Bulldogs triumph in tight game against Wrens

CARLTON-There's an old saying when rivals meet in sports "you can throw the records out the window." For the most part that adage holds true whenever Carlton and Wrenshall do battle on the basketball court.

On Friday night, the Bulldogs got a 30-point performance from Jacob Santkuyl and rode that effort to a slim 52-50 win over the Wrens.

"Jacob had an outstanding performance, and the best part about it all was that he suffered a dead leg halfway through the first half and was still able to fight through the pain and perform at a high level," said assistant coach Shawn Filipiak. (Filipiak was filling in for head coach Jes-wa Harris, who was out of town for a wedding.) "He wasn't afraid to go find his shot and was confident all night. On defense he also played a huge role in getting some key steals late in the game."

Wrens senior forward Eli Krisak had a big night offensively by scoring 19 points, 15 from behind the 3-point arc.

Carlton held a 26-23 lead at halftime and managed to cling to the lead throughout the second half in a game that was tightly played and ultra-competitive by both teams.

"It was a big win for us to keep our confidence and be able to get through adversity as a team," Filipiak said. "Wrenshall moved the ball very well and made us work and they tried to take advantage of what we gave up on defense."

The gym was loud and raucous and both teams seemed to feed off the energy, which probably contributed to the foul trouble that both teams got into. Randy Wimmer, a

junior forward for the Wrens, had three quick fouls and sat for a substantial amount of time in the first half. On the other side of the court, the Bulldogs found themselves in the same situation with Matt Santkuyl in the second half.

"I am disappointed we did not play to our ability," said Wrenshall coach Jon Bartczak of the loss in his team's opening game of the season. "That can happen when you haven't had a game yet."

As time wound down on the game clock, Carlton scored to go up by four points, 51-47, with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. The Wrens advanced the ball quickly and Krisak fired a long-range bomb that pulled Wrenshall to within 51-50. After Carlton made the inbound pass, Wrenshall fouled - giving the Bulldogs a couple of free throws. They missed the second one, giving the Wrens a chance on a desperation heave from past half court, but it did not come close to going in, giving Carlton the win.

"The atmosphere was very intense and I just told the guys we need to play our game," Filipiak said. "We are a fast-paced, run-and-gun, high-intensity defensive team and Wrenshall was trying to slow us down on both ends. We made some adjustments and made sure we were communicating better through screens and boxing out because those were the things that hurt us in the first half."

Joining Jacob Santkuyl in the scoring column for Carlton were Matt Santkuyl with eight points and six points for Ryan Gray. Scott Rousseau added four points, his younger brother Spencer Rousseau chipped in with three and Sawyer Thorman had a single point.

Wimmer joined Krisak in double-digit scoring for the Wrens with 11 points. Jared Kelley contributed seven, both Cole Oja and Hunter Holmes had five points and Danny Merrill finished with three points.

On Monday night the Bulldogs fell 68-64 at home to Cook County. Will Ramberg led the Vikings with 23 points, Ray Gordon added 20, Pete Sutton had 13 points and Jordan Porter added 12 for Cook County.

Matt Santkuyl led the Bulldogs with 23 points; Ryan Gray recorded nine points. Trevor Ojibway scored eight points, Spencer Rousseau had seven and Adam Hey finished with six points. Justin Swanson added five and Scott Rousseau had four points while Miles Bennett chipped in with two.