Cheboygan boys stunned at Kalkaska; NMCA, Alanson victorious in district clashes

KALKASKA – The Cheboygan Chiefs were hoping to make some noise in the postseason.

Instead, they were ousted by an opponent that struggled all season along.

The Kalkaska Blazers, losers of 17 in a row coming into Monday’s MHSAA Division 2 boys basketball district first-round clash, pulled a stunner by upsetting the Chiefs in a 57-47 victory at Kalkaska.

The Chiefs (9-13) found themselves behind by eight points at the end of one quarter against the Blazers (2-21), who came out firing. While the Chiefs managed to tie the game up at one point, a poor offensive second half sealed Cheboygan's fate.

"We only made six baskets in the second half," Cheboygan coach Jason Friday said. "We've struggled to score at times this year, and tonight was one of those games."

Leading Cheboygan was freshman Gavin Smith, who knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half. Kaleb Goodrich finished with eight, Brennen Thater had seven, Nolan Schley scored five, Owen Kimbrell and Daniel Hudson netted three apiece, and Luke Munger recorded two.

"(Kalkaska) came out and made everything," Friday said. "They had four 3s in the first quarter. We battled back but just didn't have enough gas in the tank. Gavin (Smith) had a great first half, but then he got hurt and really lost his effectiveness."

Monday marked the final game for the Cheboygan senior class of Jordan Johnson, Daniel Hudson, Kaleb Goodrich, Caden Gardner, Brennen Thater, Patrick Watson, Robert Godfrey, Dylan Balazovic and Blake Blaskowski.

"I love these boys," Friday said of his seniors. "Sure, we are all disappointed, but I know the future is very bright for them, no matter what they do."

Kalkaska travels to face Boyne City in a 6 p.m. district semifinal on Wednesday.

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Ferraiuolo, Brabson fuel Eagles to win at Rogers City

ROGERS CITY – Earlier this season, the Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy Eagles were edged by Rogers City.

On Monday, however, the Eagles turned the tables on the Hurons when it mattered most.

Paced by 24 points from sophomore Josh Ferraiuolo and 16 from Josiah Brabson, the Eagles got revenge on the Hurons and kept their season alive with a 48-44 victory in a MHSAA Division 4 boys basketball first-round district clash at Rogers City.

“We knew tonight that we were going to be the underdog going in, especially having lost earlier in the season,” NMCA coach James Brabson said. “Yet the boys have really worked hard these last four games or so, and I was seeing some things starting to click for them, which showed some progress from our young team. We knew offensively we can be dangerous with our shooting, but the (defense) was going to be our question mark. And sure enough, our defense held them to 44 points to make the difference for us.”

Ferraiuolo was enormous in the first half, scoring 18 of his 24 for NMCA (8-15), which advances to face Onaway in a 7 p.m. district semifinal on Wednesday.

“It was one of the best halves this season we’ve had out of Josh because he kept calm and really single-handedly kept us in the game going into halftime,” Brabson said.

Josiah Brabson, who battled foul trouble in the first half, netted 13 points in the fourth to help the Eagles seal the win. Jeremiah Tucker had four points, Jonas Brabson added three, and Zack Schepperly chipped in with one.

“Free throws were huge for us tonight,” Brabson said. “It’s always the unexpected kids that make a difference. For us tonight, it was Jonas (Brabson) and Zack (Schepperly) each hitting a free throw with under a minute to play to help seal it.”

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Vikings hold off Hornets in-hard-fought battle

PELLSTON – It wasn’t easy for coach Brian Kujawa’s Alanson Vikings, but they found a way.

Taking on host Pellston, the Vikings managed to grind out a 61-53 victory over the Hornets in a MHSAA Division 4 boys basketball district first-round game on Monday.

“This game wasn’t ideal for us in terms of having our standard personnel out on the court, we’ve picked the worst time of year to catch an illness or to be banged up,” Kujawa said. “It showed tonight, we need to have that next man up mentality; there are times, and that time is now to show the coaching staff you are ready for these high-pressure situations that is postseason basketball.”

Donovan Honeysette’s double-double night of 19 points and 14 rebounds led the Vikings (17-5), who received 13 points, five assists and four rebounds from Christian Silveus, 11 points and nine rebounds from Isaac Bowman, eight points and two rebounds from Mason Weidenhamer, seven points, six assists and two steals from Troy Johnson, and three points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals from Owyne Greenier.

Alanson heads to St. Ignace for a 6 p.m. semifinal clash on Wednesday.

“The guys will get another opportunity on Wednesday, this has been the date we’ve circled, red lettered, whatever you want to call it since the districts were assigned,” Kujawa said. “We know what we will be going up against in St. Ignace, we need to rest up and heal quickly if we are going to be getting out of there with the expectations that we have going in. It’s going to take a heck of an effort, but no doubt we will be prepared for a battle.”

Jack Schmalzried scored 16 points for Pellston (3-20). Laith Griffith tallied 13, Joshua Grondin had seven, and Connor Keller added six.

Box, Onaway girls take down Bellaire on road

BELLAIRE – A 20-point scoring performance from Charlotte Box helped the Onaway girls basketball team capture a 60-25 victory at Bellaire on Friday, Feb. 23.

Sydney Peel finished with 11 points and Marley Szymoniak tallied 10 for the Cardinals (12-8, 9-7 Ski Valley Conference), who snapped a four-game losing skid.

“We shot the ball well from all over the court,” Onaway coach John George said. “Our kids played well on both sides of the ball, but offense was the story of the evening, which hasn’t been a hot topic the last month. We hope to get it rolling and keep it going into the next couple weeks.”

Ema DeMaestri and Sadie Decker each scored six points for the Cardinals. Natalie Hyde had five.

In a 44-39 loss at Mancelona on Wednesday, Feb. 21, Box led the Cardinals with 12 points. Szymoniak, Hyde and DeMaestri recorded five apiece.

Onaway travels to Rogers City on Tuesday then closes out its regular season with a home game against Mackinaw City on Thursday.

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 suffers district loss at Kalkaska; NMCA and Alanson advance