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Fridley 78, Chisago Lakes 66

After winning the RiverBank Holiday Classic as a capper to 2008, the Chisago Lakes boys basketball team began 2009 with a resounding thud.

Downing Esko and Andover in he Classic, as well as a win over Osceola before the tournament, the Wildcats were riding high on a three game win streak. It all came to a crashing halt, however, when they traveled to Fridley to take on the Tigers.

The story to this game went a lot like most of the other Wildcat games have this year. Josh Figini came out blazing hot, scoring 15 of the 'Cats 26 first half points.

The rest of the crew, however, wasn't sinking their open shots, and Fridley took a seven-point lead into the locker rooms at halftime at 33-26.

In the second half, Chisago Lakes clawed their way back into the game to eventually even up the score. But, the offense all of a sudden started cracking under the pressure of a full press defense. "We had a two to three minute bad stretch in the second half when we just couldn't handle the press," Head Coach Herb Jangor remarked. "We gotta play as a team in this conference or it's just going to be 'BOOM!' lights out."

In CL's short drought, the Tigers took advantage by not missing their easy shots and reopening the gap between the two squads. After that, the Wildcats were never able to recover, as they had to try to play a catch-up game that they weren't comfortable in. "We have to improve the whole operation. Guards, forwards, everyone," Jangor said. "To win in this conference, you have to play hard, play together, and play smart, in that order. We don't have a problem playing hard, but we have to match the other team's intensity and mental toughness. We're right there, we do a lot of good things, but in this conference, you have to play a total game. We didn't play the game that was dictated to us."

Fridley sealed the deal late by hitting most of their free throws, and they sent CL home with a 78-66 North Suburban Conference loss.

Figini finished up the game with 31 points, but no one else did a terrible amount of scoring for the 'Cats. Mike Sokol and Jake Warkel each scored seven points, and Benji Figini scored only three points, more than 10 below his season average.

GAME SUMMARY

Chisago Lakes 26 40 66

Fridley 33 45 78

Scoring: Johnson 2, Hickcox 2, Sokol 7, Collins 4, Eichten 5, Fitzpatrick 5, J. Figini 31, B. Figini 3, Warkel 7.

Irondale 58, Chisago Lakes 57

Irondale entered the game with a sneaky 2-7 record. It's not impressive to look at, but most of their losses came to premier Minnesota programs. Hopkins, Anoka, Champlin Park and North St. Paul are a who's who of metro basketball, and Irondale had already faced all four of them.

Couple that with the fact that the three NSC losses Irondale had were to Spring Lake Park, St. Francis and Fridley, who have combined for a 23-7 record, it made Irondale probably the most dangerous 2-7 team in the state.

The Wildcats found that out in the first half. After taking a lightning quick 9-0 lead, CL crumbled in the face of Jordan Anderson's 11 points and Rayveen Banks' 13, as Irondale sprinted back ahead for a 35-26 lead at halftime.

On the Wildcats' side, however, Figini was fresh for the second half in part because Warkel had taken some of the scoring burden in the first half. Behind two key three pointers and two free throws, Warkel scored eight points in the first half. Figini had eight also.

However, this was a game of runs, and even though the Knights had a nine point lead at halftime, CL battled back for a four-point lead with just over three minutes remaining.

The momentum swings just kept coming for both teams, though. Irondale retook the lead after that, but with 20 seconds left, the Wildcats tied it back up at 57 with a big three-point shot.

On the defensive end of the court, the Wildcats had what Jangor called a "mental breakdown" and fouled one of the Knights. The Irondale player made one of two free throws for a 58-57 Irondale lead with very little time left.

After the miss, the Wildcats charged down the court and had at least three decent looks according to Jangor, but the ball just wouldn't go in, and the buzzer sounded before CL could overtake the Knights.

"We're just not coming together. We had a winning effort and winning performance," Jangor suggested. "But mental breakdowns are keeping us from winning. We can just keep playing hard, but hard doesn't always get it done. You can't win without playing hard, but you also need to play smart and together. We're not far away."

GAME SUMMARY

Chisago Lakes 26 31 57

Irondale 35 23 58

Scoring: Johnson 2, Vrudny 2, Sokol 3, Collins 3, J. Figini 25, B. Figini 10, Warkel 12.

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