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It gives the Elks a positive note to take into the district tournament at Grayling. They were scheduled to open tournament play last night (Wednesday).

"Our defense was pretty solid from the perimeter starting with Anthony Zakrajsek and Garrett Gribi who pressured Alcona's point guards very well," Elks interim head coach Luke Johnson said.

With the Elks continuing to have problems taking care of the ball, it was a good thing the defense was sharp.

Elk Rapids turned the ball over 17 times, which could have proved disasterous had it not been for the Elks solid defensive play. Johnson agreed.

"We were able to contain them enough defensively to even things out," Johnson said.

"We tried some new stuff on defense and offense, and found out what will work and not work when coming into the tournament.

"It was a good learning experience for us, and a great win on the road, especially when you have to travel three hours on a bus and be ready to play. We're looking forward to the challenges ahead in the coming week."

Sam Wittbrodt led the Elks in scoring with 19 points, Zac Dreffs contributed 11 points and Brendan Tully added 10 points.

Tully hauled down 9 rebounds to lead the Elks' inside game, while Jared Isenhart pulled down 6 rebounds.

Earlier in the week, Elk Rapids dropped its final Lake Michigan Conference game at home to Kalkaska, 53-44.

It was not a good night for the Elks, who were only 18-for-58 from the floor shooting for 31 percent.

"For some reason, we didn't finish shots that we should normally," Johnson said. "The kids played hard, and we will continue to get better." Neither team gained an advantage on the boards, as each finished the game with 32 rebounds.

And the Elks had only 5 turnovers.

"We did everything we needed to do but make shots," Johnson said. "We'll get a lot of repetitions in the next few days, and hopefully we can build on things."

Elk Rapids was led in scoring by Wittbrodt again with 12 points, while Tully added 9 points. Tully also hauled down 12 rebounds and 2 blocks. Travis Schuba paced three players in double figures for Kalkaska with 17 points, while Alex Krause contributed 15 points and John Kasza added 14 points.

Elk Rapids was scheduled to open the district tournament against Roscommon in the second game of tonight's doubleheader starting around 8 p.m.