Mackinaw City boys dominate paint, advance to district final with win over Pellston
MACKINAW CITY – The Mackinaw City boys basketball team can beat you in so many different ways.
Competing in a MHSAA Division 4 district semifinal clash with Pellston on Wednesday, the Comets weren’t quite feeling it with their outside shots.
So the Comets took another route – getting the ball inside and scoring at will.
Fueled by their inside dominance, the Comets pulled away in the third quarter and advanced to the district final with a 67-42 victory over the Hornets in Mackinaw City.
“We have a group of kids that is not a one-headed monster,” said Mackinaw City coach John Martin. “We’ve got five guys on the floor and all six of my guys are capable of scoring any night, and it’s shown through the season. We try to find the matchup that will allow us the better opportunities. Tonight, we had the opportunities inside. Lucas (Bergstrom) and Noah (Valot) did a great job in there, Trystan (Swanson) driving to the basket is tough, and our guards are comfortable winning.
“We want to win. If that’s where we’re going to win, they’re comfortable.”
Leading the Comets (19-4) in the paint was Bergstrom, who netted a game-high 18 points. Right behind him was Swanson, who tallied 17 points, as well as Valot, who hit double figures with 12.
It was a slow offensive start for both teams, but the Comets held a 9-5 lead after one quarter. The Hornets got to within one in the second quarter after senior Chris Dankert scored a basket, but the Comets finished the half on a 13-3 run and took a 27-16 advantage into the break.
The Hornets (9-14) refused to quit on Wednesday, though, as senior Coby Dyer drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to get Pellston to within six. However, the Comets answered with a 10-0 run and built a 44-28 advantage. The Comets extended their lead to 20 at the end of the third after Swanson sunk a three right before the buzzer sounded.
It was a frustrating offensive night for the Hornets, who struggled to find consistency against an aggressive Mackinaw City defense.
“All night we really couldn’t get much going on offense,” said Pellston coach Nate Meinke. “Aside some Hale (Dufresne), Hale was doing a great job of getting to the rim, dishing off passes, but we just couldn’t complete the catch and then the finish, but I think that’s kind of what it came down to. Our defense was alright, a couple lapses, but for the most part, we just couldn’t seem to get it going offensively.”
Lars Huffman scored nine points, Cooper Whipkey tallied six, Braylon Currie had three and Tyler Hingston added two for the Comets, who advance to host Harbor Light (13-10), which captured a 66-55 overtime victory over Alanson in the first semifinal on Wednesday. The district final will tip off in Mackinaw City on Friday night at 7 p.m.
While Martin was pleased with his own team’s performance, he credited the Hornets on a hard-fought display.
“First and foremost, I’m not so certain Pellston is not the most improved team that I’ve seen over the season,” Martin said. “Hats off to Nate (Meinke), he’s done a great job with that team from where they started. I don’t even know their record, but I know they were like (0-7) and they finished the (second half of the) season maybe 8-3 or something, but they were competitive in every game at the end of the season.
“Coby Dyer may be one of the best players in Northern Michigan. He does a great job offensively and defensively, inside and outside, he’s a tough matchup for anybody. When he hit those two threes and knocked it down to six, all of a sudden it became a game again, and we were able to respond."
Dyer finished with a team-high 17 points in his final game for the Hornets, while Dufresne scored 10, Josh Grondin and Dankert each recorded five, Jack Schmalzried and Brach Taylor both chipped in with two, and Garrett Cameron notched one.
After starting 0-7, the Hornets fought back and earned several impressive wins during their season.
As for his seniors, Meinke will miss them a lot.
“Obviously it’s really sad to see them go,” Meinke said. “Coby Dyer, irreplaceable guy on both sides of the ball. It was a pleasure to coach him. Hale Dufresne, another senior that’s gone and I’ve been with since I started, he had a great game tonight, and I’m sad to see him go. Garrett (Cameron) and Chris Dankert, guys that didn’t play last year and came back as seniors to play this year, hustlers, they do everything we ask, and then Logan Keiser, another senior, shooter. A lot of times he’s (Keiser) guarding the opponent's best player, so we’re going to miss those guys a lot.”
The Comets will have a chance to capture a second district crown in three seasons on Friday, but Martin knows round three with the Swordsmen will be a battle.
“We’re just concentrating on Harbor Light, we’re not worried about what comes along with it at this point,” Martin said. “We split with them during the season, so they are plenty capable of coming in here and knocking us off. We will do our homework and hopefully we’ll be ready.”
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Mackinaw City boys dominate paint, advance to district final with win over Pellston
