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Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor
On their way to a 9-1 record, the Forest Lake boys basketball team has been able to win in just about any situation: close games, high-scoring games, low-scoring games and now slow-scoring games.
In last week’s victories over White Bear Lake and Roseville, the Rangers were down by double-digits in both contests, before cranking up the offense and securing a pair of Suburban East Conference road wins.
The first victory was a 62-57 decision over White Bear on Jan. 8, and the second one came on Friday night at Roseville, 56-51.
“No matter who you play, it is tough in this conference to win on the road,” head coach Dan Cremisino said.
The defeat of Roseville came after Forest Lake fell behind 10-0 to start the game. The Rangers didn’t score until the 10-minute mark, but once they had solved the mysterious puzzle of putting the round ball through the round basket, the deficit evaporated quickly.
A 16-4 swing put Cremisino’s squad up for good, but the boys would need Brad Kopp and Mike Person to drop in their free throws late in the second half to secure the win.
Kopp has turned out to be a difficult matchup for other teams, and he led Forest Lake in scoring with 17 points, while also providing terrific defense.
The Rangers’ small ball attack was in full effect, with guards Ryan Brown adding 11 points, and Ty Cremisino and Brandon Phelps (returning from an ankle injury) each going for seven.
“We are getting great contributions from 11-12 guys a night,” coach Cremisino said. “It has been a total team effort.”
Rangers 62, Bears 57
Leading up to Roseville, Forest Lake found itself in a similar predicament when they faced White Bear Lake.
“We had not played since winning the Granite City Classic 10 days before, so I was concerned we may not have great rhythm to start with,” coach Cremisino shared.
His concerns were realized when his players were down by as many as 13 points in the first half, against a Bears lineup that is 3-8 on the year.
Soon enough, the Rangers found their rhythm and were actually able to head to the locker room with a four-point lead.
“We led the entire second half, until White Bear hit a three with about a minute to go,” coach Cremisino said.
Instead of Kopp, it was Griff Lentsch who made the big shot, this one to put Forest Lake up by one.
When White Bear fouled Ty Cremisino with 20 seconds remaining, the junior guard made both free throws to give the Rangers a three-point advantage.
“We made one more stop and finished the game off 62-57,” coach Cremisino said.
The high-flying Lentsch scored 19 point to lead the team, with one of those baskets coming from a dunk.
Kopp would collect 14 points on the night, while Ty Cremisino helped out on both ends of the floor with nine points and five steals.
“Big week for us this week,” coach Cremisino said. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”
For the first time in nearly a month, the boys were back at home on Tuesday against Woodbury, but then travel to Stillwater this Friday.
The schedule will begin to shift in Forest Lake’s favor, as the Rangers are at home on both Jan. 22 and Jan. 24.
BOX SCORE
Forest Lake 24 32 - 56
Roseville 21 30 - 51
Forest Lake - Lentsch 2, Brown 11, Phelps 7, Kopp 17, Person 5, Sewall 2, Johnson 3, Cremisino 7, Young 2.
Roseville - Farmer 2, Nockleby 10, Crary 3, Hernandez 2, Letourneau 18, Muscala 16.
Free throws - FL 13-18; Rose 8-10. Three-pointers - FL 3; Rose 3.
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