Boys Basketball
By David Latva

Nick Montie St. Ignace

St. Ignace Boys Defeat

Panthers, Cruise Past Hurons

James Peterson scored a careerhigh 25 points and Gerrit Mortensen scored 24 points to lead the St. Ignace Saints to a 66-45 nonconference win over the Pickford Panthers Tuesday, December 11, and the Saints cruised to a 72-32 Straits Area Conference (SAC) decision over the Rogers City Hurons Thursday, December 13.

Saints Down Panthers

Pickford led 4-2 before St. Ignace scored 15 unanswered points for a 17-4 advantage at the 3:14 mark and held a 23-11 margin after the first eight minutes, outscoring the Panthers 17-5 in the second quarter for a 40-16 halftime lead.

Mortensen scored 18 first-half points and Peterson added 16 for the Saints, while McKinley Portice scored six points for the Panthers.

The Panthers were down by 24 points at halftime, but Pickford, led by first-year Head Coach Shawn Bennin, didn't quit, outscoring the Saints 29-26 offensive edge in the second half.

Saints statistics: James Peterson, 25 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks, three steals; Gerrit Mortensen, 24 points, eight assists, four steals; Nick Montie, five points, four rebounds; Anthony Lester, four points, eight steals, seven assists; Kyle Smock, three points, six rebounds; Austin St. Louis, three points, four rebounds.

The Saints' James Peterson (24) scores two of his career-high 25 points over the Panthers' Jordan Potter (44) and McKinley Portice (22).

Panthers statistics: McKinley Portice, 16 points; Jamie Nettleton, 10 points; Mickael Cantin, eight points; Zack Mortinsen, five points; Burton Gough, four points; Preston Hunter, two points.

Saints Cruise Past Hurons

The Saints displayed great team basketball play at both ends of the court in a tough road game against Rogers City, and handed the Hurons an SAC loss as four players scored in double figures for St. Ignace Head Coach Doug Ingalls.

St. Ignace

opened the contest with a 13-7 lead at the twominute mark of the first eight minutes, continued to increase the lead to 32-16 at halftime, and breezed to a 40-point win after outscoring Rogers City 40-16 in the second half.

McKinley Portice (22), who led the Panthers with 16 points, scores a field goal against the Saints' Nick Montie (32) and Austin St. Louis (12).

"We played with a lot of intensity on the defense and offense," said Coach Ingalls. "We cut down our turnovers and rebounded very well. Nick Montie played strong, especially in the first half, and didn't back down from the Hurons 6'6" center, Scott Kowalewsky."

St. Ignace had just 13 turnovers and held two of the top players in the SAC, Bret Karsten and Scott Kowalewsky, to just 16 combined points.

Saints statistics: James Peterson, 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists; Nick Montie, 14 points, 13 rebounds; Gerrit Mortensen, 11 points, nine assists, two steals; Austin St. Louis, 12 points, eight rebounds; Tyler Mapes, six points; Anthony Lester, four points, two steals, two assists; Kyle Smock, three points, eight rebounds.

Saints To Host

Classic December 27-28

Chris Turner Pickford

The second annual Holiday Classic will be Thursday, December 27, and Friday, December 28, at LaSalle High School, sponsored by B.C. Pizza of St. Ignace.

The Escanaba Eskymos and Gaylord Blue Devils will tip off the tournament at 6 p.m. The Saints and Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils will follow on Thursday. Consolation game will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, December 28, with the championship game to follow.

Saints JV Team Falls to

Panthers

The Pickford Panthers bested the Saints junior varsity team 51-34 Friday, December 14.

Saints statistics: Grant Simmons, 11 points; Cole Christiansen, nine points; Gunnar Zipp, six points; Kevin Guillard, four points; Jimmy Campbell, three points; Trevor LeVeille, one point.

Panthers statistics: Nathan Gregg, 15 points; Paul Morrison, 10 points; Josh Reid, nine points; Cody Becks, six points; Matt McBain, four points; Charlie Halsey, three points; Dylan Rye, Tim Gough, two points.

Panthers Post First Career

Nathan Butkovich Engadine

Win for Coach Bennin

The Pickford Panthers boys basketball team has earned the first victory under Head Coach Shawn Bennin, defeating the DeTour Raiders 79-51 in an Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference contest Thursday, December 13.

Nine players scored for Pickford, five in double figures, led by Chris Turner with 19 points.

The Panthers held a 12-10 scoring edge after the first eight minutes and increased the margin to 37-18 at halftime with a 25-8 advantage in the second quarter. They continued their offensive dominance by outscoring the Raiders 26-19 in the third quarter and 16-14 in the final period.

"I was pleased with our fullcourt pressure defense and the fact that we cut down on our turnovers," said Coach Bennin.

Panthers statistics: Chris Turner, 19 points; McKinley Portice, 13 points, nine rebounds, seven steals; Zack Mortinsen, 12 points; Paul Walsh, three steals; Mickael Cantin, 11 points, nine rebounds; Pat Savoie, six points, six rebounds; Josh Kibble, Burton Gough, three points; Jamie Nettleton, one point.

Chastin McKelvie Rudyard

Raiders statistics: Andy Dyal, 13 points, nine rebounds; Thomas Worden, 12 points; Tyler Anderson, seven points; Nathan Klamerus, Teryn Miller, Ian Burton, five points; Josh Wilson, four points.

Raiders Down Warriors

The DeTour Raiders defeated the White Pine Warriors from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 53-36 Monday, December 10.

The Raiders led 24-15 at halftime and outscored the Warriors 29-21 in the second half to post the win.

DeTour will travel to Engadine to face the Eagles Friday, December 21.

Raiders statistics: Andy Dyal, 11 points, 14 rebounds; Ian Burton, 11 points, four assists; Josh Wilson, 10 points, nine rebounds; Nathan Klamerus, nine points, 10 rebounds; Tyler Anderson, six points, four steals; Mathias Kristensen, Darrell Plont, Kaleb Barbeaux, two points.

Butkovich Scores Winning

Shot in Eagles'Win

Over Black Bears

Nathan Butkovich scored a twopoint shot with seven seconds remaining in the game to lift the Engadine Eagles to a 56-54 nonconference win over Big Bay de Noc Black Bears Monday, December 10.

Butkovich was on the receiving end of a give and go pass from John Troyer to turn a 56-56 score into a home victory.

"We were in our half-court offensive set and John (Troyer) found Nathan (Butkovich) for a lay-up," said Eagles Head Coach Elmer Albright.

With 6.8 seconds remaining, Big Bay de Noc called time out to give them a chance to tie or win the game, but had to get the ball down the full court for a shot.

"They got a solid look with a 15-foot jumper, but the ball bounced off the rim at the buzzer," explained Coach Albright.

The senior trio of Michael Bennett, Troyer, and Butkovich were the bulk of the Eagles' offense, combining for 47 points.

Both teams scored 35 points in the first half before the Eagles outscored the Black Bears 23-21 in the second half to post the win.

The Eagles will entertain DeTour in an Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference contest Friday, December 21.

Eagles statistics: Michael Bennett, 19 points, five three point field goals, four steals; John Troyer, 16 points, six rebounds; Nathan Butkovich, 12 points, 10 rebounds, two steals; Phillip Hood, seven points, seven assists, six rebounds; Devon Derusha, Killian Frisch, two points.

Rudyard Boys 1-1 In SAC

The Rudyard Bulldogs boys basketball team is 1-1 in the Straits Area Conference (SAC) and 3-1 overall following a 61-46 league win over the Newberry Indians Thursday, December 13, and a 75- 64 non-conference decision over the Brimley Bays Monday, December 10.

In the SAC win over the Indians, the Bulldogs led 32-25 before outscoring Newberry 29-21 in the second half.

Against Brimley, Rudyard held a 32-31 scoring edge over the Bays at halftime, but a 43-33 offensive advantage in the second half lifted the Bulldogs to the non-league win.

Rudyard will entertain Cheboygan in an SAC game Friday, December 21, before the holiday break.

Bulldogs statistics vs. Newberry: Chastin McKelvie, 13 points, seven assists, six steals; Craig Wallis, 13 points, eight rebounds; Drew Otten, 11 points; Arik Hesselink, nine points, seven assists; Jeff Briggs, eight points, eight rebounds, eight assists; Dane Pavolski, four points; Tom Hendrickson, three points.

Bulldogs statistics vs. Brimley: Craig Wallis, 22 points, 11 rebounds; Chastin McKelvie, 13 points; Jeff Briggs, 12 points, six rebounds; Arik Hesselink, eight points; James Perry, Drew Otten, six points; Kiefer McCollum, four points, seven steals; Tom Hendrickson, two points.

Rudyard To Hold Alumni

Basketball Games

Rudyard High School will hold its annual men's and women's doubleheader alumni basketball games Wednesday, December 26, with the women's game set for a 6 p.m. tipoff and the men's at 7:30 p.m.

Alumni who were graduated in odd-numbered years are asked to wear a dark shirt, while those who were graduated in even-numbered years are asked to wear light shirts.

Contact Nick Postma at (989) 245-1103 or Laurie VanSloten at (906) 478-4568 for more information.