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Chisago Lakes 95, Hermantown 82

Chisago Lakes is going to the state tournament for the first time since 2016, but it wasn’t without challenges as the Wildcats had to survive a 38 point effort from Hermantown senior Abe Suomis in the Wildcats 95-82 section championship win over the Hawks on Thursday, March 14.

The first half was a battle. Hermantown’s defense swarmed on Chisago Lakes’ star Patrick Rowe, and constantly sent a double team his way. Rowe, who has really let his playmaking shine this year, did a great job finding teammates, and they were hitting enough buckets for it to stay razor thin.

The Wildcats had the early lead, but Suomis and Peyton Menzel hit some big baskets and sparked some runs for the Hawks to give them a two point lead with just five minutes left in the first half. 

But, Rowe, Zander Schimdt and Ian Larsen — all three of whom are seniors — weren’t ready to wave the white flag. The three dominated over the last few minutes of the first half and turned that small deficit into a seven point lead for the ‘Cats at the break.

In the second half, that trio continued to shine on offense for CL, but the Wildcats’ defense was what really stood out. After allowing 105 points to Hermantown just three weeks prior, Chisago Lakes did a much better job protecting the perimeter in this game. 

“Our ability to apply pressure defensively, finish possessions with a steal or rebound, and run the floor eventually wears teams down,” Head Coach Michael Holmquist said. “While we knew Hermantown could play fast, we didn't want to abandon our identity of playing faster than our opponent.   Our defense created opportunities to push the tempo.  There was a stretch where we had eight or nine stops in a row that led to points in transition, and those are the kind of runs that change games.”

They knew Suomis was going to drive to the basket and get his points, but it was limiting the effectiveness of the Hawks’ shooters that was the key, and the ‘Cats aced that. They held Hermantown to just two made three pointers on the game, a season low for them, and used their length and athleticism to clamp down the Hawks’ wings.

“We gave up too many outside looks in transition in our first matchup, so we allocated a lot of practice time to transition defense.  The boys put the game plan into motion, as Hermantown was only hit only two three pointers after going nine-of-21 in our first match up,” Holmquist explained. “Soumis got his points, but he was significantly less efficient this time around due, in large part, to Patrick Rowe's length and mobility on-ball and Ian Larsen doubling and protecting the rim anytime he would put the ball on the floor.”

Rowe, who earned Star Tribune All-Metro second team honors this week but was snubbed as a Mr. Basketball finalist, dazzled the Duluth crowd  with an array of dunks, long distance three pointers and aggressive drives to the basket en rout to 37 points. 

Schmidt played a great supporting role, knocking down the open looks he had and keeping the Hermantown defense honest at times in their defense of Rowe. He finished with 24 points for the ‘Cats.

And Larsen cleaned up any time things got a little hairy for Schmidt or Rowe. Larsen’s height  at 6’5” was usually just above average in the Mississippi 8 Conference, but Hermantown features a small lineup, and Larsen did a great job using his length to punish the Hawks on the glass. He ended up scoring 17 points as well, mostly on put backs and buckets from the post.

The victory sends CL to their fourth state tourney overall and first since 2016.

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