Under new starting lineup, Royals pull away in second half for the win

Article by Sam Herder, Devils Lake Journal Sports, published Dec. 2, 2015.

Due to some injuries and minor off-the-court conduct issues, Lake Region State College head men's basketball coach Jared Marshall inserted a revamped starting lineup Tuesday against Concordia JV.

After an even first half, the Royals used a quick second half start to win 91-78.

"Everyone sees JV and they think it's going to be an easy win for us," Marshall said. "But Concordia runs a solid program. They always come ready to play and they did tonight. We changed it up with a zone and we did a better job. Once we stopped settling for early threes and got some penetration, that helped us."

The new-look starting lineup saw some breakout performances. The offensive show ran through freshman point guard Jayson Edwards. 

Edwards finished with ideal point guard statistics of 10 points, 10 assists and one turnover in 26 minutes of play.

"My job was to just be a true point guard and make my teammates look better," Edwards said. "We played good, hard defense."

"I thought Jayson did a good job of playing within himself," Marshall added. "That's something he struggled with a little bit this year, but he's really starting to find his groove, getting into the paint and finding people. That really helped us."

With a 41-41 tie at halftime, LRSC used quick threes from AJ Nywesh and Ben Rennie and another Rennie jumper.

Using the quick start, the Royals built their largest lead of 68-51 midway through the second half.

"We just came together and said stay together and continue to play hard defense," Edwards said.

The Royals maintained that cushion the rest of the way with some big shots, including six three pointers on 14 attempts.

"We just came out with a better mindset of let's get this taken care of," Marshall said. "We shot it with more confidence and we were ready to shoot it."

The Cobbers made it interesting at times, though. And a big thanks to that would go to Austin Rund. Rund had 29 points, with most of those coming from behind the arc as Concordia JV attempted a comeback.

Rund hit nine three pointers in the game.

"We had the same problem with him last year," Marshall said. "He's a tough kid who shoots it with confidence. We have to identify shooters in zone a little bit more. Do a better job of flying around."

The Royals are home again Sunday against Dakota County Technical College. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Devils Lake Sports Center.