Petoskey handles Alpena to continue late season momentum

PETOSKEY — At this point in the season, the Petoskey boys’ basketball team doesn’t have much margin for error on the schedule.

Between positioning themselves near the top of a tough league and non-conference games that don’t give any kind of a break, the Northmen are in for a battle each and every night from here on out.

Which, really puts an emphasis on those games that might be labeled as ‘must wins’ like Friday night’s Big North Conference tilt with visiting Alpena.

After a slow start to the night, Petoskey turned things on with defensive stops that led to points and a whole lot of sharing to earn an 80-54 victory over the Wildcats.

“It was a nice team win,” Petoskey coach Matt Tamm said. “Everyone got a good amount of playing time. We were moving the ball pretty well.

“It’s coming down to it. We’ve got a game next week and three weeks left in the regular season. We’ve got a good schedule coming up that’ll prepare us for the state tournament.”

The win moved the Northmen to 11-5 overall on the season and 4-3 in the league, with everyone chasing Cadillac at the moment. It's also a fourth straight win for the Northmen.

The Vikings are currently 7-0, while TC Central sits in second at 4-2. TC West is also tied with the Northmen at 4-3.

“We’re playing for second place really is what it comes down to, but we have Cadillac next week,” said Tamm. “It should be a real good game.”

Along with Friday's win, Petoskey raised a total of $3,132 for the Weaver family in Escanaba between concessions, a miracle minute and 50-50. Tara and Jerry Weaver, parents to three current and former Escanaba High School students, were recently tragically killed in a car accident on the way to watch their son's game in Sault Ste. Marie. Many communities around Northern Michigan have chipped in proceeds from games of late for the Weaver children.

It was also the annual snowcoming game Friday, with Petoskey seniors Kenzie Bromley and Aaron Sysko being named Snowcoming queen and king, respectively, during halftime.

One of the biggest keys to the Northmen pulling away from Alpena after a 16-16 tie closed the first was Petoskey’s ability to find the open shooter, which they got started with behind senior forward, Cade Trudeau.

Trudeau finished the night with a team-high 21 points and 10 rebounds, something that’s been expected from the big man, though it’s also been his passing and six assists Friday night showed it.

“It’s huge,” said Trudeau on finding teammates. “When defenses start to key in on me as we get to this point in the season, it’s nice to just draw two in and then dump it off. Brady Odenbach and I, we have this thing where I drive in and he spots up and I kick it to him and he hits a three every single time. Happens a lot in practice too.”

Petoskey pulled away in the first half late on a 3-pointer by Trudeau, which was then answered with a Shane Izzard 3-pointer that made it a 36-24 Northmen lead. Petoskey later went to halftime up 36-26.

In the second half, Tamm continued to sub bodies in and out, keeping the pressure up with fresh guys out on the court, which led to a 13-2 run and a 55-37 lead after three.

Brady Odenbach nailed a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter, while his brother, Dylan, also got in on a productive third.

“It’s nice seeing the Odenbach brothers play really well,” said Tamm. “They know each other’s moves like the back of their hand.”

For a big guy like Trudeau, he also knows how important it is to have the guards around him, from top to bottom of the bench, step up.

“It’s huge for our pressure so that we can have guards rotating in, just applying defensive pressure over and over,” he said. “Just being relentless on other teams’ guards, it’s really nice.”

Early in the fourth, Odenbach hit another three, then Izzard added another and finally Trudeau as well to built a 64-43 lead that Alpena never climbed out of.

Along with Trudeau’s big night, Brady Odenbach had 15 points, Izzard scored 14 and Jimmy Marshall had eight points and five assists.

For Alpena, Eastin Stebnk led with 21 points and Colt Gray had 16 points.

While the league race might be about out of reach, closing the 2023 schedule with some huge wins ahead certainly isn’t for Petoskey.

Just five games remain in the regular season, including just two league games, with a matchup against Cadillac on Friday, Feb. 17 up next for Petoskey. It’ll also come as the annual Hall of Fame night and varsity doubleheader with the girls.

“We’ve got a tough schedule,” said Trudeau. “We have to go on the road, have to go to TC Central and guard (Anthony) Ribel. Cadillac will be a tough gritty game, then at Boyne and Mount Pleasant to finish.”

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey handles Alpena to continue late season momentum