The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Men's Basketball team put on an impressive shooting display in winning two games before the winter break.
On Friday evening the Golden Rams faced a high-scoring Bismarck State team who was averaging over 107 points per game, and came away with a 107-87 win over the Mystics.
The Golden Rams shot a blistering 18 of 37 (48.6 percent) from the three-point line and 57.6 percent overall.
Anoka-Ramsey led 35-32 with 6:12 left in the first half.
A three from Jackson Odegard, followed by five points from Kevin Schramm and a three by Justin Castro pushed the lead to 46-34 with 4:11 left.
After a Bismarck three, James Lloyd hit two free throws and a three to put the Golden Rams ahead 51-37 and they would carry a 62-46 lead into halftime.
Bismarck State scored the first four points of the second half to trim the deficit to 12, but Chris Morgan hit a three, Castro converted a layup, followed by five points from Lloyd and Anoka-Ramsey led 72-54.
The Mystics chipped away again pulling within 76-64 but Odegard would hit another three and DeAndre Jones made two free throws to provide a 81-64 cushion.
Bismarck State would again pull within 12 points, 86-74 with 8:13 left before a Schramm three and Lloyd layup extended the lead and Bismarck State wouldn't threaten again.
Lloyd finished with a career-high 30 points on 11 of 17 shooting and 4 of 9 from the three-point line to go with five rebounds and five assists.
Schramm scored 24 points and pulled in seven rebounds while also getting five assists.
Morgan hit 7 of 11 from the field on his way to 21 points.
Odegard chipped in 12 points making 4 of 9 threes and Jones scored eight points while grabbing ten boards.
The Golden Rams recorded 30 assists on 38 made field goals.
On Saturday the Golden Rams faced MCAC foe Vermilion Community College and came away with a 101-85 win after another hot shooting performance.
Anoka-Ramsey knocked down a season-high 20 three-point field goals in 37 attempts (54.1 percent) and made 37 of 67 overall (55.2 percent).
Consecutive jumpers from Morgan gave Anoka-Ramsey an early 10-4 lead before Vermilion pulled back within 15-14.
A Castro three and a Jones layup put the Golden Rams ahead 25-18 but a 5-0 Vermilion spurt pulled the Ironmen within two.
Castro finished a layup, follwed by a three from Schramm, a three-point play from Lloyd, and a Schramm jumper as part of a 10-2 run to put Anoka-Ramsey up 35-25.
Jackson Odegard knocked down a three to extend the lead to 13 points, 52-39 with 1:23 left in the half and Anoka-Ramsey would lead 53-43 at the break.
Vermilion opened the second half on a 9-2 run to pull within 55-52 but Anoka-Ramsey used an 8-0 run to pull away again.
The Ironmen closed to within 68-60 but a three from Morgan, followed by back-to-back Odegard threes in a 9-0 run put Anoka-Ramsey back ahead 77-60 with 11:49 to play.
The Golden Rams eventually build a 92-67 lead before a late 11-0 Vermilion run but the lead to 92-78 with 4:33 to play. But Anoka-Ramsey put the game away with, what else, consecutive threes from Morgan and Schramm to seal the win.
Schramm finished with 27 points on 11 of 19 shooting including 5 of 10 from the three-point line to go with ten rebounds.
Morgan finished with 20 points making 8 of 16 shots and 4 of 6 threes.
Lloyd scored 19 points making 4 of 6 from beyond the arc and all five free throw attempts.
Castro filled the stat sheet with 12 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.
The Golden Rams improve to 6-5 overall and will play January 5-6 in the Dakota County Tech Classic held on the campus of Inver Hills Community College.