DeLaSalle 70 Sartell 55

DeLaSalle overcame a sluggish start to beat stubborn Sartell-St. Stephen 70-55 in Wednesday's Class AAA lid-lifter at Williams Arena. Sartell led 11- 4 early before the Islanders got their running game going. Sartell out-shot DeLaSalle 47 percent to 42. 5, but in the end DeLaSalle's domination of the possession game was too much for the Sabres to overcome.

For the day Sartell had 22 turnovers, DeLaSalle just 9, and the points off turnovers were 25-6 Islanders. Similarly DeLaSalle dominated the offensive boards 23-9 and the 2nd chance points were 20-8 Islanders.

And yet, DeLaSalle led just 49-40 when Tom Bearson hit a pretty reverse layup at 8:51. But the Islanders' James Lawson came to life, scoring 10 of DeLaSalle's next 11, with 2 buckets coming off the offensive glass to give push the lead into double figures for good at 58-47. Reid Travis scored the next 2 buckets on putbacks to make it 62-47. DeLaSalle scored on its last 9 possessions as Sartell went 2-and-a-half crucial minutes without scoring.

Travis led DeLaSalle with 23 points and 16 boards despite being doubled and triple-teame. Lawson added 14 and guards Sacar Anim and Jarvis Johnson 10 each with 4 steals (Anim) and 5 assists (Johnson), respectively. Sartell had 3 players on double figures led by Parker Hagen with 19. Brandon Snoberger added 12 and Tim Immelman 10, but point guard Patrick Fischer was the Sabres' top player with 6 points, 11 assists and 3 steals.

Player of the Game: Travis 12 points, 16 boards (8 on each end) and 4 steals
----------

It's hard to believe Sartell has lost 12 times. They're a nice club. In fact, the Sabres took an early 11-4 lead as 4 different Sartell players scored. Point guard Patrick Fischer did a great job of getting the Sabres into their offense, though there were 4 turnovers leading to all 4 DeLaSalle points.

But after a timeout DeLaSalle got their running game going, initially off the defensive glass, then off of Sartell turnovers. And once they started, the turnovers kept on coming, mostly up beyond the top of the key where they led to several breakaway baskets for the Islanders. By half-time the turnovers were 13 to 5 and the points off turnovers 17-2 DeLaSalle. 

Still DeLaSalle only took the lead at 17-15, and Sartell kept it close with a couple very nice feeds from Fischer to Parker Hagen near the end of the half. Fischer had 2 points but 5 assists in the 1st half, Hagen 12 points. 

For the Islanders, Travis Reid had 12 points and 7 boards though Sartell's sagging defenses often had 3 and occasionally as many as 4 players on Reid once he received a pass down low. Sacar Anim had 8 points and 3 steals, Jarvis Johnson 6 points and 4 assists.