St. Ignace Defends Holiday Invitational Championship
By David Latva

The St. Ignace Saints won the holiday classic with wins over Sault Ste. Marie and Escanaba. Team members (front, from left) include Andy Mullins, Gerrit Mortensen, Anthony Lester, Cody Sturm, Austin St. Louis, (back, from left) Martin Beaudoin, Jamin Corwin, Tyler Mapes, Nick Montie, Coach Doug Ingalls, James Peterson, and Kyle Smock.

Four basketball players scored in double figures for the St. Ignace Saints and All-Tournament selections Gerrit Mortensen and Anthony Lester combined for 41 points as the Saints defended their championship in the second annual BC Pizza Holiday Classic with a 69-62 win over Escanaba Eskymos Friday, December 28.

Escanaba edged St. Ignace in rebounding, with a 38-35 advantage, but the threesome of Kyle Smock (10) Austin St. Louis (8), and Nick Montie (6) combined for 24 rebounds.

"The trio stepped up," said Saints Coach Doug Ingalls. "If we don't stay close in rebounding, we probably lose the game. One phase of the game that doesn't show up in the scorebook is the Saints players taking charges. Montie and Smock both took key charges against the Eskymos that led to four-point scoring swings."

The Saints Gerrit Mortensen races to the hoop for two points against Sault Ste. Marie in the semifinals. Mortensen was named to the all-tournament team.

Escanaba took a 21-13 lead after the first eight minutes as six players scored for the Eskymos, led by Tom Erickson with seven points and Cory Gylock with six.

St. Ignace bounced back from a poor shooting game against Sault Ste. Marie in the semifinals to outscore Escanaba 16-4 for a 35-32 halftime advantage. James Peterson, who sat out most the first half with two fouls, scored eight points, Lester added two, and Mortensen drained two triples, including one at the buzzer, for the three-point lead.

The Eskymos held a 38-37 scoring edge at 6:13 of the third quarter before St. Ignace offense shifted into high gear with a 10-0 run as Mortensen and Lester scored four points each. Montie notched two for a 47-38 lead and held a 52-44 advantage going into the final eight minutes.

Escanaba cut the Saints lead to 62-58 with 1:42 left in the game, but the St. Ignace defense stalled the Eskymos for a sevenpoint win.

The Saints Anthony Lester, all-tournament selection, drains this three-point field goal against Escanaba Eskimos during the championship game of the B.C. Holiday Classic held at LaSalle High School Friday, December 28.

All-Tournament Team

Joining Mortensen and Lester on the All-Tournament team were Tom Erickson and Garrick Fisher of Escanaba and Joe Arnold of Gaylord.

Saints statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 22 points, eight assists, four steals; Anthony Lester, 19 points, five assists; Nick Montie, James Peterson, 12 points; Austin St. Louis, four points.

Eskymos statistics: Cory Gylock, 18 points; Frank Sedlar, 12 points; Garrick Fisher, 10 points; Tom Erickson, nine points; JackDaniels, five points; Paul Wakefield, Mitch VanEffen, four points.

Gaylord JV Wins Tourney

The Gaylord Blue Devils, coached by LaSalle High School alumnus Jason Weiss, won the junior varsity championship with a win over Sault Ste. Marie in the title game and Escanaba in the semifinals.

Saints, Eskymos Advance

to Finals of BC Classic

St. Ignace and Escanaba advanced to the finals of the Holiday Classic as the Saints held off Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils 63-52 and the Eskymos defeated the Gaylord Blue Devils 78-60 Thursday, December 27, at LaSalle High School.

The Saints used scoring runs to end the first three quarters as a springboard to the Straits Area Conference win over the Blue Devils.

Sault Ste. Marie led 11-10 at the 4:00 mark of the first quarter before Gerrit Mortensen, Anthony Lester, and Austin St. Louis scored consecutive field goals to lift the Saints to a 16-11 lead after the first eight minutes.

St. Ignace trailed 22-20 with 3:00 left in the first half, but Jamin Corwin hit a triple that spearheaded the Saints on a 9-0 run for a 29-22 halftime advantage.

The Saints led 41-36 at 1:09 of the third quarter before James Peterson scored five and Mortensen chipped in two as St. Ignace extended their lead to 48-36 going into the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils held a 17-14 scoring edge in the final eight minutes to cut the final margin to nine points.

Saints statistics: James Peterson, 15 points, eight rebounds; Gerrit Mortensen, 14 points, seven rebounds; Anthony Lester, 13 points, five assists, four steals; Austin St. Louis, nine points, four steals; Nick Montie, six points, three rebounds; Jamin Corwin, three points; Tyler Mapes, two points; Kyle Smock, nine rebounds.

Blue Devils statistics: David Deuman, Jerrod Dillon, 14 points; Nick Kibble, eight points; Joshua James, six points; Jordan Dillon, four points; Adam Gilbertson, Caleb Vizina, three points; Brian Killips, one point.

Escanaba Drains 10 Triples

With Win Over Gaylord

Escanaba drained 10 threepoint field goals and Garrick Fisher and Tom Erickson scored 20 points each for the Eskymos in the win over the Blue Devils, while Nick Freeman scored 12 and Joe Arnold added 11 for Gaylord.

The Saints travel to Cedarville Wednesday, January 9, entertain Cheboygan Friday, January 11, and battle Sault Ste. Marie in a road Straits Area Conference game Friday, January 18.