Mix hits 1,000 points, becomes MHSAA's all-time steals leader in Onaway win over St. Mary

ONAWAY – There’s some real juice in the Onaway-Gaylord St. Mary boys basketball rivalry right now.

Wednesday night was another one of those physical clashes between the Cardinals and Snowbirds, two of the top programs in the Ski Valley Conference.

But unlike a month ago when they were beaten by double digits on the road, the Cardinals got revenge on the Snowbirds by rolling to a 75-38 home victory. With the Cardinals earning another big conference win, here’s some takeaways.

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The milestone man

Senior Jadin Mix became the most recent Cardinal to join the 1,000-point club, hitting the mark on a tough layup early in the second quarter. Mix is now the seventh player in Onaway boys history to reach 1,000 points. Earlier this season, senior Austin Veal also hit 1,000 in front of the home crowd.

“It’s definitely been a goal that I’ve been searching for ever since going into high school, because all the people who have gotten it, and being a part of watching everyone who’s gotten it, it’s such a cool moment to see everybody go out and drive to get that,” Mix said. “Being able to join Joe Sigsby, Joe O’Bradovich, Kevin Pearson, and especially Jager (Mix), because we’re brothers, so we’re going to have that relationship, and of course my cousin Allie Jo (Nave), who did it for the girls."

Scoring 1,000 wasn’t the only milestone for Mix on Wednesday. Mix, one of the best defenders in program history, also became the MHSAA’s all-time leader for career steals during the first half. The previous record was held by former St. Ignace star Gage Kreski, who registered 450 steals from 2013-16.

Exploding after a slow start

Mix’s 1,000-point bucket was not only a huge moment for him, but it also galvanized the Cardinals (13-4, 10-3 Ski Valley Conference), who trailed after one quarter. Once Mix’s bucket went in, he added back-to-back 3-pointers and keyed a 12-2 run that saw Onaway take a 29-19 lead into halftime.

The Cardinals exploded with a dominant third and took total control, while the Snowbirds (11-6, 8-5) had all sorts of trouble taking care of the ball against Onaway’s pressure defense.

“The difference was when the first time we played them, we didn’t apply that pressure. We went back and looked at it and we knew they couldn’t handle it if we got in their face, so we made that adjustment tonight,” Onaway coach Eddy Szymoniak said. “We knew if we got up in their face and trapped, they were going to struggle with it, so that was a good adjustment. Everything starts with our defense. I mean, it’s relentless."

Veal finished with 23 points to lead the Cardinals, while Mix netted 22, Mason Beebe had 17, Jackson Chaskey added four, Cooper VanHuysen tallied three, and Justin Kramer-St. Germain and Brady Gapczynski each recorded two.

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Matelski has big night, but Jacobson injured for GSM

Delivering an impressive scoring night for the Snowbirds was senior Rylan Matelski, who tallied 23 points, including a dunk during the second half.

Unfortunately for St. Mary, it had a setback when junior Daniel Jacobson suffered an ankle injury during the first half. Jacobson would not return in the second half for the Snowbirds, who struggled to keep up with the fast-paced Cardinals.

Nathan O’Connell was the next Snowbird closest to Matelski in points scored, adding six.

Ski Valley hope – and rivalry rematch coming

With Wednesday’s win, the Cardinals kept their hopes of earning at least a share of the Ski Valley title alive, but they’ll need some help along the way. Onaway continues its gauntlet of talented opponents when it welcomes rival Inland Lakes in for a rematch on Friday. The Cardinals used a big second half to pull away from the Bulldogs in Indian River earlier this season.

“Indian River, crosstown rivals. Outside of sports, we’re friends and things like that, my family’s from Indian River, but we know when it’s game time, it’s game time,” Mix said. “It’s just going to be a completely different atmosphere. It doesn’t matter who’s playing or who’s injured or anything like that, the atmosphere – I feel like it’s almost as great as districts.”

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: Mix hits 1,000-point milestone in Onaway boys basketball win over Gaylord St. Mary