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NORTH BRANCH BOYS
North Branch 82, Monticello 40
The Vikings absolutely clobbered the Monticello Magic on Friday, January 6 when they stepped back into Mississippi 8 Conference play.

Behind a balanced offensive showcase, North Branch held a 30 point lead at halftime and put it on cruise control in the second half and still continued to pull away.

Tyler Minke led the way for North Branch with 20 points, Brody Beaver had 13 points and Carson Klein, Noah Thorsen and Mason Young all had 11 points in the winning effort.

North Branch 60, Cloquet 46
North Branch hosted section foe Cloquet the next day for a matinee performance, and despite the tired legs, the Vikings still got the important win to move to 7-2 on the year.

Minke was again a star for NB, as the sophomore poured in 26 points with six three pointers. Beaver added 15 points and Owen Link scored seven points for the second straight game.
North Branch’s defense carried them in this one, limiting Cloquet to a season-low 46 points.

NORTH BRANCH GIRLS
Monticello 63, North Branch 25
The Vikings’ offense hit a snag in their conference match up with Monticello on Friday, January 6.

North Branch didn’t clear 15 points in either half and were blown out 63-25 by the Magic. Ella Kuhlman was the only Viking in double figures, with 11 points. Hailey Diaz had six points, four rebounds and four assists for the Vikes.

North Branch 44, Little Falls 43
The Vikings used Kuhlman’s record-breaking shooting to come back and beat the Little Falls Flyers at Little Falls on Monday, January 9.

Kuhlman scored 26 of NB’s 44 points and the sophomore broke the school’s career three pointers made record in the process

CHISAGO LAKES BOYS
St. Francis 71, Chisago Lakes 69
After their holiday break non-conference losses, Chisago Lakes was looking to get back to their winning ways on Thursday, January 5 against St. Francis, but they fell just short as the Saints eeked out the two point Mississippi 8 Conference win.
The Wildcats enjoyed the early lead, going into the break up 36-33, but St. Francis turned the tables in the second half, just barely pulling ahead and hanging on.
Patrick Rowe poured in buckets for the Wildcats, scoring 30 points, while Jack Walker had 15 points and Ian Larsen had 12 points and nine rebounds. But, no other Chisago Lake player scored over four points, and the Saints went marching on with the victory.

Chisago Lakes 92, Pine City 55
The Wildcats shook their four game losing streak when they hosted Pine City on Saturday, January 7.
Chisago Lakes dominated from start to finish, racking up 92 points behind Rowe’s 19. Larsen added 17 and Zander Schmidt and Trae Griffin had 15 each. Seven other Wildcats got on the board as Pine City struggled to make any shorts outside of Luke Wilson and his 26 points.

CHISAGO LAKES GIRLS
Chisago Lakes 64, St. Francis 61
The Wildcats snapped a two game losing streak by earning a come-from-behind victory over St. Francis in their Mississippi 8 Conference match up on Thursday, January 5.
Emily Erickson had a whale of a game, scoring 27 points, grabbing 12 boards and swiping six steals, but CL still found themselves down at halftime, losing 32-30.
In the second half, a steady dose of Erickson and senior Bri Wille, who scored 15 points and had nine rebounds, helped CL claim the lead and hold on for the tight win.

Chisago Lakes 71, St. Croix Prep 40
The ‘Cats had a much more comfortable win against St. Croix Prep on Saturday, January 7.
Erickson scored a game-high 20 points and Ellie Hilber had a career high 18 points as CL cruised to the easy non-conference victory. Eva Aldrich added 11 points and Addyson Barrett had eight.

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