BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY EAGLES TOOK ON THE EDEN PRAIRIE EAGLES IN A REGION BOYS' BASKETBALL GAME

In a battle of the birds the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles matched up against the Eden Prairie Eagles in a region semifinal boys' basketball game at Chaska.

Eden Prairie jumped out to an early 6-2 lead with 16:00 left in the first half.

Kennedy called its first timeout with 15:26 left in the first half. The score was 9-2 advantage Eden Prairie.

Eden Prairie was able to hit shots from everywhere on the floor. Both teams looked fresh and played with a lot of swagger. They dove on the floor after loose balls and went after rebounds. Eden Prairie looked to get the ball in the hands of guard Abrian Carpenter. Carpenter was able to drive to the basket hard and make layups. His teammates did a good job of finding him when he was open on the floor.

Kennedy didn't get down on themselves. They kept on shooting the ball and passing the ball around the three-point line as they looked to get their shots down. Eden Prairie did a good job of getting into the lanes and deflecting passes.

Both teams moved the ball well on the offensive end in the first half. Eden Prairie played mostly man-to-man on the defensive end. Kennedy switched between man-to-man and zone defense.

At halftime there was only 8 points that separated the teams. The score was Eden Prairie 34 and Kennedy 26.

Eden Prairie found their EAGLE EYE and were able to get a 40-29 lead after the first 4 minutes and 31 seconds into the second half. . That's when Kennedy called a timeout.

Kennedy kept their composer throughout the game. They kept shooting the ball and were able to claw their way back into the game.

Andre Wallace was all over the floor for Eden Prairie. He found his shot early and he was able to hit the shots. Most of his shots were from inside the paint. If he was open from behind the three-point line he was not afraid to shoot it.

Kennedy was not able to hits shots in the second half. Eden Prairie was too quick for them. Kennedy tried to make a run late in the half. Eden Prairie was not having it.

I thought that both teams played well and left everything that they had on the court. However, when it was all said and done Eden Prairie came away with the 74-57 victory over Kennedy.

Kennedy lived and died by the three point shot. They only shot 36 percent behind the arc. While EP shot 67 percent from behind the arc. There was also a 10 point difference from the free throw line which made it difficult for Kennedy to get back into the game.

The leading scorers for Kennedy were Jumah'ri Turner with 14 points, and Darrian Pitman and Rico Gunn with 10 points. Kennedy shot 22-52 from the field that included going 5-14 from behind the three-point line. They were 8-12 from the free throw line. The Kennedy bench scored a total of 10 points.

The leading scorers for Eden Prairie were Sander Mohn with 22 points, Andre Wallace with 18 points and Grant Shaeffer with 16 points. They shot 25-52 from the field and that included going 6-9 from behind the three-point line. They were 18-26 from the free throw line. The Eden Prairie bench didn't score any points.