Dollar Bay’s Liam Tourtillott celebrates a second-quarter 3-pointer Thursday, March 5, in Negaunee. (Jason Juno/The Globe (Ironwood))

MARQUETTE — The Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association announced their All-UP boys basketball teams Friday. The Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Blue Bolts led the way amongst Copper Country schools with Division 4 Player of the Year and Dream Team member Liam Tourtillott, Division 4 Coach of the Year Jesse Kentala, and Division 4 Team of the Year as well.

The Blue Bolts coach was extremely excited to hear that his team was honored with Team of the Year.

“I always say it’s really fun to see kids who work so hard, and are so dedicated,” said Jesse. “Good things happen to good people, and I was just really proud. The Team of the Year was a little bit of a surprise to me, because we had a great year, but there were times where we had to be resilient. There’s times we had to fight, and I think it’s amazing. It’s great.

“That one I’m really proud of, because these things happen. That success doesn’t happen without the team. When you say team of the year, boy, that’s going to look cool in our gym with that 2026 number. All of our guys were really proud of that accomplishment.”

The Blue Bolts finished 24-3, with their third loss coming in the state semifinal against Detroit Douglass. Their first loss of the season came against Division 1-3 Team of the Year Marquette.

Their second loss came at the hands of Baraga on Feb. 13, and was the wakeup call Dollar Bay needed.

“You learn so much more from your losses than you do the wins,” Jesse said. “I’ll tell you what, that one was humbling. We weren’t playing very well. We were on a bad stretch. We were still winning, but we were just getting by, and we caught Baraga on a hot night. We were cold. It was their Homecoming.

“They’re a great team too. Daniel Connor is legit. What we learned about ourselves that day is that we are a great team, but if you don’t bring it each night, if you don’t lock in, that can happen. I think that was in our minds the whole playoff run.”

Tourtillott, a senior who averaged 20.2 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 3.4 assists, beat out Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Vic Giuliani and Pickford’s Gunner Bennin for Player of the Year. All three made the Dream Team, along with Westwood’s Ethan Marta and Menominee’s Tanner Theuerkauf.

“He is all of those things, and our all-time leading scorer,” said Jesse about Tourtillott. “What’s also great about him is he is a two-way player. He defends, and he’s a rebounder. We don’t get out of North Dickinson without Liam’s defense even. That was a testament too, he understood that he had to do more.

“I’m proud of Liam. He’s a great kid. I’m excited to see what he does in the next phase of his life.”

Connor was named to the Division 4 First Team, along with Dollar Bay junior Baron Colbert and L’Anse senior Sam Lee. Also named were Rudyard’s Jaxon Clark and Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Lyle Price.

Connor led Baraga, averaging 23 points, 12 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Colbert, in his second year of organized basketball, averaged 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.3 assists per game. Lee, L’Anse’s top threat, averaged 21.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game.

Colbert is still scratching the surface of his talent level, according to his coach.

“We say, ‘When you figure out that no one can guard you, it’s going to get dangerous,'” Jesse said. “He just started playing basketball. He’s so raw still. He came to us last year, so this is really his second year of organized ball. He’s a gym rat. Smart kid, funny, good personality, natural leader. He just fits in so well.”

In Division 1-3, Houghton sophomore Terrence Nolan was named to the First Team. He was joined by Gladstone’s Lonnie Davey, Kingsford’s Jack Kriegl, Marquette’s Ford Richardson, and Menominee’s Darret Butler.

Nolan led the Gremlins all season. He averaged 23.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Two Copper Country players earned Division 4 Second Team honors, Lake Linden-Hubbell junior Josh Daavettila and Ontonagon senior Jack Nelson. They were joined by North Dickinson’s Trenton Kramer, Cedarville-DeTour’s Trevor Barr, Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Dax Huuki, Wakefield-Marenisco’s Chase Lane, Newberry’s Logan Thiele, Pickford’s Mac Collins, Superior Central’s Andrew Charlebois, Munising’s Nolan Connaughton, and Maplewood Baptist’s Caden Chromy.

Earning special mention in Division 4 were Baraga junior Joseph Fish, Dollar Bay senior Caleb Kentala, and Chassell senior Brayden Larson.

Earning special mention in Division 1-3 was Houghton junior Alex Hebert and Calumet senior Peter Torola.

Earning honorable mention in Division 4 were L’Anse senior Keegan Davidson and Baraga senior Easton Foucault.

In being named Coach of the Year for Division 4, the Dollar Bay coach felt humbled by earning the honor for the second time in his career.

“It’s humbling, because there’s all kinds of great coaches out there who put in a ton of time and work into their programs, and you try to learn from everybody that you can,” said Jesse. “You take in as much, you sponge it where you can, and then, ultimately, you have to do what’s best for your program.

“I will say this. I can’t do it without my supporting cast. I catch a lot of grief from people because they say, ‘Why do you have so many coaches in the gym?’ Right? But Wayne Laitala has been with me for, what, 15 years now as my assistant. Adam Lucca is there. Brendan LeClaire is our JV coach and he’s at every practice. Then another guy named Eddie Brecht joined the staff this year, and he’s a younger guy, played Division 1 football. I just can’t do it without those guys.

“Those guys are behind the scenes, helping every single day. I think that’s what’s fun is I get to do it, I get to coach these kids that I love, but I also get to do it with some of my best friends.”

Liam Tourtillott and the rest of the Blue Bolts celebrate Dollar Bay’s regional championship Thursday, March 5, in Negaunee. (Jason Juno/The Globe (Ironwood))