Saints, Trojans Continue Winning; To Battle February 6th at LaSalle
By David Latva
Peterson's Last-second Shot

James Peterson St. Ignace

Lifts Saints Over Chiefs

Saints junior James Peterson's rebound and put-back shot with twotenths of a second left on the clock lifted St. Ignace to a 60- 58 Straits Area C o n f e r e n c e (SAC) win over rival Cheboygan Chiefs Friday, January 26.

Despite struggling from the field (29 percent shooting from two- and three-point range, combined), the Saints kept Cheboygan from double figure leads as the Chiefs held eight-point advantages in the first and third quarters.

"Even though we shot poorly and we were in foul trouble, the effort showed character and toughness," said Saints Coach Doug Ingalls. "Our next three games are very tough, with road games at Gaylord and Sault Ste. Marie and home against Cedarville."

The Chiefs led 54-50 with 3:30 left in the game before Jake Weiss hit his third trey of the game at 3:22 for a 54-53 score. He was one of four St. Ignace players in double figures as he finished with 18 points.

After two Chiefs free throws, Gerrit Mortinsen scored for the Saints at 2:21, and, on the Chiefs' next possession, Nick Montie took a huge charge, followed by a Mortinsen field goal. Dan Olsen made one free throw to put the Saints ahead by two (58-56) with 50 seconds left in the game.

Ben Matelski, St. Ignace

The Chiefs' Trey Crongeyer made two of three free throws to tie the game at 58 after he was fouled on a three-point shot attempt with 31 seconds left go.

With the last seconds ticking down, Mortinsen drove the free throw lane and put up a shot. The ball fell off the right side of the rim and Peterson sliced his way to the rebound and quickly shot the ball, putting it through the hoop and sending the crowd at LaSalle High School gymnasium into a bedlam.

The Saints, who remain on top in the SAC with a 5-0 record, held a 47-38 advantage from the field while the Chiefs (2-3 in the SAC) outscored St. Ignace 20-13 from the free throw line.

St. Ignace made 22 field goals, four treys, and shot 14 of 26 from the free throw line. Cheboygan scored 18 field goals, two triples and shot 20 of 33 from the free throw line.

Jordan Sweeney Cedarville

Cheboygan scored the first eight points of the game before St. Ignace closed out the quarter with a 12-4 advantage to notch the score at 14.

The Chiefs held a 14-10 offensive edge in the second quarter for a 28-24 halftime lead and scored the first four points of the third quarter to stretch their lead to eight, at 32- 24.

St. Ignace took its first lead of the game at the 3:41 mark of the third quarter as Mortensen, Anthony Lester, and Ben Matelski combined for a 7-0 run. The Chiefs held a 41- 38 margin before Jake Weiss drove the ball down the court, scoring at the buzzer to cut the Chiefs lead to 41-40 going into the final period.

The Saints shooting woes continued into the final eight minutes though three-pointers by Dan Olsen and Weiss kept the Chiefs at bay until the final 3:30.

Saints Stats: Jake Weiss, 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five steals; James Peterson, 11 points, 10 rebounds, five steals; Gerrit Mortensen, 11 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals; Dan Olsen, 10 points; Ben Matelski, five points; Anthony Lester, two points, three rebounds; Lewie Mullins, two points, Nick Montie, one point, five rebounds.

Sheldon Tassier Cedarville

Chiefs Stats: John LaFrinere, 14 points, Nathan Schott, nine points, Zachary Walters and Kyle Eno, eight points, Trey Crongeyer and Thomas Wolf, six points; Shane Beaudoin, four points; Nick Hancock, three points.

Saints Hand Panthers

Double-digit Loss

Nine players scored for the Saints in their 69-31 win over the Pickford Panthers Tuesday, January 23.

Eight of those nine players scored in the first quarter as St. Ignace raced out to a 32-5 lead. The Saints led 46-12 at halftime.

The Saints outscored the Panthers 23-19 in the second half. The Saints led by more than 40 points at one point, activating a running clock for the remainder of the game.

A Michigan High School Athletics Association rule states that once a basketball team establishes a lead of 40 points or more the clock automatically continuously runs except during timeouts or for an injury.

Saints Stats: Dan Olsen, 16 points; Jake Weiss, 13 points; James Peterson, 11 points; Gerrit Mortensen, nine points; Nick Montie, seven points; Ben Matelski, six points; Lewie Mullins, Anthony Lester, and Jamin Corwin, two points.

Panthers Stats: Pat Savoie, seven points; Jamie Nettleton, six points; Nathan Miller, five points; Kyle Barry and McKenzie Portice, four points; Joe Jenkins, three points; Paul Walsh, two points.

Saints Split JV Games St. Ignace the junior varsity team defeated Pickford 44-41 but fell to Cheboygan 46-38.

Saints Stats vs Panthers: James Halberg, 16 points; Evan Everson, eight points; Kyle Smock, seven points; Tyler Mapes, four points; Matt Taylor, three points; Martin Beaudoin and Kevin Guillard, two points.

P a n t h e r s Stats: Zack Mortinsen, 17 points; Mickael Cantin, 11 points; Burton Gough, six points; Cody Stevenson, three points; Nathan Gregg and Jacob Rahko, two points.

Saints vs Chiefs: James Halberg and Kyle Smock, nine points; Evan Everson, seven points; Kevin Guillard and Martin Beaudoin, four points; Pat Schlehuber, two points.

Assists Key to Trojans Perfect

Dozen Record, 6-0 in EUPC

The Cedarville Trojans boys basketball team knows how to spread the offense around as the team has recorded more than 15 assists in numerous games this season, including home victories over Brimley 92-37 in an Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference (EUPC) Friday, January 26, and during a 103-60 non-league victory over Harbor Springs Tuesday, January 23.

The Trojans, ranked first in the Class D Upper Peninsula poll, remain undefeated, posting a with a 12-0 overall record, with six of those wins against EUPC opponents.

Trojans Corral Bays

Five players scored in double figures for Trojans Coach David Duncan in the win over Brimley as Cedarville raced out to a 30-14 first quarter lead, and outscored the Bays 27-11 in the second period for a 57- 25 lead.

The Trojans continued to dominate in the second half, with a 25-4 scoring advantage in the third quarter for an 82-29 margin, closing out the game with a 10-8 scoring edge over the struggling Bays, who fell to 1-3 in the league and 1-10 overall in the final period.

Trojans Stats: C.J. Paquin, 21 points, five steals, five assists; Jordan Sweeney, 19 points; Sheldon Tassier, 12 points, five rebounds, three assists; Jason Duncan, four assists, four steals; Jordan Duncan, 10 points, six steals, four assists; Cody Thompson, seven points, six rebounds; Kevin Thompson seven points; Justin Baker, six points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists.

Bays Stats: Michael Graham, 11 points; Nate Mills, 10 points; Preston Parish, seven points; Jordan Dillon, six points; Nashoba Stobnicke, two points.

Trojans Hit Century

Mark Over Rams

Nine players scored for the Trojans, with five of them reaching in double figures, during Cedarville's win against Harbor Springs.

Cedarville held a 20-18 scoring edge after the first eight minutes before outscoring the Rams 37-16 in the second quarter for a 57-34 halftime advantage.

"The second quarter was one of the best offensive quarters since I have been coaching," said Coach Duncan. "The offense was jelling against Harbor Springs."

The Trojans closed out the second half with a 46-26 margin that included a 29-19 run in the third quarter and 17-7 run in the final period.

Trojans Stats: Justin Baker, 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists; Jordan Sweeney, 16 points, seven assists, six steals; C.J. Paquin, 16 points, five steals; Jason Duncan, 14 points, six assists, four steals; Matt Hansen, 12 points, seven rebounds; Sheldon Tassier, seven points; Kevin Thompson, six points; Cody Thompson, two points.

Trojans Manager Fourth

at State Free Throw Finals

Joey Duncan, Cedarville Trojans varsity basketball manager, finished fourth during the State Elks Free Throw Shooting Contest in Midland Saturday, January 27.

The Les Cheneaux fourth grade student made 20 of 25 in the strong field of competitors at the finals.

Bays Fall to Braves

Brimley dropped a 60-40 nonconference contest to Bawating Monday, January 22.

The Bays led 19-17 after the first eight minutes before the Braves held a 9-4 scoring edge in the second quarter for a 26-23 halftime lead.

The visitors from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario outscored the Bays 34-17 in the second half to post the win.

Bays Stats: Preston Parish, 17 points; Nate Mills, 10 points; Michael Graham, eight points; Jordan Dillon, three points; Nashoba Stobnicke, two points.

Trojans Post JVWins

Cedarville won the junior varsity game defeating Harbor Springs 81- 77 in a high scoring contest as Taylor Smith notched 34 points and Andrew Jaroche tallied 22 for the Trojans.

In the 62-49 win over Brimley, Taylor Smith scored 20 points, James Mitchell added 13, Scott McGreevy scored 12, and Andrew Jaroche scored 11 for the Trojans.

Jereme Daniels led the Bays with 18 points, Corie Quinn added 17, and Christian Perron scored 10 for the Bays.