February 8, 2007 at 7:51 a.m.
Wildcat boys roar back after tough conference loss
Chisago Lakes Figini and Sill find their “shooters’ touch” on a night where threes were absent
Wildcat boys roar back after tough conference loss
The 'Cats used the first half scoring of Chris Golv (12 points) and Josh Figini (8 points) and a tenacious defense to build a 26-23 halftime lead over the state's number one rated Class 3A team. "Golv hit two 'Monster Bombs' to start the game. He was doing it all. He made four three's, a number of drives, and played with composure. Our kids came out and executed our game plan and we got some fast break points as a result," said Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor.
Chisago continued its strong play early in the second session. The 'Cats efforts were rewarded with a 10 point lead over the Knights. After that, Benilde slowly chipped away at the CL lead. "You can't take everything away. They hit about five three's in a row in the middle of the period to go up by six or seven," Jangor said.
Golv and Zach Sill led a Chisago Lakes resurgence to get back to a 53-51 deficit with two minutes to go. "The kids regrouped and got it back to two with a chance to win. We executed, but they made their freethrows down the stretch when they needed to," Jangor added.
"We weren't quite good enough to get past one of the best teams in the state. Effort-wise, we played hard, played together and played smart, like we want to. We did the little things and mentally we 'just played basketball.' Twelve kids played for us and they all played well," the coach said.
Jangor, obviously pleased with the improvement his team has shown since the Wildcats suffered an 88-48 home loss to Benilde in December, said, "We played probably our worst game of the year the first time. Hopefully, the kids will use this as a springboard. We're getting better and better. We'll find out in the next week if we're gonna get where we need to be.
"We played with confidence. We have to take the confidence we've gained and continue to build on it. We're playing successful basketball. We were putting too much into looking at the scoreboard. We need to continue to play with the intensity and energy we have been. The wins will come," Jangor concluded.
Chisago Lakes 26 28 54
Benilde 23 37 60
Chisago Lakes Scoring
Tyler Bouwens 6
Chris Golv 26
Zach Sill 6
Josh Figini 9
Joe Knafla 7
Total 54
St. Francis at Chisago Lakes
The Wildcats overcame the cold weather and some cold shooting to beat St. Francis 54-41 at CL Thursday, February 2.
More than four minutes had run off the clock and only Zach Sill and Tyler Bouwens had managed to find the net for the Wildcats. Fortunately, the Saints had only scored four, as well.
At 12:03, Chris Golv used his quickness to steal the ball and then feed Brian Jennissen who converted for a 6-4 lead. Midway through the period, the 'Cats went up for good when Josh Figini connected on two freethrows after being hacked in the paint. At 8:25, Zach Sill's drive gave CL a 10-6 advantage.
After a Saint hoop made it 10-8 at 8:06, the home team outscored St. Francis 12-4 before the break. Figini picked up two more from the stripe, Joe Knafla hit a turnaround from the lane and followed it with a charity toss. Sill hit two from the line and two shots from the floor and Golv hit a freethrow as the 'Cats built a 22-12 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Wildcats applied some defensive pressure with a full-court defense that resulted in St. Francis turnovers and some fast break baskets for the 'Cats. "Bouwens got us going in the second half and we opened it up a little more," said Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor.
Those easy baskets helped CL to a 36-19 lead. "But, we got a little careless and they came back and got it down to 10," the coach added. From that point, the Wildcats took control and led by 12 to 15 points for most of the rest of the game.
"We played well defensively, but we never really got into rhythm on the offensive end," Jangor said. "They played a zone and we didn't make any three's. Normally, we're good for four to six or seven a game.
"We didn't have our top game, but we played well enough to win. Sill was slashing and pulling up like he can and Figini did a nice job on the inside for us. And, even though he didn't score much last night, Knafla has given us a lot. He's spelled Figini and the two have been a nice compliment to each other," Jangor concluded.
Chisago Lakes 22 32 54
St. Francis 12 29 41
Chisago Lakes Scoring
Tyler Bouwens 2
Chris Golv 2
Brian Jennissen 4
Taylor Jones 4
Zach Sill 19
Josh Figini 20
Joe Knafla 3
Total 54
The Wildcats host Irondale, Friday, February 9 before they travel to Columbia Heights for a Tuesday, December 13 game. Both games are scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
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