Big runs help Cheboygan boys coast past Newberry in SAC matchup

CHEBOYGAN – There’s no question that the Cheboygan boys basketball team wants to play fast and score quickly.

But Wednesday night presented a different challenge for the Chiefs, who had to make the most of their opportunities against a slow-paced Newberry squad.

While it took a while for the Chiefs to kick it into gear, they ended up delivering solid offensive execution and strong defense in a 53-28 home victory over the Indians in a Straits Area Conference matchup.

“It was tough starting off, we scored a quick bucket, but their (Newberry) first possession – they probably passed it around for over a minute, I’d say about 1:20, 1:30 – they didn’t get anything out of it,” said Cheboygan coach Jason Friday. “We talked about making sure that we pinch gaps, meaning we can’t let somebody drive to the hole without any help coming in, and in the last couple games we would go over to help, but we would just reach, or we’d be over there and our help would just sort of peel out of the way and sort of open a gate and let them go through, and we really worked on that over the past couple days, and we did a great job.”

The Chiefs (6-8, 2-3 SAC) shook off a few misses early in the first, made a couple key baskets and built a 14-7 lead after one quarter of play.

The Indians (2-11, 0-5) got back into the contest in the second, going on a 7-0 run to cut the Cheboygan lead to 20-14, but the Chiefs answered with a 9-0 spurt to take a 29-14 advantage into the break.

“It all starts on the defensive end,” Friday said. “You’ve got to make sure that you limit them to one shot, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that, but I also thought offensively that our boys were pretty selective for the most part, like realizing that we’ve got an advantage so we’re going, and then OK, no advantage here, let’s slow it down. I’d have to watch the video, but I bet we had 10 points off of layups on the fast break because they (Newberry) were slow to get back, and our boys know that if we get out and run, that Kaleb Goodrich, he’s going to find you.

“He passes the ball up and does a great job, and it’s fun basketball to watch when you’re on the fast break and getting some layups.”

The Chiefs carried over their strong end to the first half by opening the third with a 9-0 run, which essentially put the game out of reach.

Sparking the Chiefs on both ends of the floor was junior forward Brennen Thater, who scored nine of his game-high 15 points in the third quarter and grabbed 15 rebounds.

For Friday, he was delighted to see Thater turn into a force both offensively and defensively against the Indians.

“Brennen does a little of everything,” Friday said. “Fifteen (points) for Brennen tonight. Talking with (Mike Grisdale), he said he had 15 boards. He does a lot of dirty work, and I’m so proud of Brennen because he works so hard. He comes in, and sometimes he’ll get 500 shots before school starts, and he’s a great kid.”

As for the struggling Indians, they failed to stop the many easy baskets the Chiefs made throughout the game.

“We were missing Kennedy Depew tonight, and he gives us 10-12 points a game, but our biggest thing is that some nights we struggle to score that basketball,” said Newberry coach Nate Moulton. “We can’t afford to give up those layups. We gave up 3-4 layups. We made that little push (in the second quarter), but we struggle some nights on offense. We can’t afford to give up those layups like we gave up tonight.

“We’ve just got to get a more consistent effort from our guys.”

Joining Thater in double figures was junior forward Caden Gardner, who gave the Chiefs an offensive lift by scoring five of his 10 points in the opening period. Goodrich finished with eight points for the Chiefs, who received seven from Patrick Watson, six from Connor Gibbons, four from Ethan Gibbons, and three from Jordan Johnson.

Newberry was led by Kegan Martin, who scored 13 points. Matthew Rahilly also hit double figures by adding 10.

On Wednesday, the Cheboygan High School community showed their support for Escanaba following the recent tragedy that involved Gerald, 47, and Tara Weaver, 46, who were killed while heading to watch their son’s boys basketball game in Sault Ste. Marie last week. All proceeds from Wednesday’s Cheboygan-Newberry varsity and junior varsity games went to Escanaba and the Weaver family. Many in attendance also showed their support for Escanaba and the Weaver family by wearing the color orange.

“Unbelievably tragic, that’s for sure, but it’s not just us – you take a look at what the (Upper Peninsula) is doing, and pretty much what all of Northern Michigan is doing, and the amount of money that’s being raised,” Coach Friday said. “It does not take any pain away. As someone who experienced tragedy a couple months ago, I know that the pain is still there, but it makes you realize that there’s a lot of great people around that bond together.

“It’s pretty impressive to see what’s going on.”

In the junior varsity game, Cheboygan picked up a 44-35 victory over Newberry. Jack Ekdahl led the JV Chiefs with 19 points, while Carson Kiefer scored nine, Owen Kimbrell had seven, Luke Munger tallied four, Ethan Goulet netted three, and Andrew Kiefer chipped in with two.

Both Cheboygan teams head to St. Ignace on Friday night.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Big runs help Cheboygan boys coast past Newberry in SAC matchup