Blue Devils leash Bulldogs, run win streak to six
SAULT STE. MARIE – With the Straits Area Conference crown already having been decided, there wasn’t really much on the line for the Sault and Rudyard in Wednesday night’s matchup.
Anyone who knows the geography and the competitive nature of the rivalry that has transferred from the football field to the basketball court had to know that the game was going to be important to both teams and coaches.
The Blue Devils proved to be better on the night as they ran away with a 62-44 win that was competitive into the fourth quarter.
It looked as though the Sault might put the game away early as the Devils jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the first quarter behind two layups each from Nate Koepp and Kadin Lujan as well as a triple from Max Scott from the corner to open the scoring. Scott also closed the scoring in the quarter after Rudyard got to within 15-11 after a Cam Peterson triple.
The second quarter belonged to the Bulldogs as they outscored the Sault 13-9 in the quarter and tied the game at 24-24 after a Jack Cifelli bucket with 1:55 to go in the half. The Sault closed the half on a 5-0 run though on a triple by Carter Oshelski and a Koepp layup to take a 29-24 lead into the break.
“You know what you’re going to get from them anytime you face them,” Sault coach Mike Fitzner said of the Bulldogs. “They are going to run the floor and rebound well and defend at a high level. And they aren’t going to roll over.”
Rudyard coach Jimmy Suggitt wasn’t pleased with the way his team played on the defensive end of the floor.
“Normally our defense can carry us on a night when we are struggling offensively,” he said. “But that wasn’t the case tonight. I think Koepp had 18 for them and that was one of the things we didn’t want to happen.”
The Devils began to extend their lead in the third quarter. Oshelski drained a triple to open the second half scoring, and Scott followed that up with a layup to give the Sault a double-digit lead at 34-24 with 6:18 left in the third.
Rudyard kept the lead hovering around 10 points for most of the third, but the dagger may have come when Easton Fitzner took a pass in the corner and knocked down a three-pointer to put the Sault up 49-36 heading into the final eight minutes.
That dagger got pounded home early in the fourth as Koepp scored on a baseline out of bounds play, and Joey Gravelle scored on two straight possessions to jump the Sault lead up to 55-36 with 5:42 left to play.
Koepp led the Sault with 18 points, while Scott put up 17. Oshelski finished with eight.
For Rudyard, Peterson led the way with 17 points, and Dylan McMillan added 10. Jesse Zyreep finished with nine.
Rudyard 15-5, will host Brimley on Friday night, while the Sault, 14-5, will travel to Escanaba on Saturday.
In the JV game, the Sault pulled out a 40-39 win as Brett Maurer scored a game-winning layup with under 15 seconds left. Tristan Walcher led the Sault with 13 points.
RUDYARD 11 13 12 8 – 44
SAULT 20 9 20 13 – 62
RUDYARD – McMillan 10, Peterson 17, Bickel 2, Sprague 2, Zeeryp 9, Cafelli 4. FT: 4-6; F: 8; Fouled out: None; 3PFG: 4 (Peterson 3, Zeeryp 1).
SAULT – Oshelski 8, McShane 3, Scott 15, Koepp 18, Fitzner 6, Lujan 6, John Gravelle 2, Joe Gravelle 4. FT: 2-2; F: 7; Fouled out: None; 3PFG: 6 (Oshelski 2, McShane 1, Scott 1, Fitzner 2).
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Blue Devils leash Bulldogs, run win streak to six
