---

The Chisago Lakes boys’ basketball team opened their season with a 54-46 loss at St. Michael-Albertville Friday, December 1.

“We never got in sync,” said Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor. The Wildcats battled from behind all night, but, “Every time we tied it up or gained the lead, we made mental mistakes or committed a turnover that hurt us.”

St. Michael led the ‘Cats 26-22 at halftime. CL worked hard in the second half to gain a 38-38 tie. “But, then we came down and threw it away, “ Jangor continued.

According to Jangor the Wildcats need to reach all three of their goals to win this season. “We need to do all three. We need to play hard, to play together and to play smart. We didn’t meet any of them. We played hard, but we need to do the little things well.”

CL didn’t shoot well. The Wildcats were only 15-44 from the field while St. Michael hit 21 of 57 attempts. “We didn’t pass the ball well enough to get better shots. We did okay defensively, but we didn’t score enough.”

The part of the game that really hurt was the rebounding. The Knights outrebounded the ‘Cats 39-24, including 20 offensive rebounds. “We need to box out. It’s not enough to work hard, we need to do the little things that make a big difference, like boxing out,” Jangor added.

While the Wildcats didn’t get the win, Jangor wasn’t entirely disappointed with his team’s performance. “On the plus side, we’re not that far from where we should be this time of the year. St. Michael is a nice team that plays hard. They’re a quality opponent who exposed our weaknesses.”

Jangor was very happy with the play of sophomore post player Josh Figini. “He played well,” the coach said, “and so did Taylor Jones. And Scott Leigh had a nice effort. He had a real nice first half for us. For us to win, we need better play from our seniors. They need to score more. They’re a hard working group, so they will play better.”

Game Summary

Chisago Lakes 22 24 46

St. Michael-Albertville

26 28 54

Kyle Hogie 6

Chris Golv 5

Scott Leigh 5

Brian Jennissen 4

Taylor Jones 4

Zach Sill 7

Troy Aadland 1

Josh Figini 10

Joe Knafla 4

Total 46

The Wildcats host the Fridley Tigers Friday, December 8 at 7:30. the game will be the second half of a girls-boys doubleheader. The girls’ game starts at 5:45.

---