Andrew Jaroche (3) of Cedarville drives to the hoop while being defended by Gerrit Mortensen of St. Ignace during first half of the season opener at LaSalle High School. Saints Edge Trojans

68-63 in Overtime

The season opener at LaSalle High School had a tournament atmosphere with a large crowd who came to see exciting boys basketball action, as the St. Ignace Saints held on for a 68-63 overtime non-conference win over the Cedarville Trojans Tuesday, December 8.

The victory for the Saints was the first between the teams since February 2005, but it took an extra four minutes to make it happen after the teams battled to a 59-59 score at the end of regulation play.

In the final 2:41 of the fourth quarter, Austin St. Louis drained a triple for a 55-54 Saints lead. Jordan Baker answered from behind the three-point line to give the Trojans a 57-55 lead at 2:03. St. Louis scored on a give-and-go from Evan Everson at 1:33 to tie the score at 57, followed by St. Ignace and Cedarville turnovers.

At right: The Saints’ Gerrit Mortensen (3) scores with the Trojans’ Connor McLeod defending. Gerrit Mortensen made free throws with 7.3 seconds on the clock for a 59-57 Saints lead. Andrew Jaroche of the Trojans hit a short jumper with one second remaining to send the game into overtime tied at 59.

During the extra four minutes, Cole Christiansen scored two points, St. Louis chipped in three, and Mortensen added four for St. Ignace, while Matt Schlosser and Jaroche notched two points for Cedarville.

Cedarville outscored St. Ignace 56-50 from the field, while the Saints held an 18-7 edge from the free throw line. The Trojans made 25 field goals, six treys, and seven of 10 (70%) from the charity stripe. The Saints scored 23 field goals, four triples, and 18 of 20 (90%) from the free throw line.

Jared Clark Bulldogs St. Ignace held a 14-12 scoring edge after the first eight minutes and outscored Cedarville 19-11 in the second quarter for a 33-23 halftime lead. St. Louis scored 15 and Mortensen 13 for the Saints. Baker answered with 15 and Jaroche 13 for the Trojans.

Kevin Guillard hit one of his triples to open the second half to give the Saints a 36-23 lead before Cedarville outscored St. Ignace 21-5 during the final 6:26 for the third quarter. The Trojans took a 44-41 lead as Baker scored 11 points.

Cedarville increased the lead to 52-43 at the 5:33 mark of the fourth quarter, but the Saints turned the tide with a 16-7 offensive run to send the game into overtime.

Saints statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 27 points, 14 of 15 from the free throw line, eight assists; Austin St. Louis, 27 points, 11 rebounds; Kevin Guillard, eight points, three blocked shots; Evan Everson, Grant Simmons, two points.

Arik Hesselink Rudyard Trojans statistics: Andrew Jaroche, 21 points; Jordan Baker, 20 points; Tyler Kanitz, seven points; Matt Schlosser, six points; Zach McFarlane, five points; Connor McLeod, two points.

Trojans Down Saints

in JV Game

The Cedarville Trojans defeated the St. Ignace Saints 65-56 in the junior varsity game.

Trojans statistics: Josh Hester, 18 points; Tucker Haske, 16 points; Keith Bouschor, 10 points.

Saints statistics: Eric Hepker, 15 points; Parker Simmon and Aaron Colegrove, 10 points.

Bulldogs Edge Saints

in SAC Thriller

Rudyard and St. Ignace battled for four full quarters before Jared Clark scored the winning field goal off a Drew Otten assist to lift the Bulldogs to a 65-63 Straits Area Conference (SAC) win over the Saints at Harris Kahl Gymnasium in Rudyard Friday, December 11.

Tyler Anderson DeTour "This was a big win for us," lead the host Rudyard Bulldogs to a 91-47 non-conference win over the Brimley Bays Tuesday, December 8.

The Bulldogs held a 51-24 halftime lead and outscored the Bays 40-23 in the second half to post the season-opening win.

Bulldogs statistics: Arik Hesselink, 22 points; Drew Otten and Ben Harter, 17 points; Davin Salo, 11 points; Jared Clark, 10 points; Scott Coffey, six points, 10 rebounds, six assists; Jacob Mc- Donoff, five; Ricky Gere, three points.

Bays statistics: Jared Parish, 13 points; Josh Schreiber, nine points; Kyle Root, eight points; Ty Root, seven points; Dylan Graham, six points; Donnie Lewis, four points.

Mckinley Portice Pickford Raiders Down Wildcats

The DeTour Raiders opened the boys basketball season with a 51- 43 road non-conference win over the Wolverine Wildcats Tuesday, December 8.

The Raiders led 16-9 after the first eight minutes and 25-17 at halftime with a 13-9 advantage in the second quarter before the Wildcats cut the final margin to eight points after outscoring DeTour 25-22 in the second half.

Raiders statistics: Tyler Anderson, 21 points, five assists, four steals; Sam Peterson, 10 points, five rebounds; Ian Burton, eight points, 14 rebounds, four assists; Chase Livingston, six points, four assists; Kaden Barbeaux four points, four rebounds, three assists; Brandon Melcer, two points, four rebounds, two assists.

Blue Devils Edge Panthers

Mckinley Portice scored 32 points, but the Pickford Panthers fell to the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils 61-56 during a road nonconference game Tuesday, December 8.

Pickford led 13-6 after the first eight minutes before the Blue Devils held an 18-10 advantage in the second quarter for a 24-23 scoring edge at halftime.

The Panthers took a 38-36 lead into the fourth quarter with a 15-12 advantage in the third period, but Sault Ste. Marie outscored Pickford 25-18 in the final eight minutes to post the five-point win.

Panthers statistics: Mckinley, 32 points, 12 rebounds; Jacob Eddy, nine points; Paul Morrison, six points; Dylan Rye, five points; Jordan Lavigne and Nathan Gregg, two points.