The Cheboygan boys basketball team used an explosive second quarter and cruised to a home victory over Boyne City on Tuesday night.
CHEBOYGAN – Nearly 11 months ago, Cheboygan and Boyne City put on a show in what was an enthralling boys basketball district championship clash in Cheboygan.
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the two Northern Shores Conference rivals met in the same gym for the first time since that night when the Ramblers edged the Chiefs for the title.
On this night, though, Cheboygan was dominant.
Almost from start to finish, the Chiefs overpowered the Ramblers in a 69-48 victory.
Here’s some takeaways from the game.
Explosive second quarter
In a back and forth first quarter, the Chiefs (9-3, 5-2 NSC) opened the game on an 8-0 run, but the Ramblers countered with a 7-0 spurt to keep things tight. Cheboygan used another solid stretch of play to push its advantage back up to six by the end of one.
Then came the second-quarter explosion, perhaps Cheboygan’s best quarter of the season.
Fueled by senior twins Andrew Kiefer (18 points) and Carson Kiefer (17 points), the Chiefs blitzed the Ramblers (4-9, 3-5) with a 27-8 scoring advantage in the period and took a commanding 41-16 lead into the break. It wasn’t just the outstanding play of the Kiefers that was noticeable, but also the dominant inside presence of junior Nolan Schley (15 points), and the defensive tenacity of junior point guard Landon Gahn, who forced multiple turnovers that resulted in fast-break buckets for Cheboygan.
“Our defensive rotations were really, really good,” Cheboygan coach Jason Friday said. “Everybody boxed out. We knew there were going to have some size disadvantages for us in this game, and we didn’t allow very many second opportunities for Boyne City, and that allowed us to get out on the fast break.”
Ekdahl steps up and delivers
The Chiefs were without one star on Tuesday, as junior guard Gavin Smith didn’t play because of an ankle injury. While Smith’s absence was significant, that allowed someone else to step up and deliver.
That was senior Jack Ekdahl, who finished with 11 points, connecting on a trio of 3-pointers and getting other teammates involved with smooth passing in his first start this season.
“When Jack plays under control, he is a different ball player,” Friday said. “He does such a great job of when he jump stops and just slows down a little bit, and Jack loves to shoot the ball and knock down a few 3’s. What Jack also does that he doesn’t get enough credit for is that he’s a tremendous passer. We talked about how there were going to be certain people that got more minutes than normal and they’re going to have an opportunity to go out and do really positive things for this team, and Jack really stepped up.”
Gahn finished with six points for the Chiefs, who received two from Frank Leonard.
“We preach to share the ball, make the extra pass,” Friday said. “If you have a good shot and someone else has a great shot, make one more pass, and we did that. It was incredible to watch. When you make the extra pass, the shot is easier. Your shooting percentage is going to go up simply because your shot is easier. It was a wonderful bounce-back game from Pickford, and I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.”
Lukas VanZee’s 12 points paced Boyne City. Nathan Wells scored 10.
In the junior varsity game, Cheboygan suffered a 54-45 loss. Elliott Schryer had 15 points for the Chiefs, while Hayden Wheelock (12) and Devin Fuller (11) also hit double figures.
Cheboygan continues conference play when it hosts Kingsley on Thursday, Jan. 22.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan boys basketball coasts to home victory over Boyne City
Category: General Sports
