Hoops Roundup: Smith, Mackinaw City girls cruise at Boyne Falls

BOYNE FALLS – The first quarter has been kind to the Mackinaw City girls basketball team all season.

On Monday, the Lady Comets unloaded again in the opening period, outscoring Boyne Falls 30-2 and staying undefeated with a 73-12 victory on the road.

“We did a great job all the way around tonight, and I was pleased with our ball movement and passing,” said Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman. “All seven girls scored, with four reaching double figures.”

Senior Madison Smith’s 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and five steals led the Comets (12-0, 6-0 Northern Lakes Conference), who received 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, 10 steals and two blocks from fellow senior Larissa Huffman. Also reaching double figures were Marlie Postula, who tallied 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Gracie Beauchamp, who added 11 points, five steals, two rebounds and two assists. Jersey Beauchamp finished with six points, five boards, four assists and four steals, Julia Sullivan registered four points, three boards, two assists and one steal, and Carla Blake chipped in with two points and three boards.

Mack City boys consistent all around in rout at Boyne Falls

BOYNE FALLS – The Mackinaw City boys basketball team has lacked consistency in its last few contests.

But in their only game this week, the Comets found plenty of consistency in an 81-20 victory at Boyne Falls on Monday.

“Tonight we tried to get back to some of the basics that we had been missing in our last couple of games – good, solid defense and controlling the pace of the game,” said Mackinaw City coach John Martin, whose squad built a 24-9 lead after one and led 48-15 at the half. “We were able to do that through the entire game. Balanced scoring and some great defense. Boyne (Falls) senior Ashton Spang has always given us troubles through the years. He is a first-team all-conference player and was our defensive focus tonight.

“Although he did lead Boyne in scoring, we were able to control him with some great help defense that allowed him only seven points.”

Senior Cooper Whipkey’s 19 points were a game high for the Comets (10-3, 6-1 Northern Lakes Conference), who saw four players reach double figures. Sabastian Pierce was right behind Whipkey with 18 points, Lars Huffman had 16, and Lucas Bergstrom netted 15. Noah Valot and Trystan Swanson rounded out the Comets with seven and six points respectively.

Mackinaw City will have a week off before it heads to Ellsworth for a key NLC clash on Wednesday, Jan. 31.

NMCA girls blow out Alanson on the road

ALANSON – A couple strong nights from Shanna and Brooke Ferraiuolo helped fuel the Burt Lake Northern Michigan Academy girls basketball team to a 60-10 victory at Alanson on Monday.

Shanna Ferraiuolo netted a game-high 24 points to lead the Lady Eagles (10-3), who received a triple-double performance from Brooke Ferraiuolo, who finished with 14 points, 10 assists and 12 steals. Addie Pietrowski chipped in with eight points, five boards and six steals.

“I was really proud of the girls' effort tonight on both ends of the floor,” said NMCA coach Josh Ferraiuolo. “We had been struggling lately, and I felt we just had to hit a reset button in practice. The girls responded with the best game they have played all year. We tweaked our offense and our defense, and the results were immediate. Alanson scored 30 on us earlier in the year, and we were able to overwhelm them on their home floor. We also saw a lot more balance on offense, all seven of our main rotation scored.

“A real test will come this Friday at Pickford.”

NMCA travels to Pickford for a non-conference clash on Friday.

Brabson hurt early, NMCA boys suffer loss at Alanson

ALANSON – The Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian boys basketball team fell short in a 71-59 loss at Alanson on Monday.

Looking to pick up a key road win, the Eagles (6-5, 2-4 Northern Lakes Conference) had an unfortunate setback in the first quarter when Josiah Brabson suffered a cut in the head 45 seconds into the game. As a result, Brabson had to come out of the contest, while the Vikings took advantage by going on a 9-0 run and building a 13-3 lead.

“Whenever you see a player with blood coming down his forehead, it sends a pit into your stomach, especially when it’s the leader of your team,” said NMCA coach James Brabson. “Looking back, I probably should have called a timeout to get the bleeding stopped or get him back in the game sooner, but I hated to use a timeout in the first quarter of play. We played them pretty much straight up once we got Josiah back in the game, but the deficit really set us back.”

Despite the early setback, Brabson returned to lead the Eagles with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Josh Ferriauolo tallied 17 points and five assists. Ben MacCurdy recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.

“Alanson just loves to get up and down the court and it was clear that was once again their game plan,” Brabson said. “I thought Wyatt (Martens) did a pretty good job getting back to help slow them down in transition, but their secondary back cuts and once again their offensive rebounding hurt us tonight. Offensively we were OK, I thought, working the ball down low to Ben (MacCurdy) went well for us, and you always can second guess shot selection at times, but this game came down to our lack of defense.

“Anytime you outscore a team for three quarters you would think that you have a pretty good chance to win, but tonight wasn’t the night. In the end you have to make repeated defensive stops in order to dig out of holes, and that’s what we didn’t do.”

NMCA hosts Ojibwe Charter in a non-conference contest on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Hoops Roundup: Smith, Mackinaw City girls cruise at Boyne Falls