Leland will need some help to win the Northwest Conference boys' basketball title outright, and Suttons Bay is happy to help.

MARCUS WHITTAKER hangs on the rim after dunking
the ball in Leland's win over Kingsley Saturday. Whittaker
scored 37 points for the Comets, who are tied with Benzie
Central for first place in the Northwest Conference.

But don’t think of the Norsemen strictly as Good Samaritans. They also would like nothing more than to beat Leland Tuesday as conference play heats up.

Benzie Central and Leland top the Northwest with 8-2 records. Suttons Bay, which has battled back to 5-5 in conference play, will have a say in determining the league winner with games scheduled for Friday at Benzie and at home Tuesday with Leland.

Meanwhile, Glen Lake hosted Leland last night, and will host third-place Kingsley Saturday.

Coach Todd Hursey believes his Norsemen have good chances in their last four games against Frankfort (played last night), Benzie Central, Leland and Glen Lake — all Suttons Bay losses in the first round of conference play.

But the Norsemen have won three straight, all by strong margins, and appear to be coming onto their own. They downed Mesick Saturday, 71-57, and walloped Elk Rapids last Wednesday, 55-38. Suttons Bay is 9-7 overall and 5-5 in the Northwest.

“These are all conference games, and they are all teams that beat us the first time around. But we have a chance in all four of them,” said Hursey.

Especially if freshman Dwuan Anderson stays on a roll. He scored 28 points, including two impressive dunks, at Mesick in a game that was close until the final quarter. Suttons Bay led 30-29 at halftime and 40-36 after three periods.

“We struggled in that game,” said Hursey. “We shot poorly — it wasn’t turnovers. We didn’t defend as well as we did Wednesday (against Elk Rapids).”

Steady Nick Loberg scored 13 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, while Ben Walters scored 12 points and dished out 5 assists. Credit Andy Wheelock with 6 steals. And Jason McKisson, at 6-foot-5 the fastest Norsemen, held Mesick’s high scorer Mark Fotelka to 16 points — four below his average.

The Elk Rapids game was also close with Suttons Bay leading 37-33 with five minutes left. But Walters sank back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead to 10 points, and the Norsemen never looked back.

Anderson scored 18 points and Loberg put in 10. Blake Ibbotson grabbed 14 rebounds.

Paced by Matt Rinehart’s layup and two free throws, Leland raced to a 9-0 lead and never allowed Kingsley to get within seven points in an 82-63 win Saturday over the Stags.

Kingsley entered the game tied with Leland and Benzie Central for first, but never really threatened in the packed Comet gym.

Often it was Marcus Whittaker, who finished with 37 points, quieting any rumblings of a Stag comeback. He scored to stop a Kingsley run when the lead dwindled to 29-22 with 2:40 left in the first half, and grabbed crucial rebounds down the stretch when Kingsley pulled to within 14, 72-58.

Another senior, Adam Nedow, scored to stop that Stag run. Jordan Gibson, who also had an outstanding night, followed with a pair free throws, then two more free throws from Nedow provided a 78-58 cushion. Nedow finished with 12 points.

Whittaker, who on Feb. 5 against Traverse City Christian broke the school scoring record with 49 points, finished with 19 rebounds. Gibson scored 15 points to go with 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

Leland avenged a 69-55 loss at Kingsley on Dec. 19. The Comets moved to 14-2 overall.

Glen Lake fell for the second time this season to Frankfort, but closed the gap. The Lakers lost 49-43 Saturday at Frankfort; they fell at home to the Panthers on Dec. 19, 73-57.

“We got to within three with about 1½ minutes to go,” said Glen Lake coach Todd Hazelton. “But our second quarter killed us.”

The Lakers trailed 13-11 after one period, but had fallen behind 28-16 by halftime.

Hazelton is already planning summer shoot-arounds. “It’s been the story of our year,” he said. “We just don’t shoot the ball well.”

The Lakers were 20-52 from the field, and just 2-for-5 from the charity strip. Frankfort connected on 8-for-15 free throws — representing the 6-point final margin.

Jack Drow scored 9 for the Lakers; Ryan Dyksterhouse and Will Hendricks each added 8.

Glen Lake, which slipped to 7-9 overall, played a make-up game Tuesday at East Jordan prior to hosting Leland last night (Wednesday). The Lakers host Kingsley Saturday and Mesick Tuesday.

“Leland is playing well right now. After a game the night before — we probably won’t get home until midnight — we’ll have to play very well to win that one,” said Hazelton.