Northport showed how far it has improved Friday with a 49-30 win at Traverse City Christian in a contest that locked down sole possession of second place in the Cherryland Conference for the Wildcats.

“This was a huge accomplishment from where we started at the beginning of the year,” said Northport coach Jeff Tropf. His squad improved to 10-9 overall and finished 4-2 in the Cherryland. Christian took third place at 3-3 — and had stayed with host Northport in a 63-55 loss on Feb. 8

But the Wildcats dominated on the Sabres’ gym in a game marred by three technical fouls against Christian.

Sophomore center Jason Tropf had a breakout night, scoring 16 points, bringing down 17 rebounds and blocking 9 shots.

“It was his turn to contribute just by how the game went,” said coach Tropf, Jason’s father.

But he had help. Jason Roman scored 11 points, Jesse Bressette added 8 and Basil Stowe finished with 7.

“It was a great way for us to end our season,” said coach Tropf.

St. Mary, which had already won the Cherryland with a 6-0 record, wrapped up its regular season Tuesday with a 76-70 win over the Onekama Portagers.

The Eagles led 17-12 after the first quarter. Onekama cut St. Mary’s lead to one by halftime, 37-36.

“They shot extremely well at one point hitting seven straight baskets from intermediate range,” Eagle coach Jim Smith said.

St. Mary bested the Portagers by three points in the third quarter, outscoring their opponents 15-13 for a 52-49 lead going into the last stanza of the game.

“It was a close game … the kind of game you like to have going into the Districts,” Smith said.

Junior Adam Peplinski had a breakout game for St. Mary, with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

“Adam came up huge,” Smith said. “It was the best game of his high school career.”

Teammate Kienan Sutton contributed 14 points. Sophomore Tyler Shaffran, brought up from the junior varsity squad, also had “big plays” and chipped in 11 points in the win.

Eagles Tim Wigton and Gabe Gallagher were credited with strong defensive efforts.

St. Mary went 11-9 in the regular season.

In other action, the Leelanau School (4-7) completed its regular season Friday with a 63-50 win over Grand Traverse Prep.

Zach Stanz was the Thunderbirds’ top scorer with 16.

Cherryland Conference
final standings
St. Mary 6-0
Northport 4-2
Christian 3-3
Leelanau 0-6