---

Centennial Tournament

Round One

Centennial 73

Chisago Lakes 57

Against even an average team, a slow start can be a killer. Against a good team, it could lead to disaster.

Just ask the Chisago Lakes boys basketball team, who opened up the first round of the Centennial basketball with seven points in the first quarter while Centennial put up 23.

Things got better for the Cats on offense in the second, scoring 15 points. However, the Cougars did even better, scoring 23 again, leading to a 46-22 halftime lead.

“We turned the ball over four of our first five possessions, we just let the little things bother us,” remarked Herb Jangor, Chisago Lakes head boys basketball coach. “Our inexperienced showed. We let things bother us and it just snowballs from there. Then once it does that, we’re in trouble.”

The snowball melted slightly in the second half for the Wildcats as they chipped away at the 24 point deficit. After scoring 12 points in the first half, junior David Olson kept the baskets coming in the third, scoring nine while Mike Golv, Todd Froberg, Trevor Johnson, and Levi Secord added to the attack, trimming the Centennial lead to 17, 56-39.

Still, the hill was too steep to climb. Despite outscoring the Cougars in the fourth, Centennial strolled to an easy 73-57 win. The slow start was too much to overcome.

“We played a good second half,” said Jangor. “The kids came out and battled. They just need to start doing the little things rather than come out and go through the motions. They battle, there is no quit in them, but right now, we’re just too inexperienced. We didn’t have any consistency. We need more than one or two guys stepping up on a given night,” commented Jangor. “We have had four or five kids have some nice games this season, it shows the potential is there, it shows that these kids can play varsity basketball, we just need them all to come together on the same night.”

Case in point, while Olson led the way with 30 points, the next closest was Johnson with nine. Secord chipped in with six. Meanwhile, Centennial finished with four players in double figures.

“David (Olson) played under control,” said Jangor. “We’ve got some other players who need to pick up there games. It’s simple, you go out there and play with confidence but we’re not doing that because we’re not doing that well right now. When things don’t go well, we stop attacking and the kids get scared. We need to play through that and stay positive.”

The loss dropped the Wildcats record to 2-5 overall.

Centennial 73

Chisago Lakes 57

1 2 3 4 F

Centennial 23 23 10 17 73

Chisago Lakes 7 15 17 18 57

Scoring:

Olson 30, Johnson 9, Secord 6, Golv 3, Corradi 3, Froberg 2, Brelje 2, Swanberg.

Centennial Tournament

Round Two

Coon Rapids 51

Chisago Lakes 46

After falling to Centennial, Jangor challenged his team to start strong against Coon Rapids in the final game of the Centennial Tournament.

The players responded by starting fast, however, it was the way they finished that led to their sixth loss of the season.

The Wildcats used the three-pointer to jump-start their offense, hitting five treys in the first quarter, accounting for all of their 15 points scored in the quarter. Sophomore Jason Kellum notched two long balls while David Olson, Todd Froberg, and Tony Corradi each hit one, putting Chisago Lakes in front 15-10 after one.

Both teams played even in the second quarter. Olson continued his hot-hand with seven more points, helping the Wildcats to a 26-23 lead at the half. Along with Olson, five other players scored points in the first half of play.

But, the game began to turn in the second half. Two areas that got the ‘Cats in the lead, balance and defense, started to melt away. Paced by senior Gavin Ganab, the Cardinals closed the gap quickly as Ganab struck for 10 in the third quarter alone, helping Coon Rapids take a one point lead heading into the fourth, 39-38.

Ganab was joined by Mike Howe in the fourth quarter as Coon Rapids extended their lead. While Ganab scored five, Howe struck for seven, accounting for all 12 fourth quarter points for Coon Rapids. Meanwhile, the Wildcats turned one dimensional, getting seven of their eight fourth quarter points from Corradi, not enough to close the gap on a 51-46 loss.

“We played well for three quarters. They had one senior who stepped it up and we didn’t have a match for him,” explained Jangor. “Basically, it was just one player stepping up for them and we let that affect us. They turned up the pressure and we stopped attacking. We have to learn to attack when the other team turns up the pressure instead of waiting. The kids have it inside of them, we as coaches just haven’t done a good enough job bringing it out of them. As a team, we haven’t figured it out yet.”

Despite being shutout in the fourth quarter, Olson once again led the Wildcats with 17 points, Corradi finished with 10. Kellum was the next closest on the box score, ending the game with six points on two three-pointers.

“Trevor (Johnson) had a good game, he played a little more assertive,” remarked Jangor. “Kellum (Jason) started well, he gave us a spark, and David (Olson) played his best back-to-back games of the season. But, two games does not make a season. He’s made some steps forward, now he just needs to keep moving forward by taking those baby steps. We take a step forward and then backwards,” said Jangor. “We just need to keep taking baby steps forward. The kids press, they want to take more than a baby step and that’s when we get in trouble, we get ahead of ourselves. We just need to concentrate on doing the little things to get better right now.”

Despite falling to 2-6 on the season, a major step was on the way.

Coon Rapids 51

Chisago Lakes 46

1 2 3 4 F

Coon Rapids 10 13 16 12 51

Chisago Lakes 15 11 12 8 46

Scoring:

Olson 17, Corradi 10, Kellum 6, Johnson 5, Secord 4, Froberg 3.

Chisago Lakes 46

St. Francis 39

Last Saturday, the Wildcats not only returned home, but also returned to their winning ways, slipping past a pesky St. Francis team, 46-39.

Like against Coon Rapids, Chisago Lakes started strong, but this time, their finish was even stronger.

David Olson and Trevor Johnson sparked the Wildcats out of the gates. The inside-outside combo struck for 11 of the ‘Cats 13 points in the first quarter, leading to a 13-9 after one.

“We played well,” mentioned Jangor. “Sometimes we forget that our overall goal is to get better, take baby steps and continue to improve. We started that game doing some little things that were effective.”

However, St. Francis used their balance to strike back, getting points from six different players in the second quarter, outscoring Chisago 15-11, leaving the teams tied at the break, 24-24.

Sometimes with a young team, things get worse before they get better. That’s exactly what happened for Jangor and the Wildcats in the second half.

St. Francis picked up the pressure and dropped into a zone, protecting the inside. The game-plan worked, holding Johnson and Levi Secord to two points in the third compared to 11 points in the first half. To compound the problem, a Olson three-pointer and Mike Golv basket accounted for the only two baskets of the quarter for Chisago in the third, leading to a 34-30 St. Francis lead. The Wildcats had been there before, the only question was how were they going to respond this time.

Your answer? Excellent.

“The object of running a good offense is getting quality shots,” remarked Jangor. “Sometimes when the ball doesn’t go in the hoop, the kids get frustrated. They think just because we’re not scoring, we’re not running a good offense, so they start to press and get away from what we’re trying to do. We had to back to running our system.”

After preaching baby steps to his team, the Wildcats took a giant step forward down the stretch, taking control of their game with their defense and sealing the win from the free throw line.

After a quiet third, Olson was anything but late, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter, including two on a steal as time wound down. The Chisago Lakes defense was so dominating that St. Francis was held to no field goals in the final quarter, none! All five of their quarter points came from the free throw line.

“If you go back to the game before (against Coon Rapids), once things got tough, the kids cracked,” said Jangor. “This time, the kids kept battling. We hit our free throws and cut down on our turnovers. We didn’t beat ourselves like we have been doing. We played solid defense. We can’t be in a position to win if we don’t play good “D”. That sparked us and the kids took advantage of it.”

Speaking of the free line, after taking the lead, Chisago held on by hitting 8-9 free throws, securing a 46-39 comeback win. Although the team still has a long way to go, everyone will agree that the ‘Cats are beginning to show the tools for success.

“We’re making progress, now we can’t get too high and we can’t get too low, we just have to keep on getting better,” commented Jangor. “Olson (David) had a real nice ballgame, he did the things that sometimes people don’t see because they don’t show up in a box score. He finished the game with seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Levi (Secord) had a nice game inside, he played aggressive. And Tony Corradi played probably his best game of the season. He played within the system, doing the little things like a senior should do.”

All reasons for the win, a very important win. It was the ‘Cats first since December 16 and it gives them momentum heading into a string of 11 straight conference games. Let the Rum River games begin!

Chisago Lakes 46

St. Francis 39

1 2 3 4 F

St. Francis 9 15 10 5 39

Chisago Lakes 13 11 6 16 46

Scoring:

Olson 20, Secord 8, Johnson 5, Swanberg 4, Corradi 4, Kellum 3, Golv 2.

---