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Boys Basketball: E-TC outlasts Bulldogs, 93-69

Ewen-Trout Creek’s Jaden Borseth (30) puts up a shot as Hancock’s Vandan Jacques (0) defends on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, in Hancock, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — Scoring points has long been a tradition for Ewen-Trout Creek High boys basketball teams.

And if Thursday night’s contest at Hancock is any indication, that trend will continue.

The Panthers walked away from the HCHS gym with a 93-69 victory in a fast-paced game in the season opener for both schools.

Bulldogs’ coach Matt Strong said his team has to play fast out of necessity.

“We’re a small team, so we have to play fast,” Strong said. “They Panthers) want to play the same way. That’s the kind of game of you’ll get.”

To their credit, the young (five freshmen played a lot) Bulldogs refused to back off — even after E-TC raced to a 31-14 lead after one quarter behind sophomore standout Jaden Borseth.

“He (Borseth) is a fine all-around basketball player,” Besonen said. “He was solid for us last year and he’s going to improve this season.”

Borseth nailed 21 points in the opening half, while Kelsey Jilek dropped in 19 more. The two combined for seven triples as E-TC raced to a 58-31 halftime lead.

The Crimson and Gold received a trio of treys from freshman JD Sebbas in the second frame.

The scrappy Hancock team outpointed the Panthers by a 21-19 margin in the third quarter as newcomer Vanden Jacques showed the way with seven markers.

Besonen was disappointed that his charges allowed the ‘Dawgs to get to the basket effectively.

“That’s something we don’t want to see happen that often,” Besonen said. “It’s something we’ll be working on in practice.”

Borseth notched a game-leading 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Jilek was nearly as effective with 29 points, five steals and eight boards.

Eric Abramson put in 12 more and Tom Cousineau netted 8 points and had a stellar floor game.

The hustling Jacques paced the losers with 14 points, while Carsen Chynoweth and Sebbas notched 13 each. Gabe Smith tossed in 9 more.

Strong, while satisfied with the effort, said there were things his team could have done better.

“It’s all a part of the learning process,” he said. “We’ll get better.”

Hancock goes to Westwood on Monday. Ewen-TC is at Calumet the same evening.

Ewen-TC 31 27 19 17 — 93

Hancock 14 17 21 17 — 69

EWEN-TROUT CREEK (93): Abramson 12, Nordine 4, Schultz 4, J. Borseth 33, Jilek 29. C. Borseth 3, Cousineau 8. FT: 15-25. Rebounds: 42 (J. Borseth 14). Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Nordine. 3-point FG: Jilek 5, J. Borseth 4, Abramson 2, Cousineau 1.

HANCOCK (69): Chynoweth 13, Jacques 14, Sebbas 13, Packard 6, Smith 9, Isaacson 5, Raasio 5, Barrette 3. FT: 17-26. Rebounds: NA. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. 3-point FG: Sebbas 3, Chynoweth 1, Packard 1, Raasio 1.

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