Chris Buckley scored 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting and Tyree'on Johnson added 22 as the Central Lakes College Raiders defeated Lake Superior 102-80 Saturday, Feb. 2 in Brainerd.
The IceHawks trailed by just seven points at halftime. They tied the score at 53 with 16:02 remaining, but the Raiders went on a 49-27 run to win and raise their division record to 9-1.
"They are a good ballclub," Raiders head coach Jim Russell said. "They pound it inside and they are going to win some games. And their coach (Chuck Tolo) knew how to break our press and it was a really good game. But in the second half, my five guys showed a lot of heart and pride when the game got tied and they made the adjustments. We are where we are because my three sophomores (Buckley, AJ Ray, and Malik Kelly) know the adjustments that need to be made."
The IceHawks came into the game with a 5-4 division record and in the fifth spot in the Northern Division.
The Raiders defeated Northland Wednesday, Jan. 30, but after the game, there was a discussion about how players responded in the game.
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"The biggest thing is that I am still not sure that we are tight as a team, which was the reason for the discussion," said Russell. "Somebody made a comment that 'I need my stats.' So there was a discussion, but the biggest thing is that I am starting to get them to believe that we are a team."
CLC responded Saturday, to an early deficit with a 3-pointer from Brandon Burggraff and a pair of 3's from Buckley to secure a 13-7 lead.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Chris Buckley," said Russell. "He has come a long ways. He only took 15 shots tonight and had 25 points and he had four assists. Those are things that count and I told him, let me do the coaching and you guys do your job and we will be okay."
Later in the first half, the Raiders bench helped increase the lead to 28-13, with two 3-pointers from Gavin Smith. The IceHawks cut the margin to 49-42,at the half.
Behind Josh Arnold's 13 points off the bench, the Raiders rebuilt its lead.
"We were tired this morning (after the Thursday game against Northland), and in the first half we didn't play as well," Arnold said. "In the second half, we put it together and got the 'W'."
Arnold, a freshman from Apple Valley, got the opportunity to start two weeks ago when Buckley was ill. With Buckley back, Arnold is Russell's first choice off the bench.
"From Day One I told him that you can start for anyone and you can start for us," Russell said. "He understood his role and that is why I feel so good coming down the stretch that I have a bench that I can trust and he is the leader. We don't miss a beat putting him in there."
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Said Arnold: "I just wanted to step in and help my team out, that was pretty much it. Playing with Apple Valley, Tre (Jones) was out a couple of games and I had to step in and be big and that is what I wanted to do for my team."
CLC's bench tallied 34 points to 23 from the IceHawks.
The Raiders have now won six straight and completed a season sweep of Lake Superior College, having defeated them 84-74 Dec. 14.
Just six regular-season games remain and Arnold and CLC are focused on their goal.
"Going into the playoffs our mindset is that we want to win it all, honestly," Arnold said. "We have to keep working in practice on being a better team and I think we can win it all if that comes together."
For more photos, go to https://bit.ly/2DSoypS .
Lake Superior 42 38-80
Central Lakes 49 53-102
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LAKE SUPERIOR COLLEGE
Jarves Hunt 7, Kenten Miller 6, Nick Mccready 14, Matt Hey 2, Keith Shakes 18, Ryan Pantsar 12, Khadeem Thomas 6, Paul LaGrande 9, Dalton Steede 6. FG 34-72 (48 percent), FT 5-6 (83 percent). 3-point 7-24 (29 percent).
CENTRAL LAKES
Chris Buckley 25, Josh Arnold 13, Malik Kelly 8, Arrion Curothers 1, Gavin Smith 9, Kelvin Harris 9, Al-Jureau Ray 5, Tyree'on Johnson 22, Shamar Hill 2, Brandon Burggraff 8. FG 40-66 (61 percent), FT 6-18 (33 percent). 3-point 16-29 (55 percent). Division: 9-1. Overall: 16-5. Next: at Mesabi Range 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6.
