SURVIVE AND ADVANCE: Eskymos Grind To Win

MANISTIQUE---The Escanaba High School boys basketball team shook off a poor shooting night and slipped past the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils, 41-29, in the MHSAA Division Two Regional Semifinal Monday night in Manistique.

The Eskymos trailed, 29-26, with 1:35 left in the third quarter but clamped down on defense and did not allow a point the rest of the game, outscoring the Blue Devils, 15-0.

"It was frustrating because nobody's shots were going down," Eskymo senior Connor Smale said. "I think we started going outside a lot in the beginning, and once we started going inside-out, that was a lot better."

"We just had to grind it out. It's one of those playoff basketball games where things were just going different. We just had to grind it out, battle, stay focused. I'm happy. We've just got to keep it going."

Sault Ste. Marie finished just 8-12 in the regular season, but this is March, and the Blue Devils stunned Boyne City in the district championship game on Friday. And they darn near did it again to the defending regional champion Eskymos before a defensive switch changed things.

Escanaba Coach Tracy Hudson is well-known for his 1-3-1 zone defense. But on Monday, he switched to a man-to-man defense and put his son, 6-foot-8 Colin Hudson, up high. It worked as the Eskymos stifled the Blue Devils and they could not make a jump shot.

Escanaba struggled with its offense all night, unable to make three-point baskets (only two all night long) and they had trouble at the free throw line. But the Eskymos started to look inside more down the stretch, with Colin Hudson scoring half of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Sault Ste. Marie has a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard, Joe Gravelle, and he made his presence felt by blocking Hudson twice and Conner Smale once. On one of his blocks, Gravelle also scored a triple at the other end to give his team a 29-26 lead. They never scored again.

"We had to man up, really dig into them, and get turnovers that led to points," Eskymo senior Colin Hudson said. "We were kind of our of rythym in the beginning where we weren't hitting our shots. But we just kind of had to go downhill (offensively) and we got baskets. It is hot in here, and we really had to dig in on defense in the fourth quarter."

Hudson led the Eskymos with 15 points, Smale had nine, and Casey Bray had seven. The Blue Devils did not have a player score in double figures.

Escanaba (18-4) will face Cadillac (18-5) in the regional champiopnship game Wednesday night in Petoskey. The Vikings pulled a mild upset over Standish-Sterling, which had entered the game with a 21-1 record, 62-48. Wednesday's game starts at 6:00 p.m.