Card boys' basketball team drops pair

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The Cardinal boys’ basketball team was 18 minutes away from snapping a nine-game losing streak on Saturday but a second-half comeback by Bemidji resulted in a 54-52 loss for the Cardinals.

Alexandria led 31-21 at halftime against the Lumberjacks. That lead disappeared in the second half as Bemidji held off the Cardinals for its 11th win of the season.

“This was one of our most complete ballgames, from start to finish,” head coach Forrest Witt said. “From the standpoint of playing with heart and passion, I was extremely pleased with how we competed and left everything on the court.

“End of game execution is an area that needs to improve. We are learning how to win games. We are right there, now we need to learn how to maintain our poise and make the winning plays during crunch time.”

The loss to Bemidji came a day after the Cardinals traveled to St. Cloud and came home with a 72-49 loss against Apollo. The Eagles showed why they have 20 wins after 22 games this season.

Alexandria came out with good energy to stick with Apollo in the opening minutes of the first half. The Eagles’ post players began to establish themselves in the middle of the opening half, though. That helped them build a double-digit lead that they would not relinquish.

“Once again, we showed how we are capable of playing in stints,” Witt said. “Our goal is to put together a complete game, start to finish, with passion, intensity and execution on both ends of the floor. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and I believe we are starting to see it.”

GAME STATISTICS

ST. CLOUD APOLLO 45 27 – 72

ALEXANDRIA 24 25 – 49

ALEXANDRIA LEADERS – Matt Peterson – 7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals; Eric Carlsen – 1 point, 2 steals; Steve Conley – 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Mark Whiting – 3 points; Connor Illies – 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal; Luke Johnson – 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Reggie Ronning – 1 steal; Dillon Kelly – 2 rebounds; Steve Trandahl – 2 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks; Daniel Gorghuber – 4 points, 1 assist, 1 block; Colin Erickson – 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal; Joe Hurlbut – 6 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals; Shawn Krueger – 4 points, 1 steal

Tags: boys, basketball, alexandria, cardinals, bemidji, st, cloud, apollo