By Dan Hardenbrook
The boys basketball season tipped off for the local teams on Monday. Newberry traveled to St. Ignace to renew their rivalry with the Saints, while Engadine went a few miles further, crossing the bridge for a meeting with the Mackinaw City Comets. Both varsity teams came up just short in close contests; Engadine’s JV claimed a victory, and Newberry’s JV almost completed an incredible comeback in a thriller of their own.
Newberry at St. Ignace
Newberry Boys Varsity Coach Nate Moulton described the day as his team’s Christmas. The season opener is always exciting, but also brings the great unknown. Coaches never know what to expect and can’t do much scouting of opponents.
The Saints used that advantage early, slowly building a big lead as the first team to find their footing. St. Ignace led 10-7 after a back and forth first quarter, then broke things open in the second bringing a double digit lead into the half.
Things continued to go their way until the Indians completely flipped the script over the last 12 minutes of the contest. Down by 19 points midway through the third, the Indians had a choice: Lay down and let the Saints make their opening night miserable, or battle back and give themselves a shot in the end.
And that’s just what Newberry did. Behind a lockdown defense that forced St. Ignace to turn the ball over or rush tough shots, the Indians came roaring back. They also caught fire after a tough start to the night shooting wise, and extra trips to the free throw line helped close the gap while not wasting time.
Soon enough, Indians were right back in it, trailing by only seven late in the contest. St. Ignace ultimately survived, hanging on for the 42-30 win.
Kegan Martin led the way with 16 points, 13 of them coming in the second half comeback. Cadin Hamilton scored 7, Craig Whalen had 4 points, Ethan Pavey and Sam Rahilly finished with two apiece, and Xander Stilson added the other point for Newberry.
St. Ignace’s Evan Arnold shot the Saints to victory, scoring 24 points.
In the JV contest, the Saints looked like they were well on their way to a blowout victory. They led 16-2 after the first period against a shorthanded JV Indians squad, playing with just seven players. An intense defensive effort, transition buckets, and strong team play all contributed to a near comeback for the ages. The Saints led by almost 20 at one point, the JV Indians were having none of it. Big runs late in the third quarter and the early part of the fourth saw Newberry nearly overtake the Saints. Newberry got the lead all the way down to 4 at one point, running out of time in a 33-29 loss.
Engadine at Mackinaw City
Two very young varsity teams went at it in an intense matchup that went down to the final buzzer when Engadine met Mackinaw City. Comets Head Coach Elijah May knew his team would have their hands full. They were trying to work all new starters into the lineup after losing all five from last year’s team.
But May’s largest concern wasn’t with his squad, but rather what Engadine had coming in. Despite the Eagles struggles from a year ago, May was already familiar with freshman point guard Coleman Loebach. Loebach lived up to his reputation, scoring 20 points and leading the underdog Eagles to a near upset in a 55-52 loss.
After the game, Mackinaw City Coach May said: “We threw everything we had at [Loebach]. I threw the kitchen sink at him.”
Loebach will look to frustrate plenty of coaches this season.
The Engadine JV Boys made sure that a local team ended opening night in the win column. In an impressive showing, the JV Eagles beat Mackinaw City 51-31. Seth Butkovich had a game-high 28 points, and Nate Stielstra was also in double figures with 10.
