Todd Rose | Daily Press Escanaba’s Zach Morehouse (center) shoots from between Sault Ste. Marie defenders Denvy McCord (left), Joe Gravelle (22) and Ryan Laplaunt (right) Saturday in Escanaba.

ESCANABA — A ferocious 54-point first half from the Escanaba Eskymos boys basketball team (10-4) bolstered a 79-57 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils (7-9) Saturday afternoon.

The game doubled as Parents and Seniors Night for the team. In addition to the victory, the big lead allowed everyone on the Eskymos bench ample playing time.

“That was the best half we played all year,” said Escanaba coach Tracy Hudson of the first and second quarters. “We played great defense with Marquette, we played with toughness with Marquette, but we weren’t ourselves offensively.

“(Sault Ste. Marie) was going to run a 1-3-1. We were ready for it, and we prepared for it. I said we were going to have to shoot, we’re going to have to shoot well. We came out, and we had our shooting eye tonight.”

Hudson added the Eskymos also excelled at moving the ball around and carving up the zone.

Jared Hanson had an outstanding night from three-point range, going 7-11 on triples. He added a pair of free throws to lead Escanaba’s offense with 23 points, all of which came in the first half.

“Jared Hanson shot as well as we’ve had anybody shoot probably since his dad (Scott Hanson) was here,” coach Hudson commented.

Hanson was followed in scoring by Colin Hudson with 22.

Trevor Brown also hit double digits with 10 while Casey Bray (7), Adam Willette (6) Lucas Weaver (4), Nathan Howes (3), Connor Smale (2) and Zach Morehouse (2) all put shots in.

For coach Hudson, the opportunity to get everyone in, especially on Parents Night, was special.

“That was awesome,” he said. “We’ve been in so many crazy games. I haven’t been able to get everybody some playing time. I was able to play some of my guys with a couple of our anchors (Trevor Brown, Connor Smale, Colin Hudson and Jared Hanson) to give them a little confidence because they still had their top five guys out there.

“I thought it gave some of our guys a chance to play and show what they could do.”

For the Blue Devils, regardless of the final score, things improved in the second half as they scored 36 points compared to 23 in the first half.

Nathan Koepp led the team in scoring with 15 points, while Max Scott had 12. Other players to score included Callen Campbell with six and Carter Oshelski with five.

Blue Devils coach Mike Fitzner praised the Eskymos first-half performance, noting the difference in aggression and physicality they brought as a difference-maker in the game.

“They were unbelievable,” said Fitzner on the Eskymos opening half. “We didn’t put up a ton of resistance there, but they made plays and they were ready to go. … They shot the heck out of it, and all the credit goes to them. They were ready to play and stuck it to us. They were the more physical team, the more aggressive team. It is what it is. We kind of ran into a buzz saw tonight.”

Though he was not happy with the start of the game from his team — an issue he stated has been the team’s Achilles’ heel lately — the second half was a different story noted Fitzner.

“We wanted to come out, and kind of wanted to reset the score at halftime,” he said. “I think if you just look at the second half, I think we beat them in the second half. Granted, a lot of their starters were on the bench, but we played harder, and I was happy the way our guys continued to compete in the second half.”

The varsity game was the main event of a tripleheader between the Eskymos and Blue Devils. In the freshman contest, Escanaba won 58-32 while the Sault Ste. Marie JVs held on late to defeat Escanaba 70-64.

While the Blue Devils head to Cheboygan Friday, the Eskymos ready for a busy week against tough competition.

On Tuesday, they head to Menominee to face the Maroons for a third matchup between the two top-ranked teams in the U.P. before heading back to the Escanaba gym Wednesday to host Jeffers.

Sault Ste. Marie 8 15 18 16 — 57

Escanaba 29 25 15 10 — 79

Sault Ste. Marie — Koepp 15, Scott 12, Campell 6, Oshelski 5, Fazzarf 4, Laphunt 3, Haller 3, Cox 3, Davie 2, Gravelle 2; FT: 11-15; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Scott 3, Koepp 3, Oshelski, Cox, Haller.

Escanaba — Hanson 23, Hudson 22, Brown 10, Bray 7, Willette 6, Weaver 4, Howes 3, Smale 2, Morehouse 2; FT: 13-15; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Hanson 7, Hudson, Bray, Willette.