Proctor Journal

From the opening minutes of play it looked like the Proctor boys basketball team was on track to bury the Cloquet Lumberjacks, in a very important Lake Superior Conference showdown.

Proctor 55, Cloquet 53

Heading into the game Proctor had taken over first place in the LSC, edging out Duluth Denfeld by a mere two points. Meanwhile, Cloquet was in third place, four points away from the top spot. Since Proctor beat Cloquet weeks earlier, a second win by the Rails would all but eliminate the Carlton County team from contention for the top spot in the LSC. At the same time the Rails stood to open as much as a four point lead over Denfeld in the conference race. The worst case would see Proctor and Denfeld tied at the top of the conference.

Proctor won the first quarter on the scoreboard, as they rattled off six unanswered points for the 6-0 lead before the visiting ?Jacks were able to board four points.

The Rails then went on another scoring rampage to take an 11-4 lead. Junior Kyle Wojtysiak, snagged rebounds, picked-off passes, and shot like a pro. By the end of the opening quarter Proctor had opened a 16-4 lead.

At half-time the Rails lead was a comfortable 30-17, despite a late Cloquet run.

The Lumberjacks came out to start the third quarter looking like a much different team with an 8-2 scoring run. By the close of the third stanza, Proctor was leading 46-30.

In the fourth quarter an offensive explosion by Cloquet nearly cost the Rails the game. The Lumberjacks put on an 11-0 scoring run.

It all came down to the final 14.5 seconds of the game with the score knotted at 53 points. The ball belonged to Proctor. Chad Rands nailed the lay-up for the two point Proctor lead. A foul was whistled to send Rands to the free throw line for the chance for a three point lead. His shot hit the rim and bounced off. Rands snagged his own rebound and stood there gripping the ball until the game ending horn sounded, giving Proctor the 55-53 victory.

Peterson led the way with 17 points, Rands added 12, Jetter Robertson 10, Wojtysiak 6, Will Goldsworthy and Zach Dunaiski 4 each, and Ben Bittner 2.