The Trojans' C.J. Paquin (30) flies to the hoop for a pass and converts a two-pointer over Shane Johnson (12) of ETC. The battle between the two top-ranked Upper Peninsula teams, Cedarville Trojans and the Ewen-Trout Creek (ETC) Panthers, lived up to everyone's expectations as the Trojans squeezed out a 74-70 win in the Class D quarterfinals Tuesday, March 11.

More than 2,200 fans packed Escanaba High School bleachers to see the 24-0 Trojans clash with the 25-0 Panthers.

"This was a great game and all the players gave their all," said Trojans Coach David Duncan. "The fans that packed the gymnasium got their money's worth."

This was the sixth quarterfinal game for Cedarville under the direction of Coach Duncan, who has been with the Trojans for 18 years. Other years the Trojans advanced to the state quarterfinals were in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2006, and 2007.

The Trojans and Panthers battled back and forth, with Cedarville taking a 35-31 lead at halftime. The Trojans outscored the Panthers 12-6 for a 49-33 lead at the 4:46 mark of the third quarter, as Kevin Thompson, the Trojans' leading scorer with 26 points, scored 10 points, that included six unanswered points to open the second half.

Cedarville continued its offensive stretch and closed out the third quarter with a 12-11 scoring edge for a 59-48 advantage going into the final eight minutes.

"The three-point line has changed the game of basketball, and six triples by ETC made the difference," added Coach Duncan.

The Trojans' lead grew as large as 11 points during the first 6:25 of the fourth quarter, however, ETC sliced Cedarville's lead to 64-58 with 3:15 on the clock. Jason Duncan answered for the Trojans, scoring on a back door play from Sheldon Tassier, followed by two consecutive free throws from Jordan and Jason Duncan, to give the Trojans a 70- 58 lead with 1:35 left in the game.

With time winding down and victory slipping away, the Panthers turned to their threepoint shooting.

Christian Fors canned his fourth triple of the game at 1:04, followed by an Anthony LaPlant trey with 50 seconds left. Panthers teammate Chase Leskela added a two-pointer to cut the Trojans' lead to four, 10 seconds later.

Leskela pulled ETC to within two at 70-68 with 25 seconds left in the game before Jordan Duncan halted the Panthers' comeback with two key free throws with 19 seconds left.

Leskala, the Panthers' leading scorer with 25 points, scored with 11.8 seconds on the clock and fouled Trojans player Kevin Thompson to stop the clock, however, he converted the two free throws with 6.7 left to clinch the win.

"I felt ETC would make another run late in the fourth quarter, but we answered with four key free throws down the stretch," added Coach Duncan.

The Panthers' 8-7 lead at 4:45 of the opening quarter was the last lead it would enjoy as Cedarville outscored ETC 9-2 to complete the first eight minutes with a 16-10 scoring advantage.

ETC held a 21-19 scoring edge in the second quarter, that included a 9-4 run that sliced the Trojans' lead to 35-31 at halftime.

The Panthers were coached by Tom Caudill, who plans to step down from the coaching position this season. He has coached 31 seasons for the Panthers, winning 558 games during that span. Coach Caudill ended his career with a 25-1 overall record this year and a Porcupine Mountain Conference championship.

Cedarville scored 28 field goals, six three-pointers, and made 12 of 18 from the free throw line. ETC made 28 field goals, seven triples, and made five of six from the free throw line.

Trojans statistics: Kevin Thompson, 26 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals; Jordan Duncan, 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals; C.J. Paquin, 15 points; Jason Duncan, seven points; six rebounds; two assists, two steals; Sheldon Tassier, seven points, six assists.

Panthers statistics: Chase Leskela, 25 points; Christian Fors, 20 points; Anthony LaPlant, 12 points; Nick Mickovich, eight points; Shane Johnson, three points.