Irish hope to finish strong in tonight’s finale

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Losing the past two games is not how the Rosemount boys basketball team wanted to go into tonight’s regular-season finale at Eastview.

The Irish were hoping to build up momentum heading into the section tournament.

Yet, in the process of losing 65-62 in overtime against Burnsville last week and then losing 63-58 against No. 6 ranked Eden Prairie, Rosemount and coach Bryan Schnettler found some positives to dwell on.

In particular, Schnettler was proud of the team’s effort against Eden Prairie.

“(Tuesday night) was the best effort we’ve given in a month and a half,” Schnettler said. “We played hard and we played one of the best teams in the state. But we played hard.”

Schnettler is hoping the effort is replicated against Eastview tonight and in the playoffs.

“If we can play that hard Friday night against Eastview and play that hard in the section tournament it puts us in a good spot to do well. I think we’re in a good spot heading into sections. We just need to continue to play that hard. It’s up to the guys. We need to finish the plays we need in order to finish out games.”

Rosemount (14-11, 11-10 Lake) held late leads against the Eagles on Tuesday night, but couldn’t hold on.

Zach Vraa scored 27 points for the Irish. Rosemount overcame an eight-point halftime deficit and nearly pulled off the upset.

Chris Couillard and Brandon Wolf each scored eight points.

The strong game might have been a carry over from last week’s loss to Burnsville.

The Irish struggled early, leading to a double-digit first half deficit. They improved to close it to 28-24 at halftime and then forced overtime before being outscored 7-4 in the extra session.

Vraa had 19 points, Wolf scored 13 points and Toriano Tatum chipped in with 12 points.

“We came out flat and didn’t have the energy or focus we needed to have,” Schnettler said. “It hurt us. We got into overtime, but we just couldn’t get the stops we needed to.”

With a season-ending game against Eastview, the Irish hope to keep the strong play going. Friday night’s game could play a role in section tournament seeding.

“It could determine where we’re at,” Schnettler said. “We could be playing Eastview again.

“In terms of seeding, we have something to play for.”

Tags: boys basketball, sports, rosemount, irish