Landon Marshall (14) of St. Ignace drives to the basket during recent game against Newberry Friday, February 19. Saints Post Comeback Win Over Emeralds

St. Ignace trailed throughout the non-conference game at Manistique before the strong combination of the Saints offense and defense took control in the fourth quarter to upend the Emeralds 70-61 Wednesday, February 24.

The Emeralds led 54-49 going into the final eight minutes before the Saints offense answered with 21 points and the defense held Manistique to seven points to post the nine-point win.

"The team decided to put things together in the fourth quarter," said Saints Coach Jason Marshall. "We played much better at both ends of the court."

Manistique opened the game with a 20-15 lead after the first eight minutes before St. Ignace held a 15-14-scoring edge in the second quarter to cut the Emeralds lead to 34-30 at halftime. In the third quarter, the home squad outscored the Saints 20-19 for a five-point lead going into the final eight minutes.

Ryan Hendrickson (32) of Rudyard scores two first-half points against Rogers City Friday, February 26. Saints statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 36 points, eight assists, three steals, two blocked shot; Austin St. Louis, 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals; Evan Everson, eight points; two rebounds; Kevin Guillard, three points, two rebounds; Grant Simmons, two points, 12 rebound, two steals, two assists, one blocked shot.
 

Saints’ Six Game Winning Streak Halted By Chiefs

The St. Ignace Saints six-game winning streak came to an end at Cheboygan as the Chiefs posted a 75-67 Straits Area Conference (SAC) win Friday, February 26.

The Chiefs improved to 9-1 in the SAC and shared the league championship after Rudyard downed Rogers City Saturday, February 27.

St. Ignace, 6-4 in the conference and 13-5 overall, started sluggishly as the Chiefs took a 21-15 lead with five triples in the first eight minutes. The Cheboygan defense held Gerrit Mortensen to two points.

The Chiefs outscored the Saints 19-9 in the second quarter for a comfortable 40-24-halftime lead, but the Saints had an answer in the second half.

Cheboygan, 16-2 on the season, built the advantage to 54-34 inside the 3:00 mark of the third quarter and took a 56-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Saints closed out the third quarter with an 8-2 run and opened the fourth quarter with a 13-6 margin to cut the Chiefs lead to 62-55 with 4:44 remaining in the game.

Inside the 3:00 mark, St. Ignace sliced the Cheboygan lead to 66-61, but the Chiefs completed the game with a 9-6-scoring edge that included seven points coming from the free throw line.

Mortensen scored 20 points in the second half, while Trevor Closs answered with 15 and Nick Hancock chipped in 11 for Cheboygan.

St. Ignace held a 64-61 edge from the field, but the Chiefs outscored the Saints 14-3 from the charity stripe for the difference.

Saints statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 29 points, seven assists, five rebounds, three steals; Austin St. Louis, double/double with 20 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, two blocked shots; Cole Christiansen, six points, five rebounds; Grant Simmons, four points, four rebounds; Evan Everson, four points; Kevin Guillard, two points, four rebounds; Landon Marshall, two points.

Chiefs statistics: Trevor Closs and Nick Hancock, 21 points; Jordan Spohn, 19 points; Kollin Currie, nine points; Derek Ferris, five points.
 

Arik Hesselink Sets Career Scoring Record at Rudyard

Senior Arik Hesselink set a new career scoring record with a 31- point performance as the Rudyard Bulldogs defeated the Pickford Panthers 68-51 during a non-conference home game Wednesday, February 24.

The old scoring mark was 1,181 career points, held by David Steikar from 1981. Hesselink has tallied 1,206 points going into the final week of the season.

Rudyard led 25-10 after the first eight minutes and increased the margin to 43-22 at halftime with an 18-12 advantage in the second quarter before the Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 29-25 in the second half.

Bulldogs statistics: Arik Hesselink, 11 rebounds; Ryan Hendrickson, eight points; Ben Harter, seven points; Drew Otten, six points; Caleb Salo, five points; Scott Coffey, four points; Davin Salo, three points; Jared Clark and Ricky Gere, two points.

Panthers statistics: Mckinley Portice, 19 points; Dylan Rue, seven points; Nathan Gregg, six points; Josh Reid, five points; Jordan LaVigne, four points; Paul Morrison, Jonathan McBain, Kyle Decker, and Isaac Leach, two points.
 

Bulldogs Earn Share Of SAC Hoops Title

The Rudyard Bulldogs earned a share of the Straits Area Conference championship after a 64-48 win over the Rogers City Hurons during parents and senior night at Harris Kahl Gymnasium Saturday, February 27.

The Rudyard win, coupled with the Cheboygan 75-67 win over St. Ignace Friday, February 26, qualified the Bulldogs and Chiefs to share the league title for the second consecutive season with 9-1 records.

The Bulldogs/Hurons match-up scheduled for Friday, February 26, was postponed after Rogers City cancelled school owing to a winter storm.

Rogers City led 6-3 during the first two minutes of the game, but that was the final advantage for the team as Rudyard outscored the Hurons 18-4 that included 10 unanswered points to close out the first eight minutes with a 21-10 lead.

The Hurons held a 17-15-scoring edge in the second quarter for a 36-27 halftime score before the Bulldogs responded with a strong second-half effort. Arik Hesselink and Drew Otten scored 12 points each in the first half.

Pinpoint passing and patience on the offensive end lifted Rudyard, who improved to 17-1 on the season, to a 54-32 advantage after outscoring Rogers City 18-5 in the third quarter. The Hurons completed the SAC match-up with a 16-10 margin in the final eight minutes.

Seniors playing in their final home game for Rudyard High School were Arik Hesselink, Drew Otten, Davin Salo, Scott Coffey, Ben Harter, Ricky Gere, William DeYoung, Brett VanSloten, and Jacob McDonoff.

Bulldogs statistics: Arik Hesselink, double/double with 19 points, 13 rebounds; Drew Otten, double/double with 18 points, 11 rebounds; Ryan Hendrickson, 10 points; Davin Salo, eight points, five assists; Tyler Wilson, four points; Rickey Gere, three points; Jared Clark, two points.
 

Mckinley Scores Career High 43 Points in Panthers Win

Senior Mckinley Portice scored a career high 43 points in the Pickford Panthers 83-54 Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference win over the Brimley Bays Friday, February 26.

The Panthers held a 42-38 halftime lead and outscored the Bays 41-20 in the second half to improve their record to 6-2 in the league and 11-8 overall.

Panthers remaining statistics: Nathan Gregg, 10 points; Paul Morrison, nine points; Josh Reid, eight points; Matt McBain, three points; Cody Becks, David Hurban, Charley Halsey, and Dylan Rye, two points.

Bays statistics: Dylan Parish, 22 points; Jared Parish, 20 points; Michael Kuenzer, five points; Jason Aikens, four points; Dylan Schroeder, three points; Josh Schreiber, two points; Justin Graham, one point.
 

Panthers Defeat Indians

The Pickford Panthers outscored the Newberry Indians 39-18 in the combined first and third quarters en route to 75-54 non-conference home win Tuesday, February 23.

The Panthers opened the game with a 22-10 lead after the first eight minutes and held a 24-20 scoring edge in the second quarter for a 46- 30 halftime advantage and outscored the Indians 29-24 in the second half.

Panthers statistics: Mckinley Portice, 25 points, 19 rebounds; Dylan Rye and Paul Morrison, 11 points; Jordan LaVigne and Nathan Gregg, nine points; David Hurban, five points; Jonathan McBain, three points; Kyle Decker, two points.
 

Comets, Eagles Combine For 18 Triples

The Engadine Eagles overpowered the Mackinaw City Comets in a 77-63 road non-conference win Monday, February 22, but not before both teams displayed some impressive basketball skills. Mackinaw City and Engadine players combined for 18 three-point field goals, the Comets’ Adam Alexander scored a career high 42 points, and the Eagles’ Phillip Hood added a personal best of 27 points during the game.

The Comets tallied 12 treys, with Alexander draining seven, and the Eagles recorded six triples.

Engadine took a 17-12 lead after the first eight minutes before the Mackinaw City team, playing one of its best games of the season, took a 26-25-halftime advantage with a 14-8-scoring edge in the second quarter. Alexander scored 23 points in the first half.

The teams scored four triples in the first half before the Comets drained nine treys and the Eagles notched five in the high scoring second half.

During the first four minutes of the third quarter, the teams exchanged field goals. Following a Tim Vieau field goal that cut the Eagles lead to 38-37 at the 3:53 mark, Engadine turned the game around by outscoring Mackinaw City 16-2 for a 54-39 lead after three quarters. Phillip Hood scored 10 points, Luke Smith added eight, and Tyler Bennett chipped in six for the Eagles.

The Eagles built their lead to 17 points (61-44) at 6:41 of the fourth quarter, but the Comets didn't quit and outscored Engadine 13-5 as Vieau scored seven points to cut the margin to 66-57 with 3:20 remaining in the game.

Engadine bounced back and closed out the win with an 11-6 advantage in the closing minutes of play as Hood scored six points.

Eagles remaining statistics: Phillip Hood, nine assists, seven rebounds, four steals; Michael Klobucher, 13 points, nine rebounds; Tyler Bennett, double/double with 12 points, 12 rebounds; Lester Livermore, nine points; Luke Smith, eight points; Connor Frisch, seven points; Michael Ramelis, one point.

Comets remaining statistics: Tim Vieau, career high 15 points; Tate Paquet, nine points.