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The Chisago Lakes boys’ basketball team fell to 2-3 in the North Suburban Conference after its 85-56 defeat at Cooper High School Tuesday, January 17.

The Wildcats couldn’t match the Hawks’ firepower and balanced scoring. Cooper (11-2) was led by Jefferson Mason’s 26 points as it ran its conference leading record to 5-0.

Cooper is a very athletic team with a number of players in the 6’3”-6’4” range and the Wildcats had a very difficult time on the boards. “We couldn’t match up with their size and athletic ability,” said Chisago Lakes head coach Herb Jangor. “They probably scored 20 of their 52 first half points off fast breaks. They’re a good team that shared the ball well.”

The Wildcats stayed with the Hawks for the first five or six minutes. But, after the Hawks’ coach took a time out while leading 12-8, his players came out with increased intensity and quickly pulled away from the Wildcats.

“We played well on offense, but we just couldn’t keep up with them. We’re not exactly slow, but they were beating us down the floor,” Jangor added.

According to the coach, Jason Kellum had a good game on the perimeter and Trevor Johnson led his team on the boards, again.

“Our kids never quit. We were down by 30 points and were still diving for balls. Sometimes, in athletics, you have to be satisfied with playing hard. You can’t always win,” Jangor concluded.

Scoring Summary

Chisago Lakes 28 28 56

Cooper 52 33 85

Jason Kellum .....................11

Tyler Bouwens ..................... 2

Andy Olness ..................... 2

Blane Maher ..................... 4

Scott Leigh ..................... 3

Brian Jennissen ..................... 2

Taylor Jones ..................... 4

Zach Sill ..................... 7

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

Trevor Johnson .....................17

Chris Golv ..................... 2

Total 56

Chisago Lakes vs. Totino-Grace

The Wildcats leveled their conference record at 3-3 with a 66-56 home win over the Eagles Friday, January 20.

Things did not start well for the ‘Cats. Chisago Lakes head coach Herb Jangor called a timeout with 1:08 gone. Totino had a 4-0 lead and he was not happy with the flow of the game.

Jangor subbed five men 40 seconds later, with the hope of changing the pace of the game and to talk to his starters. It wasn’t until the 14:15 mark that the home team scored. Zach Sill’s jumper from the elbow made the scored 8-2. At 13:00 a Tyler Bouwens three brought the Wildcats to within five (10-5).

The Chisago offense went into hiding, again, and Jangor burned another timeout with 10:30 remaining and Totino on top 14-5. This time, his team responded with an offensive surge. Taylor Jones hit a three 40 seconds later. Jason Kellum hit consecutive three pointers and Sill connected two from the corner to give the Wildcats their first lead, 16-14, with 7:52 on the clock.

Andy Olness, Sill and Bouwens provided the offense for Chisago as the two teams sparred over the last five minutes of the half. Four ties and a number of lead changes left the Wildcats with a 28-26 lead as the teams went to the locker rooms.

In the second half, the Wildcats gradually pulled away. The defense kept constant pressure on the Eagles and the offense scored enough to build a lead. Sill and Trevor Johnson carried the scoring load. Sill played a slashing, aggressive style that kept Totino off balance. Johnson, who’d sat out much of the first half with two fouls, became a big factor on the inside.

The ‘Cats had maintained a 7 to 10 point lead for much of the half. But, some sloppy passing and poor decisions led to a Totino comeback in the last few minutes. With about 2:30 to go, the Eagles had come back and trailed by one.

Coach Jangor called timeout and reminded his team of what got them the lead and why they’d lost it.

“After that, Sill hit a couple of big shots that gave us a three point lead with about 1:30 left,” Jangor said. “From there, we got three layups off breaks as time ran out. We wore ‘em down. We outworked ‘em. Most people thought we were dead at 2-6 a couple of weeks ago. But, these kids just won’t give up. Now we’re 3-3 in the conference and 7-8 overall.

“Tyler Bouwens had his best game of the year. He hit some big shots to get us back in it in the first half and he ran the show when he was in there. Kellum had another good game and Golv, Olness and Maher played well. Sill had a huge game and, for the most part, we executed well,” concluded Jangor.

Scoring Summary

Chisago Lakes 28 38 66

Cooper 26 30 56

Jason Kellum ..................... 6

Tyler Bouwens ..................... 7

Andy Olness ..................... 9

Blane Maher ..................... 4

Brian Jennissen ..................... 2

Taylor Jones ..................... 3

Zach Sill .....................21

Trevor Johnson .....................12

Chris Golv ..................... 2

Total 66

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