Wildcats halt five game skid with W

St. Louis Park 61, Chisago Lakes 55 The Wildcat boys basketball team continued to search for their first North Suburban Conference after dropping a game to the St. Louis Park Orioles. SLP enjoyed an early lead thanks to the inside-out combo of guard Kashif Hayes and forward DJ Pollard. At halftime, the Orioles led 23-16. Throughout the second half, Chisago Lakes chipped away at the lead with Vinnie Gorski and Mitch Berg as their catalysts, but they couldn’t find a way to keep up with the 10-3 Orioles. Berg got hot late to make the game close again, but SLP finished with free throws. For the game, they took 10 more free throws than the Wildcats, and CL only made half of their eight attempts. Gorski ended the night with a team-high 18 points and Berg added 14. Clay Houfer, who is Chisago Lakes’ best inside presence, ended the game with nine points. Hayes scored a game-high 19 points for SLP and Pollard added 15. Chisago Lakes 54, Cloquet 47 The Wildcats snapped their five game losing streak when they hosted the Cloquet Lumberjacks on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats grabbed the lead early in the contest in what was a high-energy half despite the fact that CL had played the night before. The ‘Cats got out to a 28-22 lead and were hitting some key three-pointers and getting to the line. In the second half, the 5-5 Lumberjacks attempted a few runs at Chisago, but each time, the Wildcats batted them back with a timely bucket or opportune turnover. Gorski and Jake McKenzie led the offensive charge in the 54-47 victory, with Gorski netting 17 and McKenzie sinking nine. Again, Chisago Lakes struggled from the line, shooting only eight-for-19 to run their weekend total to 12-of-27, poor even in high school standards. But, their sharpshooting from the three point line, where they sank three long rangers, saved them in the game. The ‘Cats traveled to St. Francis earlier this week to take on a Saints team that just lost for the first time last weekend and are 11-1 on the year, and then they host Totino-Grace on Friday, Jan. 18 at 7:15 p.m.