---

North Branch 60

Chisago Lakes 56

Versus North Branch last Thursday, the Chisago Lakes Wildcats were still feeling the affects from their loss to Princeton two days earlier.

Playing without their head coach and one of their starters, the Wildcats were behind the eight-ball before the game even started.

“We had three players technicals, a head coach technical.  This is my club and we’re not going to stand for that type of behavior because this team and the program is better than that.  We're not going to take that, so I took a self-imposed one game suspension,” said Herb Jangor, Chisago Lakes head boys basketball coach.

Playing on the road in front of a hostile crowd, the Vikings started the game with a bang as Nick Perrin and Greg Moriarty each hit three-pointers in the first two minutes of the game.  After the Wildcats charged back to tie with three quick points, North Branch once again moved in front on back-to-back baskets by Jeff Olson and Matt Warren.  However David Olson and company answered, finishing the first on a 9-0 run, jumping back in front 15-10 at the end of one.  Olson finished the first quarter with seven points altogether, including two three-pointers.  In addition, Mike Tschida added to the fireworks from beyond the arc with one of his own.

Olson struck again to start the second, extending the Chisago run to 11 straight before Warren stopped it with his second basket of the game.  Warren's hoop triggered the Vikings offense as North Branch began to nip away at the Wildcat lead.  First Tony Beaver got on the scoreboard, then Warren, then Perrin.  Before anyone knew it, the Chisago lead was down to three.  Moments later, another basket by Perrin and a free throw by Beaver brought the Vikings even closer, this time within one with 2:26 to play in the half.  Things were starting to unravel for Chisago. 

The Wildcats bit back with a 5-0 run, running their lead back to six before seven straight points by Al Moore once again closed the gap, actually giving the Vikings a one point lead with 12 seconds left.

After a Chisago technical, Perrin made the North Branch lead three at the buzzer on the heels of two free throws, making the score 31-28.  The Vikings had comeback from as many as nine points down in the span of seven minutes.  The home crowd was shocked.

“Our seniors really showed some leadership at the right time,” said Bill Baumann, North Branch head boys basketball coach.  “Being as young as we are, it is important for them to display that quality.  Al Moore had a great personal run at the end of the first half and Greg Moriarty hit some big shots.  Tony Beaver is a warrior.  He keys our defense.  He leads by example through his hard work.”

Led by their seniors, the Vikings stayed in the drivers seat the rest of the way, only losing the lead once, and even then, it was only for a second.  That happened at the 4:02 mark of the third when Tschida hit one of his six three's in the game, giving the Wildcats a one point lead. However, Moriarty answered with a three of his own less than a minute later, putting the Vikings back in front.  They stayed there, outscoring the 'Cats 9-2 to close out the third, pushing their lead to 46-38 with one quarter left.

The third quarter would prove to be the difference.  Leading by eight to start the fourth, another Moriarty three catapulted the Vikings in front by 11, their first double-digit lead of the game.  It was just enough. 

The Wildcats slowly trimmed away at the deficit, pulling as close to three with just over a minute left on a Tschida three-pointer, the second of two he hit in the fourth. But Moriarty sealed the game from the free throw line down the stretch, nailing three crucial free throws over the final minute, securing a 60-56 North Branch win. After suffering through a hard-luck first two weeks of the season, the Vikings forgot about all of that. They had their first win of the season, against their number one rival no less.

“We caught them at the right time but you have to give our kids some credit, we played hard and we were patient on the offensive end,” remarked Baumann. “Defensively, we really helped out well and made them work for their shots.”

Tschida led the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points. Olson added 14 in two quarters of play. Cameron Lallier and Trevor Johnson each added nine. As for North Branch, Warren and Moriarty each struck for 14 in the game and Perrin chipped in with 12. Beaver and Moore also had good games on the offensive side of the ball, scoring eight and seven points respectively.

“Matt Warren has stepped up his game and Nick Perrin is getting more confident. Justin Novak is turning into a defensive stopper,” added Baumann. “The best thing is that we got the monkey off our back by winning a close one. At this point we will take it anyway we can.”

North Branch 60

Chisago Lakes 56

1 2 3 4 F

North Branch 10 21 15 14 60

Chisago Lakes 15 13 10 18 56

Scoring:

North Branch-

Warren 14, Moriarty 14, Perrin 12, Beaver 8, Moore 7, Peterson 3, Olson 2.

Chisago Lakes-

Tschida 18, Olson 14, Lallier 9, Johnson 9, Collins 4, Maher 2.

---