FROM STAFF REPORTS
TRAVERSE CITY -- They tipped off the basketball season three months ago.
Now it's come full circle for St. Francis and Suttons Bay.
The two teams advanced to the Class C district championship game with wins Wednesday. Suttons Bay, which has won 20 in a row after losing to the Gladiators in the opener, defeated Elk Rapids 64-53. St. Francis upended Glen Lake 52-37.
Friday night's game at St. Francis starts at 7 p.m.
"They're a good team," Suttons Bay coach Todd Hursey said. "We're going to have to be at our best Friday night."
St. Francis coach Dave Ginsberg said his team will need to be sharp, too.
"That's a terrific team," he said of the Norsemen. "You don't win 20 in a row by accident."
St. Francis, now 18-4, trailed Glen Lake 14-8 after the first quarter. But the Gladiators outscored the Lakers 18-4 in the second stanza to take a 26-18 lead at the break. It was 39-29 after three quarters.
"Glen Lake played well," Ginsberg said. "That's a good team -- and it's a young team. I told my players before the game they don't beat themselves. You have to beat them."
Ian Sheldon came up big for the Gladiators, who played without Ben Schell (sick). Sheldon had 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. He also held Glen Lake's leading scorer Matt O'Brien to six points.
Luke Popp contributed 18 points -- he hit four 3-pointers -- and dished out six assists. Mark Kanitz had a team-high eight rebounds.
The Gladiators shot 52 percent from the field, compared to Glen Lake's 35 percent.
Michael O'Brien paced the 14-7 Lakers with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Suttons Bay led Elk Rapids by two after the first quarter, by four at half and by seven after three quarters.
Dwaun Anderson led Suttons Bay with 18 points. Noah Reyhl added 15.
Luke Morrison netted 14 points, Emilio Bocardo 13 and Broc Crandall 12 for Elk Rapids.
CLASS B
At Kingsley
Ludington 80
Kingsley 39
Kingsley's season ended at 3-19 with an 80-39 setback to Ludington in the district semifinals.
Billy Wismer had 13 points and seven rebounds and Jack Ocobock nine points and six rebounds for the Stags.
Benzie Central 68
Cadillac 60
Benzie Central, down 31-30 at half, came back to post a 68-60 district win over Cadillac.
Benzie will play Ludington in the finals.
Cadillac's John Simons had 23 points and eight rebounds. No other details were available.
At Grayling
Cheboygan 82
Grayling 60
Cheboygan exploded for 33 fourth-quarter points to pull away to an 82-60 district win over Grayling.
The Chiefs, 20-2, led 46-44 when Jordan Spohn hit a 3-pointer. That ignited Cheboygan, which will now play at Petoskey for the title on Friday. The Chiefs split a pair of games with the Northmen this season.
Spohn finished with 30 points and Nick Hancock 19 for Cheboygan. Steve Enos had 26 and Colin Hamlin and David Bergan 10 apiece for Grayling, which finished 14-7.
Petoskey beat Roscommon.
CLASS C
At East Jordan
Charlevoix 73
Harbor Springs 57
Dylan Putman and Boog Nitchman sparked a 28-8 third quarter run as Charlevoix defeated Harbor Springs 73-57 to advance to Friday's district championship game opposite Boyne City.
The Rayders, now 13-8, trailed 31-30 at half. But Putman scored 12 of his 19 points and Nitchman nine of his 16 in the third quarter to key the comeback.
Keegan LaBlance led the Rayders with 20 points and five assists. Putman, in addition to his 19 points, had eight rebounds and three steals. Ben Myers contributed seven assists.
Mike Vandermus topped Harbor Springs with 20 points. Roarke Sylvain added 10.
Boyne City 57
East Jordan 54
Boyne City led by 14 entering the fourth quarter and held on for a 57-54 win over district host East Jordan.
The Ramblers (3-18) received 19 points from Nick Young, 13 by Jay Redman and 10 from Evan Orban in the victory.
East Jordan -- which finishes the season 10-12 -- was led by Matt Werner's game-high 20 points and 11 each from Nico Cornstalk and Teddy Snowden.
Boyne knocked down seven 3-pointers in the first half and outscored the Red Devils by 12 at the free throw stripe.
At Manton
Mesick 44
McBain 41
Mesick held McBain to two fourth quarter points in stunning the Ramblers 44-41 in a district semifinal.
Mesick trailed 39-25 after three quarters.
Caleb Robinson paced the Bulldogs with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Cody Simerson added 10 points and five assists.
Mesick will play Mason County Central in the final Friday. Mason County Central defeated Lake City 65-49.
CLASS D
At Leland
Leland 69
LL St. Mary 64
Galen Whittaker and Nate Sneed went over the 1,000 career point mark in Leland's 69-64 district win over Lake Leelanau St. Mary.
Whittaker scored a game-high 24 points to push his career total to 1,015. Sneed netted 12. He now has 1,005 points.
Calvin Gibson and Sam Scott contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the 14-8 Comets, who had trouble shaking the Eagles.
Leland led 34-28 at half and 44-39 after three quarters. St. Mary's closed to within three in the fourth quarter.
Tyler Shaffran led the Eagles with 18 points. Bradford Schaub added 17 and Christian Krombeen 12.
Northport 43
GT Academy 20
Northport opened a 24-5 lead at half en route to beating Grand Traverse Academy 43-20 in a district semifinal.
Northport will play Leland for the title on Friday.
It will be an interesting match-up for the two coaches. Northport's Jeff Tropf coached Leland's Jon Kiessel as a freshman at Suttons Bay. Tropf was also one of Kiessel's teachers.
Alan Holt led the Wildcats on Wednesday with 17 points. Jason Tropf added 12.
At Ellsworth
Ellsworth 45
Bellaire 39
Jordan Muma buried a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in overtime to snap a tie as Ellsworth edged Bellaire 45-39 in a district semifinal.
Muma, who finished with 19 points and four steals, hit a free throw with under a second left in regulation to force overtime. His 3-pointer put the Lancers ahead 42-39.
Ellsworth, now 17-5, will play Central Lake for the title on Friday. Central Lake downed Alba.
The Lancers, meanwhile, have won 11 in a row. But Bellaire nearly put an end to that streak. The Eagles led 14-9 at half and 26-24 after three quarters.
"Both teams played tremendous defense," Ellsworth coach Tex Drenth said. "The intensity on that floor was just incredible. If you like defense, that was the game to watch."
Jared Danbert, held to one point in the first half, added 17 points and six rebounds for the Lancers. Nate Peterson had eight points and 11 rebounds and Rob Gruse five assists.
Dakotah Kintigh's 12 points paced Bellaire. Reece Koepke chipped in 11.
At Manistee CC
Manistee CC 69
Brethren 48
Freshman Zack Bialik scored 15 points to lead Manistee Catholic to a 69-48 district win over Brethren.
Center Vince Modjewski added 13 points and point guard Garrett Owens 12 for the Sabers, now 19-3. Nick Doyle pulled down seven rebounds.
Josh Sexton's 12 points led Brethren, which trailed 32-22 at half. Nick Witucki added 11 and Roddy MacNeil 10.
Brethren committed 26 turnovers, Catholic six.
The Sabers play Bear Lake for the title Friday.
At McBain NMC
Buckley 69
McBain NMC 67
Josh Ledford scored six of his game-high 32 points in overtime as Buckley survived with a 69-67 district win over McBain NMC.
Drew Corwin added 20 points and Jeff Dreves 11 for the Bears (14-7), who will play Marion for the district title. Corwin and Ledford each pulled down 10 rebounds.
Travis Kiser had 18 for NMC.
-- Compiled by Dennis Chase and James Cook
