Black Bears build ‘mo’
Big Bay has special night in regular season finale
GARDEN CORNERS — There isn’t much better than for a struggling team to build a little piece of momentum entering the postseason.
Big Bay de Noc did just that here Tuesday night on a special evening by defeating Superior Central 64-54 in its regular season boys basketball finale. Both teams play Monday in the Class D district at Eben, with Big Bay facing Rapid River at 6 p.m. and Mid Peninsula meeting the host Cougars at 7:30.
“It was important for us to get a little bit of momentum,” said Big Bay coach Bob Pederson, noting the Black Bears (4-16 overall, 2-11 Skyline Central) have won three of their last four games. “This proves to the boys they can play with anybody in the district.”
Superior Central (4-15 overall, 2-10 league) has one more chance to find some momentum Thursday with a trip to Bark River-Harris. The Cougars have lost their last 12 games.
“I told the guys you have got to be 10 points better on the road,” said SC coach Matt Rondeau. “The district isn’t on the road.”
Being home may not help if the Cougars perform like they did Tuesday. “We had a poor shooting percentage and we were sloppy, sloppy passing,” said Rondeau. “They were falling asleep on defesne.”
The Black Bears capitalized, especially in the third quarter with a 10-0 flurry to open a 48-29 cushion. “The third quarter we had a lot of intensity,” said Pederson, noting the Cougars managed just seven points after trailing 31-23 at the intermission.
He said the 10-point outburst “gave us an opportunity to try other defenses and test out things we might want to try in the district.”
Tyler Johnson, a 6-foot-4 senior, had 23 points for the Black Bears, several times getting inside to take slick passes from Nathan Chandler on the wing. “Tyler is our go-to guy. He can get shots inside-outside,” said Pederson.
He was also creative at a key juncture of the second quarter with consecutive baskets to give Big Bay a 27-19 lead and quiet a minor threat by the Cougars. First he scored on a pass from Chandler, then he posted on the right block and as he got pushed back he faded even further and tossed up a prayer that found the net.
“That play he made on his own, he created his own shot,” said Pederson.
Central never got closer than that 23-19 difference the rest of the night. “We had a lot of good open looks but they just weren’t going down,” lamented Rondeau, noting his club also “looked way out of kilter” for good stretches.
Junior Wade Krysiak had a solid night for the Cougars, getting good penetration multiple times and finishing with 15 points. “He came out playing the way we need Wade to play at the districts,” said Rondeau, who liked the way he attacked the basket.
The victory enabled the Black Bears to cap a perfect night for the home crowd. It was senior night, and before the game the school’s 1,000-point career scorers were honored and had a banner displayed on the wall. Eight of the 17 were on hand.
At halftime, the late Pat Groleau was honored when the school’s booster club unveiled a sign dedicating the press box in his memory. Groleau, who died in November, scored 1,926 points for the Nahma Arrows, is a 2013 U.P. Sports Hall of Fame inductee and was a longtime member of the booster club.
Superior Central 10 13 7 24 — 54
Big Bay de Noc 18 13 17 16 — 64
Superior Central — Krysiak 15, Hemminger 2, Heinonen 9, Leppanen 11, Rondeau 4, Charlebois 8, Frusti 3, Seaberg 2. FT: 10-17; F: 19; Fouled out: Rondeau; 3-point field goal – Krysiak 1.
Big Bay de Noc — A. LaLonde 6, T. Johnson 23, Chandler 8, E. Johnson 13, Raredon 2, Ray 7, Knudson 5. FT: 13-22; F: 19; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals – Ray 2, E. Johnson 1.