Roseville guard Mitch Poss hit his first three shots, all 3-pointers, against East Ridge on Tuesday night and the Raiders never let up in a 89-49 dismantling of the Raptors at Roseville High School.

The 6-foot-2 senior guard finished with 26 points, thanks to six 3-pointers, to push Roseville (19-4, 11-2), ranked ninth in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, past East Ridge and into second place in Suburban East Conference standings.

"I hit those first couple shots and I was just feeling it," Poss said. "So coach (Ted Critchley) said my job was to shoot and score, so I just let 'em go."

Roseville's outside shooting has been a big key to its success, but Critchley said those shots mostly come by getting the ball in the lane.

"If we can get paint touches, that forces defenses to collapse and then we can kick the ball out," Critchley said. "If we can hit a couple early ... they stay on the shooters and then we're able to get a few layups."

Critchley also alluded to his team's ball movement, which sets up better shots for the Raiders' outside shooters, as a vital component in Roseville’s success.

"I think there's a lot of good shooters in high school basketball, it's a question of 'Are they taking a high-percentage shot?'," Critchley said. "I think that's one thing our team does is take those shots, therefore, we look like we're good shooters."

There was no illusion Tuesday night for a shooter like Poss, who hit wide-open, contested and even off-balance shots from long range against No. 7 East Ridge (19-4, 10-3). Critchley said it's Poss' quick release and fearlessness that make him such a deadly shooter.

Poss had a season-high of 33 points (an 8-4-74 loss to No. 1-4A Champlin Park on Dec. 26) and is now averaging 15.0 points per game. Critchley said Poss, who was the Raiders' Sixth Man of the Year last season, is an under-appreciated player to those outside the Roseville High School gym.

"A good coach would've started him last year probably," Critchley said with a laugh. "He's come out this year and he's been so good ... It's kind of weird that sometimes he's not drawing the (opponent's) top defender, and now he's starting to draw those defenders and he's still producing."

Poss doesn't take much credit for his scoring, though.

"It feels good when it seems like everything is dropping, but I can't do it by myself," Poss said. "All my teammates... they've all stepped up well."

Including against the Raptors, as Kobe Critchley scored 20 points and Jesper Horsted added 17. Chris Spadino chipped in 10 for the Raiders.

Much like Poss on Tuesday night, Roseville is getting hot at the right time of the season. The Raiders have won eight straight games, including a 95-76 win over Prior Lake on Feb. 7.

"We're feeling good," Poss said. "These last couple games we've been playing really good basketball, and hopefully we can keep it going and get a conference championship."

Barring a setback against Forest Lake (10-13) or Woodbury (5-17), Roseville will battle for the Suburban East Conference crown when it plays at Cretin-Derham Hall in the regular-season finale on Feb. 20.

Senior Mitch Poss made six three-pointers and finished with 26 points as Roseville defeated East Ridge 89-49 in a Suburban East Conference matchup at Roseville Area High School on Tuesday.

Poss scored 19 points in the first half alone, thanks to five three-pointers, as the Raiders, ranked ninth by Minnesota Basketball News, built a 51-27 halftime lead.

Fellow senior Kobe Critchley notched 20 points to help Roseville move to 19-4 on the season and 11-2 in Suburban East play.

No. 7 East Ridge got a game-high 29 points from senior Sid Tomes, as the Raptors fell to 19-4 on the season and 10-3 in the Suburban East.

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