Woodbury boys basketball: Royals stun Cretin-Derham Hall by 19 points

The Royals are riding high.

The Woodbury boys basketball team earned its first Suburban East Conference win of the season Friday, Dec. 16, in a convincing 61-42 rout over Cretin-Derham Hall.

On Monday, Woodbury edged Northfield 74-70, pushing the team’s undefeated streak to five to start the young season.

Woodbury head coach Scott Swansson said the Cretin win was a credit to the team’s ability to focus on the defensive end of the game.

“To hold Cretin to 41 points is pretty good,” he said of the Raiders, a team that reached the state tournament last season and was a top-five team this year in Class AAAA.

The victory improves Woodbury’s record to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC.

Senior Royals forward Connor McKeen led all scorers in the game with 18 points. Fellow Woodbury senior Rickey Suggs added 14 in the game.

The Royals were able to contain Cretin-Derham Hall standout CJ Neumann, a 6-foot 7-inch Division I signee, to 16 points on the night.

Through the game, Woodbury had been holding opponents to an average of 50 points a game – good enough to crack the top five in Class AAAA, Swansson noted.

“I’m kind of happy with the way the guys are playing defense,” he said.

Woodbury forced a total of 10 steals in the game, led by Renard Suggs, who swiped three on the night.

Rickey Suggs was a leader on the defensive end of the court against the Raiders, collecting seven rebounds, blocking two shots and recording three steals. Senior Ryan Fritze hauled down eight rebounds for the Royals against Cretin.

The win was Woodbury’s second on the week after dropping Edina 63-52 on the road.

Swansson said that game also proved a good test: The Hornets brought a physical game that the coach said “bloodied some lips.”

“Guys were playing hard,” he said. “It’s good that we played a game like that.”

The Suggs brothers tied for the lead in scoring against Edina, both recording 15 points. McKeen scored nine against the Hornets, while Fritze scored nine.

Against Northfield on Monday, the Royals surged to a 38-24 first half lead. Woodbury watched that lead wither away in the second half — Northfield outscored Woodbury 46-36 in that frame — but held on for win.

McKeen led Woodbury in scoring against Northfield with 18 points. Renard Suggs added 15 for the game.

The Royals squared off Tuesday in a game against Rosemount that was played after the Bulletin went to press.

Up next for Woodbury is Lakeville North, another top-10 Class AAAA team.

“Hopefully we’ll play with them,” he said.

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