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Foley 54

Chisago Lakes 53

The Wildcats and Falcons finally locked horns. The game was supposed to be played on January 30, instead, a power outage in Foley postponed the game to last Tuesday.

It was worth the wait for Foley anyway. Playing without head coach Herb Jangor who was gone because of personal reasons, the Wildcats lost the battle on the boards and on the scoreboard, losing 54-53.

Leading by one at the half, 26-25, the ‘Cats lost ground in the third as the Falcons outscored Chisago 18-12.. Despite mounting a comeback in the fourth, the Wildcats fell one point short. With nine seconds left on the clock, Chisago’s attempt to win the game didn’t beat the final horn, leaving them with a 54-53 loss.

Senior Cameron Lallier led the ‘Cats in scoring with 13 while David Olson chipped in with 12. The loss once again dropped Chisago’s overall record below the .500 mark to 10-11.

“Cam played really well,” mentioned Steve Fisher, Chisago Lakes assistant boys basketball coach. “Our other post players got into four trouble early so Cam and Kyle Collins had to play a little post defense. It was nice to see Cam shine a little bit, he played really well.”

Foley 54

Chisago Lakes 53

1 2 3 4 F

Foley 12 13 18 11 54

Chisago Lakes 13 13 12 15 53

Scoring:

Lallier 13, Olson 12, Secord 8, Froberg 8, Corradi 6, Johnson 4, Swanberg 2.

Chisago Lakes 60

Pine City 56

Last Friday, the Wildcats not only got Herb Jangor back on the bench, they got senior Marcus Burgin back in the starting line-up for the first time this season, recovering from an injured foot.

Chisago Lakes made sure both comebacks were successful ones by defeating Pine City 60-56, pushing their season record to 11-11 with four games left.

The ‘Cats used their inside presence to gain control early. With Levi Secord (6’6) and Trevor Johnson (6’5) in the middle, the addition of Burgin (6’5) gives the Wildcats one of the most potent front lines in the conference, an advantage they were more than happy to use against the Dragons. Johnson, Burgin, and Secord controlled the paint, accounting for 10 of the ‘Cats 15 first quarter points. However, despite falling behind early, Pine City used their outside game to narrow the gap, pulling within three, 15-12 after one.

“You have to give them (Pine City) credit. We were on the verge of blowing them out,” remarked Jangor, Chisago Lakes head boys basketball coach. “We didn’t play smart during a stretch there late in the first, we got into foul trouble, and Pine City got back into the game. We just didn’t play good defense. We were reaching too much. I think mentally, the kids let down a little bit and you can’t do that against a team like Pine City.”

That’s because the Dragons might never give you that chance again. In this game, they didn’t. matching the Wildcats basket for basket the rest of the way as either team was able to pull away.

After scoring 14 more points in the second, six coming from David Olson and four from Burgin, Chisago Lakes marched into the locker room tied 29-29.

Both teams played even in the third, literally, each hitting three baskets from the field, one three-pointer, each scoring nine points. The back and forth affair had reached its boiling point, tied 38-38 with one quarter to play.

It was a quarter the Wildcats would win. Paced by 14 points from the free throw line, the ‘Cats outlasted the Dragons down the stretch, outscoring Pine City 22-18 in the final frame. Tony Corradi and Olson accounted for the only Chisago field goals in the fourth (three). After losing games in the past from the charity stripe, this time, the Wildcats were picture perfect, or close to it anyway.

“The kids played with a lot of heart down the stretch. There was no way they were going to lose,” stated Jangor. “You have to give Pine City credit. They played their game, the game they had to play in order to put themselves in position to win. But the kids buckled down and did what they had to do to win the game.”

Olson led the way in the fourth, scoring nine of his game high 16 points in the quarter. Secord added eight while Corradi and Froberg each scored eight. As for Burgin, a ho-hum 12 points in his first game back.

“We probably forced some things early with him. He’s out of sync rhythm wise, we were out of sync with him too,” commented Jangor. “That’s got to be expected. The biggest thing that he brought to the court was his leadership. We’ve been missing that this year and he brought that right away. With Marcus, we had good balance, it was a good game for us. Our timing is still off with him but it’s going to get better. We could still be a dangerous team when it comes to tournament time.”

Along with improving their season record to 11-11, the win pushed the ‘Cats conference mark to 9-6 with three league games remaining. This week, its St. Michael-Albertville and Zimmerman on the schedule. The game with Zimmerman is at home on Friday night.

Chisago Lakes 60

Pine City 56

1 2 3 4 F

Pine City 12 17 9 18 56

Chisago Lakes 15 14 9 19 60

Scoring:

Olson 16, Burgin 12, Secord 9, Froberg 8, Corradi 8, Kellum 3, Johnson 2, Swanberg 2.

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