JOHANNESBURG — The St. Mary boys’ basketball team appears to be getting back in the groove after a streak of cancellations and key players being out of the lineup.

The Snowbirds traveled east to take on Johannesburg-Lewiston Wednesday and finished off the season sweep of the Cardinals with a 47-29 victory. “This was an important game for us,” said St. Mary coach Ken Blust. “It gives us more confidence as we get closer to the District tournament.”

With the Ski Valley Conference season on its downward swing toward the madness of March tournaments, St. Mary is keeper of its own destiny. The Snowbirds improved to a 4-3 SVC record and reached the .500 mark overall with a 5-5 record. A string of game-day school cancellations meant the team had played one contest in the past 20 days, and that game against Central Lake was played without three key players, seniors Luke Wisniewski, Gabe Nowicki and Mike Stutesman, who were serving on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic.

St. Mary now finds itself in the middle of the Ski Valley pack but still has time to climb as high as third behind conference powers Bellaire, ranked No. 2 in Class D, and Pellston, ranked No. 8 in Class D. On the other side of the court, the view is not quite as rosy, but coach Charlie Lovelace was not in the mood to dwell on negatives after Wednesday’s game.

“We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole, but I’m really pleased with the effort we gave tonight,” Lovelace said. “I saw some good things out there, and if we continue to play hard the victories will happen.” The game Wednesday began as a defensive battle, with both teams shooting below their season averages. At the end of the first quarter the Snowbirds led 14-4.

More of the same followed in the second quarter, with the teams trading six points throughout the stanza. St. Mary took the lead into the locker room at halftime, 20-10, but J-L stole back a little momentum with a jump shot from junior Jake Newell. Although he would not add to his first half total of eight, Newell was the leading scorer for J-L.

The Cardinals (3-7, 2-6 SVC) could not sustain the momentum through to the second half and came out unable to answer the Snowbirds’ pressure. St. Mary built a 32-15 lead after the third quarter.

“Our guards frustrated J-L and forced some turnovers,” Blust said. “Offensively in the second half, we had more open looks.” Blust praised the aggressive play of junior point guard Matt Spyhalski, who was the game’s high scorer with 16 points. Wisniewski was next in line with 12 points, five rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Charles Strehl led the Snowbirds with nine rebounds.

Coach Lovelace agreed with Blust’s assessment. “In the third, we just turned the ball over way too much,” Lovelace said. “We can’t get away with playing like that.” Lovelace complimented the play of senior Seth Koronka, saying, “Seth didn’t play a whole lot of minutes, but the way he was playing he gave us a lot of energy.” J-L leading scorer Gunnar Owens heated up late, scoring all seven of his points in the fourth quarter.

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GAYLORD — The St. Mary basketball team returned from a long winter break expected to play a little rusty. But the Snowbirds proved as sharp and polished as ever, and executed a 58-44 victory over Johannesburg-Lewiston.

“It was a typical St. Mary-Joburg rivalry game,” said St. Mary coach Ken Blust. “We did well holding our own against a big team like that. We put a lot of pressure on the ball, and did a nice job handling theirs.” With the win, the Snowbirds (4-2 overall) remain unbeaten in the Ski Valley Conference, at 3-0. They’ll be tested Thursday at undefeated league favorite Pellston.

Senior Luke Wisniewski led the way for St. Mary with 15 points while senior Patrick Switalski added 14 points and junior Matt Spyhalski had 10 points. Wisniewski showed great leadership and smart play while Switalski played his strongest game of the season. “He did a real nice job attacking the hoops tonight and played very strong in the center,” Blust said. Spyhalski manned the point well and did a nice job helping to withstand a fourth-quarter push by the Cardinals (2-3, 1-2 Ski Valley).

Though the Snowbirds proved to be a polished and strong team at the end, it wasn’t smooth sailing throughout. J-L opened up the scoring and maintained its lead until two minutes remaining in the first quarter. A bucket by Spyhalski allowed the Snowbirds to collect a 12-10 lead, one which they would not relinquish.

An impressive offensive attack increased the deficit in the second quarter. Senior Gabe Nowicki, Switalski and Wisniewski all sank several baskets, while the Snowbirds held the Cards to only six more points. When they went into the locker room, St. Mary was ahead 24-16.

The third quarter followed in a similar fashion, with strong offense coming from Spyhalski and sophomore Charles Strehl. St. Mary continued to outscore their rivals, boosting their score 37-24.

The final eight minutes saw a picked up tempo from both teams. The Cardinals found a second wind and, with renewed vigor, put on 20 more points. St. Mary kept pace with level-headed playing form Spyhalski and Wisniewski to keep the game out of reach.

“This was a good win for us,” Blust said. “With Pellston and Bellaire ahead, it’ll be a rough road. We’ll be an easy team to be overlooked, but after tonight’s win, I know we can sneak up from behind and pull through in the conference.”

Senior Gunnar Owens led J-L with 11 points while junior Wyatt Pelton had eight points and sophomore Brad Kussrow had seven points.

JOHANNESBURG — It is rare when a 16-point basketball game occurs and both coaches, honestly and with good reason, are pleased with the performances of their teams.

This is what happened Wednesday after the Johannesburg-Lewiston boys’ downed the visiting Wolverine Wildcats, 73-57.

“I’m so proud of the way our kids played tonight,” said first-year Wolverine coach Doug Shann. “We came in wanting to hold their big scorers in check. We did a good job with that. Take away the free throws at the end away and this is a single-digit game.”

Cardinals’ coach Charlie Lovelace also was pleased with his team’s effort. “We are coming along as a team,” Lovelace said. “We put 73 points on the board tonight. That is something we probably wouldn’t have done last season.”

The first quarter looked like the game was headed towards a rout with J-L (2-2, 1-1 Ski Valley) heating its shooters up with a fast eight points spurred by an opening possession three from junior Cole Nagy. Senior Wildcat Seth Purgiel answered immediately with two baskets from beyond the 3-point line within 15 seconds of each other. The Wildcats (2-2, 2-0 Northern Lakes) followed up with two inside baskets from Kyle Frost and to the delight of the fans traveling from Cheboygan County, the visitors cautiously held a two-point lead, 10-8.

Although this would be the only lead that Wolverine enjoyed all evening, they kept the score close throughout the first and into the second quarter. With just under five minutes to go in the half, J-L was clinging to a 27-25 lead.

According to Lovelace, the game was close for a couple of reasons.
“We got back to some silly turnovers in our own end,” he said. “They are also a good shooting team (Wolverine) over there and shot the three very well against us.”
Purgiel finished with a game-high 21 points, including four of Wolverine’s seven 3-point baskets.
The two-point deficit would be the closest that the Cardinals would allow for the rest of the game.

“I decided to take out my starters there in the second, and they jumped on us quick,” Shann said. “That was pretty much the difference in the game.” The Cardinals’ offense exploded on a 17-4 run that took up the last five minutes of the first half.

Nagy sank two more 3-pointers followed by three-point play from Justin Newell, who was fouled on a layup in the last minute of the half. The teams went into the halftime intermission with the Cardinals leading 44-30. Wolverine cut the lead to 11 by the end of the third, 56-45, but J-L had too much offense for the Wildcats.

Sean Aisthorpe squashed any hopes the visitors had of an upset by scoring seven of his team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter. Gunnar Owens added 10 points, Nagy nine, Newell eight and Brett Kortman seven for the Cardinals.

Mikie McNeal added nine points and Tylor McCauley eight points for Wolverine. Taylor Shann played a solid floor game in the defeat. Both teams enter the winter break with 2-2 records and both return to action Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Wolverine will face Alanson in Northern Lakes Conference action, while J-L will travel the short distance to battle Ski Valley Conference rivals St. Mary.

J-L opens Ski Valley slate 1-1

ONAWAY — The Johannesburg-Lewiston boys' basketball squad returned to winning ways Tuesday, notching a 62-39 win in Onaway.

“It was a good game for us, but we still have a lot to work on,” said coach Charlie Lovelace.
The senior leadership came out gunning with Gunnar Owens shooting his way to 14 points in the first quarter. “We played a good first, got up early on them 19-7,” Lovelace said.

Owens finished with a team-high 23 points and four rebounds.
Fellow co-captain Sean Aisthorpe scored 12 points and added six rebounds.

Game play evened out in the second, ending the half with a 27-15 J-L lead.
“The team had a big third quarter,” said Lovelace. “They (Onaway) sent us to the foul line, and we made free throws.”

J-L (1-2, 1-1 Ski Valley) then hosted Forest Area Thursday and lost 77-59.
A close game turned wide open in the Warriors’ favor in the third quarter when they increased their lead from 34-30 to 55-37. “Overall we are improving as a team,” Lovelace said. “We are going to be all right, but we just have to play a complete game.”

Jacob Newell led J-L with 13 points while Aisthorpe chipped in 10 points

JOHANNESBURG — Johannesburg-Lewiston boys’ basketball coach Charlie Lovelace is looking to turn last year’s rebuilding year into a rebuilt year this season as he has all but two players returning.

“I think we will be pretty good this year,” Lovelace said. “We are going to be competitive. Our goal this season is to hit .500 or above.” The Cardinals have plenty of leadership to step into the places of the two seniors lost to graduation. This year, Lovelace had the luxury of choosing his captains from a group of six veteran seniors. Those positions will be filled by third-year varsity players Gunnar Owens and Sean Aisthorpe. “They are both good leaders, both good kids, and they will be important components of the team,” Lovelace said.

At 6 feet 7, Aisthorpe’s size and experience will prove valuable assets at the boards. He returns as a Herald Times Second Team All-Area pick last season when he averaged nine points and eight rebounds. Owens was a Herald Times First Team All-Area pick, leading the team with 10 points and nine rebounds per game.

Brett Kortman returns as a senior, and Lovelace is confident Kortman will see his fair share of action.
“Brett will see a lot of playing time,” Lovelace indicated. “He is going to be an excellent shooter for us.” Seth Koronka, Brad Newell and Brian VanCoillie complete the senior class of returner's.

Juniors Jacob and Justin Newell, second-year players and brothers, make a total of eight with at least one season of varsity experience.

The seniors are not the only players on the team and for Lovelace, who is mixing youth with experience this season. Cole Nagy and Wyatt Pelton enter their first year on varsity as juniors.
According to Lovelace, Pelton provides an option to give Aisthorpe a breather when necessary. The lone sophomore on the team is Brad Kussrow. “Brad is a strong kid that will see some time this year,” Lovelace said. Junior Alec Shane, a Gaylord transfer student, will join the team in January.
“Everyone should contribute during games for us,” said Lovelace. “Having a deep bench and not a big drop-off gives us the ability to pick up the pressure on teams.”