CLC wraps up share of North title

GRAND RAPIDS - Bam Glover scored 16 points and C.J. Peeters added 14 as the Central Lakes men's basketball team throttled Itasca 100-44 Saturday to clinch a share of the North Division title with Vermilion as both teams finished 13-1 in division play.

The Raiders took a 30-point lead into the half and never looked back as the Vikings could not keep up with the Raiders' scorching offensive pace. CLC shot 65 percent from the field, including 9-15 from beyond the arc.

"It was good that everybody got a chance to play some significant minutes," Raiders coach Jim Russell said. "Playing this well will give us a little confidence moving forward into the state tournament."

CLC's depth was on display as 13 Raiders scored. Caleb Nurnberger and Lalo Bellamy joined Glover and Peeters in double figures, collecting 11 and 10 points apiece.

With a share of the division title under their belts the Raiders look to repeat as MCAC state champions with a top division seed and a first-round matchup against MSCTC-Fergus Falls Friday.

"Our first goal this season was to win the conference title," Russell said. Over the course of the season I felt like the team did a great job of doing what we needed to do to be successful.

"We needed to get to the point that, first off, we understood our roles on this team, then secondly to play together as a team within those roles and, third, to have and improve our depth. I think we did those things and we have improved all season and are playing our best basketball heading into the postseason."

Itasca 21 23 - 44

Central Lakes 51 49 - 100

ITASCA

Anthony Howard 3, Matt Peterson 4, LaVance Dixon 4, Justin Nieman 3, Roland Willis 4, Jamaal Amos-Demaj 18, Leiland Moore 4, Al Fitzgerald 1, Derek Parks 3. FG 18-51 (35 percent), FT 7-13 (54 percent), Three-point baskets: 1 (Amos-Demaj).

CENTRAL LAKES

Sutan Burris 4, Quentin Wilford 9, Caleb Nurnberger 11, Scott Herold 7, Erik Peeters 3, Kyle Mickelson 5, Will Kornbaum 8, Ahmed Farah 7, C.J. Peeters 14, Bam Glover 16, Brandon Stenger 4, Dustin Monson 2, Lalo Bellamy 10. FG 41-63 (65 percent), FT 9-16 (56 percent), Three-point baskets: 9 (Kornbam 2, C. Peeters 2, Farah, Mickelson, E. Peeters, Herold, Nurnberger). Division: 13-1. Overall: 22-4. Next: vs. MSCTC-Fergus Falls 1 p.m. Friday in MCAC state tournament at Minneapolis.