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Chisago Lakes 78, Princeton 69

Even though it was only the first game of the season, fans and scouts alike got a literal show from senior Josh Figini.

Even though every team that faces the Wildcats know the red-haired tower will be the focal point of the offense, can they really stop him, or even contain him?

After losing 21 games last year, most of which went down to the wire, the Wildcats' hope to be on the bright side of some of those outcomes this year. "We have to visualize our succes,"?Head Coach Herb Jangor said. "We have to find a way to win the close games. We probably shouldn't have won this game -- although we did deserve it -- both teams deserved this game."

After Chisago Lakes and the Tigers had gone back and forth most of the game on Saturday,?Dec. 6, the contest came down to the closing seconds. With Princeton up by three, Figini, who has exceptional range for a big man, took a step back and pierced the Tigers' hearts with a three point shot that sent the game into overtime. "It's always good to play Princeton," Jangor said. "They will push you, and they are well-coached. They get after it."

In the extra period, the Tigers still wouldn't give in, as the teams again traded baskets right to the very end. Up by two points with only a few seconds left, Chisago Lakes got a shot off, but it clanked off the rim. However, with Figini firmly planted underneath the basket, he skied up and grabbed the offensive board, and was promptly fouled with just over one second left in the extra period.

Needing to sink both free throws to send the game to a second overtime, Figini calmly stepped to the line and kept his team alive again by hitting both shots.

In the second overtime frame, the Wildcats finally took advantage of the demoralized Tigers and ran away with a 78-69 win.

Figini stuffed the stat line more then a Thanksgiving turkey. He scored 46 of the Wildcats 78 points on 13-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 16-for-19 from the free throw line, grabbed 24 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards. He also had two assists, three steals and three blocks.

The guard play really helped Figini when it came to the overtime periods. "The shots were there for my better shooters during the game, but they couldn't hit them,"?Jangor said. "They need to step up with more confidence, but they did step up in overtime and found a way to help us win."

Asked if he thought such a heavy reliance on Figini would be helpful or detrimental to the team, Jangor said, "It is what it is. Josh carried us this night, but that can't happen all the time. Kids are going to have to step up."

Benji Figini was the second leading scorer for the 'Cats, getting 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. "Benj had a nice second half,"?Jangor said.

The Figini's combined for 57 of the Wildcats 78 points, which is 73 percent of the scoring.

Henry Fitzpatrick was all over the court, getting in on every hustle play he could. He finished with a workmanlike line of four points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

On most nights, Jangor expects Figini to be the big scorer, and then have a few supporting guys getting into double digits and seven to eight players to get into the scoring act. With that balance, it would keep other teams guessing and Figini more fresh as the season wears on.

If this game is indicative of the rest of the season, it's going to be an exciting three and a half months of Chisago Lakes basketball. Even Jangor couldn't help but being impressed just seeing the contest. "It was an exciting little high school basketball game," he said.

1,000 points

Figini's 46 points gave him 1,003 on his career, which makes him only the fifth player in Chisago Lakes boys basketball history to score 1,000 points. Barring any major set backs, Figini is well within the reach of the career scoring record at the school, which stands at over 1,300 points.

Athlete of the Week

With his amazing game, Figini was selected one of Pioneer Press's Athletes of the Week. It's the first of what could be many awards and accolades for the senior this year.

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