Detroit Douglass’ Kamari Howard (12) gets a shot up over Dollar Bay-Tamarack City’s Liam Tourtillott (20) during Thursday’s first Division 4 semifinal at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. (Photo by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos)

EAST LANSING — A tough first eight minutes and a tough last eight minutes proved the difference Thursday evening as the Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Blue Bolts came up short in their Division 4 state semifinal matchup against the Detroit Douglass Hurricanes at the Breslin Center, 58-47.

For coach Jesse Kentala and the Blue Bolts (24-3 overall), it was their third trip to the Breslin Center without a state title to show for it. However, that did not dampen his mood after the game.

“There’s so much to be proud of,” he said. “There’s so much to be thankful for, just to have this time with the guys, and to have this opportunity to come down here and to compete.”

Dollar Bay learned lessons from their previous trips to East Lansing, even if there were years between the most recent trips.

“I’m proud of our grit,” said Jesse. “I thought, of the three teams that have come down here, I thought this was the toughest that we’ve played in terms of adjusting to the tough style of play that’s down here. (There is) just a lot more physicality, a lot more hand checking. Just a lot more.

“That’s not a knock to anyone or anything. It’s just adjusting to that style, I thought we did a great job of that.”

The physicality of Hurricanes (21-7 overall) players such as Dimauvion Smith-Powe was on display in the first quarter. He scored all six of his points in the opening eight minutes to help Douglass take a 12-8 lead into the first break.

The Blue Bolts did their best to answer as Caleb Kentala hit a 3-pointer from the left side off a feed from Liam Tourtillott with 3:12 left in the quarter. Tourtillott followed that effort up with a layup that gave the Blue Bolts a 7-5 lead for about 24 seconds before the Hurricanes bounced back.

In the second quarter, Tourtillott hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key 3:01 in. Then he had a layup with 3:53 left to pull Dollar Bay within one at 14-13.

In the last 1:19 of the half, Baron Colbert started to heat up. He made a short jumper to pull Dollar Bay back within five at 20-15, and then he answered a layup by Quinn Davis with a layup of his own with 38 seconds left to keep the Blue Bolts within five, 22-17, at the break.

Colbert led all scorers in the game with 23 points.

“Baron had a great game, a gritty game,” said Jesse. “I think they were obviously keying on Liam. I still think Liam did everything he could to compete, but Baron, on this big stage, I think his stock went up.

“He’s a good player. He’s getting better and better. We tease him that I don’t think he knows how good he can be just yet. He’s got a ton of potential. He’s a great kid, and I was really happy to see him have success.”

In the third quarter, Colbert did everything he could to keep Dollar Bay in the conversation. Both teams scored 18 points, but Colbert scored 10 of those for the Blue Bolts. He answered everything Davis made, including two layups, a jumper and a 3-pointer. After his last layup, the Blue Bolts trailed by eight, 38-30.

Two minutes later, Tourtillott finished off a jumper off an offensive rebound and then he got a pass from Caleb Kentala and drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, which pulled Dollar Bay back within three, 38-35.

However, Damani Oliver, who paced the Hurricanes with 21 points, finished off the quarter with a jumper from the left side to regain the five-point lead, 40-35, after three quarters.

“We competed. We came in to compete. We weren’t coming in here just to be happy, and we knew Douglass is good,” Jesse said. “They’re well coached. They’ve got nice pieces. They’ve got some shooters, athleticism. They’re a solid team. You don’t get to this point without being good.

“But, I do think, in terms of our grittiness, and the way we defended, we had to mix in zone. We haven’t done that all year. We haven’t played a single second of zone all year. I thought we played it pretty well in spurts today, just because, since we had to give them some different looks. Ultimately, I think, Oliver, he was just a little too much for us. He had a couple in that second half that gave them the separation.”

Down 10 in the fourth quarter, the Blue Bolts got another 3-pointer from Colbert that pulled them back within seven, 45-38. He made a layup with 2:45 left to keep Dollar Bay within 11, 51-40. He added one more layup with 1:02 remaining.

Tourtillott sank a 3-pointer from 49 seconds left to pull the Blue Bolts back within 10 again at 57-47, but Jacodi Nathan made one of two free throws 11 seconds later to seal the win for the Hurricanes.

There were two key moments that changed momentum Douglass’ way. The first came in the second quarter after Tyler Jaehnig picked up a turnover. He ran the floor and attempted a layup, but Nathan extended and knocked the ball away. The second moment came in the fourth quarter, when Caleb Kentala got the ball off a turnover and then tried to feed the ball to Tourtillott, but he was in double coverage, and the ball was knocked away.

“You know the old saying, right? You don’t know what you don’t know,” said Jesse. “We don’t see that kind of athleticism. So, certainly not blaming Tyler. He did the right thing. He did what he always does, right? He goes up, gets a steal, does a great job, and it’s just that athleticism off the backside, weak side, he just didn’t feel that. If he could go back again, he stop and head fake, and we’d be OK.

“I think the same thing with Caleb. He got that steal. I think he was looking for Liam, and they’re just athletic, and they were able to disrupt.”

Tourtillott finished with 14 points, and Caleb Kentala finished with eight.

While his team dropped their third game of the season in their final game, Jesse was proud of everything his team accomplished.

“I’ve been around them since they were in preschool, and I say that because my son Caleb’s in this group, and we learned from, give credit to Aaron Janke, some of the assistant coaches from those ’18 and ’19 teams that you can’t win alone, right? So, we’ve made it a point to make sure these kids are in the gym as much as we can, and credit them.

“They’ve been in far more than I’ve told them to get. They’re just gym rats. I’ve gotten to watch them grow up. It’s special, at every level, whether it was elementary tournaments, and Keweenaw Crossovers we would play, and going on AAU trips, and just so much fun. (I’m) just so impressed and proud of the young men they are, their character, how they composed and held themselves together tonight, and just all season, just classy kids.”

Editor’s note: The photos for this story first appeared on MHSAA.com.

Dollar Bay-Tamarack City guard Liam Tourtillot makes a move into the lane while guarded by Detroit Douglass’ Dimauvion Smith-Powe during Thursday’s first Division 4 semifinal at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. (Photo by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos)