Mackinaw City girls take control of NLC; Comet boys, Onaway girls capture Tuesday wins

MACKINAW CITY – The Mackinaw City girls basketball team is closing in on another Northern Lakes Conference title.

The Comets inched one step closer to a sixth straight NLC crown by capturing a 50-32 victory over Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy at home on Tuesday.

“I am so excited for this group of ladies and how they have positioned themselves to accomplish their first goal of winning a Northern Lakes Conference title,” Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman said. “We have four games left with a couple more good tests ahead and we stay in the driver's seat with the chance to win the title outright. Coach (Josh) Ferriauolo and his Eagles are a tough out with some big wins on the season over EUP teams and Posen. They are well coached and play great defense.”

The Comets (12-0, 8-0 NLC) were fueled by Kenzlie Currie’s 15 points and four rebounds, while Jersey Beauchamp had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Gracie Beauchamp tallied nine points, 11 assists, five steals and three rebounds, Kerry-Ann Ming added seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks, Grace Sroka recorded five points and two rebounds, and Rian Esper chipped in with two points and three rebounds.

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“We did a great job executing tonight's defensive game plan along with finding the open shooters and taking great shots,” Huffman said. “Jersey continues to bring toughness to our defense and setting the tone for us defensively, and Gracie put forth a great game directing our offense and distributing 11 assists in the process. Rian, Kenzlie, Kerry-Ann and Grace continue to come up with big plays on both sides of the ball.”

NMCA (8-4, 2-2) received 12 points from Addie Pietrowski, 10 from Lauren Ferraiuolo, and six from Ariel Tucker.

Mackinaw City hosts Alba on Wednesday, while NMCA welcomes Wolverine on Thursday.

Mackinaw City boys top NMCA at home

MACKINAW CITY – The Mackinaw City boys basketball team captured a 90-66 victory over Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy at home on Tuesday.

Trystan Swanson scored a team-high 30 points and Lucas Bergstrom tallied 29 for the Comets (9-6, 5-2 Northern Lakes Conference), who received 14 from Myran Thompson, 11 from Braylon Currie, and three apiece from Jared Wiertalla and Nick Vieau.

“This was not as easy as the score may indicate,” Mackinaw City coach John Martin said. “(NMCA coach) James Brabson does a great job with a limited amount of kids. They battled all night. Braylon Currie stepped up and did a great job for us tonight."

Josiah Brabson tallied a game-high 32 points and added five rebounds and five assists to lead NMCA (6-7, 3-3). Josh Ferriauolo finished with 16 points and six rebounds and Jeremiah Tucker added 10 points.

“It was an entertaining game tonight if you like to watch a lot of offense,” Coach Brabson said. “I thought both teams shot well from the floor, but it was clear that John’s team owned the paint against us tonight, and hats off to him for exposing that throughout the game."

Mackinaw City plays at Engadine on Monday, Feb. 5, while NMCA hosts Wolverine on Thursday.

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Big shooting night lifts Onaway girls past Pellston

ONAWAY – It was a big offensive evening for the Onaway girls basketball team, which coasted to a 60-6 home victory over Pellston on Tuesday.

“The girls played hard,” Onaway coach John George said. “Offensively, we came out and hit some shots. Seven (3-pointers) on the night was one of our focuses. We definitely did some good things this evening.”

Charlotte Box scored 13 points to lead the Cardinals (9-4, 6-4 Ski Valley Conference), while Marley Szymoniak had 11, Kailyn George netted 10, Andrea Ruppert added six, Ellie Crull and Sadie Decker each recorded five, and Sydney Peel and Ema DeMaestri registered four apiece.

Lanie Irwin and Breanna Willis scored three points each to lead Pellston (1-10, 0-7).

Onaway hosts Forest Area on Thursday, while Pellston heads to Gaylord St. Mary on Thursday.

Wallace, Schoonmaker, lift Inland Lakes past Comets

INDIAN RIVER – Lee Nash has been hoping to see more consistency out of his team.

On Monday, the Inland Lakes boys basketball coach's squad might have just turned a corner.

Fueled by 26 points from Connor Wallace and 25 from Sam Schoonmaker, the Bulldogs built a big lead and never looked back in an 87-52 victory over Mackinaw City at home.

The Bulldogs (8-6) also received 18 points from Aidan Fenstermaker, eight from Cash DePauw, six from Jake Willey, and four from Noah Shugar.

“Offensively speaking, we had a nice night,” Nash said of his team, which led 42-25 at halftime. “Connor Wallace found a couple (3-pointers). I thought Cash DePauw had a really nice game, and then Jake (Willey), Wallace and (Schoonmaker) were relentless on the glass. I was just really happy with the progress of some of the kids and how they stepped up.”

Lucas Bergstrom scored 26 points to lead Mackinaw City, which received 20 from Trystan Swanson. Adding two apiece were Nick Vieau, Sabastian Pierce and Tyler Hingston.

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: Mackinaw City girls top Burt Lake NMCA in crucial conference clash