High school roundup: Onaway boys stung by poor first quarter, Inland Lakes girls earn road win
ONAWAY — It wasn’t later in the game that was problematic for the Onaway boys basketball team on Friday night.
It was the start.
Despite rallying to make things interesting in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals fell short of their comeback bid in a 54-50 home loss to Bellaire.
The struggles occurred early in the first quarter for Onaway (6-3, 5-3 Ski Valley Conference), which surrendered several inside baskets to the Eagles (8-3, 7-1), who executed almost flawlessly and built a double-digit lead.
Senior guard Austin Veal did his best to rally the Cardinals, scoring 15 of his game-high 27 points in the second half. Fellow senior guard Jackson Chaskey finished with 14 points.
Bellaire’s efficient performance was paced by Dawson Derrer’s 22 points.
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With the loss, the Cardinals fell into a tie for third place in the Ski Valley, while the Eagles are currently second. First-place Mancelona (11-2, 8-0) remains unbeaten in conference play. —
Onaway hosts Pellston on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Bulldogs not at their best, but stay unbeaten
CENTRAL LAKE — It was another Ski Valley victory for the Inland Lakes girls basketball team on Friday.
But it was far from the type of performance coach Daryl Vizina wanted to see.
Despite the Bulldogs not playing one of their better games, they still managed to stay unbeaten in conference play with a 55-45 win at Central Lake.
“This was not our best effort,” Vizina said. “We started slow. We were down big in the first quarter. We clawed back and had a nice surge to end the game. This lackluster performance was 100 percent the result of poor coaching on my part. It is clear that I need to do better in making sure the players understand where to be and quit making undisciplined mistakes.
“I need to be better.”
The Bulldogs (6-2, 6-0 Ski Valley) were fueled by a stellar display from junior Brooklyn LaBrecque, who finished with a team-high 22 points.
Inland Lakes travels to Alpena on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
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Burt Lake NMCA boys drop home contest to Alanson
BURT LAKE — The Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy boys basketball team suffered a 77-42 home loss to Alanson on Friday.
“Gotta give Alanson a ton of credit for speeding our guys up and creating turnovers,” NMCA coach James Brabson said. “Our guards have to take care of the ball better to win in our conference, and Alanson deserves all the credit for the win they got against us tonight.”
Josiah Brabson’s 25 points and five rebounds led the Eagles (4-5, 2-2 Northern Lakes Conference), who received 11 points from Josh Ferraiuolo, and two points and nine rebounds from Jeremiah Tucker.
“I was glad to see the effort out of both Schepperly boys (Zack and Levi) for us, especially on the defensive end,” Brabson said. “Josiah (Brabson) took some hard hits tonight, drawing three charges and a few other fouls. Hopefully, we can get this game out of our head and be ready for a tough-minded Posen team on Monday.”
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: Onaway boys lose at home to Bellaire, Inland Lakes girls top Central Lake
