WOODBURY WENT UP AGAINST PRIOR LAKE IN A BOYS’ BASKETBALL GAME

On Dec. 20, Woodbury took on Prior Lake. Prior Lake came out looking to push the ball down the floor. Prior Lake’s Connor Bair came out hitting mid-range jump shots early.

Prior Lake was able to score baskets in transition. The Prior Lake defense made it difficult for Woodbury to get open looks at the basket.

Woodbury struggled to shoot the ball in the first half. 

Prior Lake’s Isaiah Sims was all over the floor on the offensive end. Sims was able to make layups. 

Prior Lake continued to work around the 3-point line as they were able to get everyone involved in the offense. 

Woodbury’s Collin Flanagan stepped up and was able to knock down mid-range jump shots. 

Bair was able to step up and knock down 3-point baskets throughout the first half. 

At halftime the score was Prior Lake 53, Woodbury 28. 

As the second half got underway Prior Lake continued to push the ball down the floor and make baskets in transition. 

Prior Lake’s Kevin McKiernan came up with layups and midrange shots. 

Woodbury couldn’t get their offense going. Woodbury's Michael Carter and Jake West were able to hit mid-range jump shots but that wasn’t enough. 

Prior Lake came away with the 85-43 victory over Woodbury. 

The leading scorers for Woodbury were Carter and Flanagan each with 8 points. 

The leading scorers for Prior Lake were Bair with 19 points and McKiernan with 13 points.

PRIOR LAKE WENT UP AGAINST ST.PAUL JOHNSON IN A BOYS’ BASKETBALL GAME

Prior Lake and St. Paul Johnson went up against each other in a boys’ basketball game on Dec. 12.

Both teams look a lot of time off the clock. Prior Lake was able to push the ball down the floor and
make layups.

Prior Lake used a man-to-man defense in the first half. That made it hard for St. Paul Johnson to get open looks at the basket.

St. Paul Johnson was able to push the ball down the floor as they looked to score layups. They were able to make some quick layups.

St. Paul Johnson’s Jalen Mobley was all over the floor. On the offensive end he was able to make layups.

Prior Lake’s Kevin McKiernan stepped up and knocked down some deep 3-point shots. McKiernan was also able to get past his defender and was able to make layups.

The score went back and forth late in the first half.

Johnson’s Savion Benton was able to make mid-range jump shots and layups throughout the first half. His teammates did a good job of getting the ball to him in spots where he could shoot it.

St. Paul Johnson came up with some quick baskets late in the first half.

At halftime the score was Johnson 39, Prior Lake 35.

As the second half got underway Johnson turned up offensive pressure. They were able to come up with a 10-point lead with 13 minutes left in regulation.

St. Paul Johnson came up with steals on the defensive end. They were able to come up with layups off the steals.

Prior Lake called a timeout with 9:51 left in regulation. The score was Johnson 61, Prior Lake 47.

Prior Lake’s McKiernan was able to get the ball down the floor and was able to get his teammates involved in the offense. Prior Lake’s Connor Bair came up with nice layups in the second half.

Prior Lake came up with some huge baskets late in regulation.

St. Paul Johnson came away with the 94-79 victory over Prior Lake.

The lead scorers for Prior Lake were Bair with 26 points, and McKiernan with 23 points.

The leading scorers for St. Paul Johnson was Mobley with 34 points.

PRIOR LAKE TOOK ON BURNSVILLE IN A BOYS BASKETBALL GAME ON COACHES VS CANCER NIGHT

Burnsville’s head basketball coach Matt Eppen has cancer. I found out that Eppen had cancer and when they went up against Prior Lake on February 14 I was able to talk to Eppen about his cancer story. Eppen found out at the beginning of the school year that he had cancer.

 

Prior Lake was able to get baskets in transition.

 

Burnsville looked to get the ball into the hands of Jake Ruffing. Ruffing was all over the floor. He was able to get to the basket and make jump shots.

 

Burnsville called a timeout with 11:42 left in the first half. The score was Prior Lake 15, Burnsville 11.

 

Prior Lake’s Connor Bair stepped up and was able to knock down deep three-point shots.

 

Prior Lake continued to hit shots late in the in first half.  Prior Lake’s Jon Sobaski came up with some nice mid-range jump shots that he was able to make consistently.

 

At halftime the score was Prior Lake 41, Burnsville 32.

 

As the second half got underway Burnsville looked to trap Prior Lake on offense. Prior Lake was able to get out of the trap and get the ball to the basket.

 

Bair and Sobaski continued to come up with layups in the second half.  

 

Prior Lake was a little quicker than Burnsville. But Burnsville’s Joe Morris came up with some big shots in the paint.

 

Prior Lake called a timeout with 12:56 left in regulation. The score was Prior Lake 55, Burnsville 42.

 

Prior Lake continued to hit shots throughout the second half. They were able to slow Burnsville down on offense.

 

Prior Lake ran away with the 85-70 victory over Burnsville.
 

The leading scorer for Burnsville was Morris with 24 points.
 

The leading scorers for Prior Lake were Sobaski with 31 points, Bair with 18 and Heidecker with 10 points.  
 

PRIOR LAKE TOOK ON BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY IN A BOYS BASKETBALL GAME

On Feb. 3 Prior Lake and Bloomington Kennedy in a boys basketball game. The score went back and forth early.

 

Prior Lake’s Kevin McKiernan got hot from the three-point line and was able to his shots.

 

Neither team went on a run early.

 

Kennedy’s Dejon Davis got his shot going in the first half. He got hot from the paint. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball in spots where he could hit it.  

 

Prior Lake looked to get layups as they got the ball into the hands of Jon Sobaski. Sobaski wasn’t afraid to shoot a mid-range jump shots. 

 

Kennedy was able to hit layups in transition. Kennedy went on a 15-4 run midway through the first half.

 

Prior Lake’s Connor Bair came up with some nice deep three-point baskets to keep his team in the game.

 

Kennedy switched between man-to-man and zone defense. They were to confuse Prior Lake on offense.

 

Kennedy’s Travon Hearns came up with some nice mid-range jump shots late in the first half.

 

The score at halftime was Kennedy 38, Prior Lake 33.

 

As the second half got underway Kennedy continued to attack the basket and look to get layups.

 

Prior Lake’s George Nusbaum got hot as he came up with some big mid-range jumpers. Nusbaum was not afraid to shoot the ball.

 

Both teams attacked the basket as they looked to take their time on the offensive end.

Sobaski came up with some steals and was able to convert on the offensive end.

 

Davis kept Kennedy in the game with some big shots.

 

Kennedy’s CJ Lewis came up big throughout the game. He knocked down some deep three-point shots that kept his team in the game.

 

Hearns was able to make wide open shots as the Prior Lake defense was not able to find him on the offensive end.

 

Bloomington Kennedy came away 80-71 victory over Prior Lake.

 

The leading scores for Prior Lake were Bair with 13 points and Heidecker and Nusbaum each with 11. Sobaski came up with 10 points.

 

For Bloomington Kennedy they were lead in scoring by Lewis with 33 points.

 

I was joined by the Twin Cities Hoops Czar. Check out his thoughts of the Prior Lake vs. Bloomington Kennedy boys basketball game.

EDEN PRAIRIE TOOK ON PRIOR LAKE IN A BASKETBALL GAME

Eden Prairie went up against Prior Lake in a boys basketball game. The game got off to a quick start as each team raced up and down the floor looking to get into an offensive shooting rhythm.

 

Eden Prairie’s Andre Wallace took the ball hard to the basket. He was able to get his shot going early.

 

Wallace scored Eden Prairie’s first six of his team’s eight points.

 

The score went back and forth throughout the first half. Neither team was able to go on a run.

 

Jason Faul for Prior Lake came up with some nice baskets midway through the first half.

 

Wallace continued to shoot the ball well in the first half. He had good court awareness and knew where his teammates were on the floor at all times.

 

The Prior Lake defense went cold late in the first half. They were not able to hit a shot for a period of time.

 

Eden Prairie continued to shoot the ball well late in the first half.

 

The score went back and forth late in the first half.

 

At halftime the score was tied at 24.

 

As the second half got underway the score continued to go back and forth.

 

Connor Bair for Prior Lake came up and made some nice plays in the second half. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball in spots where he could shoot it.

 

Wallace took the ball hard to the basket and was able to step up and hit his free throws.

 

Bair and Wallace guarded each other tightly throughout the game. Neither gave the other an open look at the basket.

 

Grantham Gillard for Eden Prairie came up with some nice shots late in the contest. Gillard was fouled with 0.9 seconds left with the score tied at 62.

 

Gillard hit a free throw to win the game.

 

Both teams played hard but Eden Prairie came away with the 63-62 victory over Prior Lake.  

 

Wallace ended up with 24 points and Gillard ended up with 20 points.

 

For Prior Lake Jon Sobaski with 20 points and Bair with 18 points.

PRIOR LAKE TOOK ON ROCORI IN A BOYS BASKETBALL GAME

Prior Lake and Rocori went up against each other in a boys basketball game.  Prior Lake’s Conner Bair came out on fire. He scored Prior Lake’s first nine points.

 

Rocori called a timeout with 13:53 left in the first half. The score was Prior Lake 11, Rocori 7.

 

Rocori went to a man-to-man defense in the first half. They did a good job of switching up different defenses.

 

Prior Lake was able to push the ball down the floor as they looked to score baskets in transition. Prior Lake swung the ball around the three-point line to get into their offense. If Bair thought that he had a good shot he was not afraid to shoot it.

 

Rocori called a timeout with 6:27 left in the first half. The score was Prior Lake 31, Rocori 16.

 

Prior Lake’s Kevin McKiernan stepped up and was able to knock down jump shots. His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball in spots where he could shoot the ball.

 

Rocori kept on shooting the ball but they were not able to hit shots that they put up.

 

The defense that Prior Lake applied made it difficult for Rocori to make their shots. There was always a hand in a Rocori player’s face when he shot the ball.

 

At halftime the score was Prior Lake 51, Rocori 22.

 

The second half got off to a quick start as each team raced up and down the floor looking for their shots.  

 

There were many loose balls in the opening minutes of the second half.

 

Rocori called a timeout with 15:42 left in regulation. The score was Prior Lake 57, Rocori 24.

 

Rocori went to a zone in the second half. Prior Lake was able to get past the Rocori defenders and attacked the basket and was able to make layups.

 

Rocori tried to get their offense going in the second half. They were not able to get their shots to drop.  

 

Prior Lake’s Tevin Grant came off the bench and provided an offensive spark plug. Grant did a good job of running his team’s offense.

 

In a game that featured a lot of energy by both times Prior Lake came away with the 73-44 victory over Rocori. Rocori couldn’t get their offense going.

 

The leading scorers for Rocori were Brad Fabel with 10 points and Max Nelson with 9 points. The leading scorers for Prior Lake were Bair with 17 points, Sobaski 14 points, Sam Schultz 13 points and Kevin McKirerman with 12 points.

PRIOR LAKE TOOK ON APPLE VALLEY IN A BOYS’ BASKETBALL GAME

Prior Lake and Apple Valley went up against each other in a boys’ basketball game. Apple Valley looked to push the ball down the floor and get open shots.

 

Apple Valley’s Brock Bertram came up with some good jump shots early.

 

Prior Lake called a timeout with 16:19 left in the first half. The score was Apple Valley 6, Prior Lake 0.

 

It took Prior Lake awhile to get into an offensive rhythm. They couldn’t get their shots to drop early.

 

Apple Valley went to a full court press. They made it hard for Prior Lake to make shots that they were putting up.

 

Both teams looked to push the ball down the floor and score baskets in transition.

 

Prior Lake called a timeout with 12:56 left in the first half. The score was Apple Valley 18, Prior Lake 5.

 

Tre Jones, who is in the eighth grade, entered the game with about 13:00 left in the first half. Tre is in the eighth grade and is the younger brother of Tyus Jones.

 

Steven Christiansen came off the bench for Apple Valley and was able to come up with some big baskets for his team.

 

Prior Lake called a timeout with 8:18 left in the first half. The score was Apple Valley 30, Prior Lake 10.

 

Apple Valley switched between man-to-man and zone defense throughout the game. They were able to confuse Prior Lake on the offensive end.

 

Gary Trent Jr. for Apple Valley came up with some huge shots. He was able to hit jump shots with ease from everywhere on the floor.

 

At halftime the score was Apple Valley 55 Prior Lake 18.

 

As the second half got underway Apple Valley continued hit shots throughout the second half. Prior Lake couldn’t get their offense going in the second half.

 

Apple Valley went to their bench early the second half. They gave everyone a chance to play.

 

The game went to the mercy rule went into effect because of the score. If a team is ahead by more than 35 points with 9:00 left in the second half the clock runs. 

 

Apple Valley came away with the 93-42 victory over Prior Lake.

 

Prior Lake shot 17-61 from the field that included going 3-15 from behind the three-point line. They were 5-6 from the free throw line. Prior Lake brought down a total of 26 rebounds 15 of them on the defensive end. They were lead in scoring by Jon Sobaski with 9 points and Connor Bair with 8 points.

 

Apple Valley shot 39-64 from the field that included going 29-44 from behind the three-point line.

They were 5-7 from the free throw line. Apple Valley brought down a total of 44 rebounds 33 of them on the defensive end. They were lead in scoring by Tyus Jones with 26 points and Gary Trent Jr. with 10 points.