Harbor Light boys rebound with win, Ellsworth falls to Sabres
HARBOR SPRINGS — After a tough trip to the Upper Peninsula opened the new year for the Harbor Light Christian boys’ basketball team, a return to the win column came for the Swordsmen Thursday.
Welcoming in Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy, the Swordsmen got up early and kept the defensive intensity up to earn a 68-31 victory.
“We’ve been wanting defense to be our staple and the kids played well and played with heart,” Harbor Light coach Jason Roussin said. “They did well on the defensive end, we boxed out well and that made things work in our favor tonight.”
Harbor Light led 15-2 after the opening quarter, then 35-8 at the half and 55-22 heading to the fourth.
Landon Jakeway returned to action and led with 14 points and added eight assists from his point guard spot, while David Chamberlin had 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Andrew Stahl also had 13 points and Kirk Rose had 11 points and 15 rebounds. Corin Paulus also added 12 rebounds in the strong glass game for the Swordsmen.
The Harbor Light JV also earned a 52-27 win, with Brayden Bradford’s 17 points leading. Daniel Urman also had four steals.
Now 4-4 overall and 4-1 within the Northern Lakes, a key conference matchup next awaits the Swordsmen when they travel to Alanson on Thursday, Jan. 12.
NON-CONFERENCE
Traverse City Christian 79, Ellsworth 61
TRAVERSE CITY — The first game out of the winter break came as a tough loss for the Ellsworth boys’ basketball team against Traverse City Christian, 79-61.
A game of runs on both sides, the Lancers were never able to bring in that final push to retake the lead after a first quarter advantage.
Traverse City led 23-19 after one, then 44-35 at the half and 63-51 after three.
Jacob Jenuwine finished with 27 points to lead Ellsworth, Kelan Pletcher scored 15 and Patrick Puroll had 11.
For TC Christian, Levi Schultz score a game-high 31, while Reece Broderick had 25 points, including seven 3-pointers.
Ellsworth (4-2) will next get back to Northern Lakes action with a visit from Alanson on Monday, Jan. 9.
GIRLS
NORTHERN LAKES
Burt Lake NMCA 31, Harbor Light 30
HARBOR SPRINGS — A four-game win streak for the Harbor Light Christian girls was snapped Thursday when Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy visited.
Down eight at the half, Harbor Light battled back to take the lead, though couldn’t hold it late, falling in a 31-30 final.
Harbor Light led in a 10-9 game after one, then Burt Lake jumped ahead 23-15 at the break behind a strong first half from Brook Ferraiuolo that included 13 points.
Harbor Light then won both the third and fourth quarters, but came up just short, shooting just 2 of 9 on free throws in the second half and 3 of 13 for the game.
Jade Evoy led with 13 points, Laney Jakeway had nine points, five steals and five assists and Ava Kenwabikise had six points and 12 rebounds.
Ferraiuolo finished the game with 15 points to lead the Eagles.
The loss dropped Harbor Light to 4-2 overall and 4-1 within the Northern Lakes. They’ll next meet Alanson on the road on Friday, Jan. 13.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Light boys rebound with win, Ellsworth falls to Sabres
