Home opening weekend good for the Cyclones
The Cyclones hosted the first session of the Northern division vs the Southern division crossover weekend. First up was Rainy River from international Falls, MN. Rainy came in with record of 2-1 on the season. They brought a very athletic brand of basketball that is fun to watch. Early on the Cyclones were able to take advantage of good shooting and some transition baskets. The Cyclones were able to build a 14 point lead going into halftime. The lead soon dissipated with the full court pressure Rainy was able to put on. They forced the Cyclones into several timely turnovers that lead to easy baskets. This made for a back and forth 4th quarter, which left the fans on the edge of their seats. Both teams had troubles getting stops. As the fouls mounted against both teams, Rainy had 2 key players foul out, while the Cyclones had one. Down the stretch each possesion was important and both teams were able to convert. Rian Lee scored the winning basket with 3 secs left on the clock to give the Cyclones the 73-72 win and improve to 2 - 4 on the season
The second game of the weekend was a rematch of an earlier contest between the Cyclones and the Cardinals from Hibbing. The Cyclones lost that match up on the road just 2 weeks ago. Both teams coming off a game the night before, came out sluggish. Both teams struggled on offense which lead to a low scoring first half. 24 - 15 Hibbing with the lead. The second half saw the Cyclones pick up the tempo and begin to cut into the lead. Hibbing was able to maintain the advantage until midway through the 4th quarter. The last 5 minutes were a replay of the night before. Both teams going back and forth valuing each possession as if it were the last. Again for the second night in a row, the Cyclones had the last word. With 10 seconds left, Makayla Paggen was able to knock down 3 point basket to give the Cyclones 40 - 38 lead. The Cyclones tacked on one more free throw to finish a come from behind victory 41 - 38. The Cyclones are now 3 - 4 and head north this weekend for the road series of the north vs south crossover.
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