North Central Jets Cruise To District Championship

FELCH---Not this time.

There would be no Coke bottles on the floor. No long dry spells without scoring a basket. No miracle three-pointers by the opposing team.

The Nordics can't get the inbound pass against the defense of Trevor Ekberg (40).

Nope, this was the North Central Jets' night to shine, and the demons from last year were thoroughly sent away as the Red and Black won a Class D district championship in Felch.

The Jets beat the North Dickinson Nordics, 54-40, in the district final...two days after also knocking off their nemesis, the Carney-Nadeau Wolves.

And so the Jets boys join the NCA girls as district champions this spring, one of the most successful in school history.

"It's really nice to see these young kids stepping up at the right times," NCA Coach Adam Mercier said of his team, which has no seniors. "We're making our shots, we're rebounding the basketball. And our defense is really good right now."

The Jets had lost to both North Dickinson and Carney-Nadeau earlier in the season, but turned the tables here in the districts. What caused the turnaround?

NCA's Rob Granquist goes coast-to-coast.

"I think it was our defense," Jets junior Trevor Ekberg said. "All season, we've been relying on it, but, now that it comes to crunch time, it's been very tough."

"I think the difference was our team defense," Jets junior Tyler Polfus agreed. "The last two games, if we haven't been shooting good, our defense has been sticking it to them. That's what you've got to do to win. You've got to play defense."

NCA's Tyler Polfus is "nothing but net" on this three-pointer against the Nordics.

The Jets continued their late-season roll by taking a lead early and then maintaining it throughout the game.

North Central broke a 6-6 tie by going on a 14-2 run that had the Jets in a 20-8 lead. It was 26-15 at halftime, and then the Jets put the game away in the third quarter, building leads as big as 21 points along the way.

"This is a great win for us tonight," Mercier said. "It's great for the community. We had great support up here. A lot of fan base. Hopefully that continues on Monday."

Travis Vincent scored 14 points to lead the Jets, who improved to 20-3 on the season.

Tyler Polfus and Josh Granquist both scored ten points, and Rob Granquist added eight.

Ekberg had six points, but two of them were on a dunk that electrified the Jets crowd in the fourth quarter. It was his second dunk against the Nordics this month.

ND's Matt Schultz scores in the paint.

"When you get it, and see nothing but open court, it's just second nature to go for it," Ekberg grinned. "I mean, being 6-5, it's not very hard!"

North Dickinson was led by Matt Schultz's 19 points.

The Granquist boys were all smiles Friday.

And so now the Jets head to the regionals, where they will face Superior Central at 5:00 CT Monday night at the Lakeview Gym in Negaunee.

"That's going to be a great matchup again," Mercier said. "We played them early in the season, and I think that both teams have improved so much since then. They're a big, athletic team, but size-wise, we match up with them. It should be a great game."

"They're really tough," Ekberg said. "They beat Munising, and we lost to Munising. So you never know what might happen."

There will NOT be any advanced ticket sales for Monday night's regional game at the North Central school. You will have to buy your ticket at the Negaunee gym Monday night. The cost, set by the MHSAA, is $5. Season passes are NOT accepted.

The second semifinal Monday night features Forest Park and Chassell.

Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see photos and videos from the game, and to listen to post-game interviews.

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)