GROTON – Aberdeen Roncalli got off to a fast start, but couldn’t keep up with Groton’s pace Tuesday night.

The ninth-rated Tigers repeatedly got out in transition to help fuel an 83-50 Northeast Conference boys’ basketball victory.

After the hosts scored just seconds into the game, the Cavaliers jumped out to a 12-6 lead. However, that lead was short lived as Groton led by five after the opening quarter.

Still, it was a marked difference from Roncalli’s setback to Northwestern last Saturday.

“I thought that our guys played incredibly hard. It was response attitude-wise and mentality from Saturday,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “We talked and we just weren’t sure our heads were in the game and today they scored within two seconds of the tip, and we were able to bounce back and take a quick lead, but at some point athletes take over, and they’ve got their fair share.”

Groton was able to use its height advantage on the backboard, not needing all five guys to rebound and sending speedster Keegen Tracy out on the break for transition layups.

“We crashed the boards really well,” Gallagher said. “I give a lot of credit to Mason (Berndt) and Quinton (Shelton) in that first half … but at the same, they don’t need five guys in there, they need 3-4 and Keegen can just get going and they’ve got guys that can make the baseball pass to him in transition.”

Roncalli stayed within striking distance in the first half, trailing 41-34 at the break, thanks in part to six 3-pointers. However, the Cavaliers were unable to slow down the Tigers, who added 42 points in the second half.

With size, speed, shooting and ball movement, Roncalli did not have enough answers against Groton.

“We start four guys under six feet. They’ve got all their guys over 6-foot tall. It’s no excuse, it’s just that they’ve got so many good athletes,” Gallagher said. “And it’s not just that. They’re athletic. They’re solid basketball players that see the floor well. They really hurt teams when they force rotations. They move the basketball as well as anyone in the state it seems like.”

Ryder Johnson led a balanced Groton attack with 21 points. Tracy added 19, Karson Zak followed with 18, including three slam dunks, and Gage Sippel finished with 16 points.

Freshman Creighton Fisher topped Roncalli with 16 points, all but one point coming on three-point shots. Jesse Hernandez followed with 12 points, and Austin Fisher netted 10.

Roncalli, 4-8 on the season, hosts Milbank on Friday night at Roncalli Gym in another NEC contest.

“We’ve got to play with great effort. They’re a physical team, they’re a downhill team,” Gallagher said. “We’ve got to be ready to play solid defense, but also ready do some solid work on the offensive end, too.”

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (4-8): Jesse Hernandez 4 1-1 12, Austin Fisher 4 1-2 10, Quinton Shelton 1 0-0 2, Creighton Fisher 5 1-3 16, Bryson Olson 3 0-2 6, Ezra Feickert 1 0-0 3, Brock Bowman 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 4-10 50.

GROTON (10-4): Ryder Johson 7 5-7 21, Keegen Tracy 8 2-2 19, Gage Sippel 5 6-6 16, Becker Bosma 2 0-0 4, Karson Zak 8 2-2 18, Jayden Schwan 1 0-0 2, Anthony Tracy 1 0-0 3. Totals 32-53 15-17 83.

Aberdeen Roncalli 15 34 45 50

Groton 20 41 64 83

3-point field goals – Hernandez 3, A. Fisher, C. Fisher 5, Feickert; Johnson 2, K. Tracy, A. Tracy. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 17; Groton 12. Rebounds – Aberdeen Roncalli 21 (Shelton 6); Groton 32 (Johnson 8, Sippel 8). Turnovers – Aberdeen Roncalli 13; Groton 8. Assists – Groton 20 (Johnson 4, Bosma 4, Easton Weber 4). Steals – Groton 8 (K. Tracy 2, Sippel 2, Zak 2).