Tim Idalski (right), owner of McDonald's in St. Ignace, presented the nomination to the McDonald's All-American High School basketball game to Gerrit Mortensen with Saints coach Jason Marshall. Mortensen Nominated For All-American Team;

Ties LHS Scoring Mark

By David Latva

Before the final regular season home game of the season, Gerrit Mortensen received a nomination to the 2010 McDonald's All- American game. The senior responded with a LaSalle High School record- tying performance with 45 points to lift the St. Ignace Saints to an 88-73 non-conference win over the Pellston Hornets Tuesday, March 2.

Tim Idalski, owner of McDonald's in St. Ignace, read the nomination to the large crowd in the gymnasium and Mortensen, who received a standing ovation, proceeded to tie the record that was held by Jim Clement from a January 28, 2000, game with DeTour.

Evan Everson St. Ignace In the fourth quarter, Hornets sophomore Christopher Haas (38 points) scored his 1,000th point. The Pellston athletic director presented the ball to the standout player, who with his father and coach Cliff Haas received a standing ovation from the Pellston and St. Ignace crowd.

Mortensen and Haas, two of the top players in northern Michigan, notched 87 points between them to lead their respective teams.

The Saints led 23-16 after the first eight minutes as Mortensen scored 10 points and Austin St. Louis added nine for the Saints. Haas answered with 11 for the Hornets.

Pellston outscored St. Ignace 17-8 for a 33-31 margin at the 2:15 mark of the second quarter before Mortensen took over at the offensive end with five triples, including one trey at the buzzer for a 48- 36-halftime lead. Mortensen scored 16 in the second quarter. Andy Hamlin notched 11 and Hass tallied nine for the Hornets.

Davin Salo Rudyard The Hornets, members of the Ski Valley Conference, held a 19- 16-scoring edge in the third quarter, opened the final eight minutes with a Haas three-point play to cut the Saints lead to 64-58 with 7:40 remaining in the game, but St. Ignace outscored Pellston 24-15 down the stretch to post the 15- point win.

St. Louis hauled down a career high of 25 rebounds, three shy of the school record of 28 made by Greg Shimkovitz during the 1971- 1972 season.

Saints remaining statistics: Mortensen, six assists, six rebounds, two steals; Austin St. Louis, 25 points, eight assists; two steals; Cole Christiansen, nine points, three rebounds, two assists; Grant Simmons, four points, eight rebounds; Evan Everson, three points, four rebounds, two assists; Eric Hepker, two points; Kevin Guillard, three steals, three rebounds, two assists.

Andrew Jaroche Cedarville Saints Fall to Red Devils

In Season Finale

The St. Ignace Saints fell to the East Jordan Red Devils 62-59 during a non-conference road game Thursday, March 4.

Saints statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 24 points; three rebounds, three steals, three assists; Austin St. Louis, 16 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, two assists; Evan Everson, 13 points, two assists; Cole Christiansen, five points, three rebounds; Eric Hepker, one point, five rebounds; Kevin Guillard, four assists, two blocked shots.

Saints JV Post Wins

The St. Ignace junior varsity team defeated Pellston 44-40 Tuesday, March 2.

Saints statistics: John Eby, 14 points; Aaron Colegrove, nine points; Parker Simmons, seven points; Nate Montie, six points; Curtis St. Louis, four points.

Sam Peterson DeTour Bulldogs Post Non-League Wins Over Trojans, Hornets

Complete 19-1 Season

The Rudyard Bulldogs completed the season with a 19-1 overall record after a pair of road non-conference wins. The Bulldogs defeated the Cedarville Trojans a 75-67 Tuesday, March 2, and upended the Pellston Hornets 69-52 Thursday, March 4.

Bulldogs Down Trojans

"March Madness" for the boys doesn't start until the week of March 8, but the atmosphere at the John Duncan Gymnasium in Cedarville was a preview of what could happen for the Bulldogs in Class C and the Trojans in Class D.

"Both teams played hard with intensity and are ready for a tournament run," said Bulldogs Coach Grant Ross.

Rudyard shared the Straits Area Conference title and led 26- 16 after the first eight minutes and Cedarville, who won the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference championship, sliced the Bulldogs lead to 40- 35 at halftime with a 19-14 advantage in the second quarter.

Tom Gough Pickford The Bulldogs increased their lead to 54-45 with a 14-10 margin in the third quarter and the Trojans closed out the match-up with a 22-20-scoring edge in the final eight minutes.

Cedarville had five players in double figures and Rudyard had four in double digits.

Bulldogs statistics: Davin Salo, 23 points, five triples in first half; Arik Hesselink, 13 points, 19 rebounds; Jared Clark, 12 points; Drew Otten, 10 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists; Ryan Hendrickson, eight points; Ben Harter, six points.

Trojans statistics: Andrew Jaroche, 20 points; Zach Mc- Farlane and Connor McLeod, 11 points; Jordan Baker and Tyler Kanitz, 10 points; Michael Kenny, three points; Matt Schlosser, two points.

St. Ignace Saints veteran cheerleading coach Janet Warren, who is retiring after this season, was honored before the boys basketball game and presented a bouquet of flowers by athletic director Marty Spencer, Tuesday, March 2. Rudyard Defeats Pellston

Rudyard closed out the regular season with a road win as 12 players scored and Scott Coffey returned to the Bulldogs lineup in time for the district tournaments that will begin Wednesday, March 10.

The Bulldogs raced out to a 25- 5 lead after the first eight minutes and increased the margin to 43-13 at halftime with an 18-8 advantage in the second quarter before Pellston outscored Rudyard 39-26 in the second half.

Bulldogs statistics: Arik Hesselink, 12 points; Drew Otten and Davin Salo, 10 points; Ricky Gere, eight points; Scott Coffey, Ryan Hendrickson, and Tyler Wilson, seven points; Ben Harter, four points. Raiders Down HLC, NMCA

Connor McLeod Cedarville In Non-Conference Contests

The DeTour Raiders closed out the regular season with a 12-8 overall mark after home victories over Harbor Light Christian (HLC) Swordsmen 53-47 Thursday, March 4, and Northern Michigan Christian Academy (NMCA) Eagles 65-45 Tuesday, March 2.

Fourth Quarter Makes Difference In Win Over HLC

The Raiders trailed by nine points going into the fourth quarter before outscoring HLC 25-10 to post the six-point win.

DeTour held a 9-7 scoring edge after the first eight minutes and the Swordsmen sent the game into halftime tied at 18 with an 11-9 margin in the second quarter.

The Swordsmen outscored the Raiders 19-10 in the third quarter for a 37-28 lead, but DeTour turned the tide with a 25-10 margin in the final eight minutes.

Raiders statistics: Chase Livingston, 16 points; Ian Burton, 15 points; Harry Reinfelder, eight points; Tyler Anderson, seven points.

Raiders Defeat NMCA

The Raiders opened with a 24-13 lead after the first eight minutes and outscored the Eagles 18-12 in the second quarter for a 42-25-halftime lead.

DeTour held a 12-8 margin in the third quarter for a 54-33 advantage before the Eagles held a 12-11-scoring edge in the final eight minutes.

Raiders statistics: Ian Burton, 23 points, 17 rebounds; Chase Livingston, 18 points; Brandon Melcer, 12 points; Sam Peterson, eight points; Tyler Anderson, four points.

Panthers Drop Non-League

Contest; Portice Suffers

Season-ending Injury

Pickford suffered a 63-53 nonconference defeat at the hands of Gaylord St. Mary Snowbirds and the Panthers lost the services of Mckinley Portice after the senior broke his ankle during a home match-up Tuesday, March 2.

The Panthers, who completed the regular season with a 11-9 overall mark, led 28-23 after the first eight minutes in the second quarter and the Snowbirds held a 14-10 margin to cut the Pickford lead to 38-37 at halftime.

Gaylord St. Mary held a 10-5- scoring edge in the third quarter to take a 47-43 lead and closed out the game with a 10-6 margin in the final eight minutes.

Panthers statistics: Mckinley Portice, 22 points, 10 rebounds; Nathan Gregg, 11 points; Paul Morrison, 10 points; Dylan Rye, six points; Tom Gough, four points.

Eagles Complete Season

With 6-14 Overall Record

The Engadine Eagles completed their season a week early with a 63-39 home win over the Northern Michigan Christian Academy (NMCA) Eagles Friday, February 26.

"We probably played one of our best overall games of the year," said Eagles Coach Elmer Albright. "This was a solid team game."

The Eagles, 6-14 on the season, led 17-10 after the first eight minutes and increased the margin to 35-21 at halftime with an 18-11 advantage in the second quarter. The Eagles closed out the game by outscoring NMCA 28-18 in the second half.

Eagles statistics: Michael Klobucher, double/double with 22 points, 10 rebounds; Joey Swider, double/double with 12 points, 13 rebounds; Phillip Hood, eight points, eight assists, five steals, five rebounds; Tyler Bennett, six points, six rebounds; Kenny Oven, six points, four steals; Luke Smith, five points, five rebounds, four assists; Connor Frisch, four points.

Cedarville Boys Capture

EUPC Hoops Championship

The Cedarville Trojans boys basketball team captured the championship of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference with a perfect 8-0 record after defeating the DeTour Raiders 74-59 during a home game at John Duncan Gymnasium in Cedarville Friday, February 26.

Trojans statistics: Connor McLeod, double/double with 25 points, 16 rebounds; Tyler Kanitz, 13 points, five rebounds, four steals, two assists; Jordan Baker, nine points, six rebounds, three assists; Andrew Jaroche, nine points, four assists; Zach McFarlane, eight points, three assists; Michael Kenny, four points, six rebounds; Matt Schlosser, four points, four assists; Mitchell Fultz, two points.

Raiders statistics: Sam Peterson, 16 points; Tyler Anderson, 15 points; Chase Livingston, 10 points; Ian Burton, eight points; Brandon Melcer, six points; Kaden Barbeaux, three points; Harry Reinfelder, one point.

Trojans Race Past Posen

Ten players scored for Coach Dave Duncan as the Cedarville Trojans raced past the Posen Vikings 82-37 during a home nonconference win Wednesday, February 24.

The Trojans led 46-23 at halftime and outscored the Vikings 36-14 in the second half to record the win.

Trojans statistics: Connor McLeod, 21 points, 12 rebounds; Andrew Jaroche, 19 points; Tyler Kanitz, nine points; Jordan Baker, Mitchell Fultz, and Zach Mc- Farlane, six points; Trent Pitko, five points; Michael Kenny, four points; Jake Strait, three points, six rebounds; Matt Schlosser, three points.