Ten years after East Ridge High School opened in Woodbury, the Raptors boys basketball team made it's maiden voyage to the state Class AAAA boys basketball tournament and got a game high 18 points from Courtney Brown to lead them to a 78-41 victory over the Eastview Lightning Wednesday afternoon at Target Center in Minneapolis.
The Raptors flew out of the starting gate with a 9-0 run that including the first four points from Courtney Brown. Patrick Lynott hit a three pointer and Kendall Brown scored after missing his first shot. The Lightning would strike on Steven Crowl's basket with 13:37 left in the first half. East ridge would get a three point play from Zach Zebrowski and Jaylen Jsmes made an inside pass on the right side of the basket to Ryan Thiessen and he would get two points. The Raptors would use the speed and outstanding offense to increase the margin further starting with a shot from Nicollet Mall from Zebrowski, follwed by a Courtney Brown jam. Defense would also be highlighted on Ben Carlson's block. East Ridge would go up by 16 and Eastview would hit their first three pointer late in the half when Jayden James would connect. Courtney Brown would counter with a three pointer and Kendall Brown would score from a Ben Carlson pass that help the Raptors lead 32-17 at halftime.
Carlson, a 6'10" junior would open the second half scoring with a three pointer and block Crowl's shot. Crowl would tally on a one handed dunk. Carlson would also box out well as he tipped in Alex Larson's missed shot. He would also pick up an assist as he made a great post pass to Zebrowski. The bright spot in Eastview's second half was four straight points from Thissen but that was pretty much it for the Lightning when East Ridge would go on a 12-0 run and the game would go into running time due to the 35 point margin 9:00 into the second half. Outstanding passing would also be a factor for the Raptors when Lynott made an outside pass to Zebrowski and he drilled a three pointer. With the outcome decided, Eastview head coach Paul Goetz and East Ridge head coach Bryce Tesdahl cleared their benches and gave their reserves a chance to experience state tournament action.
Other players in double figures for the Raptors were Kendall Brown and Zebrowski with 17 points apiece Kendall Brown had five assists. . Carlson scored 11 points and blocked three shots. Crowl led the Lightning with 17 points and James added 12.
East Ridge improved their record to 28-2 and will face the Hopkins Royals in the Class AAAA semifinals Thursday, March 21 at 8 PM at Target Center. Eastview fell to 18-12 and will play the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets in the consolation semifinals, also on the 21st at noon at Ganglehoff Center on the campus of Concordia University in St. Paul.
Tesdahl is the grandson of former Chisholm head coach Bob McDonald.
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