Four players in double figures, timely free throw shooting, and strong defense lifted the Saints to a 71-61 Straits Area Conference (SAC) win over Newberry Friday, February 10.

LaSalle High School celebrated courtwarming, and seniors Lauren Ogle and Garrett Becker were crowned queen and king before the varsity contest.

Four players scored in double figures, led by Garrett Becker with 16 points that included 12 from the charity stripe, Zach Pierson added 14, Jake Weiss and Dan Olsen chipped in 12, James Peterson notched eight, Kyle O'Boyle tallied seven, and Lewie Mullins charted two.

The Saints defense held Matt Payment and Andrew Schultz to 12 points each. The senior duo had been averaging more than 40 combined points during most of the season. Mike Houghton led the Indians with 13 points.

St. Ignace, 3-3 in the SAC and 411 overall, took the lead (10-9) for good at the 1:30 mark of the opening period and held a 15-9 margin after the first eight minutes, with Pierson scoring six points for the Saints.

The Saints increased the lead to 30-11 with three minutes left in the first half after outscoring the Indians 15-1 as Olsen and Peterson scored four each, Pierson chipped in three, and O'Boyle and Weiss notched two.

The teams traded points during the remainder of the half, with St. Ignace holding a 39-20 lead, but the teams still had to play the third quarter.

The third quarter has been a pain in the Saints offense this season, and again St. Ignace struggled, as eight players scored for Newberry and the Indians sliced the lead to 51-42 with a 22-12 advantage.

St. Ignace free throws, especially five of eight by Becker and three of four from Weiss, held Newberry at bay, although the Indians cut the margin to seven with 40 seconds remaining before Mullins scored two and Becker and Olsen drained free throws in the closing 30 seconds to ice the win.

The Saints scored 22 field goals, one trey, and 26 of 42 from the charity stripe and the Indians made 25 field goals, three triples, and eight of 19 from the free throw line.

Saints JV Split Games

St. Ignace junior varsity split the games during the week, defeating Newberry 85-74 and falling to Cedarville 81-53. Four players scored in double figures against the Indians for Coach Lou Grondin, led by Anthony Lester with 17. Kyle Spencer added 16, Nick Montie chipped in 14, Shane Spring notched 13, James Halberg and Tyler Mapes both tallied seven, Todd Preseau and Corey Swope charted four each, and Pat Schlehuber marked two.

Left photograph: Jake Weiss of St. Ignace (left) and Matt Payment of Newberry jump center to tipoff the SAC game. Middle photograph: LaSalle’s Zach Pierson (30) slices between two Newberry defenders for two of his 14 points. Right photograph: Dan Olsen (22) scores on this driving lay-up during the second quarter. Montie scored 16 and Spencer added 12 at Cedarville, while Preseau added nine, Lester notched seven, Swope and Mapes chipped in three, and Schlehuber tallied two.