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March 19, 2003Northern Michigan Christian rallies for winByRecord-Eagle staff writer GAYLORD - Mission accomplished. McBain Northern Michigan Christian, which set its sights on a Final Four berth at Michigan State's Breslin Center, achieved its goal Tuesday night with a come-from-behind 52-45 win over upset-minded Leland in a Class D basketball quarterfinal at Gaylord.
In other playoff news, the Ishpeming Westwood Patriots clipped the Charlevoix Red Rayders 44-43 in Class C, ending the Rayders run toward the state playoffs. "We've been working toward this (Final Four) goal since the summer," McBain senior Luke Ellens said. "It feels great to finally get it done." Matt Ebels, a sturdy 6-6 junior center, led Northern Christian with 17 points. Ellens added 14. "I'm happy for Luke," Ebels said. "He's the only senior on the team. We all have another shot. But for Luke this was his last shot. The whole team wanted this one for him. It feels good." Northern Christian, ranked No. 6 in the final Associated Press poll, trailed by four with under five minutes remaining. But an 11-0 run gave coach Harold Dodde's team the cushion it needed to subdue Leland. "I'm just happy for these kids," Dodde said. "They're great kids. They deserve to be there (Breslin). "We haven't been playing our A game lately, but these kids are still young. People don't realize that. This is a whole new experience for us. "They (kids) wanted to get there (Breslin) so bad. Now, I think we'll go out and be the team we really are because we're a much better team than we showed tonight. "I'm not taking anything away from Leland," he added. "Leland played one tough game. When you get to this time of year, everybody's tough." Leland fans sensed an upset when Ben Schlueter drilled a three-pointer to give the purple-clad Comets a 37-33 lead in the fourth quarter. "We had them on the ropes," Leland coach Jason Stowe said. Leland had a chance to pad its lead, but Derek Telgard was called for traveling after breaking free for a layup. "We ran a play for Derek," Stowe said. "We knew we could take it at them. He got nailed for traveling, whether it was traveling or not ... "We had the play, we had the shot. That would have given us a six-point lead and that might have put us over the hump. "Instead, they came down and scored and that changed the momentum of the game. "But the boys played with a lot of heart. We had the right game plan. I'm proud of my kids. They played a fantastic game." Telgard, who struggled with his shot in the first half, finished with 17 points for Leland, which finished 20-4. Schlueter added 12 and Buddy Kenney 10. "We wanted to push the tempo, but couldn't," Stowe said. "Still, we hung in there. We had them down four with five minutes to go. We were in position. "But what can you say about them (Northern Christian)? They hit some big free throws down the stretch. They showed a lot of poise. They didn't get rattled." After falling behind by four, Northern Christian utilized its zone to hold Leland scoreless for four minutes. Northern Christian reeled off 11 consecutive points in that span. "They really packed it in there with those big guys," Stowe said. "When you're that big you can extend that zone and still not be afraid of getting hurt down low. We couldn't get the ball inside. We went into a little funk there and it cost us." Northern Christian, which hit just 4 of 9 free throws in the first half, hit 13 of 16 in the fourth quarter. Prior to that, Dodde had some anxious moments on the bench as Leland took the lead early in the fourth quarter. "I died a thousand deaths out there," he said. "They (Leland) were hitting some big shots and we weren't. That happens some nights. You just have to play through it. Fortunately, we did." Ebels was a difficult match-up inside for Leland. "Every game we try to pound it inside," he said. "We have a size advantage on almost everybody we play." The game was tight throughout. It was tied at 11 after the first quarter. Leland took a 20-19 lead at half behind Kenney's 10 points. Northern Christian went up seven late in the third quarter, 27-22, when Telgard scored five consecutive points to put Leland back in it. He banked in a three-pointer near mid-court at the buzzer. "This was icing on the cake for us," Telgard said. "The regional was our main goal. We hadn't won one in 38 years. "We wanted to come out, have fun and see if we could pull the upset. Nobody thought we were going to win or even give them a run. But we played our game and made it a game. "It was an incredible run. We'll be back."
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