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Shootout: Houghton outscores Hancock at home, 59-37

Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette Hancock’s Peyton Anderson (30) and Houghton’s Sam Keskimaki (24) both watch a ball go through the basket during a game Thursday at the Houghton Gym

HOUGHTON — There is nothing better than a crosstown rivalry in basketball on a chilly December night. With the pep band rocking and the cheerleaders for Houghton and Hancock leading the crowd, the stage was set for a good game Thursday night. As it turned out, the Gremlins were tough to match up with at home as they defeated the Bulldogs, 59-37.

“You can’t win a game if you don’t make your shots,” said Bulldogs coach Matt Strong.

From the start, the Bulldogs could not find the net. With less than four minutes to go in the first quarter, the Bulldogs had yet to put points on the board. Houghton led as much as 9-0. Carson Chynoweth put a rebound in and broke the seal, making it 9-2.

“We had a lot of good open shots,” said Strong. “They just weren’t falling and we had very little offensive rebounding. We would shoot a shot and we were done. We also had a tough time getting into the post.”

On the other side of the court, the Gremlins ran their slow, controlled offense despite a tighter defensive pressure than they were used to.

“We have to control the possession of the ball throughout the game just by the sheer makeup of our team,” said Houghton coach Jared Lawson. “Tonight, with that defensive pressure it took us longer to find our shots, but I think our guys did well.”

The Gremlins moved the ball around well in both the first and second quarters, taking a 26-15 lead into the half.

Once again Brad Sirard and George Butvilas led the offense for the Gremlins.

“The two play off each other really well,” Lawson said. “Brad has the height and muscle and George has the speed and agility. They are both playmakers and when one gets hot, so does the other, and vice versa.”

Sirard had 26 points and Butvalis followed with 19.

In the third and fourth quarters the duo had a number of coast-to-coast drives which resulted in layups. As well, Sirard had four blocks under the net and led with 11 rebounds.

For the Bulldogs, Peyton Anderson led the scoring with 15 points. He was followed by Chynoweth who had eight points.

“Our defense had too many holes tonight, and they took advantage of that,” said Strong. “We had no transition on defense. They are great players and beat us one-on-one.”

Hancock 8 7 8 14 – 37

Houghton 17 9 16 17 – 59

HCH: Watson 3, Chynoweth 8, Sinkowski 3, Raasio 1, Anderson 15, Barrette 3, Bal 3, Williams 1; Fouls: 17; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Chynoweth 2, Watson 1, Sinkowski 1, Barrette 1

HHS: Butvilas 19, Ashburn 2, Hyslop 2, Horning 2, Sirard 26, Keskimaki 8; Fouls: 14; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Sirard 3

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