ST. IGNACE — The Escanaba boys basketball team finished its regular season with a 74-62 win over St. Ignace Tuesday in St. Ignace.

The Eskymos built up a sizable lead in the first half, 44-28, and rode the lead throughout the rest of the game.

“We got off to a good start,” Esky coach Tracy Hudson said. “We scored 22 and 22 (in the first two quarters). We were up 44-28 (at the half). They picked up a lot of full-court man and run and jump. They kind of hurt us in the second half. We had a good lead, but they cut it to eight or 10. I thought our kids did a good job.

“We basically attacked their man with our dribble drives and space. We were able to get it to Colin and Trevor down around the basket. I thought it was a great win for us. It’s one of the toughest games we’ve had.”

Colin Hudson led the Eskymos with 23, Casey Bray finished with 12 and Jared Hanson collected 12.

“I thought Casey Bray played a great game,” coach Hudson said. “He’s a point guard that knows to get other people going first. He had nine assists. I thought he was kind of our player of the game. I thought he did a good job on Johnny Ingles in the second half.

“Colin was solid. He had a few big dunks. He was steady throughout the game. Trevor Brown did a great job attacking the basket. He had a real solid game. He was 6-of-8. He did a really good job. Connor shot real well.”

St. Ignace was led by Johnny Ingalls with 24, Kevin Frazier collected 15 and Tyrel Matson finished with 10

The Eskymos face Negaunee for a district opener tonight in Escanaba at 6 p.m.

“We showed our offensive balance and went and beat a team that’s won nine straight,” coach Hudson said. “They’re the top seed in their district. I thought our kids played really well, and we’re trying to take some momentum into our districts.”

Escanaba 22 22 17 13 — 74

St. Ignace 17 11 20 14 — 62

Escanaba — Smale 9, Bray 12, Howes 3, Hudson 23, Hanson 12, Brown 15. FT: 11-14; F: 16; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Smale 1, Bray 1, Hudson 1, Hanson 4.

St. Ignace — Frazier 15, North 2, Ingalls 24, Italberg 2, Matson 10, McLean 9. FT: 7-15; F: 14; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Frazier 2, Ingalls 6, Matson 1, McLean 1.