Chiefs' rally falls short in home loss to Blue Devils

CHEBOYGAN — Jason Friday has done just about everything he possibly can to try to help correct his team's mistakes on the court.

While he's been pleased with the effort from his players, the Cheboygan varsity boys basketball coach has still seen the same errors that have hurt their chances of winning. 

The most recent evidence came on Monday for the Chiefs, who battled but ultimately fell short in a 47-41 loss to the Gaylord Blue Devils.

"The last two minutes of a game are always under a magnifying glass, but that careless turnover that takes place one minute into the game is just as important as the careless turnover late in the fourth," said Friday. "All of those things — that missed box out — those are just as important in the first quarter as in the fourth. Those things add up. We work on them every single day in practice, but it's just a head scratcher.

"We've tried all kinds of things to correct (those issues). We've done decision making drills in practice to try and get the kids to be able to make better decisions, and two-on-one's and three-on-two's, and we've done a lot of shooting pull-up jumpers instead of trying to dribble through three people.

"We still continue — in the game — to make those same mistakes, and it's very, very frustrating."

The Chiefs (2-6) saw themselves with a 5-0 lead late in the first quarter, but defensive breakdowns allowed the Blue Devils to knock down 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to take their first lead of the contest. A made jumper by Torio Lamerato capped an 11-0 spurt for the Blue Devils, who led 11-5 after one.

The Chiefs slightly chipped away at Gaylord's lead in the second quarter thanks to 10 first-half points from senior center David Heyer. However, they still found themselves down 19-14 at the break.

"It was a positive that we got the ball to David (Heyer) for inside touches, and that was one of our focuses coming is we have to get the ball inside and get some touches down there," Friday said. "David's best game by far."

The Chiefs had arguably their best stretch of play to start the third, retaking the lead with a 7-0 run that featured two baskets from Heyer and a made 3-pointer from senior forward Henry Stempky.

The Blue Devils didn't budge as they quickly got the lead back after a made three from Gavin Freeman. The Blue Devils later went on a 7-0 run of their own, but Stempky cut the Gaylord lead to five with a long-range 3-pointer right before the third quarter buzzer sounded.

Down 36-28, the Chiefs fought all the way back with a 9-1 run finished off by a Stempky three that tied the game at 37 with under four minutes left. 

However, the Blue Devils punched back once more when left-hander Luke Gelow scored five straight points, including a three, to put Gaylord back on top at 42-37. The Chiefs continued to fight, but the Blue Devils used strong free throw shooting to hold on for the win.

"(Closing out a game) is something I've emphasized with these kids, because in our last game we were up 12 to (Traverse City) Central in the third, and we ended up losing that game," said Gaylord coach Zach Napont. "That's something I've emphasized is, 'All right, we're in the same situation. Let's not make the same mistakes we made the last time,' and I was really happy because the kids took care of the ball, we made free throws down the stretch, and we didn't let a lot of the things that could've gotten to us get to us."

Heyer's 17 points led the Chiefs, while all 14 of Stempky's points came in the second half.

Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they saw no other player score more than four points.

"It's just unbelievably frustrating, but I will say this — our kids battled tonight," Friday said. "They battled and battled for the whole game, and we've taken key points off at times in various games, and the boys really battled throughout tonight, so I really liked seeing that.

"It was a game that I feel like we easily could've won."

Gaylord's two Lukes — Gelow and Enders — finished with 13 points apiece, while Freeman scored nine. Brady Pretzlaff also helped out in the win with six points. 

"Those guys, they've only got to play four games together because Enders was out to start the year, but they're really starting to click together and work off of each other, which is really nice to see," Napont said.

Dylan Balazovic and Connor Gibbons each scored four points for Cheboygan, which received two points from Kaleb Blaskowski.

Behind 13 points from Kaleb Goodrich and 11 from Caden Gardner, Cheboygan's JV boys held on for a 42-39 victory over Gaylord.

Brennen Thater scored eight points for the Chiefs, while Noah Buchanan had five, Luke Munger added three, and Robert Godfrey scored two.

Aidan Locker led Gaylord with 12 points. William Bethuy netted 10.

The Cheboygan JV boys suffered a 50-23 loss to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, Jan. 14.

Goodrich led the Chiefs with seven points, while Gardner, Patrick Watson and Buchanan each had seven. Daniel Hudson and Thater netted two points apiece.

Cheboygan hosts St. Ignace in a Straits Area Conference clash on Thursday.

Gaylord returns to Big North Conference play when it heads to Alpena on Friday.