Petoskey fights through ugly offensive night to top Sault Ste. Marie

PETOSKEY — Someone was indeed going to win Tuesday’s matchup between the Petoskey and Sault Ste. Marie boys basketball teams.

That didn’t mean the process for getting to that point was going to be pretty.

But, even an ugly win still shows up as a victory on the schedule and Petoskey will take its 50-41 victory over the Blue Devils during a three-game week and move on.

“We’re better than what we displayed tonight, especially on the offensive end,” Petoskey coach Matt Tamm said. “But, I did like that we grinned it out on the defensive end.”

It came as a fifth consecutive victory for the Northmen, bringing them to 10-6 overall on the season, while Sault Ste. Marie dropped to 8-9. The Northmen headed into Tuesday's game averaging 73 points a night over their last three, which included two wins over BNC opponents.

Here’s how the Northmen and Blue Devils got to Tuesday’s final.

First team to 50 wins? 

Right from the start, Tuesday’s game had the makings of one of those low-scoring games that’s just going to be a grind to get through.

It was evident throughout the first quarter and certainly when a 22-22 halftime score came their way.

“I just think we were trying to force it a little too much tonight, instead of trying to use each other,” Tamm said. “You’ve just got to let the game come to you. The first quarter, we were just throwing the ball all over the place.”

Petoskey finished the night with 15 turnovers, though many came in that first half Tamm talked of. Then there was the free throw shooting, which sat below 50 percent in a 12 for 25 night.

AOTW: Vote for the Petoskey News-Review Athlete of the Week: Jan. 26–Feb. 2

More: Petoskey skiers impress at Nub's Nob; Alanson, Harbor Light earn NLC wins

There were a few bright spots. Jimmy Marshall finished with 15 points for the Northmen, to go with eight rebounds, then Lucas O’Donnell had 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Brady Odenbach also added eight points.

"Lucas played well at both ends of the court tonight," said Tamm. "He did a good job of keeping Kaydin Lujan in check. Lucas just keeps getting better. He understands his game at both ends of the court and has become one of our defensive stoppers. He has some great challenges coming up."

For Sault Ste. Marie, Kaydin Lujan scored 11 and Nate Koepp had 10 points.

Defense travels 

While they weren’t on the road, that old saying that defense travels held true Tuesday for Petoskey. Add in defensive rebounding.

Despite some ugly play on the offensive end, the Northmen got it done defensively – evident in the 41 points given up.

“Our defense was very good,” Tamm said. “Defensive rebounding has to be there all the time, because you’re going to have nights where you don’t perform all that well offensively.

"Ely Pethers gave us some good minutes tonight. He is in a tough position. Brandon Klingelsmith was out tonight and Korbin was in foul trouble, so Ely was called into action and delivered."

The Northmen grabbed 15 defensive rebounds in the game, led by Marshall’s seven alone.

The 41 points allowed were also the third fewest of the season for Petoskey.

More: Kemp's relentless play leads Charlevoix girls past Boyne City

No rest ahead 

It’s a good thing Petoskey won’t want to revisit Tuesday’s matchup much, as they won’t exactly have time to over the next seven days.

It’s a three-game week, though there’s more packed in across a seven-day stretch.

“Four games in seven days and we’re playing against good teams,” Tamm added. “The Sault is a .500 team, but they’re pretty good. Cadillac as of this morning was 14-1, then we go against a good Ludington team and then we flip around and play against Benzie on Monday. It’s a big week against four quality opponents.”

Petoskey next brings in Cadillac on Thursday, Feb. 8, welcomes Ludington in a Saturday, Feb. 10 matchup, then travels to Benzie Central on Monday, Feb. 12 for a makeup game.

Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey boys basketball tops Sault Ste. Marie for second time