TRAVERSE CITY - Bellaire turned to a Mason to cement its 72-56 win over upset-minded Northport in Tuesday's Class D regional at Traverse City West.
Brad Mason scored a game-high 21 points - hitting three crucial 3-pointers in the second half - as the Eagles fought off a valiant effort by the Wildcats.
Bellaire, unbeaten at 23-0 and ranked fourth in Class D, led by seven with just under five minutes to go.
"They surprised us," Mason said. "We didn't know much about them. But they can run and they can shoot. They gave us a scare."
Sophomore Michael McClary added 20 points and senior Brandon McClary 18 for the Eagles, who will play the winner of tonight's Fairview-Boyne Falls game in Saturday's final.
Sophomore Drew Mitchell paced Northport with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Seniors Joey Thomas and Jimmy Stannard added 16 and 14 points, respectively. The Wildcats finished 16-7.
"That was the best game we've played all year," Jimmy Stannard said. "I don't think anybody gave us much of a chance. We came out here with something to prove.
"We knew they were heavily favored. We had everything to gain and nothing to lose in this situation."
Bellaire, which led by six at half, won its two district games by an average 36 points. That didn't seem to faze the Wildcats, though.
Every time the Eagles appeared ready to deliver the knockout punch, Northport would counter.
Bellaire led by 12 after the first quarter only to see the Wildcats slice it to three late in the second quarter.
The Eagles pushed the lead back to 12 early in the third quarter before Northport cut it to five with under a minute to go in the quarter.
"I think we surprised Bellaire," Stannard said. "I'm glad it ended on a positive note instead of getting blown out by 40. I don't think anybody is upset by this. They're a better team than we are. We played as hard as we could have.
"I'm happy with the way it went. This was the most fun I've ever had playing basketball. There were probably over 1,000 people in this place. We don't even have 500 people living in our town.
"This was the season we dreamed of - even though it wasn't a state championship. No one predicted this at the beginning of the season. Nobody gave us a chance coming in here. I think this says a lot about the character of our team."
Mason sparked the Eagles to the double-digit lead in the first half, scoring 10 of Bellaire's first 21 points. He had 12 at the break - and then finished with three 3-pointers in the second half.
His first three came after Northport cut the gap to five. His second triple came with the Eagles clinging to a six-point lead. His final three came after Mitchell had scored to make it a 10-point game with 3:55 to go.
"I was open so I took the shots," Mason said.
That doomed Northport.
"Brad Mason was the difference, hitting those threes," Northport coach Chris Stannard said. "Every time we'd close it he'd come up with the big shot."
Michael McClary scored 13 of his points in the second half, nine in the fourth quarter.
