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Escanaba overwhelms Houghton 69-39

Escanaba Daily Press/Dennis Grall Christopher Filpus of Houghton is double teamed by Escanaba defenders Tyler Willette, left, and Gavin Peacock in the second quarter Friday in Escanaba.

ESCANABA — You can give Escanaba’s offense a lot of credit Friday night, but make sure you also give a lot of credit to the defense.

Those aspects worked hand-in-hand as the Eskymos took down Houghton 69-39 in a nonconference boys basketball game, with a substantial part of Escanaba’s offense getting started on the defensive end.

The Eskymos mixed up their defensive pressure and collected 15 steals, enabling them to run the floor with abandon and get into a transition game that made it difficult for the Gremlins to get much out of their normally solid 2-3 zone defense.

“The big difference was their buzz defense,” said Houghton coach Jared Lawson. “They play the passing lanes so well. We knew it was coming. We thought we had prepared for it. But you can’t replicate their length in practice.”

Ryan Robinette, a lanky 6-foot-2 junior guard whose brother Brandon plays at Finlandia University (on injured list all season), was the table-setter for the Eskymos. He had a game-high 21 points to go with eight assists, six steals and three deflections, a real sound all-around performance that was highlighted by several slick passes.

Lawson said Robinette “creates havoc with his length on defense. He does a great job against the ball-handler in the lane.”

Robinette had two triples and teammate C.J. Barron hit a triple just ahead of the halftime buzzer as the Eskymos closed out the second quarter with a 16-2 flurry to take a 38-15 lead.

Tyler Willette, relentless all over the floor, added 18 points and had eight rebounds and three steals. Gavin Peacock had seven caroms in relief as Esky held a 42-25 margin on the glass.

Escanaba coach Tracy Hudson said a key to his club’s offense was doing “a good job going inside-out. Ryan and C.J. were very patient against their zone. We used our base offense and some sets, too.

“Ryan really saw the basket well tonight. He was making people better around him. A big part of his game is racking up assists and making his teammates better.”

Barron added 12 points for the Eskymos, who hit 7-of-22 shots beyond the arc. They were 17-of-39 inside the arc. “We shared the ball really well,” Hudson said, pointing to 18 assists on the stat sheet.

Lawson said it was difficult for the Gremlins, who beat Kingsford Thursday night, to handle Escanaba’s tenacious style.

“Their pressure creates a different game for us,” he said, noting Escanaba’s steady pressure on both sides of the floor can result in a quick 10-15 point difference in short order.

“My guys continued to fight hard and they continued to battle,” he said. “Our style is more ball control and try to find good shots. They get us sped up and that makes us take quick shots and then we get out of rhythm.”

Lawson said the Gremlins had to play zone because “in our man we can’t match up with their length and their height. That is something we don’t have.”

Hudson was impressed with the Gremlins, who started a freshman and sophomore. Hudson said freshman Bradley Sirard has shown good progress this season.

“Houghton has made a lot of progress. They have been playing well,” he said.

The Gremlins hit 18-of-66 shots and had 23 turnovers. Houghton (4-11) visits Lake Linden-Hubbell Tuesday.

Esky (10-7) visits Manistique Monday. Esky won the jayvee game 81-37.

Houghton 9 6 16 8 — 39

Escanaba 16 22 16 15 — 69

Houghton — Bennett 2, Butvilas 10, Strong 3, Sirard 9, Wilson 5, Filpus 9. FT: 6-8; F: 14; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals – Butvilas 3, Sirard 3, Strong 1.

Escanaba — Robinette 21, Barron 12, Deneau 2, Willette 18, Peacock 3, Butryn 1, Popelka 2, Nash 7, Grassell 3. FT: 14-22; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals – Robinette 3, Barron 3, Grassel 1.

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