Rob Roos | Sault Evening News Escanaba’s Colin Hudson (20) puts up a shot over Sault Ste. Marie defenders Vinnie Febles (22) and Ryan LaPlaunt (34) during a basketball game Friday night. The Eskymos downed the Blue Devils 66-24 in the non-conference matchup in Sault Ste. Marie.

SAULT STE. MARIE — Escanaba dodged a potential trap game with little trouble, cruising past the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils 66-24 in a non-conference boys basketball game Friday night.

Jared Hanson scored 16 points to lead a balanced effort for the U.P.’s No. 1-ranked Eskymos, who improved to 10-0. Trevor Brown scored 13 points, while Carter Hudson had 11 points and six rebounds.

Esky led 34-13 at halftime and was able to sub freely in the second half. With a big Great Northern Conference game coming up against Kingsford Saturday, Esky coach Tracy Hudson was happy to get a comfortable lead and be able to use his full lineup against the Blue Devils.

Escanaba swept the home-and-home season series over the Sault.

“The Sault is young and building,” coach Hudson said. “They are well-coached and play hard, so I was a little nervous about this game. We did what we needed to do and came away with a road win. While the Sault is putting things together with some new guys on varsity, we have our core team back from last year, and we’re where we want to be. Our talent kind of took over.

“Once we got the lead, we wanted to limit everyone’s minutes,” Hudson said. “We shut some guys down to save them for tomorrow, with a top-five matchup coming up against Kingsford. Beyond that, we have a lot of tough games coming up.”

The Blue Devils kept it close through the first quarter. The game was tied at 7 before Esky closed the quarter with a 12-8 lead. The Eskymos pulled away in the second quarter, shutting down the Sault offense. Esky went on a 22-5 run to take a 34-13 lead into halftime.

“We didn’t come out right away and pressure them the way we wanted, but we eventually got into them with our press,” Hudson said. “We had to ramp it up, and we got some deflections with our 1-3-1 zone to get some things going. We shared the ball really well.

“We talked about going inside and attacking the rim, and our guys did,” Hudson said. “Jared Hanson shot the ball really well. He was kind of our hot hand tonight.”

Carter Oshelski, Bennette Swanson and Ryan LaPlaunt scored four points apiece for the Blue Devils (2-8). Sault High was finishing a stretch of three games in three days.

“I liked the way we came out of the gate,” Sault High coach Mike Fitzner said. “We came out and made some plays. But then they got into a rhythm in the second quarter and started to do what they do. We were on our heels from that point on.

“Escanaba’s legit. They look like a team that can go a long way in the tournament,” Fitzner said. “I think this is the best team that Tracy (Hudson) has had. They have all the pieces this year.”

The Eskymos continued to break the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Sault 23-5. Nine players contributed points in the game for the Eskymos. Connor Smale scored nine points, while Colin Hudson had five points, five assists, four rebounds and two blocks.

Esky shot 25-of-55 from the field overall and 9 of 23 on 3s. Hanson connected on four 3-pointers, and Smale had three to lead the shooters from distance.

Escanaba defeated Sault Ste. Marie 57-34 in the junior varsity game. Escanaba also beat the Sault 70-35 in the freshman game.

Escanaba visits Kingsford Saturday.

Escanaba 12 22 23 9 — 66

Sault Ste. Marie 8 5 5 6 — 24

Escanaba — Frazier 2, Smale 9, Colin Hudson 5, Morehouse 2, Carter Hudson 11, Hanson 16, Maki 6, Brown 13, Willette 2. FT: 7-11; 3-point field goals: 9 (Hanson 4, Smale 3, Colin Hudson 1, Carter Hudson).

Sault Ste. Marie — Davie 1, Oshelski 4, Swanson 4, Daley 2, Cox 3, Haller 3, McShane 3, LaPlaunt 4. FT: 2-4; F: 16; 3-point field goals: 2 (Cox 1, Haller 1).