Ryan Nonn wasn't much of a factor for Rochester Lourdes a season ago.
Well, he is now.
Nonn is the Eagles' athletic and poised starting point guard. The job wasn't given to the senior. He earned it.
"Ryan didn't play a lot last year," said Lourdes coach Jim Daly, whose team used another strong outing by Nonn en route to an easy 55-37 win Tuesday over struggling White Bear Lake in the first round of the Rotary Holiday Classic at Mayo Civic Arena.
"Ryan put in a lot of time in the offseason and really improved," Daly said of Nonn. "He's a super kid who listens, buys in and plays really well."
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The Eagles are playing in the four-team Olmsted Medical Center bracket and take on powerful Robbinsdale Cooper at 6:15 today in the title game, again at Mayo Civic Arena.
Nonn didn't light up the scoreboard, though still with a solid nine points. But it was his playmaking, ability to take care of the basketball and quick-footed defense that stood out.
He helped Lourdes get off to a raging start against White Bear Lake, which has just one win this season. After allowing the Bears the game's first basket, Nonn and the Eagles locked in.
They did it en route to going on a 23-0 scoring run. The final basket in that spree was a 3-pointer by Carter Greguson, who led all scorers with 16 points and canned three treys.
Nonn has relished being a part of this. And it's a good team, too, Lourdes now 8-4 overall. He made sure he was going to be a major contributor with his diligence over the summer.
"I put a lot of time in — a lot of time in in open gyms," Nonn said. "My biggest thing is taking care of the ball. I like having the ball in my hands as a point guard."
As for Greguson, he's shown an ability all season to put the ball in the basket. But he's definitely not taking all of the credit for that. This is a team, he says, in the best sense.
"We've got a lot of guys scoring," Greguson said. "We're doing it with really good team work."
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Indeed, Lourdes landed three players in double figures. Besides Greguson's 16 points, Noah Hillman had 12 and Daniel Galkowski 10.
Kyle Kanipes had 10 points for White Bear Lake.
Lourdes 55, White Bear Lake 37
WHITE BEAR LAKE (37)
Kevin May 6 P; Jack Danenberg 2 P; Sam Broberg 4 P; Kyle Kanipes 10 P; Blake Charles 5 P; Carter Kaun 2 P; Nathan Thomas 1 P.
LOURDES (55)
Ryan Nonn 9 P; Dominic Sieve 3 P, 1 3-PT; Noah Hillman 12 P; Carter Greguson 16 P, 3 3-PT; Matt Ustby 5 P; Daniel Galkowski 10 P.
Halftime:LOUR 26, WBL 8.
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Free throws:WBL 7-9, LOUR 9-11.
Three-point goals:WBL 0, LOUR 4.
