MANCELONA — The Ski Valley Conference was no pushover league throughout the 2025-26 season.
The East Jordan and Mancelona boys basketball teams showed it during the regular season and carried that over to the postseason as well.
And while the Red Devils might have taken the league’s crown, they’re now set for one more battle with a bigger trophy this time around against Mancelona.
Wins by both the ‘Devils and Ironmen Wednesday set up another rematch between the two in a Division 3 district championship game come Friday, Feb. 27 in Mancelona.
East Jordan (21-2) earned a 59-36 win over Inland Lakes, while the Ironmen (21-2) topped Boyne City in a 54-43 final.
“Fridays game will be the greatest challenge of the year and we will have to at our best or it could be a long night,” East Jordan coach Tim Smith said.
Getting past the Bulldogs was no easy task for the Red Devils, either.
What impressed Smith on the night was his team’s defense, though, along with their ability to finish things in the end.
“I thought we were really connected defensively and only had one stretch in the third where we didn’t rebound well enough and they made us pay to get back in the game,” he said. “We really executed down the stretch and played winning basketball at closing time.”
EJ led in a 29-19 game at the half, then maintained a solid advantage throughout the second half.
Ellis Malpass led with 23 points, William Webb scored 12 and Brady Wilson had nine.
For Inland Lakes, Zander Robinson scored 15 and Mason Green had 13.
Previously between EJ and Mancelona this season, East Jordan earned a 48-38 win in December, along with a 45-36 victory in late January. The two finished first and second in the league at 17-1 and 16-2.
DIVISION 4
Harbor Light 66, Petoskey St. Michael 28
HARBOR SPRINGS — The Harbor Light Christian and Burt Lake NMCA boys basketball teams know each other well.
Less than a week ago, the two were battling things out for a Northern Lakes Conference title, which the Swordsmen won in a 63-60 final.
Now, they’ll get the chance to meet once again in the Harbor Light gym for a Division 4 district title.
Harbor Light earned a 66-28 win over Petoskey St. Michael Wednesday, while Burt Lake topped Alanson in a 63-36 final, setting up a 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 27 district championship matchup at Harbor Light.
Landon Jakeway finished with 32 points, six rebounds and eight steals against St. Michael, Daniel Dawley had 10 points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks and Will Paulus finished with five points and five rebounds.
The Swordsmen and Eagles have met twice this season, splitting the contests. Harbor Light earned the win in the latter, though Burt Lake stole a 75-72 overtime win in early January.
HOCKEY
Division 3 regional final
Bay Reps 3, Petoskey 1
CADILLAC — The end of a history making season for the Petoskey hockey team came to a close on Wednesday, Feb. 25, as the Northmen dropped a regional championship game against the Bay Reps in Cadillac.
The Reps held a 1-0 lead through the first two periods, then skated off with a 3-1 win.
Petoskey did tie things at 1-1 in the third, though back to back goals within seconds of each other lifted the Reps in the end.
Madden Pateman scored unassisted for Petoskey. Nick Timm took the loss in net.
The loss ends a 22-7 season for the Northmen, one in which they earned a school record for wins in.
Petoskey had won two straight against the Reps, including a regular season matchup and a regional final overtime victory last season. Before that, the Northmen had dropped 15 straight games against the Traverse City based program.
The Reps (15-12-1) move on to faec Freeland at 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28 in Gaylord in a quarterfinal matchup.
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: East Jordan, Harbor Light set for rematches with league foes; PHS hockey falls
Reporting by Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
