Boys Basketball
Saints Drop Pair; Chiefs Win Boys SAC Title
By David Latva

Kyle Smock (42) of St. Ignace scores a short jumper against Nate Schott (25) of Cheboygan. Smock finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

The Straits Area Conference boys basketball championship came down to the final game of the season between St. Ignace and Cheboygan Thursday, February 14, with the host Chiefs pulling off an 82-76 victory.

Cheboygan led by 26 points midway through the third quarter, and as by as many as 21 points with seven minutes left in the game, before the Saints sliced the Chiefs' lead to 80-74 in the closing 30 seconds, only to fall short by six points.

St. Ignace outscored Cheboygan 65-64 from the field, while the Chiefs held an 18-11 advantage from the free throw line, which proved to be the difference in the game.

"After a defeat I have not been more proud of a team," said Saints Coach Doug Ingalls. "In a big game, the student-athletes played with a lot of heart and never quit."

The Saints only lead of the game was 9-8 at 1:16 of the first quarter before Cheboygan closed out the first eight minutes with an 8-4 scoring advantage and a 16-11 lead.

Nick Dullack Mackinaw City

The Chiefs' long-range scoring helped them build a 40-23 lead at halftime with a 24-12 scoring advantage in the second quarter, which included 14 field goals in the first half and seven threepoint baskets.

Cheboygan held a 27-26 scoring edge in the third quarter for a 67-49 lead going into the final eight minutes before St. Ignace found its shooting touch.

The Saints tallied five triples in the fourth quarter as James Peterson and Austin St. Louis drained two each, Anthony Lester chipped in one trey to cut the Chiefs lead to 77-61 with 3:40 left in the game.

St. Ignace scored nine unanswered points during the next two minutes for a 77-70 score.

Cheboygan connected on five of 10 from the free throw line in the closing 1:48, while Lester scored four and Smock chipped in two to end the game.

Saints statistics: Austin St. Louis, 19 points, seven rebounds, one blocked shot; Gerrit Mortensen, 17 points, five rebounds, three assists; James Peterson, 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists; Anthony Lester, 12 points, seven assists, three rebounds; Kyle Smock, eight points, eight rebounds; Nick Montie, five points.

Chiefs statistics: Nick Hancock, 20 points; John LaFrinere, 19 points; Trey Crongeyer, 14 points; Trevor Closs, 13 points; Jordan Spohn, six points; Tom Wolf, five points; Shane Beaudoin, three points; Nate Schott, two points.

Saints Drop Heartbreaker to

Blue Devils

The Saints lost a non-conference heartbreaker to Gaylord 80- 77 Tuesday, February 12.

Quinn Woodhouse, a junior at Gaylord, scored 34 points, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter alone, to lift the Blue Devils to a three-point win over the Saints.

St. Ignace outscored the Blue Devils 10-2 during the final 2:08 of the first half as Cody Sturm scored eight points for a 43-31 halftime lead.

Gaylord sliced the Saints' largest lead to five points (55-50) after three quarters before St. Ignace extended its advantage to 62-52 with 6:12 left in the game.

The Saints were unable to hold on as the Blue Devils enjoyed a 30-22 scoring advantage in the final eight minutes to post the win.

Saints statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 22 points; Anthony Lester, 14 points; James Peterson, 13 points; Austin St. Louis, nine points; Cody Sturm, eight points.

Saints JV Update

The St. Ignace Saints junior varsity boys basketball team fell to Cheboygan 66-43, Gaylord 59- 50, and Manistique 71-48.

Saints vs. Cheboygan: Gunnar Zipp, 16 points; Cole Christiansen, 10 points; Kevin Guillard, seven points; Evan Everson, Jimmy Campbell, four points; Jake Gustafson, two points.

Saints vs. Gaylord: Gunnar Zipp, 14 points; Cole Christiansen, 11 points; Kevin Guillard, nine points; Evan Everson, seven points; Mike Marthelemy, six points; Landon Marshall, three points.

Saints vs. Manistique: Kevin Guillard, 15 points; Landon Marshall, nine points; Gunnar Zipp, seven points; Evan Everson, six points; Cole Christiansen, five points; Grant Simmons, Jake Gustafson, Jimmy Campbell, two points. Cedarville Boys Complete

Perfect 20-0 Season

The Cedarville Trojans boys basketball team completed a perfect season with a 71-36 Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference (EUPC) win over the DeTour Raiders Thursday, February 14,

The Trojans (20-0 overall and 8-0 in the EUPC) are riding a 46- game winning streak spanned over the last two seasons, which includes last year's Class D state finals title.

Against DeTour, the Trojans led 47-16 at halftime and outscored the Raiders 24-20 in the second half.

Trojans statistics: C.J. Paquin, 18 points, six steals; Kevin Thompson, 13 points; James Mitchell, 11 points, eight rebounds; Taylor Smith, nine points; Jason Duncan, eight points, six rebounds, three steals; Jordan Duncan, Sheldon Tassier; Scott Mc- Greevy four points.

Raiders statistics: Nathan Klamerus, nine points; Tyler Anderson, six points; Thomas Worden, Darrell Plont, four points; Kaleb Barbeaux, three points; Andy Dyal, Mathias Kristensen, Josh Wilson, Zach Melvin, Ian Burton, two points.

Trojans Down Hurons

Cedarville cruised to a 86-45 non-conference win against the Rogers City Hurons Tuesday, February 12.

Cedarville led 55-26 at halftime and outscored Rogers City 31-19 in the second half to post the non-league win.

Trojans statistics: C.J. Paquin, 18 points, six steals, five assists; Sheldon Tassier, 13 points; Jason Duncan, 12 points, five assists, five steals; Jordan Duncan, 12 points; James Mitchell, 11 points; Cody Thompson, Alex McMaken, Scott McGreevy, Luke Murray, two points.

Statistics for Rogers City were unavailable.

Comets Post League Wins;

One Game Away From Title

The Mackinaw City Comets boys basketball team is one win away from clinching a share of the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) championship, and with some help, could win the title outright.

The Comets earned league victories over the Alanson Vikings 73-26 Friday, February 15, and the Boyne Falls Loggers 63-51 Wednesday, February 13, that kept them in the hunt for the NLC title.

The Comets, 12-1 in the NLC and 15-3 overall, have one road game at Alba left on the schedule. The Ellsworth Lancers are tied with Mackinaw City with one loss, but the Lancers have two more conference games to play, with Harbor Light Christian and Wolverine.

Four in Double Figures

Against Vikings

Four Comets combined for 53 points in the decision over Alanson. Mackinaw City led 50-11 at halftime and outscored the Vikings 23-15 in the second half to record the win.

Comets statistics: Nick Dullack, 17 points (career high); Adam Alexander, 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists; Austin Martin, 13 points, seven rebounds; Klaus Jaggi, 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists; Barry Paquet, seven points; Luke Alexander, five points; Logan Paquet, four points, six assists, four steals; Zach Milholin, four points.

Statistics for Alason were not available.

Comets Beat Loggers

for Conference Win

Against the Loggers, Mackinaw City turned a one-point lead after the first eight minutes into a 14-point advantage after three quarters with a 35-22 scoring advantage to hold on for the NLC win.

Comets statistics: Logan Paquet, 23 points, eight steals, five assists; Austin Martin, Nick Dullack, eight points; Barry Paquet, Adam Alexander, seven points; Klaus Jaggi, six points, 12 rebounds; Zach Milholin, four points, eight rebounds.

Mackinaw City will compete in the Class D district basketball tournament at Pellston the week of Monday, February 25 through Friday, February 29. If the Comets win the districts they will advance to the regionals in St. Ignace Tuesday, March 4 to Friday, March 7.