WILLMAR -- Ridgewater men's basketball coach Bob Knutson wanted his team to accomplish two things Wednesday again Anoka-Ramsey: control the three-point line and the rebounds.
The Warriors did both in beating the Rams, who were tied for sixth in NJCAA Division III, 81-66 to improve to 2-0 in MCCC Southern Division action.
"This team is extremely quick. (Two of their shooters have) put up over 200 3-pointers and we came in wanting to shut them down," Knutson said. "We wanted to control the boards. Their post players are really good. They're drivers and they cut to basket."
Ridgewater held Anoka-Ramsey's Jeff Stensrud to 1-for-10 shooting from three-point range and dominated the glass, 58-26.
Sophomore Travis Schultz dominated the paint for the Warriors. He scored 21 points, shooting 10 for 18 from the field, and grabbed 19 rebounds -- seven of those were offensive.
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"Travis Schultz was just a presence in the middle that altered a lot of their shots," Knutson said. "A lot of them turned away when they saw he was there."
Three other Warriors reached double figures in points. Freshmen Ben Moser and Ralph Viana scored 15 points each and classmate Cory Nietfeld had 14. Nietfeld also pulled down 13 rebounds.
Ridgewater controlled the first half, taking a 41-26 halftime lead, and found out what was working well.
"We were ready to do several defenses, but our man defense was the one we needed," Knutson said.
Ridgewater 81, Anoka-Ramsey 66
Anoka-Ramsey (2-1, 14-3) 26 40 -- 66
Ridgewater (2-0, 9-6) 41 40 -- 81
ANOKA-RAMSEY - 23-61 FG (7-24 3-pt); 13-18 FT; 26 rebounds; 21 fouls ... Scoring: Nate Whisler 3-15 5-6 13, Kyle Matuska 1-6 2-2 5, Cole Alexander-Vryens 5-10 2-2 12, Michael Kizzee 1-3 0-2 2, Keilan Williams 3-5 0-0 6, Jeff Stensrud 2-13 4-6 9, John Harrison 6-9 0-0 15, Lamont Gilbert 2-3 0-0 4 ... 3-point shots: Whisler 2-4, Matuska 1-5, Stensrud 1-10, Harrison 3-4 ... Rebound leaders: Alexander-Vryens 7 ... Assist leaders: Whisler 5 ... Steal leaders: Stensrud 5
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RIDGEWATER - 33-71 FG (3-11 3-pt); 12-22 FT; 58 rebounds; 14 fouls ... Scoring: Tim Dreier 1-6 2-2 5, Ben Moser 6-10 1-4 15, Derek Eisenschenk 3-7 1-2 7, Cory Nietfeld 7-10 0-3 14, Rafael Viana 5-10 5-6 15 Travis Schultz 10-18 1-3 21, Tom Boike 1-2 2-2 4 ... 3-point shots: Dreier 1-1, Moser 2-5 ... Rebound leaders: Moser 5, Nietfeld 13, Schultz 19, Boike 7 ... Assist leaders: Tyrone Colston 5, Dreier 9 ... Steal leaders: Dreier 2
