FIELD TWP- North Woods Grizzlies fans were treated to a rare spectacle at last Friday’s Senior Night game against Littlefork-Big Falls, as senior guard Brenden Chiabotti ripped the nets for an electrifying 50 points and crossed the 1,000-point career mark while doing so.
At the outset, the contest was shaping up as a potentially close one, with LBF countering the Grizzles bucket for bucket to an 18-18 tie.
But then the illusion of a close game vanished, with Chiabotti doing much of the heavy lifting with the help of his teammates. This wasn’t a case of players deliberately feeding Chiabotti the ball. Rather, he was repeatedly the right option to go to at the right time, and he delivered, hitting on 50 percent of his shots from the field and going eight-for-ten from the charity stripe. Chiabotti was often the beneficiary of the Grizzlies’ relentless full court press and stalwart defense that collected 22 steals and forced 27 turnovers.
North Woods had already put the game out of reach by halftime with a stunning 79-point performance while holding LBF to 34, making Chiabotti’s pursuit of 1,000 points the only drama left to play out. He put that exclamation point on the story with a basket at the 13:46 mark of the second half, with the game pausing for him to receive congratulations from his teammates, family and fans.
The Timberjay caught up with Chiabotti after the Grizzlies polished off the 115-68 win and asked him how he felt passing 1,000 points with a 50-point performance.
“It feels great,” he said, “You know, my brother did it. My dad did it. Almost everyone in my family did it. So, I had to join them. I couldn’t do it without my teammates. They were all looking for me tonight. They made it easy.”
But Chiabotti has also made a mark in the assist department as one of the team’s better passers, and that’s something he’s proud of, too.
“I’d rather have 1,000 assists than 1,000 points, that’s for sure,” he said.
Head Coach Andrew Jugovich summed up Chiabotti’s performance.
“Best game that he’s played all year running the floor, taking the good shots and not just forcing up threes, attacking the rim, getting the and-ones and finishing those layups,” Jugovich said.
The coach wasn’t as happy that his team gave up 68 points in the contest, stressing that they need to play better defense, but overall is pleased with how they’re coming along at this point in the season.
“We’re coming along at the right time, everyone’s moving the ball, everyone’s shooting well, and we’re having fun,” he said. “With my age, I see them all as little brothers. We’re a family, and it was a learning curve at the beginning. But I’m very happy to see how far we’ve come from the beginning of the year.”
Chiabotti’s big night overshadowed another stellar performance by Jonah Burnett, who tallied 31 points for the game. Jared Chiabotti was the other North Woods player in double figures with 13.
I’Falls crushed
The Grizzlies traveled to International Falls on Monday and put an even bigger beatdown on their hapless hosts, breezing past the century mark again, 119-47. Game stats were not available before press time.