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1A: Defense sparks Russell-Tyler-Ruthton victory over Mayer Lutheran

By RON HAGGSTROM, Star Tribune, 03/23/18, 2:00PM CDT

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The Knights held the Crusaders without a field goal for the opening 10 minutes, then withstood a furious late rally for a 49-38 victory.


Russell-Tyler-Ruthton's Carter Hansen tries to steal the ball from Mayer Lutheran's Branden Carlson in the second half. Photo: BRIAN PETERSON • brian.peterson@startribune.com

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton players were sporting t-shirts Friday that read “Offense wins games, defense wins championships.” They are one win from the program’s third state crown thanks to the latter.

The No. 3-ranked Knights held Mayer Lutheran without a field goal for the opening 10 minutes, then withstood a furious late rally for a 49-38 victory in the Class 1A semifinals at Target Center.

“We did a great job executing what we wanted to do defensively,” Knights coach Ted Kern said. “We’re a pressure team. We’re not big, but we work hard.”

First report

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton players were sporting t-shirts that read “Offense wins games, defense wins championships.” They are one win from their third state crown thanks to the latter.

The No. 3-ranked Knights held Mayer Lutheran without a field goal for the opening 10 minutes, then withstood a furious late rally for a 49-38 victory in the Class 1A semifinals Friday at Target Center.

The Knights (32-1) built a 16-1 lead before Crusaders senior center Garrett Tjernagel converted a layup at the 7:41 mark. The No. 5-rated Crusaders (28-4) missed their first 12 shots.

The Knights maintained that lead the rest of the first half, taking a 30-15 lead into the locker room at halftime. They held the Crusaders to 5-for-26 shooting and forced 12 turnovers in the first half.

They could have built an even larger lead but were 12-for-33 from the floor themselves. Junior guard Carter Hansen scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the first half.

Baskets continued to be tough to come by at the start of the second half. The two teams only combined for three of them in the first seven minutes.

After Crusaders junior guard Baden Noennig made the first two shots of the second half, the Knights went on an 8-0 run to go up 38-19. Noennig finished with 15 points.

The Crusaders then went on a 17-2 run to pull within four, 40-36, with 2:47 left. The Knights,  who won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. sealed the victory at the free-throw line.

Check back later for more on the game.

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