Inland Lakes boys top St. Mary, capture share of first Ski Valley title since 2005

INDIAN RIVER – Head coach Lee Nash has preached mental toughness all season long with his Inland Lakes boys basketball team.

As the Bulldogs began the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, they held a narrow three-point lead against Ski Valley Conference leader Gaylord St. Mary.

Basically, Nash was going to see just how mentally strong his team was in what might have been the biggest game for the program in almost 20 years.

Instead of crumbling, Nash’s Bulldogs stood up to the pressure and delivered arguably their best stretch of play this winter.

As a result, they can now call themselves Ski Valley Conference champions for the first time since 2005.

Fueled by remarkable offensive execution and poise in the fourth, the Bulldogs claimed a share of the conference crown by taking down the previously-first place Snowbirds in a 75-62 home victory.

“The talk at the start of the summer about if we put in enough time and go to the Gaylord camp and buy into the (Trevor) Huffman camp, then this was something that we could achieve, and when we walked on the court on the first day of the season, after tryouts, we talked about our first goal, and our first goal was to win a conference championship,” said Nash. “We hurt ourselves in January, and we had to work really hard and come back from this and keep a lot of hope alive and a lot of belief, and here we are – a chance to beat Gaylord St. Mary’s.

“We felt we were the better team, but we hadn’t proved it yet, but I felt we proved it tonight.”

With the fourth quarter about to begin, it appeared all momentum was on the side of the Snowbirds, who cut what was a 12-point deficit down to just three.

But on this night, the Bulldogs weren’t about to let a golden opportunity go to waste. The Bulldogs used a 3-pointer and another made jumper from senior Connor Knight to build a 59-51 lead, then later freshman Cash DePauw drove to the basket and converted a layup to push the advantage to 63-52 with about four minutes remaining. From there, the Bulldogs held their composure and made history on their home court.

“It was our goal from the beginning of the season, we checked our first one off, and now we’re onto districts, and hopefully we can keep playing how we’re playing,” said Inland Lakes senior Kaden Hansel, who scored a team-high 18 points. “It couldn’t have lined it up more perfect. On Senior Night, to win the conference – it's been years since we won it. It’ll just be cool (seeing our team up on the banner) when we come back here someday."

With the victory, the Bulldogs (16-5, 14-2 Ski Valley) earned a share of the title with rival Onaway (18-3, 14-2), as both squads finished with identical conference records. Gaylord St. Mary (17-4, 13-2) can still earn a share if they win at Pellston on Thursday.

After losses to Onaway and St. Mary earlier in the campaign, the Bulldogs appeared to be a longshot to win the title.

One unbeaten February and eight consecutive victories later, the Bulldogs put an end to a long championship drought just like that.

“It means the world, this has been our goal all season long,” said Inland Lakes junior Wallace, who scored 17 points. “After dropping the first two to St. Mary’s and Onaway, it wasn’t really feeling hopeless, but we felt it was a longshot to get it, and then Onaway beat St. Mary’s and that kind of just turned it on another gear. Man, this is awesome.”

Like football season, the Bulldogs topped the Snowbirds in a critical conference game.

For seniors like Sam Mayer, who finished with eight points, it was another special feeling even if it was a different sport.

“It feels a lot alike, pretty much the same (as football),” said Mayer. “This feels especially good because this the first basketball title since 2005. This one definitely feels good.”

Falling behind 11-4 to start the game, the Bulldogs responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead. The Bulldogs maintained momentum and led 17-15 after one. Efficient offense helped the Bulldogs build a 29-19 lead in the second quarter, but the Snowbirds came back to cut the deficit to three. But right before the half, the Bulldogs used a small surge to take a 41-34 lead into the break.

The Bulldogs pushed their advantage to 12 in the third, but the Snowbirds countered with a 9-0 run to get within three again. Despite losing their big advantage, the Bulldogs still led 51-48 after three.

While many teams might have succumbed to the fourth quarter pressure, not these Bulldogs, who outscored the Snowbirds 24-14 in the last period.

“The biggest thing is you could trust every single person that came on the floor, and the biggest thing for us is trust, family, family, family,” Wallace said. “No matter who took a shot on that court, I knew it was going in, and it did, and it was great. It’s really hard to stop five guys. You can stop one or two, but boy, it’s tough to stop five.”

Knight, who hit a trio of 3-pointers, reached double figures with 15 points, while DePauw tallied 11, Sam Schoonmaker added four, and Payton Teuthorn chipped in with two.

“Connor Knight stepping into the starting lineup here over the last few games, and he hasn’t been in the starting lineup all season until now, so he's been big,” Nash said. “Cash DePauw, when we needed some points, he got us those looks and rebounds in the paint, and then just Connor (Wallace) and Kaden’s (Hansel) poise with the ball, knowing exactly what to do and read each other, and then guys like Sam Mayer just jumping right in.

“This was a big dream coming for those boys and I was just glad to see – that when you work hard and you play together – good things happen.”

Brody Jeffers scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Snowbirds, who received 15 points from Daniel Jacobson and 14 from Gavin Bebble.

Inland Lakes finishes off its regular season when it travels to Grayling on Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Inland Lakes boys basketball pulls away from Gaylord St. Mary in fourth, clinches share of first Ski Valley title since 2005