ST. ANTHONY WENT UP AGAINST FRIDLEY IN A BOYS’ BASKETBALL GAME

On Feb. 21, St. Anthony and Fridley went up against each other in a boys’ basketball game. Going into the game St. Anthony had a record of 11-12 while Fridley’s record was 10-12.

Before the game Fridley’s head coach, Jim MacDonald was honored by Fridley High School. MacDonald is in his 33rd year in coaching basketball.  Former players and coaches talked about the experiences of playing with and for MacDonald.

St. Anthony started in a zone defense. They wanted to make Fridley have to pass the ball around the 3-point line.

Fridley took their time on the offensive end. Fridley’s Isaac Burns came off screens and made mid-range jump shots and layups. His teammates got him the ball where he could hit shots.

St. Anthony also got everyone involved in the offense. St. Anthony’s Tait Nelson came off screens and made layups.

Fridley started off slow offensively. They kept attacking the basket looking for their shots.

St. Anthony looked to make shots in the paint.

Burns came up with deep 3-point shots. Fridley got their offense going with just under 14 minutes to go in the first half.

St. Anthony’s Charlie Ash came off screens and knocked down 3-point shots.

Neither team went on a run early as there were multiple ties and lead changes throughout the first half.

Christian Crockett came up with 3-point shots and layups. After a slow start offensively by Fridley, they were able to knock down shots in the first half. Teammate Yoal Ruei attacked the basket hard and came up with layups and was also able to knock down free throws.

Fridley went to a trapping defense and that really slowed down the St. Anthony’s offense.

Burns did a good job of calling for the ball near the basket as he came up with mid-range jump shots and layups while coming off screens. Teammate Eli Nelsen also came up with layups.

St. Antony called a timeout with 8:37 left in the first half. The score was Fridley 24, St. Anthony 19.

Nelson kept on making layups late in the first half. He also stepped up and knocked down 3-point shots. On the defensive end, he was able to slow the guy down that he was guarding.

The score kept on going back and forth in the first half.

Fridley did a good job of moving the ball own the floor and moving without the ball. They also did a good job of talking on the floor.

St. Anthony’s Max Kachman came up with layups. He attacked the basket looking for his shot. St. Anthony was not intimated by the defensive pressure that Fridley put on them.

St. Anthony called a timeout with 3:39 left in the first half. The score was Fridley 31, St. Anthony 28.

Burns did a good job of bringing the ball down the floor and letting his teammates know where they were supposed to be on the offensive end.

Fridley called a timeout with 2:21 left in the first half. The score was Fridley 33, St. Anthony 30.

St. Anthony used a motion offense and Max Kachman came up with deep 3-point shots off screens.

The score remained close throughout the first half. Neither team went on a run.

At halftime, the score was Fridley 38, St Anthony 34.

As the second half got underway Fridley continued to attack the basket and looked to come up with shots.

Reui kept on coming up with deep 3-point shots and layups in the second half.

 St. Anthony struggled shooting the ball in the second half. Even though they struggled shooting it they kept on looking for their shots.

St. Anthony called a timeout with 13:09 left in regulation. The score was Fridley 50, St. Anthony 39.

After the timeout, Fridley looked to trap the ball on the defensive end and turn St. Anthony over.

Crockett continued to come up with shots in the second half.

Fridley’s Micah Niewald knocked down 3-point shots and layups. He took his time on the offensive end and was able to come off screens and get open looks at the basket.

Burns knocked down free throws in the second half.

St. Anthony went to a 2-3 zone in the second half. Fridley did a good job of swinging the ball around the 3-point line adjusting to the zone defense and was able to make shots against the zone.

Fridley was able to turn St. Anthony over and score layups after the turnover.

St. Anthony struggled shooting in the second half. They were not able to come up with shots. They didn’t get down on themselves as they kept on shooting the ball.

Fridley’s offense came up big in the second half. Fridley was able to get to the basket and make their shots throughout the second half. They were able to slow down the St. Anthony offense by their defense.

St. Anthony used both man-to-man and zone defense throughout the game. They struggled to make shots throughout the second half.

Both teams battled throughout the whole game.

St. Anthony called a timeout with 2:14 left in regulation. The score was Fridley 71, St. Anthony 59.

Fridley continued to push the ball down the floor and come up with shots late in the game. St. Anthony didn’t give up either as they played hard throughout the game.

Nelson and Ash both kept on shooting the ball throughout the second half.

In a hard-fought game by both teams, Fridley came away with the 73-59 victory over St. Anthony.

The leading scorers for St. Anthony were Tait Nelson with 19 points and Luke Omodt with 16 points. 

The leading scorers for Fridley were Yoal Ruei with 23 points, Isaac Burns with 18 points, Micah Niewald and Eli Nelsen each with 11 points, and Christian Crockett with 10 points.