The Raiders’ Chase Livingston (32) and Sam Peterson (30) block out Connor McLeod (44) of Cedarville during an inbounds pass. Cedarville and DeTour have been rivals on the hardwood for more than 50 years and the district championship game was another battle, as the Trojans outlasted the Raiders 69-53 during the Class D title game at the John Duncan Gymnasium in Cedarville Friday, March 12.

Cedarville and DeTour are close-knit communities who have shared school superintendents up until this school year. Seven Raiders played varsity or junior varsity football with the co-op program for the Trojans, but on the basketball court, the rivalry is revealed between the Trojans and Raiders.

"This is tough playing against rivals for the district championship, especially with DeTour. Players on both teams were teammates during the football season and during basketball [they] become opponents," said Trojans Coach Dave Duncan.

Dylan Graham (22) of Brimley drives to the hoop for two of his game high 36 points against Cedarville. Michael Kenny is visible behind him. The score doesn't indicate how close this contest was, as one point separated the teams at the 4:07 mark of the fourth quarter before Cedarville outscored DeTour 20-5. The contest included 13 of 19 free throws that lifted the Trojans to the win.

Cedarville connected on 30 of 43 from the charity stripe (70%) while DeTour made eight of 21 (38%).

The Raiders, 13-9 on the season, led 12-9 after the first quarter before the Trojans defense stepped up to hold DeTour to six points while scoring 16 points for a 25- 18-halftime lead. Zach McFarlane held the Trojans together with 10 first-half points and Ian Burton led the Raiders with eight points.

Both teams scored 15 points in the third quarter (40-33 score) before the wild final eight minutes. Connor McLeod made two free throws to open the fourth quarter for a 42-33 Cedarville margin before DeTour answered with three straight triples.

Tyler Anderson (4) runs the DeTour offense with Jeremy Sherlund (5) of Cedarville defending. The Raiders’ Ian Burton drained consecutive treys and Tyler Anderson chipped in one triple to notch the score at 42 with 6:10 left in the game.

Jordan Baker tallied one threepoint field goal, McLeod added two free throws for Cedarville, and Kaden Barbeaux notched a trey and Sam Peterson scored one twopoint field goal for DeTour to send the game into the final 4:47 tied at 47.

Cedarville took a 49-48 lead at 4:07 and outscored DeTour 20-5, including 13 of 18 from the charity stripe. The Trojans connected on 19 of 24 free throws in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Andrew Jaroche went six for six, Connor McLeod four for four, Tyler Kanitz four for six, Jordan Baker two for four, Michael Kenny two for two, and Trent Pitko one for two.

Zach McFarlane (34) of Cedarville hits this three-point field goal over the Raiders Sam Peterson (30) in the win over DeTour. Fouls hurt both teams as Anderson and Barbeaux fouled out for DeTour and Jaroche for Cedarville in the final eight minutes. Anderson, the Raiders leader on the floor, was the key player who hurt DeTour the most.

"I was proud of the way the team played," said Raiders Coach Rob Anderson. "We were down and came back to tie the score, but after Tyler fouled out we lost our floor leader. We had a successful season."

Trojans statistics: Connor McLeod, double/double with 15 points, 11 rebounds; Zach McFarlane, double/double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, three assists; Jordan Baker, 13 points, five rebounds; Tyler Kanitz, 12 points, five steals; Andrew Jaroche, 11 points, five assists; Matt Schlosser and Michael Kenny, two points; Trent Pitko, one point.

Donnie Lewis (52) of Brimley attempts this field goal while being defended by the Trojans’ Tyler Kanitz (10), Michael Kenny (23), and Jordan Baker (3). Raiders statistics: Ian Burton, game high 20 points, 10 rebounds; Chase Livingston, nine points, four rebounds; Kaden Barbeaux, nine points; Tyler Anderson, eight points, seven assists; Sam Peterson, four points, 12 rebounds; Brandon Melcer, three points; Harry Reinfelder, four rebounds.

Cedarville advanced to the regionals in Pellston and played the Hale Eagles in the second semifinal contest Monday, March 15. Wolverine and Harbor Light Christian battled in the opener with the winners to play for the championship Wednesday, March 17. The Class D quarterfinal will be held Tuesday, March 23, the site is still to be determined.

Trojans, Raiders Advance

To District Title Game

Cedarville and DeTour advanced to the Class D district championship game as the Trojans defeated the Pickford Panthers 79- 34 and the Raiders breezed past the Mackinac Island Lakers 70-14 during semifinals contests at the John Duncan Gymnasium in Cedarville Wednesday, March 10.

12 Trojans Score

In Win Over Pickford

Twelve players scored for Trojans Coach Dave Duncan and four in double figures in the district win over Pickford. The Panthers were competing without Mckinley Portice after the senior broke his ankle during the final weeks of the regular season.

Cedarville led 27-13 after the first eight minutes and cruised to a 53-21 halftime lead with a 26-8 advantage in the second quarter, closing out the win with a 26-13 margin in the second half.

Trojans statistics: Andrew Jaroche, 18 points; Connor McLeod, 12 points; Jordan Baker, 11 points; Tyler Kanitz, 10 points; Zach McFarlane, eight points; Mitchell Fultz, six points; Trent Pitko and Martin Payment, three points; Jake Strait, Matt Hill, and Jim Haske, two points.

Panthers statistics: Paul Morrison, 10 points; Josh Reid and Dylan Rye, five points; Tim Gough and Isaac Leach, three points; Jordan LaVigne, Nathan Gregg, and Charles Halsey, two points.

10 Raiders Score

In Win Over Lakers

DeTour led 22-4 after the first eight minutes and 36-10 at halftime before outscoring the Lakers 34-4 in the second half.

Raiders statistics: Ian Burton, 23 points; Chase Livingston, 10 points; Brandon Melcer, eight points; Tyler Anderson, Sam Peterson, and Shane Viilo, six points; Brandon Kurkierewicz, four points; Kaden Barbeaux, three points; Harry Reinfelder and Devin Livingston, two points.

Trojans Hit Century Mark In District Opener Against Bays

Thirteen players scored and the Cedarville Trojans hit the century mark during a 101-67 win over the Brimley Bays in the Class D quarterfinal contest at the John Duncan Gymnasium Monday, March 8.

"We struggled early in the first quarter without shooting. We shot our way out of the first-game jitters,” said Coach Dave Duncan.

The teams traded points with Brimley, clinging to a 14-13-scoring edge in the closing 34 seconds of the first eight minutes before Andrew Jaroche drained a triple and added one free throw to give the Trojans a 17-14 lead after the opening quarter.

Fouls hurt the Trojans in the first half as Zach McFarlane went to the bench with three fouls at 2:05 of the first quarter and Connor McLeod sat out the final 5:30 of the second quarter with three fouls.

Cedarville regrouped in the second quarter and, with a 13-0 scoring run, built a 30-15 advantage at the 5:20 mark and held a 47-29 margin going into halftime. Jaroche scored 17 and McLeod and Jordan Baker added 11 for the Trojans, while Dylan Graham notched 15 for the Bays.

The Trojans scored 30 in the second quarter and outscored Brimley 31-16 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 78-45, closing out the district match-up with a 23-22 margin in the final eight minutes.

Twenty-nine points were scored by the Cedarville reserves against the Bays.

Trojans statistics: Andrew Jaroche, 27 points; Connor McLeod, 18 points; Jordan Baker, 13 points; Tyler Kanitz, eight points; Zach McFarlane, Matt Schlosser, and Tyler Pitko, six points; Josh Hester and Martin Payment, four points; Jake Strait, three points; Michael Kenny, Mitchell Fultz, and Matt Hill, two points.

Bays statistics: Dylan Graham, game high 36 points; Donnie Lewis, eight points; Jared Parish and Dakota Bowen, six points; Dylan Schroeder, four points; Michael Kuenzer, three points; Jason Aikens and Justin Graham, one point.