Ninth-ranked Greyhounds roll FL, 77-52
Last week went about as expected for the Ranger basketball boys. The homestanding squad continued its recent dominance of Park with a 72-41 win on Friday and was outgunned in a 77-52 loss to Duluth East on Saturday.
In recent years the latter has been a can’t-miss matchup of section rivals, but with three possible Division I recruits, the ninth-ranked Greyhounds came to Forest Lake as heavy favorites this time.
While Duluth East came into the game on a six-game winning streak, Forest Lake came in without leading scorer Noah Davis. The junior post player hurt his ankle late in the game the night before.
The Rangers came out shooting cold and the Greyhounds rolled to a big early lead. After trailing by 20 at half, Forest Lake closed within 13 only to see the Greyhounds hit three consecutive three-pointers.
“We did a lot of good things and some things that gave us an idea that we could play with them and try to hang with them,” said coach Dan Cremisino. “But we had something go wrong…we didn’t shoot really well.”
Senior Dusty Boyer led the team with 12 points. The Greyhounds got 26 from senior guard Taylor Stafford and 15 from senior forward Johnny Woodard, who became the fourth Greyhound to surpass 2,000 career points.
Rangers 72, Wolfpack 41
Forest Lake picked up its third Suburban East Conference win of the season at Park on Friday. The 29-point rout marked the team’s eighth straight win over the Wolfpack.
The outcome was similar to Forest Lake’s 72-30 win against Park last month, but it came in a different fashion. Whereas the Rangers played zone in the first meeting, this time they played man-to-man and used a full-court press to speed up the pace.
“It’s something we’ve been working on and it was a good time to use it,” said Cremisino. “We wanted to get some baskets off our defense, which we’ve really struggled to do this year.”
Park hung within 13 at halftime, but the Forest Lake lead was never in doubt in the second half. The Rangers shot liberally from three-point range, connecting on 10.
Davis scored a team-high 14 points before leaving with the injury. Sophomore Matt Degendorfer added 13.
Forest Lake (8-12 overall) played at East Ridge on Tuesday, goes to Woodbury on Friday and hosts Stillwater next Tuesday.
Cremisino said the goal is to win enough of the final six games to avoid being seeded into a section play-in game.
Rallying Rangers shock Big Lake (VIDEO)
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FL erases 16-point deficit in final minutes
Tyler Rosenberger fights for the ball during Monday’s non-conference clash with Big Lake. The Hornets (10-10) gave the Rangers all they wanted and more, but the home team staged a furious rally to escape with a 75-73 win. Rosenberger tallied 20 points, including six during a late 14-0 run. (Photo by Clint Riese)
Clint Riese
Sports Editor
Down by 16 with less than four minutes left against Big Lake Monday night, the Ranger boys’ basketball team was staring square into the face of a five-game losing streak and a 6-12 record.
Out of nowhere, Forest Lake rattled off 14 consecutive points on its way to stunning the Hornets 75-73. In a season full of lost leads and near misses, the team now hopes the improbable flurry is a turning point.
“We just kept fighting through,” said senior guard Tyler Rosenberger. “Shots weren’t hitting but we just stuck with the plan and kept on plugging away…It’s really going to boost our morale.”
After letting a modest lead slip away in the final minute of the first half, the Rangers fell further and further behind as the second half went along. Big Lake senior Justin Benker put an exclamation point on a Hornet run and gave his team its biggest lead of the night at 67-51 with a steal and breakaway slam dunk with 4:10 remaining.
Dusty Boyer hit his fourth three-pointer of the night on the ensuing Ranger possession, but it hardly felt like an epic comeback was in the offing. But Rosenberger got a friendly roll on a three-pointer on the next possession, and Anthony Tyler stole the inbounds and made a layup. Suddenly the Rangers were down by just eight with 2:47 still on the clock.
The rally continued after a Big Lake timeout. Off another steal, Noah Davis got another friendly bounce on a three-pointer. With just over two minutes left, Rosenberger connected from deep again, pulling Forest Lake within a bucket at 67-65.
A pair of free throws from Benker finally ended the run, and it gave the visitors a 69-65 lead with 1:55 to go.
Boyer, though, responded with another trey, and Tyler again stole the inbounds and scored. Forest Lake’s first lead of the half was short-lived, though, as Big Lake answered with a score to go ahead 71-70. With the clock ticking under a minute, Davis got the ball at the top of the arc on a pick-and-roll, dribbled to his left and swished a long, go-ahead two-pointer.
A Hornet turnover and two free throws from Hunter Smith gave Forest Lake a 74-71 advantage with 14.1 seconds left.
Up three, Forest Lake chose to play straight-up defense, but accidentally fouled Benker with 4.8 to go. He made both free throws and Big Lake fouled with 3.9 remaining.
After making one free throw, Smith missed the second, but the Rangers got the offensive rebound and ran the final seconds off the clock.
The irony of the wild win is that Forest Lake has struggled all year to hold on to leads. Finally, the shoe was on the other foot.
“We’ve been there many times this year where we’ve had trouble closing out games,” coach Dan Cremisino said. “You have to have a little bit of luck [to rally]. You get a three, you get another three, you get a steal. All of a sudden you believe you can come back and you look at the clock and there’s still two minutes left and you’re only down by one.”
The game seemed an even match in the first half as the lead never eclipsed four in either direction. Forest Lake led 32-30 with less than a minute to go, but Big Lake converted a three-point play with 28 seconds left and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull ahead 36-32.
With the score tied at 45, the Hornets went on a 22-6 run that climaxed with Benker’s dunk.
Benker led Big Lake with 19 points. Davis had 26 for the Rangers, and Rosenberger added 20. Boyer’s 15 points all came from beyond the arc.
Conference Struggles
The win could not have come at a better time, considering last week’s results. Forest Lake fell 71-49 at Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday and 72-46 at home against No. 10 Roseville on Tuesday.
In the first game, conference-leading Roseville jumped out early and never looked back.
“They pretty much ran by us,” Cremisino said. “They sped us up, we couldn’t keep up. They’re playing really well.”
Davis carried the load offensively with 27 points.
The Rangers may have hung with Cretin-Derham Hall longer but could not connect from the field. Davis and Rosenberger scored 18 and 16 points, respectively, but each shot just 6-20.
No one else scored more than five points in either game.
The Rangers stay at home with games against Park and Duluth East on Friday and Saturday. A road trip to East Ridge is set for next Tuesday.
Cretin rolls to 71-49 victory over FL boys
A slow first half put Forest Lake in a deep hole Friday night and the Ranger boys fell in Suburban East Conference basketball play to Cretin-Derham Hall, 71-49. The Raiders rolled to a big 38-21 lead at the half and outscored the Rangers in the second half, 33-28 to claim the victory. Noah Davis scored 18 points and Tyler Rosenberger dropped in 16 to lead the Forest Lake offense.
Ranger boys can’t keep pace with Roseville cagers
Forest Lake’s Noah Davis pumped in 27 points but it wasn’t enough as Roseville soundly defeated the Rangers, 72-46 in a Suburban East Conference boy’s basketball contest Tuesday night. Roseville jumped out to a 37-17 lead at the intermission and continued the attack in the second half, outscoring the host Rangers, 35-29. Roseville improved to 14-3 with the win while Forest Lake slipped to 3-7 in SEC games and 6-10 overall. Forest Lake travels to Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday night before hosting Big Lake on Monday, Feb. 6.
Kauls gets last laugh in FL farewell
Former Ranger coaches Mounds View to comeback win
Clint Riese
Sports Editor
Forest Lake dropped two Suburban East Conference basketball games last week, including one to Mounds View in the final visit from longtime Mustang coach Ziggy Kauls, a 1959 Forest Lake graduate who will retire after this season.
It appeared for much of last Tuesday’s contest that Kauls would leave his former home disappointed, as the Rangers led for most of the contest. A 13-2 run late in the first half put Forest Lake ahead 29-18. Dusty Boyer scored seven points during the spree and Tyler Rosenberger added six free throws.
Mounds View closed the half with five straight points, and hit a three-pointer to open the second half. Ben Rush and Brett Burkhardt heated up from beyond the arc and the Mustangs used three-pointers to narrow the gap. Two of their eight overall three-pointers came during an 8-0 run which finally gave them the lead with 5:35 to go.
Forest Lake tied it 50-50 on back-to-back buckets by Noah Davis, but Mounds View outscored the Rangers 10-2 over the final four minutes and prevailed 58-50.
Burkhardt scored a game-high 21 points, while Davis led the Rangers with 17. Boyer added 12.
It was the fourth straight win for Mounds View, which improved to 12-3 overall.
On Friday, Forest Lake trailed 30-20 after one half and went on to lose 73-62 in White Bear Lake. The Bears (9-8, 4-5 in SEC) used a balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures. Boyer led the Rangers with a career-high 19 points. Davis scored 15 and Rosenberger 12.
The road gets no easier for Forest Lake, which is now 6-9 overall and 2-7 in the SEC. The Rangers hosted 13-3 Roseville on Tuesday and play at 10-6 Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday. A non-conference home game against Big Lake is on tap for next Monday.
Four-game slide ends in Hastings
Senior Hunter Smith goes up for a layup during last Tuesday’s loss at Stillwater. The guard had a career-high 15 points. (Photo by TLC Digital Images)
Clint Riese
Sports Editor
The Ranger basketball boys have shown some inexperience when it comes to closing out halves and games this season. That problem struck again last Tuesday in a game Forest Lake could have had in the bag.
Instead, Stillwater ended on a 14-2 run and beat the visiting Rangers 71-60.
“Everybody is just having to do things they’re not used to,” said coach Dan Cremisino. “They’re learning, and they’re getting better, but it’s a difficult place to be.”
The Ponies also pulled ahead with a late run in the first half. Nick Ogren hit five three-pointers in the half against the Ranger zone and his team finished the half with a 13-2 burst to take an 11-point lead.
Junior Noah Davis hit back-to-back shots after the break and the Rangers took the lead back in short order. They held it for most of the half, until the late Stillwater run.
Davis scored a team-high 19 points, while senior guard Hunter Smith had a career-best 15.
“He’s really learned a lot about what he can do to be successful when he’s on the floor,” Cremisino said of Smith. “He’s improved a lot and really been a nice find for us.”
Anthony Tyler added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
The loss was the team’s fourth consecutive, but it bounced back with a 60-49 win in Hastings on Friday. The Raiders scored just 18 points in the second half.
Hastings won just three games last winter but returned an experienced starting lineup and came into the contest with a record of 6-7.
“In the best of times, we haven’t had easy games at Hastings just because of the style they play, which is generally a pretty disciplined, slow-down style,” Cremisino said.
This time, Forest Lake jumped out early with back-to-back Davis three-pointers. While their halftime advantage was only five points, the Rangers never trailed.
“We needed one,” Cremisino said. “It helps everyone’s confidence.”
Davis finished 4-5 from deep and had 17 points. Dusty Boyer made his first three three-point attempts and added 11.
The Rangers expected senior captain Tyler Rosenberger back in the lineup for this Tuesday’s home contest against Mounds View. He has missed nearly all of the last six games with an ankle injury.
The team was also without senior captain Jackson McDowell last week and will be for a few more games. He is suspended from the team for a school violation.
Forest Lake plays at White Bear Lake on Friday and hosts Roseville next Tuesday.
Rough week for basketball boys
Team drops three, falls under .500
The Ranger boys’ basketball team dropped all three of its games last week. The skid is just the second of three or more games in the program’s last four seasons, and it has Forest Lake looking to straighten the ship in the heart of conference play.
The Rangers were without senior Tyler Rosenberger for all but 17 seconds last week, and the offense sputtered without his scoring touch. The team averaged just 56 points per game in the three losses.
Junior Anthony Tyler elevates to the bucket during last Tuesday’s overtime loss to East Ridge. It was one of three tough defeats for the Rangers on the week, as they fell to 5-6 on the season. (Photo by TLC Digital Images)
“We’re used to living in the 70s and 80s, so this is difficult,” said coach Dan Cremisino.
Technically, the Rangers were alive well into each game.
The latest loss came at the hands of Woodbury here on Friday. The Royals won 85-65 to remain unbeaten at 6-0 in the Suburban East Conference. Ricky Suggs scored 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting. He added seven rebounds and three steals.
“We had one chance and that was to make them try to score in the halfcourt and keep them from running out on us,” Cremisino said.
Forest Lake did that for the first 14 or so minutes and led until the Royals went on a 14-2 run late in the first half.
Once down in the second half, the Rangers were forced to come out of their 1-3-1 defense and the Royals expanded the lead against the man-to-man.
Anthony Tyler scored a career-high 20 points to lead Forest Lake.
“He runs the floor well, he moves on offense and he gets a lot of paint points because he’s active,” Cremisino said of the junior forward.
A late comeback was not enough to lift the Rangers the night before in Blaine. Bengal sharpshooter Tanner Schumacher hit four three-pointers and Forest Lake made only four field goals in the first half as the hosts built a 15-point lead by the break.
The Rangers clawed within six points with 58 seconds left before falling 59-50. They went 2-16 from beyond the arc. Tyler again had 20 points, including 12 free throws.
“We’re not matching up with real athletic teams really well,” Cremisino said. “We have to try to cheat a bit and zone.”
In last Tuesday’s home game against East Ridge, Forest Lake jumped out to a 19-4 lead but saw it whittled to three before the half ended.
The Rangers again extended the lead to double digits, but failed to score in the final several minutes of regulation.
“There’s a lot of guys playing crunch-time varsity minutes who haven’t played in that position before, and it’s a transition,” Cremisino said.
The Raptors hit two quick three-pointers in overtime, but Forest Lake came back to tie the game at 54 on a bucket by Jackson McDowell.
East Ridge hit a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to earn the win.
McDowell led the team with 12 points. Rosenberger left with an ankle injury on the game’s first possession.
Forest Lake played at Stillwater this Tuesday and travels to Hastings on Friday.
Honoring Kauls
The boys host Mounds View next Tuesday. Mustang coach Ziggy Kauls will be honored during his final game in Forest Lake.
The Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame coach graduated from high school here in 1959 after his family came from Latvia in his youth. He took the Mounds View coaching job in 1967 and has won over 700 games along with two state titles.
Rangers routed, then roll to an easy win
Basketball boys find both ends of spectrum
Clint Riese
Sports Editor
A 42-point victory is how the Ranger boys’ basketball team followed up a lopsided loss last week. Forest Lake fired a blank in a home loss to Cretin-Derham Hall last Tuesday but improved to 5-3 on the year by hammering Park on the road three nights later.
The Rangers canned 12 three-pointers and stole the ball 25 times in the latter, a 72-30 victory.
The Wolfpack has not won a Suburban East Conference game since the 2008-09 season, but Ranger coach Dan Cremisino came into the contest wary. Park (2-9) had lost by just three points at Hastings last Tuesday and Forest Lake was without leading scorer Tyler Rosenberger, who left the prior game with an ankle injury.
Friday’s contest was never close, however. Forest Lake played smothering defense and Dusty Boyer and Matt Degendorfer combined to make nine three-pointers.
Park’s scoring output marks the lowest a Forest Lake opponent has reached during Cremisino’s six years at the helm.
Degendorfer, a sophomore guard, finished with 19 points and four steals, both team highs.
C-DH 66, FL 49
Cretin-Derham Hall had not won in Forest Lake since 2006, and the Raiders came out last Tuesday like they were taking out four seasons’ worth of frustration.
On the other end of the spectrum, the 66-49 rout was an unfamiliar sight for Ranger fans.
“We played pretty tentatively,” said Cremisino. “We never responded to what Cretin did and never answered back and never adjusted. It was as poor a game as we’ve played in quite a while.”
Led by forward CJ Neumann, a Wofford (Division I) signee, the Raiders used an early 10-0 run to go up 16-4, and Forest Lake would never come within nine the rest of the way. The Rangers scored just 16 first-half points. Anthony Tyler finished with 10 points to lead the team.
The Raiders improved to 4-4 with the win, then fell in Roseville on Friday.
Forest Lake opened a three-game week by hosting East Ridge this Tuesday. The boys play at Blaine tonight, Jan. 12, and host conference-leading Woodbury on Friday. That game takes place on Red Out Day, meaning admission will be free to those wearing red American Heart Association T-shirts. The shirts are being sold before and after school this week at the high school. The $10 shirts also allow for free admission to the home wrestling match tonight.
Rangers roll in Tiger Classic
FL boys cruise to title in Albert Lea
Clint Riese
Sports Editor
After years of taking part in loaded holiday tournaments, the Forest Lake boys’ basketball team charted a different course last week. The Rangers found the competition less rugged at the Tiger Classic in Albert Lea, sweeping to the title with two comfortable wins.
Heading into the bulk of conference play, coach Dan Cremisino hopes the solid showing will be a confidence boost for a team that entered the event with a record of 2-2. The two-day trip also provided bonding time for a team which has not spent as many years playing together as most.
“I think it was good for us,” he said. “It’s just where we’re at in our development as a team.”
On the court, the Rangers outclassed the competition both days. They topped the host Tigers 67-54 to win the title on Wednesday.
Forest Lake ran out to a 35-24 lead at half and pushed the advantage to near 20 down the stretch. Albert Lea’s starters were skilled enough to hang around, but Forest Lake was able to expose some weaknesses once the Tigers got into their bench.
Senior guard Tyler Rosenberger and junior post Noah Davis continued to carry the offensive load. Rosenberger went 3-5 from three-point territory and scored 17 points, while Davis added 15.
“Most teams are having a tough time figuring out how to stay with Noah if he’s playing well,” Cremisino said. “It’s really tough to stop such a unique player with his size and skill set.
“Ty is playing like we thought he would, which is one of the best guards we’ve had in the years we’ve been here.”
Forest Lake cleared the bench in Wednesday’s opener against Triton. All 18 Rangers saw action in a 72-34 win over the winless Class AA school from the Hiawatha Valley League. The Rangers led by 19 at the break and limited the Cobras to just 14 second-half points.
Toby Boyer joined Rosenberger and Davis in double-digits with 10 points. The ninth-grader went 4-4 from the field, including two three-pointers.
Senior Dusty Boyer had nine points and four steals. Senior Jackson McDowell totaled nine points and nine rebounds.
The Rangers faced a much tougher test this Tuesday, as they welcomed Cretin-Derham Hall for the conference home opener. They also play at Park on Friday and at home against East Ridge next Tuesday.
FL wins ugly over St. Francis
Rangers 2-2 heading into holiday tourney
Tyler Rosenberger skies for a block in the first half of his team’s win over St. Francis Monday night. The senior guard finished with a team-high 21 points. (Photo by Clint Riese)
Clint Riese
Sports Editor - Forest Lake Times
It wasn’t easy on the eyes, but the Ranger basketball boys improved to 2-2 with a 61-50 win over St. Francis here Monday night. Forest Lake led nearly wire-to-wire in a game full of fouls, free throws and a fair share of airballs.
“The outcome is fine, but like I told the kids even at halftime, ‘I want you to play well and play the right way,’” said coach Dan Cremisino. “I don’t think we played as well as we could for any extended period of time. We couldn’t put more than a couple possessions together at a time.”
Even so, the outcome was seldom in doubt after a 10-0 run in the middle of the first half gave Forest Lake a 26-14 lead. Jackson McDowell started the spurt with a three-point play, and Tyler Rosenberger followed with a steal and layup. After a Fighting Saints timeout, Noah Davis hit a long jumper and a three-pointer.
Forest Lake came out of halftime in a 1-3-1 defense which forced several quick turnovers. The Rangers led by as many as 15, but the game slowed down considerably due to fouls and St. Francis used free throws to stay within 10 or so points for most of the second half. The teams combined to shoot 57 free throws, with the Fighting Saints making 21.
In a win earlier this season, St. Francis came back after trailing 24-6, a fact Cremisino had in the back of his mind. By the time the visitors clawed within six at 56-50, however, the clock was down to 1:48, and Forest Lake hit enough free throws to put the game away.
Rosenberger and Davis led Forest Lake with 21 and 14 points, respectively. Andy Julkowski had 22 for St. Francis.
The Rangers hung with defending Suburban East Conference co-champ Roseville in a road test last Friday. The game was close throughout. Forest Lake trailed 29-25 at half, fell behind by 15 in the second half and closed the lead back to five. They had several chances to make it a one-possession game down the stretch but could not connect and lost 64-57 in what was the conference opener for both squads.
Rosenberger led the Rangers with 19 points, while Anthony Tyler chipped in 15.
Last Tuesday, Forest Lake got in the win column with a 65-50 road victory over Cambridge-Isanti. The Rangers trailed by three at the break but put on the 1-3-1 and had success after halftime.
Davis paced the Ranger offense with 25 points and also had 12 rebounds.
Forest Lake heads to Albert Lea for a holiday tournament next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Centennial hands FL loss in opener
Cougars pull away to overcome Davis’s 29 points
Tyler Rosenberger shoots on his way to a 22-point outing in the season opener. (Photo by Clint Riese)
Clint Riese
Sports Editor - Forest Lake Times
Centennial and Forest Lake battled toe-to-toe for the first 31 minutes of the boys’ basketball season opener here last Tuesday. The Cougars pulled away in the end, outscoring the Rangers 15-9 in the last five minutes and never trailing during that stretch. Forest Lake lost 81-76 despite leading for most of the game.
“It seemed like there were two or three possessions where they scored and had they missed, it would’ve been them chasing us instead of us chasing them,” said coach Dan Cremisino. “It could’ve easily been the other way around had we executed down the stretch.”
The Cougars moved ahead for good with a three-pointer at the five-minute mark, and followed right up with a layup off a Ranger turnover to make it 71-67.
Junior center Noah Davis tries to corral the ball during the opener against Centennial last Tuesday. Davis led the Rangers with 29 points. (Photo by Clint Riese)
After a pair of Tyler Rosenberger free throws trimmed the lead to two, Centennial star Mitch Kuck took over with back-to-back buckets as part of his game-high 32 points.
Forest Lake’s full-court press rattled Centennial and a nifty layup by junior Anthony Tyler cut the lead to three with just under a minute remaining. The Cougars made just enough free throws down the stretch to salt it away.
It seemed a long night was in store for Forest Lake as their guests jumped out to leads of 5-0 and 11-4.
A four-point play by junior center Noah Davis got the Rangers back in it in hurry, and he swished another long jumper a few minutes later to tie it at 12.
Davis hit two more three-pointers soon after, and Rosenberger, a senior, also started connecting late in the first half, but Centennial was just as hot. Rosenberger drove, made a layup despite a foul and hit the free throw with less than a second left to pull his team within one point at 41-40 at the break.
Davis had eight points – all inside – during a 14-5 run to open the second half. Kuck responded with a layup and a trey to tie it at 56, and the game stayed tight until Centennial’s final run.
Both teams might have benefitted from the lack of scouting reports that comes with the first game of the season. Davis blew away his previous varsity high with 29 points despite sitting out the latter stage of the first half. Rosenberger finished with 22 points, while sophomore Matt Degendorfer showed deep range and added eight off the bench.
Davis, Rosenberger, Tyler, senior Matt Hultgren and senior Mistaki LaPlante earned starting nods, but Cremisino substituted liberally in an attempt to evaluate a squad that seems to have much depth but also a lot of parity.
“We’re really trying to give guys chances and see who claims spots,” he said. “…We’re going to search a little bit and see who’s going to make a claim.”
Forest Lake played at Section 7AAAA foe Cambridge-Isanti on Tuesday, opens Suburban East Conference play at Roseville on Friday and hosts St. Francis for Alumni Night next Monday.