Glen Lake boys extend winning streak to 8 games after 72-34 win over Frankfort
Jan. 21—MAPLE CITY — The temps outside might be cold, but Glen Lake is mighty hot.
The Lakers varsity boys basketball team pushed its winning streak to eight games as the Lakers knocked off conference rival Frankfort by a 72-34 final on Friday.
Glen Lake (8-1, 5-0 Northwest) received an all-around performance from its roster, not needing to rely too heavily on Luke Hazleton to be the star he's known to be.
"We knew they were going to be a good team coming into the game," Hazelton said. "We knew if we focused on defense first that our offense would come, and we locked down defensively."
In the second half, the Lakers held the Panther to 13 total points and drained in almost every basket.
Hazelton only came out for less than a minute the entire game and still wasn't the best player on the court.
"I liked our defense," Glen Lake head coach Rob Flaska said. "That was evident tonight."
Glen Lake got off to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and didn't break a sweat. The Panthers kept it close but couldn't stop the Lakers' offense.
Glen Lake had as much as a 20-7 lead in the first, with Hazelton taking multiple trips to the line and making every free throw.
He had 12 points — which was the total points of the Panthers when it was 25-12 in the second quarter.
The scoring kept coming for the Lakers, no matter how many threes Panther senior Carter Kerby swished.
Kerby finished with a team-high 15 points, but Kerby's efforts kept the Panthers within a 35-21 deficient at halftime, with most of the baskets coming from the free throw line.
The Lakers had foul troubles in the first half. They had a total of 10 fouls in the first half but limited it to five in the second half.
"I told the guys they got eight to 10 points from fouling," Flaska said. "In the second half, we were a lot smarter with it."
Glen Lake started the third quarter on a 10-2 run to go up 46-23 as the Lakers cut down on the missed layups and executed better defensively.
"Second half, we executed well, and our defensive was superb," Flaska said. "I said, 'Guys, if we aren't shooting it, let's lock down defensively.' And we did."
The defense helped as Glen Lake continued to splash points and push the lead to 64-34 at one point in the third quarter.
Hazelton didn't do much in the second half as his co-stars and players who haven't seen much of the floor got minutes. Hazelton finished with a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds.
Sean Galla and Neil Ihme dropped buckets in the second half as they combined for 16 of the Laker's 36 points in the second half. Ihme finished with a double-double, 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Glen Lake senior Ethan Steffke missed most of the season. He made his senior debut on Friday, contributing 11 points off the bench.
"We are in the bulk of our season, right now," Hazelton said. "Our goal is to win conference, so every conference game we've got to win — and that's what we look at."
Flaska said they have a long season as they still have a trip to Benzie Central this coming Friday. The head coach knows in order to win the conference they need to handle business the rest of the way.
"We've got to have a focus each game," Flaska said. "Next week we play Benzie, who will be undefeated in the conference, so the next week is a big week."
Before traveling to Benzie Central next Friday, the Lakers welcome Onekama on Wednesday.
Frankfort (7-4, 4-2 Northwest) hosts Suttons Bay on Wednesday.
