They've taken some blows over the years, but Friday night was finally Burt Lake NMCA's chance against a tough Harbor Light Christian squad.
HARBOR SPRINGS — Sometimes, you’ve got to take some hits before you learn how to deliver some.
Over the past couple decades, the Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy boys basketball team has certainly taken some blows.
You won’t find conference title seasons, district hardware at the end of any season and even many winning campaigns.
But, the Eagles were learning and waiting for their for their shot.
It finally came on Friday, Feb. 27 in the Harbor Light Christian gym and Division 4 district championship game, where NMCA delivered in the clutch behind a 61-55 victory over Harbor Light.
It’s a season that’s been years in the making for head coach Josh Ferraiuolo.
“We’ve had our teeth kicked in, took them all over the place to get our teeth kicked in,” Ferraiuolo said. “We had a pretty good year in the conference, took some faceplants, but we competed. I knew we had a shot and I just kept them believing. I told them this was the game and they battled. I’m so proud of the guys. They battled through it and it’s unbelievable.”
It’s the first boys basketball district title in program history for the Eagles, now 16-7 overall on the season.
It also came against a Harbor Light team they’ve battled with all season, winning a 75-72 overtime game earlier this season at home, before falling in a 63-60 NLC championship game against the Swordsmen.
For Ferraiuolo, getting that first win earlier in the year against a team like Harbor Light built what came Friday night.
“We kind of stole one in our gym and for us, it kind of showed us that we can compete,” Ferraiuolo said. “We’ve been building for a while. I have nothing but respect for them. We have a good relationship and are in the same league. Going into this year, we were on a collision course for everything. They knew it too.”
For Harbor Light coach Jason Roussin, the game lived up to the billing other matchups built, but the shots just didn’t fall for his team this time around.
“When shots don’t fall, it’s hard to win ball games when you’re playing good teams,” Roussin said. “We prepared all week knowing it was going to be a battle. Two teams that know each other well. Josh and I know each other very well.”
Despite having just taken a loss from Harbor Light less than a week ago, the Eagles showed no fear from the start, getting the crowd on its side early with a 15-6 advantage.
By the end of the first quarter, they controlled a 19-10 lead, which they extended out to as far as 11 in the first half. By Halftime, Harbor Light worked its way back in and trailed just 26-25.
Still, Ferraiuolo believed.
“I just told them to go out and win one quarter,” he said. “We’ve been behind Harbor Light in every game we’ve played. We were down 20, down eight. I figured if I could get the lead heading into halftime, we had a shot.”
Things stayed at a back and forth pace throughout the second half, though each time the Swordsmen climbed in, NMCA made a little run to keep things at arms length.
Fouls caught up to the Swordsmen in the fourth, with Daniel Dawley fouling out early in the final quarter.
“At the point when he fouled out, we were down and those were the cards we had to play at that point,” Roussin said. “Dawley fouling out is obviously going to hurt us. He’s been our second leading scorer all season.”
Despite the Swordsmen taking the lead back on a Will Paulus layup in a 52-51 game with two minutes left, the fouls again caught up to Harbor Light and NMCA senior Josh Ferraiuolo stepped up at the line, while finishing with a game-high 27 points.
“This is his third district and this is the first he went into actually having a shot,” Ferraiuolo, coach and Dad said on his son. “I’m very happy for him and very happy on a personal dad level.”
Trey Fosmore also added 14 points for NMCA, Landon Jakeway had 22 points, Paulus had 12 and Dawley scored 11.
NMCA now advances to a Division 4 regional semifinal at Hillman against a 21-2 Hillman squad on Tuesday, March 3. A win in that one would put them in a Cheboygan hosted regional final.
For Harbor Light, it closes a 19-5 season, with seniors Travis Rose, Ayden Burns and Paulus exiting the program.
“The boys had lofty goals, but unfortunately we fell short this year,” Roussin added. “Hopefully it fuels the underclassmen.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Burt Lake NMCA tops Harbor Light for first-ever district title
Category: General Sports
