Like many coaches, Benilde-St. Margaret's boys basketball coach John Moore was worried about his team's ability to function as a cohesive unit before its season opener.

"We looked a little ragged in our scrimmages," he said. "Most of these guys play on different teams in the summer [in AAU basketball]. Trying to get us all together on the same page will be a challenge. That's always hard this time of year."

Maybe Moore shouldn't have worried so much.

The Red Knights, ranked No. 3 in Class 3A, made it look easy on Thursday in front of their home crowd, beating the Rosemount Irish, 66-51, in a game where the outcome was never in doubt.

The Red Knights used an up-tempo offense, hot shooting and smothering defense to build a 26-2 lead midway through the half. The Irish, also playing their first game of the season, never recovered from that onslaught, and ended the half trailing by 22.

"I thought the first 16 minutes were great," Moore said. "We jumped on them early. I thought we shared the ball well."

Junior center Kyle Washington led the Red Knights in scoring with 16 points. His long arms and rebounding also helped stymie the Irish offense. Fellow junior starters Will Dunn and Sanjay Lumpkin added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Charlie Broback led Rosemount with 11 points.

Despite the fast start, Moore said that he was not pleased with his team's play overall, especially down the stretch.

"Our help defense disappeared [later in the game]," he said.

Maintaining the high energy level it showed during those first 16 minutes will be a key for Benilde-St. Margaret's as it moves forward this season, but Moore is confident his team will improve.

"They will have that intensity for 36 [minutes]," he said.

The next chance for the Red Knights to demonstrate that is Saturday, when they will take part in the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic at Minnetonka High School. They will play the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders at 1:30 pm.