-ups. We definitely have to pressure the ball a little better and get back to communicating on defense.”

The Irish led 33-30 at halftime, but were outscored by eight in the second half.

Toriano Tatum scored 19 points to lead Rosemount. Zach Vraa added 12 points and Matt Larson chipped in with 11 points.

Tatum has become a central figure for the Irish early in the season. The junior guard scored 20 points and had three assists in the win against Jefferson.

“He played very well again,” Schnettler said. “He’s done a decent job of running our offense. He’s got some areas to improve in there, but he’s done a nice job finishing around the rim and hitting open jump shots.”

Tatum was 7 of 7 shooting from the field against the Jaguars and Rosemount shot 57 percent as a team.

Vraa scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Larson added 11 points and four rebounds.

“I thought the game went well,” Schnettler said. “It’s early in the year and it’s no different for (Jefferson). It’s nice to get a road win there. It’s a tough place to win games. They have some guys that can really shoot it.”

Tags: boys basketball, sports