Early offense, late defense helps Gaylord St. Mary top Johannesburg-Lewiston

GAYLORD ― As the weather really starts to cool down in Michigan's Northern Lower Peninsula here in mid-January, the high school basketball season is just starting to heat up.

Teams around the Gaylord area are staring down the most important parts of their schedules, now stacking conference games on back-to-back days to deal with the multiple weather cancelations. For Gaylord St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston, no game is bigger than their annual matchups on the court, and the boys got the first of their two games out of the way on Thursday, Jan. 18 at Monsignor Kaminski Gymnasium in Gaylord.

The rivalry matchup ended up being a battle into the fourth quarter, but some key defensive stops for GSM helped put away a 47-36 victory for the Snowbirds.

Here are the takeaways from another Ski Valley Conference battle:

Early offense, late defense helps GSM prevail

GSM's move to 8-man football ended the annual football rivalry between these two teams, meaning the basketball court is one of the few places the crosstown rivals can battle it out. Last year, however, it wasn't much of a battle as GSM took two blowout victories over JoBurg en route to a share of the SVC title, the closest game being a 17-point Snowbird victory.

Early in Thursday's game, it seemed to be following a similar script as last year's matchups.

The Snowbirds started the game on a 7-0 run, eventually wrapping the first quarter up 17-6 and rolling on offense and defense. In the second quarter, however, JoBurg found a rhythm, trimming the lead to just 8 points by the end of the first half.

JoBurg battled within a single-digit deficit throughout the second half, getting as close as just six points down midway through the final quarter. However, while it was the GSM offense that got things started, it was the defense that sealed the deal, forcing two critical turnovers in the final minutes to help reclaim a double-digit lead and pull away for the victory.

Even at their best, opponents have found ways to slow down GSM's offense this season for stretches of time. This result was a good sign that the Snowbird defense can win them a game when they need it.

Jacobson wins battle with Fox

There's no doubting who the go-to guys are on either of these teams. For JoBurg, guard Thomas Fox leads the way as the main ball handler and shot taker, while GSM's Daniel Jacobson fills a similar role for the Snowbirds.

Thursday night was Jacobson's night.

GSM's junior leader was the night's leading scorer, finishing with 23 points on five 3-pointers made. He played a big part in the big opening quarter, scoring 11 of the team's 17 points in the opening eight minutes while adding another 11 points in the third quarter.

Fox led JoBurg with 15 points but was limited to just two in the final quarter as GSM pulled away.

GSM staying in the hunt for a conference title

As the end of the season and the beginning of the MHSAA postseason draws nearer and nearer, each conference game brings a bit more importance with it, especially for a team on the fringe of conference title contention like GSM.

Thursday's win brings GSM's conference record to 5-3, fourth in the standings behind Mancelona (7-0), Bellaire (6-1) and Onaway (5-2). GSM has at least one game left against each of those teams, meaning they will need to take care of business against all other conference foes to stay within the teams with a chance at a title.

GSM will travel to Forest Area on Tuesday, Jan. 23 while JoBurg will host Mancelona on Thursday, Jan. 25.

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: St. Mary boys basketball defeats Johannesburg-Lewiston in Ski Valley action