Boys basketball: Irish rally past South

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The Irish beat Lakeville South.

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As its shooting has cooled off, wins have become harder to come by for the Rosemount boys basketball team.

The Irish averaged 62 points per game during the six-game winning streak that brought them to the start of South Suburban Conference play Jan. 3 against Bloomington Jefferson. Since then, they have averaged 50 points per game and shot 40, 32, 39 and 36 percent from the floor while losing three of their first four league games.

It took a stellar defensive effort to hold Lakeville South to a season-low 49 points and secure the lone conference win 53-49 last Tuesday at Irish Gym.

Cole Northwick’s second three-pointer of the game gave Rosemount a two-point lead with 30 seconds to go, and after a defensive stop Matt Nelson knocked down two free throws to seal the win.

“We played well against Lakeville South, even though we did not shoot well from the field,” Rosemount coach Bryan Schnettler said. “We executed our game plan well and did a great job in our half-court defense.”

Senior posts Nelson and Brandon Forcier did the bulk of Rosemount’s scoring, each dropping in 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Nelson added three blocked shots.

Northwick finished with 10 points, Tyler Liermann scored six points and Garrett Goetz added five.

Rosemount’s shooting woes continued Friday night at Bloomington Kennedy. The Irish shot 36 percent from the field, including 30 percent from beyond the three-point arc, and 57 percent from the free-throw line in a 56-50 road setback.

Nelson and Forcier each finished with 11 points. Nelson added a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.

Northwick knocked down two more three-pointers en route to eight points and Goetz added seven points and five assists.

The Irish are back in action with a pair of tough road games this week. They traveled to No. 1-ranked (Class 4A) Eastview Tuesday and are at Eagan tomorrow night.

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