• HS Baseball 5/8: Marquette 3, Escanaba 0
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  • HS Softball 5/8: Escanaba 13, Kingsford 0, Game 1
  • HS Softball 5/8: Escanaba 15, Kingsford 0, Game 2
  • HS Softball 5/8: Gladstone 9, Marquette 6, Game 1
  • HS Softball 5/8: Gladstone 8, Marquette 3, Game 2
  • HS Softball 5/8: Norway 5, Forest Park 0,Game 1
  • HS Softball 5/8: Norway 12, Forest Park 3, Game 2
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Thursday May 9, 2024
RIVALRY WINNER: Jets Fly Past Broncos, 64-47

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from NCA players Jake Poquette, Hunter Robinson, Lane Gorzinski, and Jake Gorzinski. Also hear from both team's head coaches.

HARRIS---The North Central High School boys basketball team had four players score in double figures Monday night, posting an easy 64-47 win over a young Bark River-Harris Broncos team. The Jets led nearly from start to finish, building a lead as big as 28 points in the third quarter before settling for the 17-point road win.

"I thought the guys executed really well," NCA Coach Tyler Mercier said. "They didn't let their shooters get hot. They beat their guys to their spots, and we were flying around, getting turnovers, and causing havoc."

The Jets got plenty of offensive production as well, as Lane Gorzinski scored 16 points, Jake Poquette 15 points, Jake Gorzinski 14 points, and Hunter Robinson 13 points. The Jets,who have played five of their first six games on the road, improved to 3-3 on the season.

Bark River-Harris (1-4) showed some spark after falling behind, 50-22, as Brayden Derouin knocked down a couple of triples on the way to a game-high 18 points. The Broncos cut that 28-point deficit in half to 14 at one point, before losung by 17.

"We're pretty young right now," BR-H Coach Nick Lippens said. "Getting down big in the middle of the game, and fighting back to make it at least a little bit of a game, it was a step in the right direction for a young team, showing resilence. There's a lot of things that I learned about my basketball team in the second half tonight. I think we found out what kind of basketball team we are, and what kind of things we have to do to be successful."

BR-H has one experienced senior, Ethan Ives, who was blanketed by the NCA defense all night long. Ives ended up with 13 points, but nothing came easy for him. Derouin, a sophomore, led the way with 18 points and Charlie Guenette, a senior who hasn't played basketball in three-plus years, contributed nine points for the Broncos.

The Jets were on cruise control all night long, sharing the ball well, and playing smart defense that forced the Broncos into hard-to-make shots from the floor.

"I thought we rebunded well at times, and I thought we trapped really well and played a good press," Poquette said. "Freshman year, I wasn't very good on defense, but I've evolved, and now, by my senior year, I'm pretty good."

"We came into it and we knew that Ives was going to be one of their best players, so we wanted to trap him," Lane Gorzinski said. "I think we did that well."

"You've got a second-team All-Conference player returning, so you know they're going to be focusing on him," Lippens said of the NCA defense on Ives. "If teams are able to take him away, and trap him effectvely, it's going to make things really, really hard for our offense as a whole. That's what happened tonight. I think Ethan played well and competed hard. We just need some other guys to step up right now."

North Central had plenty of guys "step up", with those four double-figures scorers, although one of them, the 6-foot-3 senior center Robinson, was not all that happy.

"I dod not do as well as I'd like to, obviously," Robinson said. "I struggled inside. I was getting double and triple teamed, as I knew was going to happen, getting pecked at. But it was fun."

"I agree," Mercier said. "He can always play better. We expect big things out of him, so we always expect more out of him. He's 6-foot-3, and other teams are going to key on him, and he's going to be doubled, so he's got to learn to play through those. He's going to be the dominant self that I know he can be."

That aside, Lane Gorzinski was pleased with how things went, across the board.

"You want to rebound, you want to work together as a team, and I think we did that great tonight," Gorzinski said. "Everyone got open looks, so I think we did that great, too. I thought we executed great. We did exactly what we needed to do. And I had 16 points! That's my career hihj! I don't think I ever had 16 points in a game before."

North Central will not play again until Dec. 29, when they travel to Negaunee to face Manton High School from Lower Michigan in a neutral site game. Then, they will be on the road for a showdown at Norway on Jan. 2. The Jets will FINALLY play their second home game of the season on Jan. 4 against the defending district champion Stephenson Eagles.

Bark River-Harris will make the short trip to Escanaba this Thursday night to face the Eskymos. The game will be broadcast live on FM-93.5, AM-600, and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.









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IN CONTROL: Eskymos Overwhelm Broncos 62-35
Wednesday January 10, 2024