St. Ignace takes 83-57 win over Hurons

For the third time in three games the St. Ignace LaSalle Saints defeated the Hurons, this time by a score of 83-57 at RCHS Tuesday. The Saints took the Hurons in a tournament contest at Boyne City over the holiday break and in St. Ignace two weeks ago. The Saints brought their typical game of run-and-gun, pressing the entire length of the floor, and moving the ball upcourt quickly to set up open shots.

Rogers City stayed with the Saints in the early going but St. Ignace gradually pulled away. ?If we make a mistake it just gets magnified against a team like St. Ignace,? said Huron coach Karl Grambau.

The second-year coach said he liked his team?s intensity and the hustle they displayed while also praising the efforts of St. Ignace. ?I still think we are going to come out fine as these final eight games are played. I think we can string a few wins together,? Grambau said. ?I thought we had a much better team effort tonight, as far as hustling.? Huron forward Tim Cercone opened the scoring with a three-pointer, sparked by center Kyle Greene?s blocked shot on the defensive end. Rogers City scored the next points as Greene nailed a short jumper. Then the Saints scored 13 of the game?s next 16 points, including three pointers by three different shooters, to gain a 13-8 lead. Rogers City would not lead again in the contest. Rogers City trailed 22-19 at the end of the first quarter.

THE SECOND quarter proved to be the difference in the game. A 15-4 Saint spurt over the first three minutes of the quarter gave the visitors a 37-22 lead. Aaron Florip?s driving layup and his three-pointer closed the gap to 37-27 as the Saints went more than two minutes without scoring. Then, as is their way, defensive pressure from a draining full-court press set up an 8-0 run.

St. Ignace led 45-27 before sophomore Charley Smolinski hit a three-pointer, one of three he had in the contest. Cercone?s triple closed the scoring for the half with St. Ignace leading 45-33.

GREENE, PLAYING with three fouls, used a slick move inside to cut the lead to 10 before the Saints again marched on a rally. A 14-2 run made the score 59-35 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. The quarter ended with the Saints leading 63-45, as a St. Ignace shot at the buzzer answered a three from Florip. Smolinski?s three to open the fourth quarter would be as close as the Hurons would get as the Hurons were outscored 18-12 in the fourth quarter.

Greene led the team with 17 points and Cercone scored 13 while Florip added 11. Lou Grondin led St. Ignace with 18 points.

IN THE JV contest, Rogers City led 66-55 in the fourth quarter and held on for a 71-68 win. St. Ignace cut the lead to two at 69-67 but the Hurons survived to avenge a loss in St. Ignace two weeks ago. Clay Hilla muscled his way to 35 points, mostly on inside shots, while Derek McLennan scored 14 and Chris Paschke added 11. The Hurons led 16-10 after the first quarter and 35-25 at halftime

The JV Saints cut the lead to 46-39 at the end of the third quarter before the late charge fell short.

LAST FRIDAY at Rudyard, the Hurons wound up on the short end of a 76-49 score. Rudyard got rolling early, securing a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, and leading 32-24 at halftime. The Bulldogs increased their lead to 51-34 at the end of the third quarter. Greene scored 17 points while Adam LaLonde scored 14. The Huron JV lost 59-37 to Rudyard. An ice-cold third quarter saw Rudyard outscore the Hurons 13-2, after a 24-24 halftime tie.

Hilla scored 13 points while Bill Lince added eight.

The varsity Hurons now stand at 5-7 heading into a game at Onaway Friday (Jan. 31). They host Newberry Tuesday in the annual homecoming contest. Although the homecoming game is set for Tuesday, the dance will be Saturday February 8 at RCHS.