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Chisago Lakes 64, Princeton 56

With a multitude of unknowns and only one returning starter, the Chisago Lakes boys basketball team wasn't quite sure how things were going to go once they stepped on the court for varsity action.

At first, it went terrible.

The Wildcats scored the first basket of the game on a pretty baseline drive up-and-under by senior Peter Tengwall, but after that, it was all Princeton for about five minutes.

Joss Jondahl hit three early three pointers and the Tigers were getting open looks every time down the court. Chisago Lakes, on the other hand, was forcing shots and clanking them off the rim left and right while Princeton went on a 16-0 run to go up 16-2.

"We were just taking bad shots that led to easy baskets by them," Head Coach Herb Jangor said. "Once we started moving the basketball better and swinging it around, we got everyone involved and things started to go well."

So well, in fact, that Chisago went on a 14-0 run themselves to tie the game at 16-16. Jondahl kept hitting threes, but each time, the Wildcats were able to answer. Sophomore Mitch Berg and senior Eli Trochman both hit three pointers to answer Jondahl longbombs, and Per Gulbranson attacked the hoop often, finishing at times, but getting to the free throw line when he didn't quite finish. Tengwall also hit some key baskets at the end of the half to give Chisago Lakes a 29-28 advantage.

In the second half, the Wildcats used their depth and spread the ball around enough to get six players on the board, with three of them scoring over eight points in the half. It's a far cry from recent history, as Chisago Lakes has normally leaned on one of the dominant Figini brothers to bear their scoring load early or late.

Gulbranson again took the lead, though, scoring 11 points in the half, including going seven-for-eight from the charity stripe. Berg kept his hot shooting going, sinking two three-pointers and working his way to the line.

Vinnie Gorski also chipped in after a relatively quiet first half. The junior scored eight points in a variety of ways -- he had a field goal, a three pointer and went three-of-four from the free throw line.

With the balanced attack and disciplined defense, the Wildcats stayed a step ahead of Princeton for most of the second half, and sealed the win with free throws down the stretch, 64-56.

Gulbranson led the Wildcats with 20 points. "He's going to be one of the guys that's going to have to get us at least 12 to 15 points a night," Jangor explained of his senior leader. "We'll have to find a few other guys who can do it too, but we're going to have to be balanced, which is a lot more fun to coach. Benji and Josh could score on any match up and we're sure going to miss that, but we'll have to use our depth to score now."

Berg chipped in 16 points in the winning effort while Gorski had 11. Tengwall added seven points and Trochman had six.

That balance and depth is something Jangor continuously preaches and hopes can continue. "We have to emphasize being a team that people don't want to play. We want to win ugly and get after it every night," he said. "But, if the kids get after it and play like they did against Princeton for 26 games, I'll be happy. If we lay it on the line every night, the team will be successful."

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