THIEF RIVER FALLS-In a key Northern Division showdown Saturday, the Central Lakes College Raiders took a 4-point lead into halftime but couldn't hold on in the second half as they fell to Northland 68-66 in a battle for first place in the division.
Keonte' Jenkins scored 22 points to lead the Raiders. Lamontrell Fuller added 13 points for a Raider team that shot 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from behind the arc.
Coming into Saturday's game, the Raiders had won seven of their last eight games, and had defeated the Pioneers earlier in the season.
Trailing 65-61 in the second half, a three from Jenkins cut the Pioneers' lead to 65-64. The Pioneers missed a shot on their next possession but the Raiders couldn't secure the rebound and a lay-up by Northland stretched the lead to 67-65.
The teams then swapped free throws. With Northland leading 68-66, the Raiders got off a desperation shot at the buzzer that bounced off the rim and the Pioneers secured the win.
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The loss dropped the Raiders to 9-3 and a full game behind Northland which now stands 10-2. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Raiders will need to win two and Northland will need to lose two for CLC to get the outright title and the No. 1 seed for the state tournament in two weeks at Anoka-Ramsey.
Northland 30 38-68
Central Lakes 34 32-66
NORTHLAND
Isaiah Moody 12, Ju'Wan Evans 17, Cole Piatko 7, Brandon Murat 8, Emmanuel McCullough 11, Chedonio Martin 3, Jake Joppru 10. FG 23-57 (40 percent), FT 19-38 (50 percent). 3-point 3-15 (20 percent).
CENTRAL LAKES
Shawn McGee 2, Keonte' Jenkins 22, Jacob Russell 4, TrayVon Lackey 4, Darrelle Bacon 6, Thomas Kornbaum 6, Timothy Boyd 6, Nick Wiesmann 3, Lamontrell Fuller 13. FG 21-46 (46 percent), FT 18-30 (60 percent). 3-point 6-16 (38 percent). Division: 9-3. Overall: 17-7. Next: host Fond du Lac 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.
