Esky moves on with late burst
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MANISTIQUE -- Scoring was at a premium as defense was the name of the game Monday night as the Escanaba Eskymos defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils 41-29 in Manistique to advance to the MHSAA Regional 9 Championship game.
After a battle in the opening three quarters, the Eskymos shut out Sault Ste. Marie 13-0 in the final quarter to take the win and advance.
"The thing tonight is just our defense traveled with us," said Escanaba coach Tracy Hudson. "If our defense doesn't travel with us, we're probably a casualty of March madness. We held them to zero points in the fourth quarter -- and nine in the second half -- but we were in foul trouble, and we were 1-11, at halftime, from three and 5-10 (from two).
"It was just a grinder to get to the regional final. It was just one of those that we hung together enough, we brought our defense, we brought our discipline and we were very determined in the fourth like, 'Hey, let's get to the sweet sixteen,' and we're there. It's not the prettiest game to get there, but we're there."
Through the first three quarters, it was a close battle between the Eskymos and Blue Devils with the Sault boys leading 10-7 after a three from Dominic Haller followed by a pair of free throws from Joe Gravelle, the game being tied at 20 at the half and the Blue Devils one heading into the final quarter 29-28.
A pair of doubles from Callen Campbell and Gravelle had put the Blue Devils up by three, but Escanaba's Colin Hudson shrank the margin to one with two shots from the line.
Colin Hudson totaled seven points in the fourth and played a vital role in several other scoring plays, the most exciting being one -- which coach Hudson called "a great hustle play" -- where he dove on top of a loose ball and popped it up to an open Trevor Brown to score two.
Hudson -- who led the team in scoring with 15 points -- commented on the gamer and how lit feels to move on to another regional title game.
"It feels good," said Colin Hudson. "We made that last push in the fourth quarter. We kept our heads in it in the fourth, and we came out on top.
"It feels great (to advance). We're all excited, and we're ready to go."
Along with his Escanaba teammates, Colin Hudson displayed a willingness to leave it all on the court knowing that any game, at this point of the season, could be their last.
"We always have to give it our all and leave everything on the court," he said.
Connor Smale (9) Trevor Brown (8), Casey Bray (7) and Jared Hanson (2) were the other Eskymos to net points in the victory.
For the Blue Devils, the plan was to take away clean looks from Jared Hanson -- who had seven triples against them last time they played -- and limit Colin Hudson as best they could.
"We came out and really came out and tried to execute our gameplan," said Blue Devils coach Mike Fitzner. "We tried to take Hanson's clean looks away the best we can, and we tried to turn Hudson into a jump shooter. We really competed for the whole game. I loved our effort. I loved the way we got after it. They ran us out of the gym in their place, so it was, obviously, a much different game.
"I'm proud of the guys and proud of the toughness we showed. We just couldn't score the basketball down the stretch and they were able to pull away. Credit to Tracy and that team. That a heck of a team over there."
Looking back on the year, and last week's district title win over Boyne City, Fitzner take a lot of pride in his team.
"I've never been more proud of a team ever," he said. "We finished 8-12, and we took some bad losses during the year and were definitely up and down, and we stuck with it. I preached to them that it's really trying to stay together, stay connected, play for the guy on right and your left and believe in what we're doing, and they did. They showed up every day with a good attitude. We kept improving and kept getting better."
Fitzer also noted how much the team's five seniors -- Jakob Davie, Reilly Cox, Jonah DeNuccio-McShane, Emmett Fazzari and Ryan Laplaunt -- have meant to the team in their time at Sault high.
While the Blue Devils close their season as district champions, the Eskymos have a chance to earn back-to-back regional titles tonight in Petoskey as they play Cadillac.
"We'll take the momentum into Wednesday," said coach Hudson. "We didn't look past Sault, but you don't have time to prepare, so you have to prepare before (the tournament), and we're somewhat prepared for the teams we will face.
"We're excited to get back to the regional final. It's not easy. There's 20 or 25 teams, and we're in the final two. When you take into consideration the kids we lost last year, I think these guys took the torch."
Game time tonight in Petoskey is set for 6:00.
Sault Ste. Marie 10 10 9 0 -- 29
Escanaba 7 13 8 13 -- 41
Sault Ste. Marie -- Campbell 6, Haller 6, DeNuccio-McShane 5, Gravelle 4, Olsheski 3, Kepp 3, Scott 2; FT: 2-2; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Haller 2, Olsheski, Kepp, DeNuccio-McShane.
Escanaba -- Hudson 15, Smale 9, Brown 8, Bray 7, Hanson 2; FT: 13-17; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Hudson.