Standing Room Only Sees Esko top Jacks

Photos by: Josh Cadwell

Kerry Rodd-NSO

The neighborhood rivalry between Esko and Cloquet in basketball rose to a new level on Monday night when the Eskomos came away with a 64-53 game which was a seesaw affair throughout the contest.

Esko held a 30-26 halftime edge, but the Lumberjacks rallied early in the second half and managed to gain a 39-34 lead.  However, the Eskomos rallied themselves behind a strong team effort and eventually erased the deficit by outscoring the Jacks 30-14 the rest of the way.

While the Eskomos got strong performances from key people like; Kory Deadrick (19), Marc Peterson (15) and Casey Staniger (13), but it was Aaron Olson who provided a spark in the second half be scoring 11 of his 13 points in the second stanza.  Also scoring for Esko were; Nate Johnson and Jacob Lindstrom both had two points.

Meanwhile the Lumberjacks got exceptional play from Adam Laine (19) and Dillon Johnson (16).  Johnson, who is coming back from an injury, hit for four 3-pointers.  Also scoring for Cloquet were; Nathan Weets (5), Gavin Takkunen (4), Mason and Maxx Brenner both had (3), Jacob Bushey (2) and Zach Gerlach (1).

The Eskomos improved to 19-3 while the Jacks are now 17-4.

Kerry Rodd can be reached at kerry@northlandsportsonline.com