Blue Devil boys clinch Straits Area Conference crown
ST. IGNACE – The Sault Blue Devils boys basketball secured the Straits Area Conference title outright with a 69-66 win over the St. Ignace Saints on Friday night, earning a regular season sweep over the Saints.
The Saints jumped out to a 17-11 first-quarter advantage on the strength of three-pointers from Shawn Kingsbury, Kevin Frazier, and Ethan McLean. The Saints continued to hold a lead heading into halftime, 32-28.
While the Saints led, at half, Sault coach Mike Fitzner was happy with his team’s effort, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. Scoring ace Jonny Ingalls was held to just four points in the first half, and had just 17 points overall
“We played really hard and competed for all 32 minutes,” Fitzner said. “Carter (Oshelski) was really good defensively on Ingalls. I thought we did an excellent job executing our defensive game plan.”
The Sault had closed the gap to two points 49-47 by the end of the third period and outscored the Saints 22-17 over the final eight minutes to create the final margin of victory.
Max Scott and Nathan Koepp scored 18 points apiece to lead the Sault, while Oshelski finished with 13. Nine of Oshelski’s 13 came in the final quarter, including a three-pointer and a perfect 6-for-6 performance from the free throw line.
For the Saints, Frazier scored 16 points, while McLean was also in double figures with 14.
SAULT 11 17 19 22 – 69
ST. IGNACE 17 15 17 17 – 66
SAULT – Oshelski 13, Scott 18, Koepp 18, Fitzner 2, Lujan 4, John Gravelle 6, Joe Gravelle 8. FT: 11-17; F: 17; Fouled out: John Gravelle; 3PFG: 5 (Scott 4, Oshelski 1).
ST. IGNACE – Kingsbury 5, Frazier 16, Ingalls 17, Matson 9, Killscrow 5, McLean 14. FT: 11-17; F: 14; Fouled out: Halberg; 3PFG: 9 (Frazier 4, McLean 2, Kingsbury 1, Ingalls 1, Killscrow 1).
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Blue Devil boys clinch Straits Area Conference crown
