Jacks fall in State Quarterfinals

Photos By: Shelley Robideaux

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

Minneapolis- Heading into the last quarterfinal Wednesday afternoon head Coach Steve Battaglia knew the Lumberjacks would have to play their best game of the season to beat Holy Family Catholic and through the first ten minutes Wednesday it appeared that this game was going to be a dogfight as the Lumberjacks held a 19-18 lead, but a 14-0 run by the Fire was more than enough as the Fire knocked off the Lumberjack’s 63-41.

The Lumberjacks who normally relied on good outside shooting struggled to find that outside touch as they would finish going 4-19 from behind the arc and shooting only 29% for the game from the field. Dillon Johnson hit all four three pointers on the afternoon but it wasn’t enough as Holy Family shot 43% from the field and out rebounded Cloquet and committed half the number of turnovers that Cloquet did.

Despite being outsized by every player on the floor the Lumberjacks fought hard and never quit Wednesday. Cloquet trailed by 13 at halftime 34-21, and it was a second half run once again by the Fire that sealed the victory. Cloquet cut into the Fire lead when two free throws from Adam Laine made it 36-28, but a 14-6 run gave the Fire all the distance they needed.

“They were the better team” Steve Battaglia said to Northland Sports Online, “We tried to make a few runs but once we did we did something that hurt us a turnover, a mistake which is something you can’t give a team with so much length those opportunities.”

The Lumberjacks making their eighth state appearance and first since 2000 saw their season end Wednesday with a 24-5 record overall. “This is a special group of seniors” Battaglia mentioned, “How hard they work, what great kids what more could you ask, this is bitter sweet but I’d rather see our season end here in the Twin Cities then on a floor in Duluth”

Northland Sports online would like to congratulate the Lumberjacks, their players, coaches and managers on a great season!

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at Dwight@northlandsportsonline.com

Cloquet vs Holy Family Catholic

3/12/14 4 pm at Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minn.)

At Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minn.)

HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC 63, CLOQUET 41

CLOQUET (24-5)

Johnson, Dillon 5-14 1-2 15; Laine, Adam 3-9 7-8 13; Brenner, Mason 3-4 0-0

6; Gerlach, Zachary 2-6 0-0 4; Bushey, Jacob 1-4 0-0 2; Weets, Nathan 0-5

1-2 1; Bieri, Rand 0-0 0-0 0; Takkunen, Gavin 0-0 0-0 0; Peterson, Joshua

0-1 0-0 0; Foxx, Victor 0-1 0-0 0; Gilchrist, Isaac 0-1 0-0 0; Obeidzinski,

Brady 0-0 0-0 0; Brenner, Maxxton 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 14-48 9-12 41.

HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC (28-2)

Dahl, Justin 7-16 1-2 15; Hanel, Joe 6-9 2-2 14; Hentges, Brent 2-6 4-5 8;

Faris, Duncan 2-3 3-3 8; Stenerson, Colton 2-11 0-1 6; Mugford, Jack 2-4 0-0

6; Conroy, Joe 2-5 0-0 4; Schumer, Kyle 1-2 0-0 2; Kimm, Landon 0-0 0-0 0;

Stedronsky, Evan 0-0 0-0 0; Kjolhaug, Kai 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 10-13 63.

Cloquet…………………..   21   20  –   41

Holy Family Catholic……….   34   29  –   63

3-point goals–Cloquet 4-19 (Johnson, Dillon 4-10; Brenner, Mason 0-1;

Bushey, Jacob 0-3; Weets, Nathan 0-2; Foxx, Victor 0-1; Brenner, Maxxton

0-2), Holy Family Catholic 5-16 (Stenerson, Colton 2-8; Mugford, Jack 2-3;

Faris, Duncan 1-2; Conroy, Joe 0-1; Schumer, Kyle 0-1; Hentges, Brent 0-1).

Fouled out–Cloquet-None, Holy Family Catholic-None. Rebounds–Cloquet 32

(Laine, Adam 11), Holy Family Catholic 38 (Dahl, Justin 10).

Assists–Cloquet 8 (Weets, Nathan 5), Holy Family Catholic 16 (Stenerson,

Colton 5). Total fouls–Cloquet 11, Holy Family Catholic 14. Technical

fouls–Cloquet-None, Holy Family Catholic-None.