Glenn Strandberg
Sports Editor

The varsity boys basketball team has a few lofty, yet attainable goals this year, so maybe Friday nightís 58-40 loss to Cretin-Derham Hall is not very alarming in the grand scheme of things.

Going into the Dec. 15 contest, everyone knew Cretin was a good program, while Forest Lake was hoping to prove it belonged in the upper tier. But when the Rangers headed to the locker room down 30-13 at halftime, there was probably more than one raised eyebrow in Forest Lakeís gym.

Head coach Dan Cremisino felt his team was tight in the early stages and the rest basically fell into ó or more accurately, out of ó place from there.

ìWe just didnít perform really well, so it was disappointing,î he said.

ìCretin really came out and did a nice job, right off the bat. They hit shots, they were flying around pretty well.î

There was one other small issue, which sounded like it still pained Cremisino three days after the defeat.

ìWe just could not hit a shot,î he said. And for effect, he said it again, but slower. ìCould not hit a shot.î

Thirteen points is a difficult way to start a game against one of the stateís top teams, and seeing the Rangers go 4-for-25 from the field in the opening 18 minutes seems almost impossible.

ìThat just buried us,î Cremisino said. ìBut Iíve got to give my guys some credit ó they didnít quit.î

With the help of some 3-pointers, Forest Lake did make it a little more interesting in the second half, but the damage was done.

Junior Brandon Phelps was the leading scorer with 15 points and behind him was senior Josh Williams with seven.

3-0 START

Earlier in the week, the Rangers went to Centennial and brought their shooting touch with them. Forest Lake built a 13-point lead and then settled in for a night where the Cougars might threaten, but the game was never in question in the Rangers 46-31 victory.

ìAaron had a monster game,î Cremisino said about Aaron Jacobs.

The 6í6î senior had 22 points, collected 10 rebounds, blocked two shots and slammed home one dunk in what reads like a basketball version of the 12 Days of Christmas.

Junior Brad Kopp and senior Robert Gavanda each had 11 points as Cremisino praised the contribution from the bench, but he knows his group can do a lot more.

ìWe still havenít played two halves of basketball yet, you know, we havenít really clicked on all cylinders,î he said.

With the assortment of nagging injuries, last Friday nightís game was the first time the Rangers have had their full roster ready to play. Now itís time to figure out rotations, roles, and then regroup for the rest of Suburban East Conference.

On Tuesday, Mounds View came up to Forest Lake and they will be followed by Tartan for a game on Friday, Dec. 22.

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