Chris Buckley scored 30 points and the Central Lakes College Raiders went on a 22-2 run in the last 10 minutes of the first half to score a 110-67 North Division victory over Mesabi Saturday, Jan. 12 in Brainerd.
The Raiders also received 42 points from their bench as they finished a 2-0 week. CLC is tied for second place with Itasca at 3-0 in the Northern Divison. Rainy River leads the division with a 4-0 record.
The Norsemen came to Brainerd with a 2-0 record, looking to make a statement, but it was the Raiders who made the statement with their most complete game of the season CLC used stifling defense and shot 51-percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point.
"I was pretty nervous about today to be truthful," CLC head coach Jim Russell said. "I really felt we were coming together as a team, but as you feel that way and then get to see it is a whole different thing. I didn't know who was going to show up, to be honest, but it happened the way I was hoping that it would.
"The tempo is all set on the defensive end and in the last ten minutes of the first half, they made one bucket. My challenge at halftime was another 20 minutes and they did that."
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Malik Kelly finished the game with 12 points and six rebounds, but helped CLC force Mesabi into 23 turnovers.
"I wasn't very surprised," Kelly said of the Raiders' Saturday performance. "Coach told us to come in and work hard. He let us know that Mesabi was 2-0 in conference play and would be coming in with a chip on their shoulder and trying to improve from last year. So we couldn't come out there just thinking it was going to be easy."
The Norse were effective early as they built a six-point lead. But the Raiders' defense picked up and a layup from Buckley put the Raiders up 37-32 at the 7:24 mark of the first half. That is where the fun ended for Mesabi as the Raiders outscored them 22-2 for the rest of the half to lead 59-34 at the half.
"It was our pressure defense," Kelly said. "Coach called a quick time out and told us to get focused and not play slow because it was going to be a close game, so we couldn't make it an easy game for them if we wanted to show that we are one of the best teams in the conference."
At the end of the first half, Buckley's line showed 23 points, five steals and two assists. "Chris got his hands on everything," Russell said. "We put a lot of emphasis on focusing on the lane and he was there. I like to call it "little man syndrome", and you have to play that way and he was in the right place at the right time. And the best part was that he got Gavin (Smith, who scored 14 points off the bench) going and we need that. And that showed me how much Chris has grown."
seven different players from CLC's bench got into the scoring column.
"I told them that if you guys play like that at playoff time, there is no one on our team that I need to worry about," Russell said. "You guys all got the opportunity and showed that you can play."
For more photos go to https://bit.ly/2AUh2cn .
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Mesabi Range 34 33-67
Central Lakes 59 51-110
MESABI RANGE
Daniel Modi 1, Alban Cooke 7, Markis Watkins 4, Bryce Hempel 12, Calvin Lee 20, William Howard 19, Mamoudou Cisse 2, Duerlo Champagne 2. FG 26-66 (39 percent), FT 10-12 (83 percent). 3-point 5-15 (33 percent).
CENTRAL LAKES
Chris Buckley 30, Josh Arnold 7, Malik Kelly 12, Jai'Onn Harlin 3, Gavin Smith 14, Kelvin Harris 7, Al-Jureau Ray 10, Tyree'on Johnson 8, Shamar Hill 4, Avis Gilbert 2, Brandon Burggraff 8, Dylan McLain 5. FG 43-84 (51 percent), FT 10-14 (71 percent). 3-point 14-28 (50 percent). Division: 3-0. Overall: 10-4. Next: at Vermillion Community College 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16.
