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The Chisago Lakes boys’ basketball team had a good first half at Cambridge, Tuesday December 20. “We battled to a four point deficit at halftime,” said Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor, referring to the 23-19 Bluejacket advantage. However, Cambridge pulled steadily away in the second half en route to a 58-39 victory.

The coach was positive about his team, despite the loss. “We played one of our best games against Cambridge. The game was a lot closer than the score would indicate,” continued Jangor.

Cambridge came out in a half-court trap that really disrupted the Wildcats early in the second half. “We didn’t handle that very well. We played good defense, but they had a few good stretches on offense and MacDonald (Cambridge guard Rhett) threw in a couple of long threes and, all of sudden, they were up by 10,” said the coach.

As its 7-1 record indicates, Cambridge is a very good team and they take advantage of any weaknesses. Several times they scored on breaks after Wildcat baskets.

“They beat us down the court in the second half. They turned up the intensity after halftime and we just didn't match ‘em,” Jangor said.

The coach couldn’t be more positive about the effort his team gives him. “You couldn’t pick a better group of kids to go to battle with. Andy Olness had a good game. He scrapped, played tough D and rebounded. Trevor Johnson played a good game, especially on the boards,” Jangor concluded.

Scoring Summary vs. Cambridge

Cory Claeson................. 2

Andy Olness.................. 3

Chris Golv..................... 3

Taylor Jones.................. 5

Zach Sill........................ 8

Troy Aadland................ 2

Trevor Johnson............. 16

Spring Lake Park 62, Wildcats 48

The Wildcats were hoping for an early Christmas present Thursday, December 23. Playing at home on a warm evening, they took on a Spring Lake Park team that enjoyed a big size advantage over Chisago Lakes. The crowd was hopeful, but SLP was not ready to cooperate.

The locals saw the boys from Chisago stay close for the first eight minutes of the game. The Panthers pulled out to an early lead, but the Wildcats fought back, gamely. Troy Aadland’s three with 12:45 remaining in the first half brought them within striking distance. When Trevor Johnson followed with a bucket 45 seconds later, the score was knotted at 11.

A minute and a half later, two more Johnson hoops had the Wildcats back to a tie, this time at 15. On offense, Chisago could only manage two Andy Olness baskets the rest of the half. Meanwhile, SLP used its dominance of the boards and a suffocating defense to build a 33-19 halftime lead.

After the intermission, the Wildcats chipped away at the lead. At the 14:30 mark, they’d cut the margin to nine (37-28). That was as close as they would get. The Panther lead stood at 12 (42-30) when Johnson went to the bench with his fourth foul. SLP scored nine unanswered points in the next 1:40 to build a 51-30 cushion.

The Wildcats didn’t give up, but they were unable to mount a serious challenge for the remanider of the game. When the horn sounded, Spring Lake Park had a 62-48 North Suburban Conference win.

Scoring vs. Spring Lake Park

Jason Kellum.................. 3

Cory Claeson.................. 2

Andy Olness................... 11

Chris Golv...................... 9

Zach Sill......................... 4

Troy Aadland................. 3

Joe Knafla...................... 2

Trevor Johnson.............. 14

The Wildcats host the Chisago Lakes Invitational December 29-30. Games Begin at 6:00 both evenings.

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