REDFIELD – Aberdeen Roncalli’s greatest asset turned out to be its biggest liability Friday night.

The Cavaliers cranked up their all-out defense, but got into foul trouble in the process and Redfield made them pay in a 51-47 Northeast Conference boys’ basketball victory. The Pheasants made 14 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter and outscored Roncalli 18-3 at the foul line throughout the contest.

“Our guys played extremely hard today. It was just a great battle all the way through, watching our guys play defense the way they did,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “We preach defense over and over. That was the most aggressive defense that we’ve played so far this year. At the same time it got us into trouble. We were a little too over aggressive.”

For a while the defensive strategy worked, but it eventually caught up with the Cavaliers who not only lost a player to fouls, but also repeatedly put the Pheasants at the charity stripe.

“I can’t fault our guys. That’s the way we have to play,” Gallagher said. “The effort that we played with led to that.”

The score was tight the whole way and two three-pointers in the closing minute kept the Cavaliers in contention. However, Roncalli was forced to foul to get the ball back and Peyton Osborn made them pay.

Osborn made eight straight free throws in the final quarter to seal the deal. He led the Pheasants with 16 points and made all 10 of his foul shots on the night. Jerron Haider added 13 points and Nolan Gall had 10.

Roncalli, which has struggled on offense so far this season, featured a balanced attack led by Maddox May with 17 points. Keegan Stewart added 10, and Caden Shelton contributed seven.

“The best part is the last two games we kind of struggled with our shot selection. I’m not going to say we were perfect with this one, but we were so much better,” Gallagher said. “We were getting to the hoop. We were taking good shots. Our threes came off of kick outs. Our shot selection was great.”

While there were some positives to take away, the Cavaliers still left the gym with an empty feeling after suffering their third straight defeat to start the season.

“The positives are there. Our defense played relentlessly which is what we want to see,” Gallagher said. “It was a hard loss. Our guys were upset, which they should be. We’re not into moral victories. We don’t want those. We want to be in the win column, but the improvement is there.”

Roncalli will be back in action on Monday hosting Sully Buttes in a girls-boys doubleheader at Roncalli Gym.

Gallagher knows that the Chargers always play with effort and intensity.

“It’s going to show a lot of what we’re made of as far as toughness-wise,” Gallagher said. He knows his players will have to be prepared for that physical style of play. “We have to not just match it, but kind of out-play them in the effort area. That’s going to carry us forward.”

ABERDEEN RONCALLI: Maddox Miller 2 0-0 5, Zee Mounga 1 1-5 4, Caden Shelton 3 1-2 7, Keegan Stewart 4 0-0 10, Maddox May 8 1-1 17, Aiden Fisher 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 3-9 47.

REDFIELD: Nolan Gall 3 3-5 10, Paul Juarez 0 0-3 0, Jerron Haider 5 2-3 13, Peyton Osborn 2 10-10 16, Mitchell Mack 3 2-2 8, Justin Ratigan 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 18-23 51.

Aberdeen Roncalli 10 20 34 47

Redfield 9 22 37 51

3-point field goals – Miller, Mounga, Stewart 2; Gall, Haider, Osborn 2.  Fouled out – Miller. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 23; Redfield 12. Rebounds – Aberdeen Roncalli 29 (Stewart 6); Redfield 36 (Mack 11). Turnovers – Aberdeen Roncalli 22; Redfield 14. B Game – Aberdeen Roncalli 39-29.