Boys basketball: Close-range shots don’t fall in opener

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Rosemount boys basketball coach Bryan Schnettler watched his team get quality shot after quality shot in the season opener last week at Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

When those shots didn’t fall in the Irish’s 66-51 loss, Schnettler chalked it up to a bad night from a relatively inexperienced squad.

The second-year coach wasn’t discouraged. The way Schnettler figures it, if Rosemount gets similar scoring opportunities this season, things will be just fine.

It wasn’t even a case of hoping the Irish would connect later this year.

“I think if we get those same shots today, they’re falling,” Schnettler said on Tuesday. “I think maybe it was first-game jitters for some guys. The shots will fall. If we get those types of shots from here on out, we’ll be just fine.”

Rosemount shot 36.4 percent in the loss to Benilde-St. Margaret’s, the No. 3 ranked team in Class 3A. A particularly slow start hurt the Irish, who continue their season tomorrow at Northfield. The first home game of the season is Tuesday, Dec. 21 against Woodbury.

Schnettler isn’t worried about last week’s loss – and shooting woes – becoming a trend for Rosemount (1-0).

“I liked our effort,” Schnettler said. “We were missing some guys, but the guys that played gave great effort. We had guys that have not had a lot of varsity experience and maybe they were a little nervous.

“Benilde is a very good team and I think you’ll be seeing them in March in the state tournament if all goes according to their plan. The biggest thing is we didn’t shoot well. I was pleased with the effort and the ball movement and we’ll get better as time goes on.”

Charlie Broback led the Irish with 11 points.

Matt Nelson had eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds. He added a block and two steals.

Alex Timmers, Leo Lakpa and Andrew Nelson each had seven points. Jeff Ruhl scored six points, while David Morgan had five points and six rebounds.

“Once we get our full team back, we’ll be OK,” Schnettler said. “These guys are winners. They’re good basketball players. We’re excited for what’s coming ahead here in January.”

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