MSU-Bound! Jets, Miners Advance To State Semis

MARQUETTE---From the very first second of Tuesday night's Class D state quarterfinal between the North Central Jets and the Cedarville Trojans, you could tell that the boys from Powers, Spalding, and Hermansville were ready to play some ball.

Junior guard Tyler Polfus took his team's first shot, a nothing-but-net three-pointer, and North Central had a 3-0 lead just a few seconds into the game.

Who knew that the Trojans would never enjoy the lead? NCA's magical post-season run continued with an improbable 71-57 victory over Michigan's second-ranked Class D team. The Jets rolled to their first state semifinal berth in 28 years.

NCA's Tyler Polfus throws up a three during Tuesday's game. Photo courtesy of Paul Gerard, www.grandpacamo.com.

North Central led, 16-11, after the first quarter. The Trojans got a lay-up from Keith Bouschor to close to within 16-13.

And then, the unthinkable happened.

Much was said about how good the Cedarville defense was, and how the Trojan press was so tough for opponents to deal with.

Well, the Jets play some pretty good defense, too. Over the first seven minutes of the second quarter, Cedarville did not score a point. And during that time, the Jets scored 16 points.

Polfus had a driving lay-up and a three-pointer on consecutive plays. Rob Granquist scored a three-pointer, and then a two. All of sudden, just before halftime, the North Central Jets had the Cedarville Trojans in a 32-13 hole.

The Trojans did score six straight points to close to within 32-19 at halftime, but the Jets came out strong in the second half as well.

The Jets rebuilt their 19-point lead at 45-26.

Junior forward Travis Vincent got his fourth foul late in the third quarter, but the Trojans could not take advantage because of the strong defense of freshman Caleb Martin. And Cedarville's top player, Josh Hester, was hounded all night long by the defense of Josh Granquist. Hester did not score a point in the first half.

NCA's Trevor Ekberg clears the board Tuesday night. Paul Gerard's photos are at www.grandpacamo.com

Every time the Trojans tried to get back into the game, somebody would make a big play, either on defense, or at the free throw line. Cedarville never got closer than ten points, and that was in the closing minute of the game.

One reason the Jets won was free throws: NCA made 20 out of 23 at the line, while the Trojans converted just seven out of 13 free shots.

North Central was led in scoring by Rob Granquist. The sophomore made 20 points in the game.

Polfus, Vincent, and Trevor Ekberg all scored 14 points, and Josh Granquist chipped in nine points to go along with that strong defense on Hester.

Hester, the Eastern U.P. conference Player of the Year, ended up with ten points. Joey Duncan had 15 points and Bouschor added 14 for the Trojans (23-2).

North Central (23-3) will travel to Michigan State University's Breslin Center for the Class D state semifinals. The Jets will play Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian (24-2), which defeated Frankfort, 57-33, in Tuesday's other quarterfinal.

The Defenders were ranked #1 in the state in the final Associated Press poll, just a few points ahead of Cedarville. The Jets were ranked #10 in the final AP poll.

The North Central vs Tri-Unity Christian game will start Thursday afternoon at 5:00 CT, 6:00 ET. You can hear all of the action live on WCHT-AM (600), and it will be streamed live over the Internet at www.rrnsports.com.

NEGAUNEE MINERS SURVIVE IN CLASS C QUARTERFINAL

GAYLORD---The Negaunee High School basketball team pulled out a tight one Tuesday night, and the Miners are on their way to the Breslin Center.

The Miners outlasted Maple City Glen Lake, 56-55, in a Class C state quarterfinal game at Gaylord High School.

Early on, the Miners were in good shape, jumping out to a 13-6 lead. But Glen Lake went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, and it was back and forth all night long.

Negaunee Miners celebrate their regional title. Now, they head to MSU for Final Four.

Negaunee held a slim 28-26 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, the Miners got off to a good start, outscoring the Lakers 10-1 to begin the second half.

That had Negaunee in front, 38-27, but Glen Lake did not fold. The Lakers responded by going on a 12-2 run of its own, cutting Negaunee's lead to 40-39.

The big factor, obviously, was the play of Miners senior Tyler Jandron.

He scored 36 points, and he did it from both inside and out. Jandron's three-point basket with less than two minutes to play broke a 50-50 tie for the Miners.

Maple City Glen Lake ended its season with a 23-3 record, while the state's third-ranked Miners (24-1) head to MSU and the Final Four.

Negaunee will face the Laingsburg Wolfpack (23-2) in the Class C state semifinals on Thursday. Game time is 2:50 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and it will be streamed on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

12/3	8:00 PM	Stephenson Eagles	61 - 48 (W)	1-0

12/6	7:45 PM	at Rapid River Rockets	67 - 47 (W)	2-0

12/10	7:00 PM	at Republic-Michigamme Hawks	60 - 43 (W)	3-0

12/13	8:00 PM	at Carney-Nadeau Wolves	53 - 59 (L)	3-1

1/3	7:45 PM	at Rapid River Rockets	64 - 32 (W)	4-1

1/7	8:00 PM	North Dickinson Nordics	66 - 70 (L)	4-2

1/12	6:00 PM	Superior Central Cougars	65 - 60 (W)	5-2

1/17	7:30 PM	at Big Bay deNoc Black Bears	48 - 39 (W)	6-2

1/25	7:45 PM	Bark River-Harris Broncos	68 - 39 (W)	7-2

1/29	8:00 PM	Carney-Nadeau Wolves	52 - 49 (W)	8-2

2/1	8:00 PM	at Forest Park Trojans	67 - 56 (W)	9-2

2/5	8:00 PM	Republic-Michigamme Hawks	60 - 41 (W)	10-2

2/8	8:00 PM	Big Bay deNoc Black Bears	73 - 45 (W)	11-2

2/12	8:00 PM	at North Dickinson Nordics	53 - 49 (W)	12-2

2/15	8:00 PM	at Stephenson Eagles	57 - 44 (W)	13-2

2/18	7:30 PM	at Munising Mustangs	56 - 63 (L)	13-3

2/22	7:45 PM	at Bark River-Harris Broncos	59 - 47 (W)	14-3

2/23	7:00 PM	Mid Peninsula Wolverines	57 - 47 (W)	15-3

2/26	8:00 PM	Forest Park Trojans	61 - 41 (W)	16-3

2/28	7:30 PM	at Mid Peninsula Wolverines	54 - 41 (W)	17-3

3/4	7:00 PM	Mid Peninsula Wolverines	87 - 65 (W)	18-3

3/6	7:00 PM	Carney-Nadeau Wolves	65 - 54 (W)	19-3

3/8	7:00 PM	at North Dickinson Nordics	54 - 40 (W)	20-3

3/11	6:00 PM	Superior Central Cougars	64 - 61 (W)	21-3

3/13	7:00 PM	Forest Park Trojans	59 - 50 (W)	22-3

3/19	7:00 PM	at Cedarville Trojans	71 - 57 (W)	23-3

3/21	6:00 PM	at Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian Defenders	36 - 51 (L)