Portagers surge past Bears in fourth

Onekama’s Kaylan Fitch (5) shoots over Buckley’s Dru Mark-Wilson during the second half of Monday’s game. (Dylan Savela/News Advocate)

Posted by Dylan Savela, Manistee News Advocate

ONEKAMA — From errant passes to missed layups, Monday was an all around off night for Onekama.

Winning, however, can make up for many mistakes, as proved by the Portagers in their 48-42 escape from Buckley.

“This is one to learn from,” said Onekama coach Nathan Bradford of the team’s third straight win despite an uncharacteristically cold night from the field. “It took us a while to get going, and as we kept playing flat, Buckley kept getting more and more confident.

“They knew they could stick around with us.”

The Portagers (7-1) trailed for the majority of the game, but nearly doubled their offensive output in the fourth quarter to edge the Bears down the stretch.

Hailey Kott led Onekama with 16 points, three rebounds, and two assists while Alexis Tribfelner scored 10 with three boards.

With an average of 53 points per game heading into the contest, Onekama struggled finding the bottom of the net with 17 points at the half, and just 19 five minutes into the third.

“The last couple games, we’ve had those blowouts where we’re beating teams by a lot,” Bradford said of comfortable wins over Walkerville and Baldwin, “and that can kind of carry into practice, which can carry into games like this.

“And that’s what I told them: We’ve got to get back to executing in practice, and putting it into the games. If we keep playing hard, good things are going to happen.”

Buckley, meanwhile, was able to keep a cushion with leads of 13-10 after the first, and 24-17 by the break. The Bears (3-5) were led by Marlee Harris, who finished with 16 points, and center Jordyn Barley, who added 15.

Ciera Cabanting’s 3-pointer at 2:56 in the third gave the Bears their largest lead of the night at 29-19. Onekama closed the quarter, however, with eight straight points to cut the gap to two.

“I give (Buckley) credit; they played hard,” Bradford said, “but the end of the third, and then in the fourth, I thought we found a spark, or a second wind.

“We finally started to pass and move.”

Onekama tied the game at 29 early in the fourth, but the Bears responded with five straight to keep the cushion.

Down 36-31 with four minutes to go, the Portagers made one last surge, while benefiting from being in the bonus.

Full-court pressure forced Buckley into five straight turnovers, as Onekama scored 10 straight points, six of which were free throws, to take the lead for the first time since the game’s opening minutes.

The Portagers, made 12-of-20 free throws in the final frame to clinch the hard-fought victory.

“The first half, I thought we had too much standing and no talking,” Bradford said of the turnaround. “I think they finally started getting more aggressive by attacking the basket, and they started finding girls cutting. If anything, they just plain moved more.

“We’re glad we at least squeaked it out, but we’ll learn from it and put it behind us.”

The Onekama junior varsity team had an easier time with Buckley in a 60-20 victory. The Portagers were led by Kaylor DeWitt with 18 points