Zac Pierson drives to the hoop during the second half of the Saints game with Escanaba. St. Ignace split the final two games before the holiday break, defeating Newberry 72-71 during a Straits Area Conference (SAC) road contest Tuesday, December 20, but falling to Escanaba 74-65 in a non-league game Thursday, December 22.

Garrett Becker scored 22 points with nine assists, Dan Olsen chipped in 18 points, and Zac Pierson added 10 points and seven rebounds to lead the Saints against the Indians.

Kyle O'Boyle notched nine points and eight rebounds, Jake Weiss tallied seven, James Peterson charted four, and Brad Silet marked three.

Andrew Schultz scored 29 points and Matt Payment chipped in 13 for the Indians.

St. Ignace, 1-1 in the SAC, led 51-45 going into the final period and increased the margin to 59-51 with six minutes remaining in the game.

Newberry outscored St. Ignace 10-4 during the next two minutes for a 63-61 score, but Olsen and Pierson answered to extend the Saints lead to 67-61.

The Indians closed the margin to 67-64 in the final two minutes, while the Saints could have put the game away, but had to hang on for a one-point win after connecting on just six of 16 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.

James Peterson The Saints led 16-13 after the first quarter and held a 30-29 halftime edge after Newberry closed the score with a 16-14 second quarter advantage.

St. Ignace outscored Newberry 21-16 in the third quarter to take a five-point lead into the final eight minutes.

Third Quarter Offense, Free Throws Key to Eskymos Win Over Saints

Third quarter offensive margin and free throws down the stretch by Escanaba made the difference as the Eskymos outscored the Saints 30-20 in the third period and connected on six of 10 from the charity stripe in the final 50 seconds of the game to seal the win.

Jake Weiss led the Saints with 23 points that included five triples, James Peterson added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Zac Pierson chipped in 11 points and seven boards.

Dan Olsen notched seven points and five boards, Garrett Becker tallied six points and eight assists, and Kyle O'Boyle marked one point, nine rebounds, and four assists.

Jake Weiss hits one of his five three-point field goals during the hoops game against the Eskymos. "We continue to play hard and with that style of play, good things will happen," said Saints Coach Doug Ingalls.

Eric Kutches scored 22 points, Pat O'Connell chipped in 18, and Brennan VanEffen added 15 for Escanaba.

St. Ignace led 14-10 after the first eight minutes, then Escanaba slowly gained control and led 2925 late in the second quarter before Weiss scored three of his 11 points at the buzzer, for a 29-28-halftime score.

Weiss started the second half with his fourth of fifth triple and added a two-point field goal for a 33-29 lead before the Eskymos outscored the Saints 30-15 for a 59-48 advantage after three quarters.

St. Ignace didn't quit and opened the fourth quarter with 10 consecutive points to slice Escanaba’s lead to 59-58 at the 5:21 mark, but the Eskymos responded with a 7-0 run, for a 66-58 margin with 2:34 on the clock.

The teams scored just one field goal each during the final two minutes, but Escanaba took advantage of the charity stripe to score six points in the closing 50 seconds to ice the non-league win.

Saints JV Split Games

St. Ignace split two games, defeating Newberry 64-63 and dropping a tough contest to Escanaba 47-44.

Kyle Spencer scored 16 points, Cory Swope added 14, Anthony Lester chipped in 13, Nick Montie notched 12, Tyler Mapes tallied five, and James Halberg and Shane Spring marked three apiece for the Saints in the win over the Indians.

During the Escanaba game, Spencer scored 13 points, Swope and Mapes added 10, Lester chipped in four, Montie notched two before he broke his nose late in the first half, Spring tallied two, and Todd Preseau charted one.

The Saints trailed 33-28 with six minutes left in the game before Spencer and Lester hit consecutive triples for a 34-33 lead with 5:02 on the clock.

Spencer drained his second trey of the final eight minutes for a 3837 offensive edge, but Escanaba took a 42-38 lead with 2:20 remaining in the game.

Swope scored four points and the Eskymos answered for a 44-42 lead before a Spring rebound and putback notched the score with 14 seconds left.

Escanaba made a two-point field goal and chipped in one free throw during the closing seconds for the win.