Fitzner, Koepp lead fourth quarter surge in Sault's win over Gaylord

GAYLORD ― Well, it truly is winter in Northern Michigan now.

The first heavy snowstorm of 2024 blanketed the Northern Lower Peninsula on Tuesday, Jan. 9, yet Sault Ste Marie still made the trip over the bridge to face Gaylord last night in a boys basketball matchup. And, despite the cold, the visiting Blue Devils stepped off the bus hot, drilling six 3-pointers as a team as they ran away with a 72-59 victory in the fourth quarter.

Here are key takeaways from the Blue Devils vs. Blue Devils matchup:

Fourth-quarter surge helps Sault get over close-game woes

Sault Ste Marie had a record 2-6 heading into Tuesday night's game, but they had reason to believe they were close to breaking through despite what that record might show. In their six losses, Sault was within striking distance in most, losing by an average margin of just 5.5 points, headlined by a one-point loss to Boyne City and a three-point loss to Marquette.

Tuesday's game was seemingly following a similar script as Gaylord held a slight lead through most of the first three quarters. However, Sault found a way to flip that script in the fourth quarter, outscoring Gaylord 23-9 in the final eight minutes en route to a double-digit victory.

The keys to the run were Sault's defensive effort on the perimeter, forcing a usually strong outside-shooting Gaylord team to miss all of their 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter, and their ability to turn those stops into easy transition buckets and trips to the free-throw line.

Sault spoils another 30+ point performance from Gelow

Gaylord's offense has taken a step up in the past three games, and almost exclusively thanks to one player.

Coming off of a 48-point performance and a 38-point performance in his last two games, Luke Gelow was certainly going to be the focus for the Sault Ste Marie defense. Still, like many teams in Northern Michigan, finding a matchup for the 6 foot 5 inch combo guard is not an easy task.

Still, despite a 32-point performance from the Gaylord senior, Sault found ways to make him uncomfortable, especially in the runaway fourth quarter. Gelow had just six points in the final eight minutes while playing with four fouls for most of the final quarter kept him from being as effective on defense.

Easton Fitzner's four 3-pointers stretch Gaylord D

Gelow figured to be the biggest mismatch on the floor, but Sault had two scorers of their own that gave the Gaylord defense fits.

Senior Easton Fitzner was perhaps the most effective, finishing with 20 points while hitting four 3-pointers throughout the night, three in the first half. His ability to stretch the floor affected how Gaylord could set up defensively, in turn giving more space in the lanes and at the rim. He also led Sault with 9 points in the big fourth-quarter run.

Senior Nate Koepp also had 20 points, 11 coming in the first half.

Both teams are scheduled to be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 11 as Gaylord travels to Cadillac in a Big North Conference matchup and Sault hosts Rudyard in a Straits Area Conference game.

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Sault Ste Marie boys basketball beats Gaylord with runaway fourth quarter