The battle between Lake Leelanau St. Mary and Leland in any sport always brings family close together.
As the Eagles and Comets played a boys basketball game Thursday, it was a chance for four cousins to duke it out as well.
The match up pitted Leland’s Sawyer Couturier versus his St. Mary first and second cousins Cody Couturier, Jerry Schaub, and Eli Kelenske.
“Playing against each other is always pretty fun. All the time when we’re at family gatherings we’re always jabbing at each other a little bit, a little competitive spirit,” St. Mary sophomore Cody Couturier said. “We make bets sometimes, like I’ll give you 20 bucks if you beat us this year or whatever ... That’s pretty fun.”
St. Mary got the better of Leland for the second time this season with a 53-41 victory.
“Our uncle was here and he sent us all texts before the game and he was like, oh, good luck boys’ ... He was like, let’s go Sawyer,” Kelenske said. “It definitely feels good to win. We know a lot of those guys. We hang out with them, so it’s fun to beat them.”
Both teams battled back-andforth for much of the night until a second half outburst by the Eagles proved to be the difference.
The Eagles were led by junior Luke Bramer with a game-high 17 points along with Schaub dropping 15 points and freshman Josh Bunek contributing nine points in the win.
Leland’s Logan Defour led the Comets with nine points followed by Sawyer Couturier scoring six points in the loss.
Saturday, St. Mary invited Mesick for a weekend defeat as the Eagles beat the Bulldogs 49-35.
Bramer once again led the Eagles with 15 points while sophomore Oliver Mitchell tallied 15, Josh Bunek eight, Jerry Schaub six, Avery Bunek four, and Luke Gallagher two points on the day.
