Portagers hold off Eagles

LAKE LEELANAU — January 10, 2013

The Onekama boys basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 65-52 non-league win at Lake Leelanau St. Mary on Thursday.

The Portagers (5-1) led by more than 20 in the first half and then held off a St. Mary rally down the stretch.

“Life’s pretty good when you can complain about a win,” said Onekama coach Jim Hunter. “We played pretty sharp for a while, then didn’t play as intensely as I’d like.”

Onekama benefited from offensive balance as four of its five starters scored in double figures. Bryce Reckow netted a game-high 20 points, Derek Hobart scored 17, Jarett Sovereign 13 and Quinn Matthews 11.

The Eagles got as close as nine before the Portagers put them away.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think we answered the bell really well,” Hunter said, crediting the Eagles for playing much better in the second half. “It was a good learning experience about staying focused and playing hard the whole time.”