The ER 6B boys played in a 16 team bracket in Rochester during the first week of March. The Raptors played with intensity and faced a high level of competition in the tournament. During the weekend ER defeated Lakeville North and Hastings and came up short against Rochester John Marshall and OMGBA. The competition in the games provided a fun, exciting, and rewarding weekend away.

In the first game ER faced Lakeville North for the third time this year. The Raptors started with a strong defensive performance vs. LN and earned a 30-24 win to go 3-0 against LN during the season. On offense ER had good ball and player movement, but really struggled from the charity stripe which kept the game close.  The Raptors could not find the groove for free throws and missed more than 20 during the game. Jay Ellingson was able to carry the ER squad in scoring by hitting double digits in points.

Game two provided a rematch vs. Rochester John Marshall (RJM) who had previously defeated the Raptors earlier in the year by 14 points. In this game the Raptors really brought their “A” game and battled a very good team. The score was tied at 17 with 1:30 minutes left in the first half. RJM went on a run at the end of the first half and into the 2^nd half to build a 13 point lead. ER bounced back late in the 2^nd half to close the gap to within 3 points. The ER bigs really battled one of the more talented big kids ER has faced this year to keep the game competitive down to the final minutes. In the end, the home town RJM team was able to hold off ER and earned a 39-34 victory.

Game three on Saturday had ER facing Hastings. ER started the game strong with good execution and led at halftime 18-11. In the second half you could see ER was running out of gas and allowed Hastings back into the game. ER was able to battle long enough to earn a 36-31 victory.   The Raptors shot over 40% in the game from the field to drive the offense. TJ Kelly provided the offensive spark late in the game with a couple of key free throws and baskets to hold off the Raiders.  

On Sunday the Raptors faced an athletic OMGBA team that moved the ball well, utilized pick and rolls combined with strong post play. ER jumped out to a quick 5 point lead but was unable to hold off OMGBA. The Raptors were down by 7 at halftime and the gap grew to a 30-19 final score. OMGBA was just a step quicker and more physical than the Raptors and were able to hold ER to a low shooting percentage. If a few of the shots drop for ER the game would have been close at the end. A bright spot for ER was improved free throw shooting at 7 for 9 in the Sunday game. Coach Tom Kelly was pleased with how the boys competed: “While we ended up 2-2 on the weekend, we really played a high level of competition. In the end I thought we played against some of the better teams in the state and the ER kids did themselves proud.” The Raptors are back in action next weekend for the season ending State Tournament bracket that will be held in Woodbury. The Raptors look to capitalize on the home court advantage.

The Raptors were back in action at the North St. Paul Tournament after a two week break. ER was out-muscled in the paint in game one and finished the weekend with a record of 2-1. In the first game ER faced Tartan. Tartan had a strong physical center that the Raptors were unable to neutralize. The ER Bigs were unable to control the paint and Tartan capitalized on rebounding and inside scoring. The game was tied at 28 at the 8 minute point in the 2^nd half and then Tartan pulled away for a 42-35 victory. ER played tough but was unable to convert on some key scoring opportunities that turned out to be the difference in the game. Brady Kunz had a solid game for the Raptors hitting double digits in scoring. 

In the Sunday game ER faced White Bear Lake. The Raptors were the stronger team and earned a 35-20 victory. The Sunday game was a grinder for the Raptors as they were unable to establish a consistent flow with the offense. Coach Kelly commented the boys were a little out of control on offense today which impacted our ability to run some of our base offensive sets.  In the end, ER battled hard and came out with a win. The Raptors are back in action next weekend with an out of town tournament in Rochester.

The ER 6B Raptors played four competitive teams in the Cottage Grove Tournament. The games included physical play with close scores down to the buzzer. Three of the games had a combined total scoring difference of 9 points. In the championship game for the tournament the Raptors came up 2 points short to earn a second place finish with a weekend record of 3-1.

On Sunday ER faced Edina in the championship game. ER had faced Edina previously and split the prior 2 games which were both very physical. The championship game was also similar to the prior games with each team playing very physical. ER continued the low shooting percentage from the field and the free throw line on Sunday. In the championship game, ER missed over 15 free throws which was the difference maker at the end. ER battled back from a 4 point deficit with less than 1 minute left but was unable to stop the final Edina possession of the game with less than 10 seconds to play. At the end Edina earned the victory with a final score of 37 to 35. The final minutes were exciting when ER battled back to tie the game. Caden Peterson hit 2 free throws in the final seconds to tie the game before the final Edina basket. For ER, Caden Peterson and TJ Kelly were the scoring leaders. Coach Tom Kelly was really proud on how the boys played the final game and almost pushed the game into overtime. The boys were able to overcome some low shooting percentages during the tournament to earn 3 victories and all the games were exciting. ER has 2 week off to work on some shooting drills to prepare for the upcoming North St. Paul Tournament. After NSP, the final tournaments are Rochester and then the state tournament to close the season.
 

ER 6B went 3-1 at the WAA Basketball Tournament to secure the Consolation Game. Overall the boys played four solid games with positive ball movement, active player movement, and good execution of the offensive rotations. Combined with a very effective defense, which allowed the opponents to score a total of 51 points in the final 3 games, ER finished with 3 consecutive wins. Coach Tom Kelly was very pleased with the defensive performance in the WAA Tournament combined with the solid execution of multiple offensive sets. The coaches see the boys translating the work in practice to game time results.

ER faced Chisago Lakes in the opening game and jumped out to a 25-11 lead by halftime. In the first half the Raptors played one of their best 14 minutes of basketball this year. In the 2^nd half the offensive struggled with poor player and ball movement for a 10 minute run of time. Chisago Lakes fought back to tie the game with less than 1 minute left. ER took a 1 point lead with 11 seconds left and Chisago Lakes was able to hit a 3 pointer with seconds left on the clock to secure a 37-35 win. For ER Brady Kunz and Dylan Walker led the way on rebounding with double digit performances.

In game two ER bounded back and held Lakeville North to 8 points. ER had improved ball control and solid rebounding to earn a 31-8 victory. TJ Kelly was the offensive leader (shooting 50% from the field) combined with the defense of Dylan Walker who had numerous blocked shots in the paint.

ER then faced Lakeville South for the third game on Saturday. ER continued with a very aggressive defense and allowed only 14 points. TJ Kelly continued his hot shooting streak to lead the way for ER – shooting 67% for the game. It was a balanced attack for ER during the game with all players contributing in the scoring column with a final victory at 44-14.

In the Consolation Game on Sunday ER faced the Cottage Grove Wolfpack. Cottage Grove had an aggressive defense the entire game with solid free throw shooting but that was not enough to overcome the Raptors balanced attack. ER had everyone scoring in the game. The offensive attack was lead by Jay Ellingson and Zach McDonnell. On defense TJ Kelly created numerous steals and Carter Slette and Dylan Walker provided a strong defense in the paint. In the end, ER finished 3-1 with a 42-29 victory over Cottage Grove. The Raptors are in action again next weekend at the Cottage Grove Tournament. 

The ER 6B boys played in the Bloomington Jefferson Tournament on January 21, 2012. This one day tournament marked the first time this season the boys did not win at least 2 games in a tournament. ER battled three physical teams and finished the day with a record of 1-2. ER had to play catch up for most of the tournament and the kids never quit and played hard until the final buzzer.

In the opening game with an 8AM tip-off, ER faced Apple Valley. This was the third time the two teams have met this year. ER had won the prior 2 games that were close games to the end.   The third game also turned out to be a close battle down to the final minutes with Apple Valley earning a 44-40 victory. AV showed up ready to play from the start with an aggressive defense and solid shooting. ER was sleep walking in the first half and found themselves down 24-10 at half. In the second half the ER boys finally started to play with improved ball control. ER created some steals and started to finish shots. ER fought back from a 16 point deficit to take a 1 point lead at 36-35 with 2 minutes left. AV took a timeout to regroup from the ER 2^nd half run and were able to regain composure and secure a 44-40 victory by scoring 9 points in the final 2 minutes. It was an exciting 2^nd half for ER with a shooting percentage of 48% but that was not enough to recover from the slow start in the first half. For ER, Dylan Walker and Caden Peterson were the scoring leaders supporting the improved 2^nd half performance.

In the 2^nd game ER had a rematch vs Edina - earlier this year Edina had defeated ER. In the first half ER started slow again and found themselves down 18-13 at halftime. Finally in the 2^nd half the ER unit came to life and fought back tie the game 29-29 with 6 minutes left. At the 6 minute point, the ER defense really shut down a physical Edina team and held them to only 2 points for the remainder of the game. ER hit some key free throws at the end to come away with a 36-31 victory. It was a balanced scoring attack for ER with better intensity to score 23 points in the 2^nd half. Zack McDonnell and Jay Ellingson were the scoring leaders combined with the defensive pressure created by TJ Kelly as the steals leader for ER.

In the third and final game of the day ER played Burnsville. The game was played even into the second half with the score tied at 23-23 with 10 minutes left in the game. At this point Burnsville started to pull away and earned a 46-38 win. Burnsville did a solid job of converting on the fastbreak layup opportunities during the game. Burnsville was a tall and physical team but Dylan Walker held his own for ER with strong rebounding and scoring. In addition, Brady Kunz contributed on offense with a strong performance at the free throw line. At the end, the ER squad had too many turnovers during the game and ran out of gas at the end of the second half. 

Coach Kelly commented “Today was not our best effort for ball control and we did not finish many of our inside shots. We were able to get the shots we wanted but were unable to capitalize on the opportunities. The boys learned the importance of playing with intensity the entire game.”

The East Ridge (ER) 6B boys were back in action for the first in 2012 with a visit to the Hastings Classic Spiral Basketball Tournament on Sunday January 8. They played three games in one day and started the year by winning two of the games to finish in 3^rd place. The only loss of the day was in overtime to a solid team from Buffalo.

The ER 6B boys basketball team was back in action during the holiday break for the one day Champlin Park Holiday Hoops Tournament on December 29. The ER boys were able to overcome the holiday snacking and relaxing to grind out 3 tough victories and earn first place.

After finishing 2^nd and 3^rd twice this season, the 6B boys were finally able to push one over the top for the first place victory in the Tartan Coaches Classic played December 17^th and 18^th. The competition continues to increase with each tournament but the boys’ hard work is paying off.

The weekend started early with an 8AM game against a tough Fridley team. Both teams seemed a little sluggish with the early morning tip-off but the ER boys managed to shake it off. Dylan Walker is establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with in rebounding and defense. Jay Ellingson hit a key 3 point shot late in the game to push the game into overtime where ER came out on top with a 30-27 victory.

The second game of the day came against a very physical and scrappy Urban Stars team from Minneapolis.   ER was able to break the half court press with balanced scoring across the team with 5 boys scoring at least 6 points each. ER stayed out of foul trouble, hit the key shots, and ended with a final score of 36-35. Credit Brady Kunz, Ben Quicksell, and Caden Peterson for a job well done playing out of position in a pinch.

With the championship game against Roseville came the first time since the 2^nd game of the season that Coach Kelly had all 8 players suited up and available to play. Carter Slette was back all weekend from his broken wrist and TJ Kelly rejoined the team after being down Saturday with an illness. The boys played a steady game with all 8 boys scoring and were once again successful with the press break and solid defense. The final score was 31-27 to take the first place title.

Coach Kelly commented the boys demonstrated they are able to play in tight games and execute the plays necessary with the pressure on in the final minutes. ER won all 3 games by a total margin of 7 points.

The 6B Raptors look to continue their winning ways at the Champlin Park Holiday Hoopfest on December 29^th.

The 6B Raptors improved their overall record to 10-4 this past weekend with 3 hard-fought games against some of the fiercest competition of the season.  The two wins and one loss earned them 3rd place in their home tournament.

The weekend started with a tough match-up against a BIG Chisago Lakes team.  It was a physical game and the boys were challenged offensively.  Fortunately, they brought their A game on defense and that was the difference in the game.  They ran the press-break successfully and hit their free throws at the end of the game when they needed to.  Overall a solid performance against a strong competitor.  The final score was 32-23.

Rochester JM was the second team of the day and they proved to be more than the boys could handle.  RJM was also big and tended to throw their weight around.  Cudos to Zach McDonnell for staying tough in a game that found him on the floor more than once.  The defense was solid once again but the offense went cold.  The final score was 27-13.

Sunday's game against Hastings found the boys back on top and back in the groove both offensively and defensively.  Key outside shooting by Jay Ellingson and strong rebounding by Brady Kunz helped keep the game under control.  Solid press defense accounted for a number of baskets as did the press break.  The boys earned the 3rd place trophy with a 32-27 victory.

When asked about his team's performance after the game, Coach Kelly had this to say, "Our defense all weekend was solid, to hold 3 pretty good teams to under 30 points is a very solid effort."

The boys are back in action at the Tartan Coaches Classic this weekend at Tartan High School.