---

In December, the Wildcat boys held the Totino-Grace Eagle' basketball team to 18 first half points. They did the same thing at Totino Tuesday, February 6. In December, the 'Cats controlled the second half and won by 18. This time, the game was close the whole way, but the Eagles scored the last six points as they defeated CL 52-46.

The Wildcats and Eagles scratched and clawed their way through a first half that saw both teams play outstanding defense. While the 'Cats kept the Eagles' offense grounded, the Totino defense limited Chisago's shooters to 20 points.

"We played great defense," said Chisago Lakes head coach Herb Jangor. The score went back-andforth through most of the second half. Late in the contest, the game was tied at 46.

"We played hard and we played allright. We played well enough to stay in it, but not well enough to win," Jangor added. "Nobody played bad, but nobody was able to step up on offense except Sill.

"Offensive rebounding is what killed us. We couldn't keep them off the boards when we needed to. They got three big offensive boards late in the game and that was it," Jangor continued. "We didn't rebound well at all and we didn't get many offensive boards all night."

Chisago Lakes 20 26 46

Totino-Grace 18 34 52

Chisago Lakes Scoring

Tyler Bouwens 2

Chris Golv 8

Brian Jennissen 3

Taylor Jones 6

Zach Sill 15

Josh Figini 4

Joe Knafla 6

Troy Aadland 2

Total 46

Irondale at Chisago Lakes

The Chisago Lakes boys outscored Irondale 43-24 in the second half at CLHS Friday, February 9. The result was a 70-64 North Suburban Conference win for the Wildcats.

A pattern was established early in the game. The Wildcats worked the ball around the perimeter, patiently looking for a crack in Knights' defense. More often than not, their patience was rewarded with a missed shot or a turnover.

Irondale took a different route. They passed the ball until a shooter found himself free near the three point line. More often than not, their long range bombers, led by senior captain Chris Hooks, hit the mark. Their success from downtown led the Knights to leads of up to 17 points in the first half.

The Knights came out on fire, taking an 8-0 lead just over a minute into the contest. Seconds later, Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor, sent in a new five. Those five changed the pace and brought the local fans into the game.

Troy Aadland grabbed a rebound, took two dribbles and hurled a long pass to Scott Leigh, who beat the Knights down the court. His layup at 15:45 gave the 'Cats their first points. Leigh found Taylor Jones on a similar play 40 seconds later. Jones scored and was fouled. His freethrow made it 8-5. Jones, a junior guard, copied his senior teammates by finding Aadland for a fast break hoop to bring the Wildcats within one.

The three subs combined for three rebounds, three assists and three baskets in 63 seconds. At 14:42 the Wildcats trailed by only 8-7.

However, in the next five minutes, Hooks and the Knights ripped the nets for 19 points. Only a pair of three pointers by Wildcat senior Chris Golv interrupted the Irondale surge. At 7:40, the Knights had run their advantage to 27-13.

A Jones freethrow and a long one by three point specialist Kyle Hogie cut the lead to 27-17 at 5:55. In the next two-and-a-half minutes, Irondale continued its hot shooting. They scored 10 as, once again, only Golv was able to score for the 'Cats. With 3:25 left, CL was on the wrong end of a 37-21 score.

As the clock ran down, two Jones freethrow and one by Brian Jennissen were equaled by another Hooks three, his sixth in six attempts. Golv completed the first half scoring with another bomb to make the score 40-27 as Jangor followed his players to the locker room.

"A key in the first half was our mental attitude. We never hung our heads. We got it back to 13 after Brian Jennissen and Justin Rivard went to the floor for a loose ball," said Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor. "That gave us a real boost."

The second half was very different as CL outscored the Knights 43-24 to earn the win. The Wildcats didn't let Hooks get any easy looks from outside and, as a result, he was limited to three points, and no three-pointers.

"I told the team at halftime that Irondale usually plays one good half," said Wildcat head coach Herb Jangor. "The key to the win was that we never panicked or got discouraged. We pressed them and that got our running game going. That led to some easy baskets."

Zach Sill was the offensive star for the 'Cats. He had 18 second half points, including a 10 for 10 performance from the foul stripe. Three of those freethrows, along with a field goal, came in the closing minutes to preserve the win.

"Hogie hit a couple of big three's for us and Troy Aadland had one of his best games of the year.

Josh Figini led the Wildcat rebounders with nine, while Aadland and Sill each grabbed six. Taylor Jones dished out a team-high eight assists in the win.

Chisago Lakes 27 43 70

Irondale 40 24 64

Chisago Lakes Scoring

Kyle Hogie 9

Chris Golv 18

Scott Leigh 2

Brian Jennissen 1

Taylor Jones 8

Zach Sill 18

Troy Aadland 4

Josh Figini 8

Joe Knafla 2

Total 70

The Wildcats face Spring Lake Park at home Friday, February 15 before playing at Robbinsdale-Cooper Tuesday, February 20. Both games are scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

---