Hoops Roundup: Inland Lakes boys edged by Gaylord St. Mary in OT
GAYLORD – The Inland Lakes Bulldogs were so incredibly close to turning the Ski Valley Conference boys basketball title race on its head Friday night.
But in the end, the Bulldogs fell agonizingly short in arguably their biggest game of their season up to this point.
Despite a late rally that saw them send the game to overtime, the Bulldogs suffered a heartbreaking 72-71 loss to Ski Valley leader Gaylord St. Mary on the road.
"It took us a long time to get out of the locker room, but nobody's pointing fingers," said Inland Lakes coach Lee Nash. "It hurts. There's no doubt it was our goal to win the conference championship this year. The second loss means we pretty much got to win out and hope that some other people beat Gaylord St. Mary's and Onaway along the way, because it's a three-headed race, but it does hurt."
With the loss, the Bulldogs (8-5, 6-2) dropped to third in the Ski Valley standings, while the Snowbirds (12-1, 8-0) maintained their spot at the top. Onaway, currently 8-1 in Ski Valley play, is second in the conference.
Trailing by four points after each of the first three quarters, the Bulldogs surged in the fourth, tied the game and took the Snowbirds into OT.
But tied late in OT, the Snowbirds split a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left, which was just enough to hold on for the win.
Senior guard Kaden Hansel had a terrific night, scoring a game-high 35 points to lead the Bulldogs, while junior center Sam Schoonmaker tallied 20 points. Hansel was also a solid 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
After a lackluster showing in a road loss at Cheboygan on Wednesday, Nash was pleased by the response he got from his players in an important game.
“I’m not surprised that they responded this way,” Nash said. “I do have quite a lot of love for my players. I believe that we can make some noise here in February and March, but we have to clean up some things, like composure when we face adversity. We’re here to teach life lessons, and you just can’t get mad when something doesn’t go your way, and I think we’ve got to show a little bit more of that. When we do that, we’ll see easier answers to the problem.
“You have the right to be frustrated, but that still does not fix anything.”
Cash DePauw finished with five points for the Bulldogs, while Connor Wallace scored four, Aidan Fenstermaker had three, and Sam Mayer and Payton Teuthorn registered two apiece.
Gavin Bebble’s team-high 27 points paced St. Mary, which received 26 from Brody Jeffers.
Inland Lakes heads to Johannesburg-Lewiston for a Ski Valley matchup on Tuesday.
Cheboygan girls’ winning streak snapped at Brimley
BRIMLEY – It’s been a nice couple of weeks for the Cheboygan girls basketball team.
Unfortunately for the Lady Chiefs, their four-game winning streak came to an end on Friday night after suffering a 73-39 loss at Brimley.
“Brimley couldn’t miss tonight,” said Cheboygan coach Walter Hanson. “They hit a ton of threes and we were hoping they were going to cool off, but they never did. We made a few adjustments and locked down their best shooter, but it was too little, too late. So that’s on me to make a better adjustment sooner. We started off slow, but we played better overall as the game went on.”
The Chiefs (4-10) fell into a 20-6 hole after one quarter and were down 41-19 at the half to the Bays (7-7), who hit seven 3-pointers during the opening two quarters.
Leading Cheboygan was junior Bella Ecker, who had a career-high 17 points. Freshman guard Jaelyn Wheelock added eight, while Kenzie Burt scored five and Cassidy Jewell netted four. Cheyanne Friday and Dakota Friday chipped in with two apiece. Kinsey Carpenter registered one.
“Overall, I am proud of how we played,” Hanson said. “We played hard and with togetherness. (Bella) Ecker did a great job getting open looks and getting inside baskets. She had her best game of the year. Jaelyn (Wheelock) played a tough game inside as well and made some great baskets. Cheyanne (Friday) and Dakota (Friday) really helped shut down their shooters after we made the adjustments. Cass (Jewell) and (Kenzie) Burt helped settle us down when we were frustrated and made key passes for nice shots.”
Autumn Tremblay’s game-high 26 points paced Brimley.
Cheboygan heads to Newberry for a Straits Area Conference game on Tuesday.
In the junior varsity game, Cheboygan suffered a 50-29 loss to Brimley. For Cheboygan, Presley Chamberlain led with nine points, Olivia Patrick scored eight, Charlotte LaJoye and Mya Sachtleben each had three, Bea Schulz and Caleigh Easter tallied two apiece, and Addison Ptasnik and Joyce Ormsbee both recorded one.
NMCA girls suffer road setback at Pickford
PICKFORD – The Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy girls basketball team fell short in a 42-27 non-conference road loss at Pickford on Friday.
Shanna Ferraiuolo scored 11 points to lead the Lady Eagles (10-4), while Brooke Ferraiuolo finished with eight. “This was a tale of two halves,” said NMCA coach Josh Ferraiuolo. “We showed our youth and lack of experience by not being ready to play. We looked scared and unsure of ourselves. We were down 27-5 at the half. Pickford is a good team, but it was our lack of effort that was killing us. To the girls' credit, they came out of halftime on a mission to work hard and put together a solid half. We pulled within nine at one point, but had to foul at the end of the game. Hopefully, we learned to start the game the way we finished. If we learned that lesson, then this was a valuable loss.”
NMCA hosts Boyne Falls in a Northern Lakes Conference clash on Tuesday.
Hornets drop Ski Valley clash at Central Lake
CENTRAL LAKE – Seeking a fourth straight victory, the Pellston boys basketball team fell short in a 58-52 road loss at Central Lake on Friday.
The Hornets (3-8, 1-6 Ski Valley) were led by Coby Dyer’s 26 points. Hale Dufresne added 10.
Central Lake’s Garrison Barrett led all scorers with 30 points.
“We struggled to get going on offense, even though Coby (Dyer) had 26. He had a lot of close misses,” said Pellston coach Nate Meinke. “Our energy just didn’t seem to be there from the beginning. Garrison Barrett for Central Lake had 30, and we struggled to stay in front of him.
“Tough loss, but we’re going to move on and focus on being more consistent and make sure we are playing to our full potential come March.”
Pellston continues Ski Valley play when it hosts Onaway (10-2, 8-1) on Tuesday.
Onaway girls erupt in first quarter, cruise at Forest Area
FIFE LAKE – A huge first quarter for the Onaway Lady Cardinals allowed them to run away with a 59-27 victory at Forest Area in a Ski Valley contest on Thursday, Jan. 26.
The Cardinals (10-3, 8-2 Ski Valley) delivered a 28-4 first-quarter blitz against the Warriors, and then held a 44-12 lead at the half.
Sophomore Charlotte Box scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Cardinals, while fellow sophomore Kailyn George added 15 points. Senior Madilyn Crull recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. Marley Szymoniak finished with five points, Aubrey Benson had four points, Ema DeMaestri tallied two points and 10 rebounds, and Sadie Decker chipped in with two points.
“Our girls dominated this game,” said Onaway coach John George. “The kids were ready to play in this one. We came out of the gates on a 28-4 run to start the first quarter and never looked back. Defense was our best offense, scoring multiple buckets in transition. (Ema DeMaestri) did a nice job finding outlets to help us break out and score transition buckets. All the way around, all the kids played well and executed the game plan. The (defensive) trap was really effective, we hope it will be a great tool going forward.
“I know the boys are getting a lot of attention, but don’t sleep on these girls in Onaway.”
Currently tied with Inland Lakes for second in the Ski Valley, Onaway will host Central Lake on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
“Tough five-game stretch coming up,” George said. “We will see how we fare down the stretch.”
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Prep Basketball Roundup
