Bluejacket boys basketball halts Princeton

The Bluejackets, who handed Princeton its last league setback back in 2020 with Melander on the court, accomplished the same feat by knocking off the previously undefeated Tigers by a 98-88 final.

“You never know how you are going to respond, but I thought we responded very, very well, and it was an unbelievable crowd we had there,” said Bluejackets coach Mike McDonald on the victory.

On the other side, Princeton coach Brett Cloutier credited the Bluejackets for their strong play.

“It’s one thing to lose, and we could have done some things better, but Cambridge flat out beat us,” he said.

Into the game, the Bluejackets and Tigers each traded blows early on.

“It was a really tight game to start with, back and forth,” McDonald said.

Knotted at 16 midway through the first half, a cut by Elias Dee that led to a basket gave the Bluejackets a lead they would not relinquish.

After gaining the lead, Cambridge-Isanti went on to outscore the Tigers by a 33-15 for the remainder of the half to build a 20-point advantage into the break.

“For whatever reason, we just started making great plays and making great shots that gave us that 20-point lead at halftime,” McDonald said.

John Troolin played a big role in the advantage as the junior nailed seven 3’s in the first half to help the Bluejackets to the advantage.

Staked to the big lead, the Tigers came clawing back, as the senior-laden team wasn’t fazed by a large deficit.

“We’ve never had concern about this team to where they would roll over and take a 30-point drubbing,” Cloutier said.

Out of the break, Princeton made a big push to trim the deficit to as low as 6 points before senior Kobe Karels got going.

Karels, who scored all of his 17 points in the second half, helped calm the ship as the Bluejackets restored their double-digit lead in the Cambridge-Isanti victory.

The senior breaking out for the double-digit scoring outburst played a big role in the victory, said McDonald.

“That was key for us,” he said.

With the victory, Cambridge-Isanti moved to 4-4 while handing the Tigers their first loss, dropping the opponent to 6-1 on the season.

Troolin amassed 33 points in the win, aided by Elias Dee’s 20 points and Keagen Shrider’s double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Back at .500, the Bluejackets were next in action the following morning, heading to Duluth East for the Lake Superior Classic and a game against Tartan.

Cambridge-Isanti 60, Tartan 59

Back in action the next day for a tough contest following the draining win over Princeton, the Bluejackets knocked off Tartan by a 60-59 margin in the showcase.

“It was a gut-check game,” said McDonald on the win.

Down by 2 points with time winding down, Karels was able to drive to the rim for the bucket and the foul, then converted on the old-fashioned 3-point play to push the team ahead by the slimmest of margins.

The Bluejackets then held strong on defense on the ensuing Titan possession to seal the win.

Karels led all scorers with 20 points for Cambridge-Isanti, now 5-4 as it readied for a pair of conference games.

Cambridge-Isanti played Chisago Lakes on Tuesday, Jan. 10, in a contest that was not completed at press time, before hosting St. Francis on Friday.

Both games will be tests, said McDonald.

“You can throw records aside; it’s going to be a game with a great crowd and should be an interesting game,” he said of the contest against St. Francis. “But we first have to take care of Chisago Lakes.”

Tip for the game against the Saints will be at 7 p.m. at Cambridge-Isanti High School.