Traps and dunk fuel cagers past Shakopee

• Ben Gresmer makes a two-handed jam

A two-handed jam was the result when Ben Gresmer took this pass after streaking to the hoop. Photo by Joe Winter

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The energy was back and the press was a little different, allowing the Raider boys basketball team to ride a spurt of points and pull away from Shakopee by a 74-59 score.

Hudson pressured the Minnesota team’s guards, who were tall but not that nimble, in the full court, but also trapped them in the corners as they came over the halfcourt stripe.

“We thought they were weak with the ball and didn’t think they could handle our trap,” Coach Jason Swavely said. “Our guys did a good job of getting into the passing lanes and anticipating, and when there was a lazy pass, stealing it.”

Hudson came on late to secure the win, and at one point in the second half held a 23-8 scoring advantage. It gained a spurt of momentum when Seth Stanchik was double-teamed and dished off to Ben Gresmer, who was cutting through the lane and threw down a two-handed dunk.

In the next few seconds, turnovers turned into points and Hudson suddenly had a significant lead.

Gresmer had 13 points, which included two three-pointers besides the dunk, and Nate Roeder contributed 25 and Stanchik 22.

“They have a Division 2 player we had to stop, and Mark Van Den Broeke did a good job of not allowing him to get touches,” Swavely said, adding that is what Shakopee builds its offense around.

Over the previous weekend, the team had sat down and reassessed what they needed to do to get back that trademark energy and get easy points off their defense. The Raiders had a game or two just prior to that where they coasted moreso than forcing the action.

On Friday, Hudson travels to Eau Claire Memorial, and will aim to limit their balanced inside-out attack that starts with a big post player. The Raider also must challenge their perimeter shooters, and get good penetration and easy transition baskets, Swavely said.

Tags: sports, boys, basketball, hudson, shakopee