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Benilde's Gray steals the show

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune, 12/29/11, 11:20PM CST

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The senior guard made spectacular plays as the Red Knights beat Eden Prairie.

Eden Prairie’s Grant Shaeffer went up for a shot against Benilde-St. Margaret’s James Heck and Danon Briggs.

Eden Prairie’s Grant Shaeffer went up for a shot against Benilde-St. Margaret’s James Heck and Danon Briggs.

With just under six minutes to play Thursday, a good chunk of the Benilde-St. Margaret's student section in the bleachers at Eden Prairie High School loudly declared the Red Knights' boys' basketball game against the Eagles over with. En masse, the group made a beeline for the parking lot -- and missed out on a pretty good finish.

Just when it seemed the Red Knights were going to waltz into the New Year with a blowout victory over Eden Prairie -- up by 23 at the time of the students' exit -- the Eagles made it interesting with a 13-0 run.

That ensured the tension meter would ratchet up for a few possessions on the BSM bench, but free throws down the stretch ensured an 80-68 Red Knights victory.

"We did our work early to get that kind of lead," Benilde-St. Margaret's coach John Moore said. "In 36 minutes, there's going to be a lot of runs. We squelched theirs and took care of business."

It's the third victory this season by the No. 1 ranked team in Class 3A over a top-notch Class 4A Lake Conference opponent. The Red Knights knocked off three-time defending Class 4A champion Hopkins on Dec. 16, and added a victory over Minnetonka four nights later.

On Thursday, senior guard Sanjay Lumpkin made it his show early by scoring 15 of his 20 points in the first half before getting into foul trouble in the second. Isaiah Gray did more than enough to compensate, putting in a team-high 23 points.

One basket in particular stole the show. With 13 minutes to go, he took a bounce pass from Danon Briggs underneath the hoop and somehow willed it through the rim using an underhand "come here" motion.

"He can make some plays," Moore said.

Isaiah Zierden added 19 for the Red Knights (7-1) while sophomore Andre Wallace paced Eden Prairie (5-2) with a game-high 24 points.

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