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Chisago Lakes 74

North Branch 53

The first half played out exactly how the fans expected it to. Both teams, fueled by emotion, went back and forth like boxers involved in a heavyweight fight.

North Branch threw the first punch, scoring four of the first five points before the Wildcats answered with a 7-0 run. The Vikings then clawed back to re-take the lead a minute and a half later, then Chisago went in front. Get the picture? The first quarter had three lead changes and three ties before a quick four-point burst by the ‘Cats put them in front 17-13 with less than 10 seconds to play. A Greg Moriarty basket trimmed the deficit to two after the first eight minutes of the game. North Branch finished the first by shooting 54 percent from the floor while Chisago shot just 38 percent.

The flow of the game remained the same in the second. Every time Chisago would go on a run, North Branch would answer. The Wildcats opened up a seven point lead three minutes in to the second before the Vikings trimmed it down to four two minutes later. Then 17 seconds later, after a three-pointer by Jake Chambers, the lead was one, 27-26.

Chisago answered back with free throws the rest of the way, finishing the half with six free throws over the final three minutes, most of which came from David Olson who was held without a field goal in the first. The senior scored seven points in the first half, all coming in the second quarter, all coming from the free throw line. Nick Perrin scored the final basket of the first half, hitting a free throw of his own, making the score 35-32 Chisago.

“We played a pretty good first half even though we were a little excited and committed too many unforced turnovers,” said Bill Baumann, North Branch head boys basketball coach. “We showed some resolve by battling back from seven points down in the second quarter to get back down to one until it ended up a three point deficit at the half.”

Both coaches had a lot to talk about during the half. For Herb Jangor, Chisago Lakes head boys basketball coach, his halftime speech centered around one thing- defense. In the third quarter, his team responded.

After allowing 32 points in the first two quarters, the Wildcats changed the game by dropping into a match-up zone, holding the Vikings to just seven points in the third. Making matters worse for North Branch was the fact that they went cold from the field, hitting only 14 percent of their shots during that stretch. The result was an 18-8 run for the ‘Cats, opening up the game.

Mike Tschida and Trevor Johnson did most of the damage on offense for Chisago in the third as everything came together. Tschida hit back-to-back three-pointers during the middle of a 12-0 run by Chisago, moving them in front by 12. As for Johnson, the junior scored eight of his 10 points in the game in the third as he and the rest of Chisago established themselves inside. On the other side of the court, the ‘Cats forced six Viking turnovers.

“The adjustments that we made at the half were key,” said Jangor. We went to our triangle offense and also to our match-up zone. Our second half defense was big and also some clutch baskets in the third when we started to pull away. Neither team could stop the other. I didn’t feel they could shut us down so we had to shut them down with our defense. They just move so well without the ball, we had to slow them down.”

They did.

“It is what a team does in a handful of possessions that is the difference between a win and a loss,” commented Baumann. “We tied the game 35-35 with 5:40 left in the third, then the critical possessions came into play. Chisago scored and then we missed a shot and they scored a quick basket. After another missed shot, they scored again and the lead was six in a little over a minute. We called timeout and talked about how this was a critical possession but we ended up with a turnover which led to a three-pointer. After a couple more missed shots, they added another three and the lead was 12.”

It happened that quick. Leading 53-40 heading into the fourth, the Wildcats continued to build their lead from the free throw line. Chisago hit 11 free throws in the fourth on 14 attempts, leading to 21 more points. Meanwhile, despite three’s by Moriarty and Matt Warren, the Vikings never got within 10.

“To comeback on them again was going to be a major chore. We have been struggling lately offensively and to give a good team like Chisago Lakes that kind of a lead is a killer,” replied Baumann. “We needed to keep the game close to have a chance. The score remained at basically that distance until they outscored us 14-5 over the final three and a half minutes.”

The Chisago lead actually grew to 23, the largest of the game, with 23 seconds left before two Chambers free throws put an end to the scoring and the game.

“We have a philosophy that we want to win the key 12 minutes (first three and last three minutes of each half). We’re usually not a fast starting team, but we tend to pick it up as the game goes on,” remarked Jangor. “We just started to execute, both on offense and on defense. We got good balance and the kids played hard.”

Believe it or not but five Wildcats reached double figures in the game, led by Levi Secord’s 16. David Olson, who was double and triple-teamed throughout the game, finished with 12 on just one field goal.

“They were on him all game. They really tried to bottle him up,” remembered Jangor. “He went one for eight shooting, but he did the other things out there, he got everyone else involved. He finished with four assists and some steals. He played one of his better games of the season. Plus, Mike hit some big three’s, Levi and Trevor established themselves inside, and Zach Sill played great. He really gave us a nice lift throughout the game.”

As for North Branch, Chambers led the way with 15 points followed by 11 from Moriarty. Warren also reached double figures, scoring 10 in the game.

Chisago Lakes 74

North Branch 53

1 2 3 4 F

Chisago Lakes 17 18 18 21 74

North Branch 15 17 8 13 53

Chisago Lakes-

Secord 16, Olson 12, Tschida 11, Sill 11, Johnson 10, Lallier 4, Froberg 4, Kellum 3, Maher 2, Collins 1.

North Branch-

Chambers 15, Moriarty 11, Warren 10, Perrin 8, Novak 5, Beaver 3, Peterson 1.

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