Looking to remain unbeaten, the St. Cloud Cyclones needed a late rally at Central Lakes College Dec. 14 in Brainerd.
Playing with a depleted bench, the Raiders led 41-39 after the first half with Josh Arnold and Beau Bailey leading the team with 14 and 12 first-half points.
The Cyclones outscored the Raiders 43-36 in the second half to win 82-75. SCTC earned a season sweep over CLC after winning the first game Nov. 15 100-93 in St. Cloud. The loss drops CLC to 5-4 overall.
“We played with a lot of heart today and they are starting to believe that the system works,” Central Lakes head coach Jim Russell said. “The most important thing though is that they are learning that they have to play hard all the time, not just on certain possessions. St. Cloud Tech is a really tough team. Their guards are really good, but I am proud of my guys. I think we battled and that is all that you can ask. If a couple of shots go our way we could have won the game.”
Bailey led the Raiders with 24 points and six rebounds. Arnold tallied 22 points while Zion Sanford dished out seven assists. Cameron Givens totaled 14 points and was the team leader on the boards with eight.
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“Beau is a phenomenal athlete and is just learning how to play,” Russell said. “He sat out last year after a great high school career. We are happy to have him and he is going to be good and so is this team. We are going to be an exciting team to watch.”
Bailey and Givens each hit a bucket to start the second half to give the Raiders a 45-39 advantage. The Cyclones responded with a seven-point run to take a 46-45 lead. Givens, Bailey and Arnold all scored as the Raiders responded with a nine-point run to lead 54-46 with just over 14 minutes left in the second half. That was CLC’s largest lead.
Cyclones’ Torez Kinchen, who scored a game-high 25 points, hit two free throws to tie the game at 71. Gavin Smith gave CLC their last lead at 75-73 with two free throws. The Cyclones outscored the Raiders 9-4 in the last three and a half minutes for the win.
St. Cloud 39 43 -- 82
Central Lakes 41 36 -- 77
ST. CLOUD TCC
Paul Coleman 13, Tierre Davis 12, Eric Racine 16, London Williams 15, Torez Kinchen 23, Daniel Gardner 3. FG 27-63 (43%), FT 18-22 (82%). 3-point 10-26 (39%).
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