Defense propels Lumberjacks in opener

A strong second half helped propel the Cloquet boys basketball team to a 95-88 home win over Chisago Lakes last Saturday afternoon in Cloquet. Entering the second half, the Lumberjacks and the Wildcats were tied at 51-51, but then Cloquet clamped down defensively.

"At times the game was sloppy, but we did a lot of good things," Cloquet coach Steve Battaglia said of the season opener. "Despite giving up a ton of size, we out-rebounded them by a significant margin. To open the season against the defending section champions is a great start. They return seven players from their rotation that played in the state tournament last year."

Cloquet had four players score in double digits and were led by Jack Battaglia with 27 points and Jacob Nelson with 20.

"Jacob had a great game with 20 points and 11 rebounds," coach Battaglia said. "He's a key part of what we do. Jack had a big first half with 21 points, and then fell awkwardly in the second half and was in and out of the game nursing that injury. But he was able to finish the game and hit some big free throws for us at the end."

Max Sundquist also had a big night for the 'Jacks with 18 points. Grant Biebl came off the bench and poured in 15 points.

"Max played a huge game with 18 points and nine rebounds. Both he and Jacob (Nelson) did a great job rebounding the ball and finished the bunnies around the rim," Battaglia said. "Grant is a great shooter that hit some big shots for us."

Noah Hansen added 7 points for Cloquet, James Wilmot recorded 6 points, and it was 2 points for Evan Rothamel.

The Wildcats are big and fast and Cloquet had to contend with that athleticism all game long. With a senior-laden lineup, the Lumberjacks were able to go toe to toe and come out on top.

"They are big and quick and we gave up 20-plus points by turning the ball over in transition," Battaglia said. "I attribute that to first-game nerves and just getting back into the pace of real games. We'll be able to get things cleaned up as the season goes on."

The Lumberjacks played seven players against the Wildcats, six of which are seniors. That experience will loom large this season.

"I expect us to contend for the section and conference titles," Battaglia said. "We lost an all-conference caliber player in Shazae Henagin to an ACL tear during football, so we're shorthanded in regards to what we thought we'd have, but we still have enough to contend."

Saturday's win over the Wildcats served notice to the rest of Section 7AAA that Cloquet will be a team to be reckoned with this season.