Cardinal boys drop opener to Boyne City; girls fall to Joburg
The Onaway High School varsity boys’ basketball team dropped its season opener Tuesday to visiting Boyne City, 73-55. The Cardinals played the talented Ramblers tough for most of the night.
OHS led the game, 38-32, with 3:30 left in the third quarter, but BC closed the quarter on an 18-0 run to go up 50-38 heading into the fourth. Onaway would not get within eight points the rest of the way.
Joe O’Bradovich led all scorers with 20 points. Chris Cleaver added 11 points for the Cardinals, while Carlos Bautista added nine. Brad Fouchia scored 19 points for the Ramblers, while Ryan Carson scored 16 and Zach Napont had 10.
Boyne City led 14-10 after one period and 29-27 at the half. The game was tied at 32 when O’Bradovich hit a three and a free throw, and Joe Sigsby scored on a drive, to put OHS up six.
The Ramblers increased the intensity of their press at that point, and the Cardinals began to turn the ball over. Carson capped the ensuing 18-0 run with a dunk that got the visiting team’s fans cheering.
O’Bradovich returned the favor to open quarter four, throwing down a dunk over Carson. Cleaver followed that by connecting on a pair of free throws to trim the gap to 50-42.
Boyne City, though, would score the next six points and win going away.
Earlier in the evening, the OHS JV dropped its opener to the Ramblers, 67-25. The Cardinals trailed 20-11 after one quarter, 36-13 at the half, and 47-21 through three frames.
Bradley Brewbaker scored 12 points to pace the Red Birds, with Randy Tibbits scoring seven. Derek Willis scored 24 points, while Colton Sieradski had 12 for Boyne City.
Last Friday, the OHS varsity girls’ basketball team fell to 0-2 (0-1 Ski Valley Conference) when it lost, 57-29, at Johannesburg-L
The Cards cut the lead to 28-19, but J-L went on a 12-0 run over the final minute of the third quarter and never looked back. Erika Price had nine points, while Morganne Badgero had eight.
“We played hard and are getting better,” said coach Marty Mix. “Turnovers against their press in a couple stretches really hurt us, as they had runs of eight, 10, and 12 points.”
The Cardinal girls’ JV also fell to 0-2 with a loss to J-L, 34-9. Onaway trailed 6-1 after one quarter, 20-3 at the half, and 26-4 through three stanzas.
The Cardinal girls travel to Gaylord St. Mary tonight (Friday) and to Central Lake on Wednesday. The OHS boys host Joburg on Tuesday and Gaylord St. Mary on Thursday.