CASS LAKE 鈥� Senior Tateyn Boswell felt a little pressure heading into the Panthers鈥� postseason opener.
Cass Lake-Bena High 歪歪漫画 boys basketball, the first-seeded team in the Section 8A tournament, hosted eighth-seeded Bagley for a second-round tilt Thursday evening. Though CLB entered its first playoff game confident, it also entered with a key piece out of the lineup: leading scorer Kingsly Whitebird.
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Boswell鈥檚 job against the Flyers was to guard Jackson Kaiser 鈥� a top-end offensive threat 鈥� and help fill in the gap in scoring left by Whitebird鈥檚 absence. Despite the weight of those duties, he got to work quickly in a 98-69 win.
Splashing triples, finishing physical layups at the rim and grabbing a handful of points at the free-throw line, Boswell scored the Panthers鈥� first eight points and went to the locker room at halftime with 22 points.
鈥淚 felt a little pressure coming into this game, but as soon as I scored the first basket, I knew I could (do it),鈥� Boswell said. 鈥淚 saw that I could attack the basket right away, and that鈥檚 my specialty, so that鈥檚 what I did.鈥�
Boswell kept the baskets coming in the second half, finishing with a team-high 35 points and guiding Cass Lake-Bena to a resounding win over Bagley.
Kaiser did his best to keep the Flyers close, going basket-for-basket with Boswell and finishing with 37 points.
鈥淲e knew he was their leading scorer, that鈥檚 why I was on him,鈥� Boswell said. 鈥淲e were focusing on him the whole game.鈥�
In the opening portion of the game, it seemed as though CLB was in for a dogfight with Bagley. The Flyers leaped out to a 7-1 advantage and traded the lead as the first half wound on, slowing the Panthers鈥� offense and finding baskets from Kaiser and Drayden Thompson.
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However, Cass Lake-Bena started to pick up the pace with roughly eight minutes left in the opening frame. Bagley鈥檚 21-20 lead 鈥� its last of the night 鈥� quickly evaporated as the Panthers erupted for a 17-2 run.
Swiftly pushing the ball down the court in transition and collecting baskets from more than just Boswell, CLB continued to outpace the Flyers as the first half came to a close, taking a 46-31 lead into the locker room.
When the play resumed in the second half, the Panthers pressed their feet firmly on the pedal, extending their lead to 20 points less than four minutes in.
鈥淲e were pushing the ball up at the end of the season a lot more, but without (Whitebird), we just had to adjust again,鈥� head coach John Wind said. 鈥淚t's just getting kids to work well together. After they started doing that 鈥� I mean, we were only up by (15) at halftime 鈥� we came back out, and we said just don鈥檛 change a thing, keep pushing the ball up the court. (And) we were controlling the boards.鈥�
CLB sent its starters to the bench in the game鈥檚 closing minutes, tossing in a host of underclassmen to finish out what had become a comfortable win.
Beyond Boswell, three players ended the game with double-digit point totals. Sophomore Douglas Dick earned 16 points, senior Jayden Fairbanks tallied 15 and freshman Joseph Wind collected 10. Freshman Kenyon Goggleye had an effective night in the post as well, finishing with nine points.
That depth scoring from upperclassmen and underclassmen will be essential for Cass Lake-Bena as it continues its march through the postseason without Whitebird (for now).
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鈥淔airbanks can come in and he can light it up,鈥� Wind said. 鈥淭hen you鈥檝e got Goggleye and you鈥檝e got Joe Wind. Those guys, I really feel that they鈥檙e both tall and lanky, and when Jayden rebounds well, Dougie rebounds it well and we push the ball up the floor, and those guys (are) flying around, flying either lane on the outside.
"It鈥檚 not real familiar with it yet, but I think as each game goes and if we can continue to keep playing like that, I think they鈥檙e gonna get more comfortable.鈥�
The Panthers鈥� postseason journey continues this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when they鈥檒l head up to Thief River Falls to take on fourth-seeded Kittson County Central in the Section 8A quarterfinals.
CLB is a program well-acquainted with the Ralph Engelstad Arena. With that recent postseason experience has come some important lessons 鈥� namely, that tournament seeding can be thrown out the window when it comes to individual matchups.
The Panthers were the No. 1 seed when they lost to fourth-seeded Mahnomen/Waubun in the Section 8A quarterfinals a season ago. Ranked as the No. 2 seed back in 2023, CLB suffered a one-point loss to third-seeded Fertile-Beltrami in the quarterfinals.
Needless to say, Cass Lake-Bena won鈥檛 be overlooking its opponent this weekend.
鈥淲e take things a game at a time,鈥� Boswell said. 鈥淲e definitely know we can win the section, we say that every year because we definitely could, but from past experience, from learning, we take it a game at a time.鈥�
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However, Wind is hoping that the Panthers鈥� tough regular-season slate helped prepare his team 鈥� especially some of the underclassmen 鈥� for the top-end competition offered by the playoffs.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a soft schedule, and that was good for us,鈥� Wind said. 鈥淲e take a loss as long as we learn something from it. I think our young guys, after those seniors all went down in the beginning of the season, every game that we went to win or lose, I鈥檓 sure they got something from it.鈥�
Cass Lake-Bena 98, Bagley 69
CLB 46 52 鈥� 98
BHS 31 38 鈥� 69
Cass Lake-Bena 鈥� Boswell 35, Cloud 16, Fairbanks 15, Wind 10, Goggleye 9, Gill 4, McArthur 3, White 2, Goss 2, Kichen 2.
Bagley 鈥� J. Kaiser 37, Thompson 15, Johnson 5, Gray 4, Rud 2, Tramm 2, Coyls 2, Proulx 1, Frazier 1.
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