No hope at all

The Waseca High School boys’ basketball team set the bar higher on offensive production when it put up 88 points against Hope Academy of Minneapolis Tuesday, Dec. 20.

Although the 88-54 result may suggest the Bluejays had an easy night, it was anything but in the opening minutes of the first half. Laird Keeton, Damarius Russell, and Andrew Robran opened things up with a 6-2 score. But the visiting Lions rallied back and even held a brief 11-10 lead five minutes into the game.

“We had some trouble breaking the press and finishing the layups off consistently for much of the first half,” Waseca coach Seth Anderson said. “We definitely have to find a way to score around the rim better when we get opportunities.”

Whatever Anderson said to the players when he took a time out when the Bluejays had a one-point lead did the trick. After the 19-18 score midway into the first half, the boys went on a 20-10 run to give them some breathing room. That 39-28 score turned into a 13-5 run to give the Bluejays a 51-33 halftime lead.

“We made a couple finishes and the momentum and confidence started to build once a few went in,” Anderson said.

It was a much better second half for Waseca. Whereas the first half saw them miss layups and a majority of their shots, they were scoring at will for most of it. “We have a lot of guys who can score the ball on any given night,” Anderson shared. “Laird Keeton was probably the one tonight who sparked some great runs by getting some steals and finishing off some layups.”

The defense clamped down as well. “We really focus on taking on defense a lot so the players know what they are doing,” Anderson said. “Positioning is always a constant.”

Individually: Damarius Russel, 25 points 8 assists, 3 steals; Keeton, 21 points, 5 steals, 3 assists; Carson Ohnstad, 10 points, 2 assists, a steal; Tauston Rupe, 7 points, an assist, and a steal; Deron Russell, 6 points, 3 steals, and 2 assists; Noah Thompson, 6 points and 2 assists; Andrew Robran, 6 points, a steal, and an assist; Tyson Reger, 3 points and an assist; Jacob Thompson, 2 points; Addison Sampson, 2 points and 2 steals.

The boys will look forward to the Tri-City United Holiday Tournament December 29-30. Anderson wants the team to work on boxing out and rebounding better. “We will almost always be the smaller team,” he said. “So, we need to find a way to get it done.”