Basketball Roundup: Feb. 17

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Mariners

boys’ basketball

The Silver Bay Mariners are on a four-game winning streak after they triumphed over the Wrenshall Wrens and the Northeast Range Nighthawks last week. Coach Rick Frericks said his team’s consistent scoring has really put the Silver Bay boys over the top.

Their scoring skills came in handy last Friday during the second half of the game against Wrenshall. The Mariners won 77-56. “We shot really well and that got us the game,” Frericks said.

But he said the Wrens “are a really scrappy team” and played tough during the first half. After the Wrens, the Mariners faced off against the Northeast Range Nighthawks and won 95-44 three days later. Frericks said his team was “able to take care of business.” He said the Silver Bay boys were pleased with their performance. “That was a good game,” Frericks said. “The guys were happy. It gave them confidence we can shoot well.”

Frericks said many of his players are seniors and have been playing together for years. He said he told them to go out and enjoy this last month of basketball and play their hardest. “The more expectations you have, the tighter the team gets,” he said. “I have high expectations of this team.”

He added that his team is just trying to get better. “We’ve got some business to take care of. Our goal is just to play as well as we can,” Frericks said.

The Mariners take on the Two Harbors Agates today. “They’re going to be aggressive,” Frericks said. “They beat us pretty well the first time we met them. We have to play our best ball.”

Agates boys’ basketball

The Agates are flying high this week after a victory against the South Ridge Panthers on Monday (South Ridge is the now combined schools of Cotton and AlBrook). Although they lost to the Cromwell Cardinals 73-38, the Two Harbors boys narrowly defeated the Panthers 47-44.

“We beat a quality opponent that had also beaten some quality teams,” said Coach Tom Nelson. He gives the Agates a lot of credit. “We played the game to win. That’s what we’ve been looking for all year,” he said.

Nelson said the Two Harbors boys rebounded very well and praised junior Trygve Lodin who had ten rebounds and senior Cole Myrdal who had eight. Coach Nelson said the Agates played a good game. “We protected the ball. We took care of it well,” he said. “We also dictated the game’s pace.”

Nelson said it was a great team effort and “a much-needed win.”

The Two Harbors boys faced the Lakeview Christian Academy Lions on Thursday and play against the Silver Bay Mariners today. Nelson said the Agates know these are tough games and that the Lions team boasts the top scorer in the state. Nelson said the Agates also know the Silver Bay Mariners “have been on a nice roll” lately. “Hopefully we give them a good fight,” he said.

Mariners girls’ basketball

The Two Harbors girls have suffered two disappointing losses in the last few days to the Cromwell Cardinals and the Virginia Blue Devils. Coach Brooke Anderson said her team struggled offensively.

“We played hard against Cromwell but struggled with shooting from both inside and out all night long,” she said. Anderson said the Virginia loss was also a tough one. “Virginia had a good shooting night, and we struggled to keep up with their fast break style play,” she said. “We rallied in the second half and cut it to 9, but couldn’t convert some key steals and get the momentum going our way again.”

Anderson said it’s been tough lately for the Agates. “We are fighting for home court advantage, but our latest string of losses has put it further and further out of our reach,” she said. “It’s been disheartening to see a team with so much potential continue to struggle, but I really hope that with some hard work and practices going back to the fundamentals we can get some momentum going into playoffs.”

Tags: two harbors, silver bay, sports