By John Vrancic

For the Daily Press

EBEN — The Rapid River boys couldn’t seem to miss in the second half Thursday night as they romped past the Mid Peninsula Wolverines 81-34 in a Division 4 district semifinal.

Second-ranked Munising then posted a 61-38 triumph over Superior Central.

Rapid River (8-8) returns to Superior Central to face Munising (15-1) in Saturday’s championship game at 7 p.m. Mid Pen finished 2-13.

The Rockets, who hit 35-of-73 field goals, raced to a 14-0 lead over Mid Pen following a putback by senior center Griffin Flath.

An eight-foot running jump shot by sophomore guard Michael Englund got the Wolverines on the board with three minutes, 56 seconds left in the first quarter.

Englund, playing for the first time since breaking a bone in his left forearm six weeks ago, then sank a pair of free throws to trim Mid Pen’s deficit to 14-4.

Rapid River, however, extended its lead to 20-6 after the opening frame.

“The guys looked good tonight,” said Rockets’ coach Richard Poma. “I like the energy. We got started on the right foot, and the guys fed off each other. Mark (coach Branstrom) always prepares his guys well. They always play hard.”

Mid Pen trailed 32-18 early in the third when Englund drained a 17-foot jumper.

Rapid River answered with a 7-0 run, gaining a 39-18 cushion on a layup by senior Chris Platt.

The Rockets increased their lead to 53-23 on a layup by senior guard Max Lenaker late in the third and continued their hot shooting in the fourth.

Senior Mason Kudlick led the Rockets with 16 points. Matt Snay added 11, and Matt Solka had nine.

Rapid River hit 11 shots from behind the arc and committed just four turnovers.

“This is the best we’ve handled the ball all year,” said Poma. “We’re starting to play basketball without thinking. The guys are seeing things develop before they happen. I thought Ben Lenaker did a nice job on Michael and the rest of the guys picked up where the starters left off. Our bench did a fantastic job, and I’m happy Griff did a great job on the boards and defense. I’m very pleased with how unselfish the guys are.”

Englund scored 19 points for the Wolverines, who sank six trifectas and finished 11-of-39 from the floor. They had 14 miscues.

“They have a lot of talented kids,” said Branstrom. “They’ve been up and down all year, but that was the true Rapid River team tonight. I thought Mike played well for his first game back. Most of our 3s were made out of desperation except maybe for Mike’s. Although, Nick (Temple) hit a couple nice shots. We don’t have the luxury of having a lot of kids, but that’s what we’re dealing with right now.”

Rapid River 20 12 21 28 — 81

Mid Peninsula 6 10 7 11 — 34

Rapid River — Kudlick 16, Dawley 3, B. Lenaker 6, Snay 11, McCarty 2, Lancour 2, Platt 6, Salka 9, M. Lenaker 8, Flath 4, Dausey 8, Lundquist 6. FT: None; F: 10; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Kudlick 4, Salka 3, Snay 3, Dawley.

Mid Peninsula — Englund 19, Temple 2, Constantino 6, McNally 7. FT: 6-8; F: 4; 3-point field goals: Englund 3, Temple 2, McNally.

In Thursday’s nightcap, Munising drained 3-point shots on five straight possessions early in the fourth quarter for an insurmountable 54-25 advantage.

Sophomore Simon Brown hit four in a row, including three from the right wing, and senior Sam Brown added one from top of the key midway through the fourth.

“Both Browns are good shooters,” said Munising coach Terry Kienitz. “They’ve been known to knock down 4-5 in a row. We didn’t shoot well early. We had to find a new starting five, and it took our guys a while to figure things out.”

The Mustangs played without junior Jesse Duran, who’s under quarantine.

Superior Central was within 39-25 after a 15-foot jumper by freshman Logan Frusti.

“Our goal was to get to the end with a chance to win, but we didn’t quite get there,” said Cougars’ coach Adam Ely. “Five 3-pointers can break a game open in a hurry. We have nowhere near the high-powered offense they have, and they’re missing a 20-point scorer. We knew that was coming at some point. They score a lot of points. We had to try to keep the score low and close. We were trying to keep close four minutes at a time.”

A layup by senior Kyle Frusti gave the Cougars a 12-7 lead early in the second quarter.

The Mustangs responded with an 11-1 run for an 18-13 lead on a 20-foot jumper 20-foot jumper by Sam Brown midway through the second.

A triple by Frusti brought the Cougars within 18-16.

Munising, however, answered with a 13-2 run for a 31-18 cushion on a layup by senior Ethan Lakosky 40 seconds before halftime.

The Mustangs led 39-23 following a layup by junior Alex VanZandt late in the third.

Simon Brown scored 21 points, and sophomore Kane Nebel added 10 for the Mustangs, who hit 10 triples and 9-of-11 free throws and committed just two of their seven turnovers after the first quarter.

Kyle Frusti hit 15 points for the Cougars (4-14), who had 16 miscues.

“Kyle has been scoring 16 on average,” said Ely. “We can pretty much pencil him in for that every night. All of our seniors will be missed. The other guys will have to pick up where they left off.”

Munising 7 24 8 22 — 61

S. Central 10 8 5 15 — 38

Munising — Sam Brown 8, Morrison 2, Simon Brown 21, Nebel 10, Kienitz 8, VanZandt 2, Rockhill 3, Lakosky 5, Murk 2. FT: 9-11; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Simon Brown 5, Sam Brown 2, Nebel 2, Rockhill.

Superior Central — Maki 3, McLaury 5, K. Frusti 15, Z. Frusti 8, L. Frusti 7. FT: 6-17; F: 9; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Z. Frusti 2, Maki, L. Frusti.