Kegan Comps scored seven points and Max Klinger had five points for the Chiefs (3-4 overall, 2-1 SAC). Zavin Goodrich and Adam Danks added four points each. Josh Marino scored two and Sam Schneider tallied one.
SAULT STE. MARIE — Sault High made its case as the team to beat in the Straits Area Conference with a convincing 59-23 win over Cheboygan in boys basketball action Monday night.
Senior center Brandon Paul scored 19 points for the Blue Devils (3-3 overall, 2-0 SAC).
The Blue Devils took control early as the Chiefs struggled with their shooting. Sault High led 30-8 at halftime and subbed freely in the second half, playing everyone on the roster extended minutes.
“We wanted to focus on the defensive end and rebounding,” Sault High coach Mike Fitzner said. “That is what we’re going to hang our hat on most nights.
“We were focused on getting off to a good start, and the defense got us going,” Fitzner said. “We got out of the gates well, and I was pleased with an overall good top to bottom effort.”
While 6-foot-8 Paul did plenty of damage scoring inside, the Sault showed its depth, getting points from 11 different players. Matt Knowles and Michael Goldenbogen scored seven points each and Shane Thompson had six points for the Sault.
“We were able to play everybody tonight and it was good to see the hustle from the guys off the bench,” Fitzner said. “We expect all our guys to play hard. For players who come off the bench, that’s their audition to try to get more playing time.”
Kegan Comps scored seven points and Max Klinger had five points for the Chiefs (3-4 overall, 2-1 SAC). Zavin Goodrich and Adam Danks added four points each. Josh Marino scored two and Sam Schneider tallied one.
The Chiefs, who were coming off a double overtime win over Rudyard last week, struggled with their shooting from the opening tip to the final buzzer against the Blue Devils.
“We knew the Sault is the best team in our conference,” Cheboygan coach Rick Swiderek said. “They have Brandon Paul back, and he was the best player in the league last year. We don’t have an answer to stop him, so we knew coming in that this was going to be a tough matchup.
“I was disappointed that we couldn’t have at least gave them a better game,” Swiderek said. “We weren’t ready to play and we didn’t shoot well at all. Some of that was a credit to the Sault’s defense, but some of it was just our poor shooting. We’ve been playing better lately, but we didn’t show it tonight.”
Cheboygan won the junior varsity game 50-40.
David Millmine scored 17 points to lead Cheboygan, while Michael Gofourth had nine, Cody Jewell and Ryley Vancil each had six, Cody Borowicz had five, Robert Bruce had three, and Jacob Stempky and Mikie Swiderek each had two.
The Chiefs play host to Petoskey tonight, while Sault High visits Rudyard on Thursday.