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East Ridge overcomes first-half deficit to defeat Rochester Mayo

By John Wagner, SportsEngine , 01/25/20, 9:00AM CST

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Trailing 32-19 at halftime, Raptors sophomore Kendall Blue scored 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half.


East Ridge battled back from a 13 point deficit at halftime to beat Rochester Mayo 64-63 in the Jack Link's Hall of Fame matchup. Kendall Blue (10) scored a game-high 25 points for the Raptors. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

East Ridge found itself in a 13-point halftime hole in its contest against Rochester Mayo in the third game of the inaugural Jack Link's Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame Winter Classic Saturday.

So in the second half the Raptors decided to lean on their one-two punch of senior Ben Carlson and sophomore Kendall Blue.

Good decision: The pair combined for 32 points in the second half and fueled a 64-63 win over the Spartans in a contest hosted by Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

"They really lead us offensively, and they locked in defensively in the second half," said East Ridge coach Josh Peltier of Carlson and Blue. "They are both tremendous players, and we are just lucky to have those guys leading us."

Blue led all scorers with 25 points for East Ridge, ranked No. 10 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News. Meanwhile Carlson, a Wisconsin commit, posted a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. 


East Ridge senior Ben Carlson (23) breaks through defenders Gabe Madsen and Riek Riek (13) for two of his 16 points in the game. The Raptors rallied for a 64-63 win on Saturday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

First Report

East Ridge used a 17-9 run over the final six minutes to claim a 64-63 victory over Rochester Mayo in the third game of the inaugural Jack Link's Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame Winter Classic hosted by Anoka-Ramsey Community College Saturday.

The Raptors, ranked No. 10 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, used the one-two punch of senior Ben Carlson and sophomore Kendall Blue to claim the comeback victory. Trailing 32-19 at halftime, Blue scored 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, while Carlson added 11 points in that period.

Carlson, a Wisconsin commit, posted a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. 

Rochester Mayo (10-4, 9-2) got 17 points by junior Michael Sharp and 16 from senior Gabe Madsen.

The Spartans made six 3-pointers in the first half, with Madsen and Andre Crockett making two each.

But East Ridge (12-5, 8-1) got back into the game with a 9-0 run early in the second half, then rode Blue and Carlson the rest of the way to complete the comeback.


Rochester Mayo's Gabe Madsen (0) makes a pass under the basket in the first half. Madsen scored 16 points for the Raiders at the Jack Link's Hall of Fame match up at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

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