March 23, 2006 at 8:40 a.m.
The thrill of victory
Chisago Lakes boys upset Fridley 60-48 in Section 6AAA semifinals
The thrill of victory
The Wildcats started strong and never let up. On the strength of a suffocating defense, strong boardwork and some timely threes, CL built an 18-6 lead midway through the first half. “Our game plan was to come out and get after ‘em,” said Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor. “This was a total team effort and the key to the win was team defense. Blane (Maher) is our leader on defense. Nobody matches his intensity.”
The Wildcats’ leading scorer and rebounder, senior post player Trevor Johnson, was already on the bench with two fouls. But Zach Sill, Cory Claeson, Troy Aadland and company took up the slack to control the boards.
After Andy Olness’ bucket with 8:22 to go, Fridley went on a mini-run and scored five quick points to narrow the gap to 20-12. The Wildcats put their own run together as Blane Maher hit a two, Sill scored on back to back shots and Claeson put two on the board. “On offense, we spread the floor and were patient enough to look for good shots.” Jangor continued.
The ‘Cats had a 28-12 lead at the 5:25 mark and had everything going their way. But, Fridley, boasting a 20-8 record and riding a five-game winning streak, wasn’t ready to give up, yet. Before the break, the Tigers outscored CL 6-0 to claw their way back to a 10 point (28-18) halftime deficit.
It looked like that trend might continue as Fridley scored the first four points of the second half to close in on the Wildcats. At least as troubling to Chisago fans, Zach Sill, who had been a force at both ends of the floor, was called for his third foul. “At the beginning of the second half, we were playing not to lose rather than for the win. We got in a little foul trouble and we had to go to the zone to protect a couple of guys,” Jangor added.
Sill temporarily stopped the bleeding when he found Johnson open for a short one. With 14:30 on the clock, the ‘Cats led 30-22. Over the next five minutes, Sill’s two hoops were the only scores for Chisago. Meanwhile, the Tigers put nine on the board and, with three quarters of the game gone, were back within striking distance at 34-31.
Just when it seemed the Tigers’ claws were drawing blood, Olness showed why he’s so valuable to the ‘Cats. In a three minute span, Olness scored on a drive, found Sill open for a jumper from the elbow, electrified the crowd with a behind-the-back pass to Chris Golv to finish a break and drew the defense to himself on a drive before dropping a pass to an open Sill, who converted. The Wildcats had turned their three point lead into a 42-31 advantage with 5:50 left.
A Fridley timeout reinvigorated its offense and, in the next 150 seconds, the Tigers outscored Chisago 11-5. With 2:39 left, the score was CL 48, Fridley 42. An errant Wildcat pass gave the ball back to Fridley on an over-and-back call and it was nervous time.
However, the Tigers couldn’t convert and a pass from Sill set Johnson up for two at 1:38 to give Chisago an eight point lead. The deal was sealed when Sill grabbed another Tiger miss and found Tyler Bouwens with an outlet. Bouwens wheeled and air mailed it to Olness, who completed the break at 1:15.
“Olness had an outstanding game and Sill just wasn’t gonna let us lose. Cory Claeson does a lot of good things that don’t show up in the box score. And, what can I say about Trevor (Johnson). He had about 15 rebounds and three huge blocks in the second half that kept them to one shot,” the coach said.
With a 10 point (52-42) Wildcat lead, the Tigers were forced to take some defensive chances. The ‘Cats converted two fast breaks and went four-for-four from the line in the last minute to get one game closer to the state tournament.
“Right now, we’re playing as a team and not letting things bother us. When we make a mistake, we move on. The kids who came in off the bench did a great job. We’re playing the way we’re supposed to and the kids are starting to see that it’s paying off. As coaches, it’s really fun for us to see it all come together,” Jangor concluded.
Scoring Summary
Chisago Lakes 28 32 60
Fridley 18 30 48
Chisago Lakes
Andy Olness ..................... 14
Blane Maher ..................... 9
Chris Golv ..................... 2
Taylor Jones ..................... 3
Zach Sill ..................... 22
Trevor Johnson ..................... 8
Cory Claeson ..................... 2
Total 60
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