Atascocita arrived in Minnesota from Texas with a 14-0 record and ranked eighth in the country by USA Today.
DeLaSalle made sure victory No. 15 would be the Eagles’ most difficult of the season.
The game was tightly contested throughout, but Atascocita found its offensive rhythm late to pull away for a 67-54 win at the St. Paul Showcase at St. Paul Johnson High School.
The Islanders (1-1), ranked No. 1 in Minnesota’s Class 3A coaches’ poll, frustrated the Eagles throughout the first half, easily handling Atascocita’s full-court press while delivering on several extended offensive possessions. Combined with a 1-for-7 shooting start from their star point guard Carsen Edwards (committed to Purdue), the Eagles were out of sorts.
Sophomore Gabe Kalscheur led the charge for DeLaSalle, scoring a team-high 22 points while making a series of impressive plays in the first half. He and Samm Jones, who finished with nine points, did a nice job containing Atascocita guard Greg Shead (committed to Florida International), limiting him to one point for the game.
They did not have the same success with Edwards after halftime.
The 6-foot senior returned to his normal playmaking-self in the second half, scoring 13 points and assisting on five of Fabian White’s seven dunks. For the future Boilermaker, it was all about taking the tempo back.
“We knew (the Islanders) would slow the ball down, limit possessions,” said Edwards, who finished with 19 points. “It comes down to coaching for us. We did our homework, we knew they would be tough. They played us tougher than anyone yet. But we made the right changes (and) got it going in the second half.”
That they did. White, a 6-foot-8 junior, dominated the in the paint en route to 30 points on 15-for-18 shooting. The DeLaSalle frontcourt did its best to control the opposing big man, even with Goanar Mar deploying his usual non-stop motor.
White, however, proved to be too much.
“The game becomes easy when he’s scoring inside,” Edwards added. “It opened things up for everyone.”
Mar finished with 14 points for the Islanders, who will need to rebound quickly with a game against No. 4-4A Champlin Park tomorrow night at 7 pm in the Breakdown Sports USA Tip Off Classic at Minnetonka High School. After a gritty performance against a nationally-ranked team, DeLaSalle should have a high level of confidence heading into Saturday’s matchup.
