By Jake Schroer
Crow River News Sports
STMA’s struggles continued in the annual Knights/Bison classic hosted at Buffalo High School and STMA High School.
The Knights continued to miss Tyler Hoselton (done for the season with an injury) against the Brainerd Warriors in the first round of the tournament held at Buffalo.
STMA grabbed the lead in the first half and led 32-28 going into the break. However, the Warriors completely shut the Knights down in the second half, holding STMA to just 11 points as they stormed back to win 57-43, handing the Knights their seventh loss of the season.
Michael Russell scored 26 points to lead all scorers. Chris Pederson had 15 for the Warriors.
Travis Brown led the Knights with 11 points. Colton Campbell chipped in with 10. Elijah Rice and Xavier Thurman had six each.
OSSEO
Things got no better for STMA the next day against the undefeated Osseo Orioles (10-0).
Osseo’s frantic defense turned the Knights over several times, which helped the Orioles build an 18-point lead in the first half. 43-25 was the halftime score.
A similar scene played out in the second half, as Osseo’s defense kept piling up turnovers and pulling away from the Knights for a final score of 84-49.
Four Orioles scored in double figures, with Allan Anderson leading the way (21 points).
Travis Brown led the Knights with 12 points.
“We had to be fundamentally sound to beat their pressure and score, and we did that in phases, we just didn’t do it consistently enough to keep the game a little closer,” head coach Derek Johnson said.
STMA’s record sits at 1-8. The Knights returned to action Tuesday night against Rogers, and their next game is Friday at Buffalo.