By Ray Bennett
Saturday February 26, 2011
The Charlevoix Red Rayders needed a late push in the fourth quarter to win against the Grayling Vikings 50-43 on Friday. The victory and an Elk Rapids loss to Traverse City St. Francis helped the Red Rayders clinch their third Lake Michigan Conference title in five years. This is also Charlevoix's first conference title under first-year head coach Adam Wood.
The first half was mostly dominated by the Vikings from the start of the game to mid-way through the second quarter. Grayling had an 8-4 lead at the end of the first quarter, a quarter marred by Viking fouls and Rayder turnovers. The Vikings got off to a quick start in the second quarter thanks to two consecutive three-point field goals by junior forward Steven Enos. The Rayders then began to put points up on the board near the end of the half with baskets by senior forward Wyatt Drost and junior forward Andrew Potter. Charlevoix took their first lead of the game with 1:40 left in the first half and led at halftime 20-16. Eight different players scored for Charlevoix at the half with Drost leading the team in first half scoring with 4 points. Grayling only had four players on the score sheet with Enos leading with 8 points.
The Red Rayders came out to a sloppy start in the second half with two turnovers on their first two possessions. The third quarter was showcased by Viking junior guard Zane Tobin. Tobin, who was in early foul trouble and did not score in the first half, exploded for 11 third quarter points, including the tying and go-ahead baskets. Tobin's scoring helped Grayling outscore Charlevoix 18-7 to a 34-27 lead at the end of the quarter.
Grayling had full control of the game with four minutes to go after an Enos three-pointer made the score 41-34. However, with Grayling's recent history playing at Charlevoix, the Vikings saw their lead evaporate thanks to the shooting of Rayder guard Drost. Drost hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 41-41 with 2:55 remaining. Then, after a missed shot by Grayling, Drost shot what would be the go-ahead three-pointer for Charlevoix to take the lead 44-41, capping a 10-0 scoring run that started with 3:30 left in the game. A reach-in and technical foul by Enos with 38.6 remaining sealed the game for the Rayders. Drost led the Red Rayders with 11 points with all three of his made shots hit from beyond the three-point line. Enos and Tobin led the Vikings with 15 points each.
The Charlevoix win was their fifteenth win of the season and their conference leading twelfth. The win at the time clinched the Red Rayders at least a share of the Lake Michigan Conference Boy's Basketball title. Later in the evening, the Elk Rapids Elks lost againsts the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators 78-59. The Elk Rapids loss gives Charlevoix their third conference title in the past five years. This is head coach Adam Wood's first conference title after the departure of longtime coach Keith Haske to Traverse City St. Francis. The loss drops Grayling to 15-4 overall. Grayling finished in a tie for third in the conference with Elk Rapids, both at 10-4. If Grayling held the lead against Charleviox, the Vikings would have cliniched at least a share of the conference crown. The Vikings have not won at Charlevoix since the 2004-2005 season.
The Red Rayders finish the regular season with a non-conference game against Cheboygan on Tuesday March 1st while the Vikings travel to Houghton Lake on the same night. Both teams then have a week off to prepare for their district playoff games the following week, with Grayling hosting Cheboygan on Wedensday March 9th. The information for Charlevoix's district playoff game is not avalible at this time.
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