St. Ignace, 7-0, Cedarville, 6-0, Lead Area Teams on Basketball Hardwood
Saints Down Emeralds, Bays
By David Latva

James Peterson St. Ignace

The St. Ignace basketball team is off to its best start since the seasons of 1999-2000 (23-1) and 2000-2001 (24-1) following nonleague victories over Brimley 76- 53 Friday, January 5, and a 61-49 decision against Manistique Tuesday, January 2.

The Saints posted perfect regular season records in both of those earlier seasons, reaching the regional finals in 1999-2000 and quarterfinals in 2000-2001.

This season, St. Ignace, in their fifth straight home game, started slowly as Brimley took a 7-3 lead at the 4:17 mark of the first quarter before the Saints closed out the period with a 7-0 run, for an 11-7 lead.

Preston Parish converted a three-point play for the Bays to open the second quarter and cut the Saints lead to 11-10. St. Ignace scored eight consecutive points for a 19-10 advantage and completed the first half with a 10-0 count to increase the margin to 33-17 at halftime, as Dan Olsen scored 13 points, all in the second period.

Olsen continued his offensive run with 10 points in the third quarter, while James Peterson added seven and Jake Weiss chipped in six as the Saints outscored the Bays 26-10 to build the lead to 59- 27.

Preston Parish Brimley

B r i m l e y , now 1-5 on the season, closed out the game with a 26-17 advantage in the final period.

Saints Stats: Dan Olsen, 27 points, eight steals, five assists; Jake Weiss, 13 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, five steals; James Peterson, 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists; Nick Montie, nine points, seven rebounds; Gerrit Mortensen, eight points, four assists, three steals; Justin Emery, three points, Ben Matelski and Anthony Lester, two points.

Bays Stats: Preston Parish, 20 points; Ryan Freedman, 13 points; Nate Mills, eight points; Mike Phillips, six points; Mike Graham, three points; Steve Phillips and Frank St. George, two points.

Saints Outlast Emeralds

St. Ignace never trailed in the win over the Emeralds, with a 6-0 margin that led to a 14-6 lead after the first eight minutes.

The Saints offense and defense both caught fire in the second quarter, outscoring Manistique 20- 9 as Jake Weiss scored nine points and James Peterson chipped in six for a 34-15 halftime advantage.

Jordan Sweeney Cedarville

During the low-scoring third quarter, the Emeralds held a 11-9 scoring edge and the visitors sliced the Saints lead to 47-38 at the 4:35 mark of the fourth quarter before St. Ignace hung on to post the 12- point win.

Saints Stats: Jake Weiss, 23 points; Dan Olsen, 12 points; James Peterson and Nick Montie, eight points; Anthony Lester and Ben Matelski, four points; Gerrit Mortensen, two points.

Trojans Hit Century Mark

in EUPC Win Over Panthers

Five players scored in double figures and Cedarville hit the century mark with a 100-62 Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference win over Pickford Friday, January 5.

Cedarville, 6-0 on the season and 1-0 in the league, led 28-17 after the first eight minutes and held a 27-23 scoring edge in the second quarter for a 55-40 halftime lead.

The Trojans held Pickford to 22 second-half points that included 27-11 in the third quarter, and closed out the contest with an 18- 11 margin.

McKinley Portice Pickford

Cedarville connected on 21 of 26 for 81 percent from the free throw line, and Pickford made 12 of 20 from the charity stripe.

T r o j a n s Stats: Jordan Sweeney, 22 points; Jordan Duncan and C.J. Paquin 15 points; Justin Baker, 12 points; Jason Duncan, 11 points; Matt Hansen, eight points; Cody T h o m p s o n , seven points; S h e l d o n Tassier, six points; Kevin T h o m p s o n , four points.

P a n t h e r s Stats: McKinley Portice, 18 points; Pat Savoie, 17 points; Kyle Barry, eight points; Jordan Potter, seven points; Jamie Nettleton, five points; Clayton Peffers, four points; Paul Walsh, two points; Matt Rose, one point.

Trojans Continue Streak

With Strong Offense

Cedarville's basketball offense continues to be in high gear and balanced scoring has been the key as the Trojans ran their record to 5- 0 after a 91-61 non-conference win over Harbor Springs Friday, December 29.

"I felt we played well after the short holiday break," said Trojans Coach David Duncan. "We went after Harbor on defense, and that spearheaded our offense."

Jordan Duncan Cedarville

The Trojans have had four players scoring in double figures during each game, and against the Rams four players scored 15 point or more points.

Cedarville led 24-17 after the first eight minutes before the defensive effort lifted the Trojans to a 27-12 advantage in the second quarter for a 51-39 halftime lead.

The Trojans built the margin to 79-59 after three quarters with a 28-20 score and closed out the game with a 12-2 advantage in the final period.

Trojans Stats: Justin Baker, 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists; C.J. Paquin, 19 points, 11 steals; Matt Hansen, 16 points, eight rebounds; Jordan Duncan, 15 points, five assists; Jordan Sweeney, seven points; Kevin Thompson, two points; Cody Thompson, one point.

Cedarville entertains DeTour Friday, January 12 and travels to Brimley Tuesday, January 16.