Boys basketball: Looking for energy

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Competing through the midseason blues is tough for each of the boys basketball teams in Minnesota.

Playing against the competition in the Lake Conference doesn’t make the long season any easier to handle.

The Rosemount boys basketball team is fighting its way through the midseason doldrums. Irish coach Bryan Schnettler knows the team’s energy level plays an important role.

“We struggled against Lakeville South because our energy wasn’t there,” Schnettler said. “When we don’t have energy we struggle to win games. It was back (Tuesday night) against Lakeville North and we beat a good team. This team knows what’s it’s capable of. It depends on, do we have that energy, that spark and do we believe in ourselves night in and night out.”

Rosemount (12-7, 9-6 Lake) lost to Lakeville South 70-55 last week, but came back for a 68-62 win on Tuesday night at Lakeville North.

The inconsistent results might lead Schnettler to try and rearrange the team’s practice schedule, anything that will keep the spark going.

“We’re just looking to build confidence and keep the fun in the game,” Schnettler said.

It’s a lot more fun when the team is winning.

The Irish led North at halftime and finished out a solid victory.

Zach Vraa finished with 24 points for the second straight game. Justin Larson had 14 points.

“Zach played very well,” Schnettler said. “He has been rebounding well. He scores well. What helped a lot is Justin Larson played one of his best games.

Toriano Tatum had nine points.

“It was just a good team win and a lot of guys played a significant part in it.”

Vraa’s 24 points led Rosemount against South, but the Cougars used a big second half to pull away after a close first half.

Matt Larson scored 10 points for the Irish

“We just didn’t have that spark,” Schnettler said. “Zach played well, but we were missing it from too many guys. It’s tough to win when you don’t have energy.”

Despite some recent inconsistent play, Schnettler and the Irish know there is still time to accomplish the goals they have for this season.

“We still have seven games left in the regular season,” Schnettler said. “Bottom line is we want to be at our best come playoff time.”

Tags: boys basketball, sports, rosemount, irish, prep, minnesota