Cheboygan boys struggle to slow down Flynn, Bartel in home loss to Harbor Springs

CHEBOYGAN – Monday night marked the start of a brutal three-game home stretch for the Cheboygan boys basketball team.

While the Chiefs came out and played a decent first half, things unraveled over the final two quarters in a 66-36 loss to the Harbor Springs Rams.

With the Chiefs opening the week with a defeat, here’s some takeaways from the clash.

The Flynn-Bartel show

What Cheboygan (9-10) had no answer for was the talented sophomore duo of Braeden Flynn (27 points) and Rider Bartel (20), who combined for 47 of Harbor’s 66 points. Flynn, who finished with five 3-pointers, starred in the first half by netting 17 of his game-high 27, while Bartel tallied 15 of his 20 in the second half.

“Bartel and Flynn, that’s what happened,” Cheboygan coach Jason Friday said. “Our focus was trying to stop them. They’re a great 1-2 combo, they’re super smart, they’re quick. Man, they can shoot. They’re just really good.”

Nash VanSloten scored 12 points to round out a solid night for the Rams (15-6).

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Inconsistent halves

Despite falling behind by 10 at the break, the Chiefs showed positive signs in the first half, which saw freshman Gavin Smith score seven points. Unfortunately for Cheboygan, ball security and missed layups plagued them all night.

“I will say in the first half we played with a pretty good amount of energy,” Friday said. “The frustrating part is the unforced turnovers that we continue to commit. Being down 10 in that first half, and I bet we had six unforced turnovers. I don’t understand how we have guys that are trying to make a 15-foot pass and nobody’s on them, nobody’s on the guy we’re throwing to, and we throw it out of bounds.

“I don’t understand how we do that, but it’s been something that’s happened all year.”

Cheboygan senior Brennen Thater matched Smith with a team-high seven points, while Owen Kimbrell scored six and Kaleb Goodrich had five.

Schley’s varsity debut

Making a debut on Cheboygan’s varsity squad was freshman Nolan Schley, a star on the Chiefs’ junior varsity team this winter. Schley finished with three points.

“Defensively, there’s a long way to go with Nolan, but he’s a freshman,” Friday said. “It was nice to get him some minutes. It was something that we’ll see going forward. We play Rudyard on Wednesday, and they’ve got an absolute horse down low who just works his tail off and is strong, and that’s something that fits Nolan’s game.”

Luke Hoskins and Daniel Hudson also added three points for the Chiefs, who received two from Patrick Watson.

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A challenging final stretch

With districts beginning next week, Monday was the first of three difficult matchups for the Chiefs, who host Rudyard on Wednesday and close out the regular season with St. Ignace at home on Friday.

For Friday, playing against top competition before the postseason will benefit his squad.

“It can work two ways. You’re going up against three teams and you don’t know how that’s going to go, and you can really make someone frustrated, but in the same sense, do you really want to go in, where you win by 40 and then you show up to districts in that very first game, and you don’t have to box out, you don’t have to do anything fundamental, and then all of a sudden, it’s an eye opener and we get sniped?,” Friday said. “You gotta play tough against these three teams and hopefully that gets us ready to go next week.

“I am glad they’re all at home, I will say that.”

In the JV game, Schley scored 19 points to lead Cheboygan to a 55-33 victory. Carson Kiefer and Frank Leonard both finished with 10 points, while Landon Gahn and Andrew Kiefer added eight apiece.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan boys basketball loses to Harbor Springs in home clash