Cheboygan's Smith erupts for career-high 32 points at Gaylord; Inland Lakes, Onaway earn wins

GAYLORD – The Cheboygan boys basketball team fought tooth and nail with the Gaylord Blue Devils on the road Tuesday night.

But one Blue Devil made the difference – Luke Gelow.

The smooth-shooting, left-handed senior star poured in a game-high 36 points and lifted Gaylord to a 71-63 overtime victory.

While the Chiefs (7-7) came up short, they received a sensational night from freshman guard Gavin Smith, who netted a career-high 32 points. Smith knocked down five 3-pointers, including three in the fourth quarter.

“Gavin Smith was incredible. He was all over the place, he was fearless,” Cheboygan coach Jason Friday said. “It was impressive."

Daniel Hudson finished with eight points for the Chiefs, who received six apiece from Brennen Thater and Luke Munger, four from Kaleb Goodrich and Robert Godfrey, and three from Caden Gardner.

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“Physically, they were so much stronger than us, and I was so proud of our boys for the way they battled,” Friday said. “There were a couple of times where it looked like Gaylord was going to make a run and put it into double digits, and we’d go on a run."

The junior varsity contest was also a nailbiter, as Gaylord held on for a 53-51 victory over Cheboygan. Carson Kiefer’s 18 points led Cheboygan, while Jack Ekdahl had 15, Nolan Schley scored 11, Andrew Kiefer added four, and Landon Gahn chipped in with three.

Cheboygan hosts Onaway on Monday, Jan. 29.

Fenstermaker, Inland Lakes throttle JoBurg at home

INDIAN RIVER – A strong first half lifted the Inland Lakes boys basketball team to a 70-42 victory over Johannesburg-Lewiston at home on Tuesday.

Aidan Fenstermaker finished with 19 points, three rebounds and two steals to lift the Bulldogs (7-5, 6-3 Ski Valley Conference), while Connor Wallace had 16 points and four rebounds, Sam Schoonmaker tallied 15 points and eight rebounds, Jake Willey recorded five points and five rebounds, Noah Shugar added five points, Payton Teuthorn registered four points, and Cash DePauw chipped in with three points.

“It was a nice home win,” Inland Lakes coach Lee Nash said. “I liked the continued balance, three guys in double digits, so that was really nice to see. I was really happy with Noah Shugar tonight. He was right into it tonight mentally and physically. Everybody was contributing in the second half, just trying to continue to build confidence.”

Inland Lakes continues its home slate against Bellaire on Thursday.

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Onaway boys bounce back, beat Pellston at home

ONAWAY – Following a narrow home loss to Bellaire last Friday, the Onaway boys basketball team rebounded with a 69-48 victory over Pellston on Tuesday.

Mason Beebe and Austin Veal scored 18 points apiece to pace the Cardinals (7-3, 6-3 Ski Valley Conference), who led 33-18 at halftime. Jadin Mix also reached double figures with 15 points, while Luke Lovelace and Jackson Chaskey both netted six. Justin Kramer-St. Germain chipped in with four.

“This was a game where we were able to work on a few new things we were putting in,” Onaway coach Eddy Szymoniak said. “We worked on a lot of half-court stuff that we think we need to get better on, and I think in that fourth quarter we really got back to our basketball.”

Joshua Grondin’s 20 points led the Hornets (1-10, 0-7). Jack Schmalzried, Laith Griffith, Connor Keller and Glenn Bonter each finished with six.

Onaway heads to Mackinaw City on Wednesday, while Pellston travels to Gaylord St. Mary on Thursday.

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Mackinaw City girls move to 9-0 with win over Alba

ALBA – The Mackinaw City girls basketball team stayed unbeaten by capturing a 58-10 victory at Alba on Tuesday night.

“The team did a great job defensively and we were able to get some quality experience for some of our younger (junior varsity) players," Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman said. "I am excited about the growth of my junior high girls and how well as a team we are taking care of the basketball and rebuilding.”

The Comets (9-0, 5-0 Northern Lakes Conference) were led by Gracie Beauchamp’s 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine steals, seven assists and two blocks, while Grace Sroka had 12 points, seven rebounds, seven steals, two assists and two blocks, Jersey Beauchamp tallied 11 points, five assists four rebounds and four steals, Rian Esper recorded seven points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists, Kerry-Ann Ming finished with six points and 10 rebounds, Alaia Mendez registered eight rebounds, Jillian Poumade chipped in with one assist, and Poppy Wallace and Emily Kruczynski notched a steal apiece.

Mackinaw City hosts Ellsworth on Thursday.

Alanson boys capture home triumph over Wolverine

ALANSON – The Alanson boys basketball team claimed an 83-41 victory over Wolverine on Tuesday.

Christian Silveus finished with 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Vikings (9-3), who received 13 points, 13 rebounds and four assists from Mason Weidenhamer, 14 points from Corbin Cousineau, 12 points and nine rebounds from Isaac Bowman, 11 points, seven assists and four steals from Troy Johnson, and three points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals from Owyne Greenier.

“I thought tonight we played lackadaisical, unambitious – we simply played as though we thought showing up would win us the game,” Alanson coach Brian Kujawa said. “Wolverine played hard, put us in positions that we felt uncomfortable being in, and credit to them for coming out and playing us tough."

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Onaway girls suffer OT loss at JoBurg

JOHANNESBURG – Just a few weeks ago, the Onaway girls basketball team was beaten narrowly by Johannesburg-Lewiston at home.

While Onaway fought back to force overtime in Monday's rematch, it once again fell short in a 35-30 loss at JoBurg.

“Offensively, we struggled all night,” Onaway coach John George said. “Defensively, it was a pretty good effort only giving up 27 points for the first four quarters. Those are games we should win, for sure. I thought it was a game we could have won, but ball security and turnovers down the stretch put that one in jeopardy.”

Charlotte Box and Marley Szymoniak scored eight points apiece to lead the Cardinals (7-4, 5-4 Ski Valley Conference), while Kailyn George and Ema DeMaestri each tallied six.

Jayden Marlatt’s game-high 20 points fueled JoBurg (6-5, 4-3).

Onaway travels to Pickford on Friday.

Mackinaw City boys see winning streak snapped

MACKINAW CITY – The Mackinaw City boys basketball team has had some fun nights so far this season.

However, Monday wasn’t one of those nights.

The Comets fell into a huge hole early and could never recover against the Rudyard Bulldogs, who cruised to a 74-29 victory in Mackinaw.

“Tonight was an example of what could go wrong did go wrong, and you can’t afford that on a night when you play a quality team,” Mackinaw City coach John Martin said. “Jim (Suggitt) has a great program in Rudyard, and his team, led by three quality seniors, will be tough to beat moving into March.”

Sabastian Pierce scored eight points and Lucas Bergstrom had seven for the Comets (8-3), who saw their five-game winning streak snapped. Tyler Hingston tallied five, Nick Vieau had three, and Isaac Valot and Trystan Swanson each added two.

Jack Cifelli netted 12 points to lead Rudyard (8-4).

Mackinaw City hosts Onaway on Wednesday.

Burt Lake NMCA boys edged by Posen

BURT LAKE – In a game that went down to the wire, the Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy boys basketball team suffered a 60-52 home loss to Posen on Monday.

“We had it to within three points with under a minute to go, but our youth and inexperience really showed tonight,” NMCA coach James Brabson said. “I told the guys after the game that games like this are good for us because they are ‘growing up’ games.”

Josiah Brabson scored 20 of his team-high 25 points in the first half and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Eagles (4-6), who received 19 points and eight rebounds from Josh Ferraiuolo, and eight points and four assists from Jeremiah Tucker.

“Anytime you go against one of Chris’ (Keller) teams, you know that you are going to face kids that hustle from end line to end line, and they definitely did that tonight,” Brabson added. “I was really glad to see the game Josh (Ferraiuolo) had for us. He’s been in a bit of a funk, but tonight he really came out of it and played a great game for us. If it took a game like this to break out, it’s going to be a fun rest of the season for him.”

NMCA hosts Petoskey St. Michael 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's Gavin Smith scores career-high 32 points at Gaylord