Manistique Defeats Rudyard Bulldogs for District Title
By David Latva

Jeff Briggs Rudyard

Free throws and a third-quarter scoring run lifted the Manistique Emeralds to a 60-50 victory over the host Rudyard Bulldogs in the boys basketball Class C district championship game at Harris Kahl Gymnasium in Rudyard Friday, February 29.

The Bulldogs outscored the Emeralds 50-43 from the field, but Manistique made 17 of 21 (80%) from the free throw line, while Rudyard connected on only 6 of 9.

Rudyard (14-9 overall) led 14- 12 after the first eight minutes before Manistique held a 10-6 scoring advantage in the second quarter to take a 22-20 lead into halftime.

The Bulldogs lost the services of Davin Salo in the first quarter with an ankle injury. The sophomore did not return to play.

The third quarter made the difference offensively as the Emeralds outscored the Bulldogs 18-6, including a 9-2 run for a 40-28 advantage going into the final period.

Rudyard, with a 22-20 scoring edge in the final eight minutes, sliced the Manistique lead to six points inside the two-minute mark, but the Bulldogs would get no closer.

The Emeralds will advance to the Class C regionals at Escanaba to play the winner of L'Anse district.

The Saints' James Peterson (24) scores a first-half field goal against Manistique in the Class C districts. He closed out his career with 25 points.

Bulldogs statistics: Jeff Briggs, 22 points; Arik Hesselink, 14 points; Craig Wallis, six points; Todd Anderson, four points; Davin Salo, Kiefer McCollum, two points.

Emeralds statistics: Corey Gonyea, 13 points; Matt Baker, 12 points; Jared Turan, 10 points; Josh Mickelson, Terry Martin, eight points; Scott Giles, six points; Brandon Lawrence, three points.

Saints Fall to Emeralds

in Class C District Semifinals

Lack of outside scoring by St. Ignace and second-shot opportunities by Manistique allowed the Emeralds to hand the Saints a 72- 52 setback during the Class C district semifinals at Rudyard Wednesday, February 27.

"Our pressure worked, but we couldn't put together a series of turnovers that led to offensive runs," said Saints Coach Doug Ingalls.

Austin St. Louis (12) of St. Ignace drains a short jumper during the second half of the Saints contest against Manistique.

The Saints are normally a strong outside shooting team, but, against the Emeralds, St. Ignace was unable to find its range.

Gerrit Mortensen and Anthony Lester have combined for more than 80 three-point field goals this season, but the pair was held to only one against Manistique.

"Manistique used a triangleand two defense for most of the game against Gerrit and Anthony," added Ingalls.

St. Ignace senior James Peterson, playing in his final game, scored 19 points in the first half. Manistique held a 29-25 halftime lead after holding a 13-9 scoring edge at the end of the first eight minutes. Peterson finished the district contest with career-high 25 points before fouling out with 3:15 left in the game.

Austin St. Louis opened the third quarter for St. Ignace with a steal and a score off a rebound, for a 29-27 score, before the Emeralds outscored the Saints 12-5 for a 41- 32 lead at the 4:27 mark.

Nick Montie (32) of St. Ignace, playing in his final game, scores a second-half field goal.

St. Ignace sliced the Manistique lead to 41-36, but each time the Saints cut the margin, the Emeralds had an answer, and held a 49-39 lead after the third quarter. The Emeralds closed out the match-up with a 23-13 scoring advantage in the final eight minutes.

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

Emeralds statistics: Cody Kangas, 22 points; Josh Mickelson, 15 points; Corey Gonyea, 12 points; Jared Turan, 11 points; Scott Giles, five points; Terry Martin, four points; Joe Leduc, two points; Brandon Lawrence, one point.

Rudyard Advances to

District Finals With Win

Over Newberry

The Rudyard Bulldogs advanced to the Class C district championship game on their home court with a 61- 31 win over the Newberry Indians Wednesday, February 27.

The Bulldogs led 14-5 after the first eight minutes and increased the lead to 29-15 at halftime, with a 15- 10 scoring advantage in the second quarter.

Rudyard built the lead to 51-21 after three quarters with a 22-6 offensive run before both teams scored 10 points in the final eight minutes.

Bulldogs statistics: Arik Hesselink, 22 points; Todd Anderson, Jeff Briggs, nine points; Craig Wallis, eight points; Davin Salo, four points; Daine Pavolski, Kiefer McCollum, three points; Isiah Otten, Drew Otten, one point.

Indians statistics: Derek Dake, eight points; Drew Zitnik, six points; Rodney Calton, five points; Brian Ronquist, Catlin Pietrowski, three points; Steven Pinter, Devin Quinlan, two points.

Rudyard Breezes Past

Inland Lakes;

Coach Ross Earns 100th Win

The success of the Rudyard Bulldogs boys basketball team during the season has been put on the shoulders of seniors Craig Wallis and Jeff Briggs, and junior Arik Hesselink. The trio has played well together and when that has happened, the Bulldogs have looked impressive.

Rudyard opened the Class C district tournament Monday, February 25, with an 89-62 win over the Inland Lakes Bulldogs. It also was RudyardBulldogs Coach Grant Ross' 100th career win as the varsity coach.

The trio combined for 72 points as Rudyard opened the first eight minutes with a 24-17 lead and outscored Inland Lakes 22-13 in the second quarter, for a 46-30 halftime lead.

Rudyard continued its offensive explosion in the second half, outscoring Inland Lakes 27-17 in the third quarter to increase its lead to 73-47, before closing out the contest with a 16-15 scoring edge in the final eight minutes.

Rudyard statistics: Craig Wallis, 27 points; Jeff Briggs, 23 points; Arik Hesselink, 22 points; Davin Salo, seven points; Isiah Otten, Drew Otten, four points; Kiefer McCollum, two points.

Inland Lakes statistics: Steven Kolb, 24 points; Austin Swadling, 14 points; Jared Scruggs, nine points; Nick Weick, seven points; Brent Vizina, six points; Alex Holton, two points.