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DeLaSalle overcomes Cooper pressure, ends Hawks' 12-game winning streak

By Nolan O'Hara, SportsEngine, 03/02/21, 5:45PM CST

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It was a back and forth matchup, but the Islanders prevailed over the Hawks 65-59.

DeLaSalle's Cade Haskins (14) tallied 25 points scoring 14 in the first half. Haskins helped the Islanders to a 65-59 win over the Hawks on Tuesday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

DeLaSalle's Cade Haskins (14) tallied 25 points scoring 14 in the first half. Haskins led the Islanders to a 65-59 win over the Hawks at Robbinsdale Cooper High School. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

DeLaSalle coach Travis Bledsoe saw a familiar face standing in front of the opposing team’s bench when his team took the court at Robbinsdale Cooper High School on Tuesday. 

Cooper’s coach, Bo Powell, was an assistant at DeLaSalle when Bledsoe played there from 2001-2005. Even before the game, Bledsoe knew what to expect when their teams faced off at Cooper High School. 

“Bo’s all about the pressure defense. He’s all about getting and putting you in bad situations,” Bledsoe said. “I thought if we attacked the pressure, we would be successful tonight.” 

Bledsoe was right. But despite Cooper’s nonstop, full-court defensive pressure, the Islanders, ranked No. 8 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, left Cooper High School with a hard earned 65-59 victory, ending the Hawks’ 12-game winning streak. 

Freshman Casmir Chavis (11) takes the ball in for a layup in the first half. Chavis' 20 points helped DeLaSalle break Robbinsdale Cooper's 12-game winning streak on Tuesday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Freshman Casmir Chavis (11) takes the ball in for a layup in the first half. Chavis' 20 points helped DeLaSalle break Robbinsdale Cooper's 12-game winning streak on Tuesday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

First Report

In a battle of top-10 opponents in their respective classes, DeLaSalle earned a hard-fought victory over Robbinsdale Cooper 65-59 on Tuesday at Cooper High School. 

Cade Haskins led DeLaSalle, ranked No. 8 in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, to an early 20-9 lead when he knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first half. He finished the half with 14 points as the Islanders went into the break with a 30-26 lead. 

Haskins’ hot start carried over into the second half, as he finished tied for a game-high 25 points and added four rebounds and two blocks. 

For the No. 4-4A Hawks (12-2), junior guard Davion Evans was matching Haskins point-for-point for the majority of the contest. He scored 14 points in the first half, which helped cut the team’s 11-point deficit down to four at the break. Evans finished with 25 points and three assists. 

Islanders’ freshman Casmir Chavis made the difference late, exploding in the second half to finish with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists, helping DeLaSalle (9-4) stave off the late Hawks run, who had cut the lead to just one early in the second half.

Junior guard Davion Evans (0) led scoring for the Hawks with 25 points and added five rebounds and three assists as No.4-4A Robbinsdale Cooper fell to No.8-3A DeLaSalle, 65-59. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, Sports

Junior guard Davion Evans (0) led scoring for the Hawks with 25 points and added five rebounds and three assists as No.4-4A Robbinsdale Cooper fell to No.8-3A DeLaSalle, 65-59. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

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