By Carl Goenner / Sports Director / @carl_goennerPXP / St. Cloud, Minn.

-The St. Cloud Tech boys basketball team defeated Sauk Rapids-Rice 71-53 on Thursday night.  Tech guard Jiech Jiech was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points.  The Tigers are now 3-3 on the year and handed Sauk Rapids their third straight loss.

The game started fast and some stellar scoring from Jiech Jiech helped the Tigers take the lead.  Sauk Rapids kept the score close with the help of some quality ball movement.  

Senior guard Owen Weisz helped the Storm find open shots and knocked down several crucial shots. However, Tech’s offense was too much for the Storm and St. Cloud Tech took a 28-26 lead into halftime behind Jiech’s 8 points.

Abdisalan Hasan made a pair of three pointers to start the second half and added a steal.  With 17:05 to go in the second half, St. Cloud’s Jiech drove down the lane and made a layup but was fouled and converted the and-1 free throw.    

This gave the Tigers more energy and a 31-26 lead. Later, Storm guard Abdisalan Hasan drained a three pointer, tying the game at 33 with 14:40 to go.  The Tigers soon stormed back and with 12:13 remaining, Moulid Abdi stole the ball and sent it to Kyle Kroska on the breakaway.  

Kroska made a layup in traffic and went to the free-throw line where he successfully finished the three-point play.   The Tigers extended their lead and moved on to take down the Storm 71-53.

Next up the Tigers will take on the Willmar Cardinals in Willmar, MN on Friday, Dec 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Photo credit: Tech activities.