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Turnovers were a key factor in the win, which saw Elk Rapids pick up its second conference win of the season.

"We had 19 steals in the game, and that was the difference," Elk Rapids coach Andy Kenney said. "Once we started scoring on the turnovers we got the lead and held on."

Boyne City forged leads of 16-10 at the end of the first quarter and 32-30 at the intermission before Elk Rapids tied the game, 42- 42, going into the final eight minutes.

Brandon Isenhart and Skyler Hindes led the Elks with 13 points each and Garrett Gribi chipped in with 12 points. Zac Dreffs and Mike Hubbell added eight points each.

Hindes led the team in rebounding with five boards. Hubbell and Gribi added four rebounds apiece.

Taylor Voice scored 16 points, and Jeff Moore had 14 to pace the Boyne City scorers.

"Voice had 13 points at the half, but we shut him down in the second half and that was a big difference," Kenney said. "We played an overall solid game and the guys are definitely playing with some good enthusiasm."

The Boyne City junior varsity defeated Elk Rapids, 59-47.

Theo Stasch led Elk Rapids with 13 points.

Charlevoix 71, Elk Rapids 67
The Elks outscored Charlevoix 26-19 in the fourth quarter, but the late run could not stop a 71-67 Red Rayder win in Charlevoix on Friday, Feb. 23.

The Elks had a chance to take a lead as the game wound down, but some late turnovers put a damper on the comeback effort. The Elks were forced to foul the Red Rayders in an attempt to pull off the upset.

The victory saw Charlevoix (16-2 overall, 12-1 LMC) clinch a share of the conference title.

"We fought hard in the fourth quarter to make a comeback," Kenney said. "We had two turnovers in the last 20 seconds that were costly. They played hard and gritty to have a chance to win it, but it just wasn't meant to be."

Elk Rapids kept pace with Charlevoix through a close first half of play and trailed 33-30 at the half before Charlevoix moved in front, 52-41, at the end of three quarters.

"It says a lot about this team to go up there and play with a quality team like Charlevoix," Kenney said.

The Red Rayders were led by Mitch Crandall and Justin Friske, who tossed in 21 points each to offset a group of four Elks who hit for double figures.

Hindes (16 points, 11 of 12 free throws, two steals), Sam Wittbrodt (13 points), Gribi (10 points, six assists, two steals) and Dreffs (10 points) topped the Elk Rapids stat sheet.

The Charlevoix junior varsity defeated the Elk Rapids, 67-51. Tyler Smith led the Elk Rapids scoring with 17 points.

Elk Rapids travels to Benzie Central on Friday, March 2.