Elk Rapids escape with win over Glen Lake, 41-39

Dec. 7—ELK RAPIDS — The Glen Lake Lakers had a lead over Elk Rapids the entire game. That was until Spencer Ball had something to say about it.

Ball, the senior Elk, connected twice from the charity stripe to lift the Elks to a 41-39 nailbiter-of-a-win in the season opener for both Elk Rapids and Glen Lake.

"It was good at the end, that's for sure," Elk Rapids head coach Kevin Ball said. "We knew coming in this, it was going to be a battle. Glen Lake is good, and they are a physical team. We just knew that we had to create some tempo and try to create some steals to give us extra opportunities."

Nothing was turning off Glen Lake center Luke Hazleton as the senior put up a game-high 27 points. Glen Lake had a 35-32 lead with three minutes left to play, and the Lakers continued to do what worked in the first three quarters — feed Hazleton in the paint.

Hazleton set up shop and cooked barbecue chicken in the paint the entire night, grabbing almost every rebound and giving his teammates chances to make buckets. Elk Rapids brought the house to defend him, but he still had his way.

"(Hazelton) is that good of a player that we know he was going to get his," Kevin Ball said. "Our goal was that nothing was going to be easy for him, and I don't think anything was easy for him."

In the final minutes, Hazleton drove one down the lane untouched to put the Lakers up 37-34. After another defensive stance by the Elks, Spencer Ball took it to the hole for a layup to make it 37-36 game with 1:30 left.

The Elks then got called a blocking foul that put Glen Lake's Ethan Steffke to the line. But Steffke missed free throws. After the second miss, the Lakers and Elks scrambled for the ball, resulting in Ball getting to the line.

Ball sunk both from the charity strip to give the Elks their first lead of the game, 38-37.

The Lakers tried to retake the lead with a three but missed and committed a loose ball foul. Elks' junior Haven Somers made one of two from the line to extend the Elks' lead to 39-37.

With 19 seconds left, Hazelton drove the lane for a the hoop and the harm to tie the game at 39-39 with the chance to take the lead on a free throw. But the loud Elk Rapids student section was enough to send Hazelton's attempt wayward.

Ball was fouled on his way down after the rebound and took a pair of free throws. He once again made both for the 41-39 lead.

The Lakers had chances to tie the game after Ball's makes, but a sigh of relief exited the building after the Elks escaped a close one.

"I had some adrenaline, and it was nerve-racking. It's a different feeling going out for the first game," Spencer Ball said. "You never know what's going to happen."

Ryan McGuire finished the game with 11 points and two rebounds for Elk Rapids, but his workload was to slow down Hazleton.

"It was defiantly a challenge, but working together as a team in the paint, getting ready to double when he got the ball helped," McGuire said. "We made sure to give him a challenge down in the paint, and that was the big key to winning tonight."

Spencer had a team-high 20 points, five rebounds, six steals and three assists. His presence was felt everywhere on the court, from diving for loose balls to playing hard-nosed defense.

"We've always put him on the team's best players, and he's always risen to the challenge," Kevin Ball said. "It was nice to see him have that big of a game defensively for us."

The Elks travel to Central Lake (0-1) on Thursday, and Glen Lake hopes to turn things around at home against Kalkaska that same night.