The Wildcats took on Elk Rapids, taking advantage of the Elks’ poor on-ball defense while playing incredibly aggressive defense all night.

Combining these two aspects of the game resulted in Alpena’s 67-54 win.

This victory is a great deal of momentum entering conference play against the Gaylord Blue Devils on Friday.

“This game is so influential for us. We’ve put in the effort every game, and being able to come out with the win for once is huge,” Alpena coach John Pintar said. “Starting with (Gaylord) on Friday, we need to come out and play defense like we did tonight and continue to make our shots while pushing the ball inside.”

News Photo by Owen Kinzey Caleb McEwen shoots a free throw during Monday night’s boys’ basketball game against Elk Rapids. AHS won 67-54.

Like almost every game this season, Alpena was on the board first, this time coming from a first-play Connor Cameron three. Cameron followed that three with a steal, leading to another great look that fell, favoring the Wildcats 6-0.

Alpena also found itself many times at the charity strip, leading to easy points and an 18-16 lead after the first quarter.

Although both sides’ offenses were unstoppable in the first, the stifling defense led by Cameron and the Wildcats held the Elks scoreless through over four minutes of play.

Accumulating defensive stands repeatedly set Alpena in front with a massive 12-point lead going into the break.

For the remainder of the second half, Alpena had one job that the Wildcats hadn’t completed yet this season: Keep the lead and close out the win.

The Wildcats were able to do just that after a huge scoring third quarter from Tucker Bright.

Bright ended with 10 points throughout the quarter, knocking down two threes and two easy two-pointers.

Cameron also kept the offensive pressure after he swished his fourth three of the game.

By the end of the third, Alpena had the most points of any quarter, scoring a total of 20 points.

Entering the fourth, Alpena had a 17-point lead and maintained that lead for the remainder of the game. Bright ended the game, sinking three of four free throws, which was enough for Alpena to complete the 67-54 win.

“Connor got us started and was a huge sparkplug for us all night. He led the way offensively and really played perfect defense for us, too. Giving us that energy on both sides of the floor helped us maintain consistency, which we’ve struggled with all season,” Coach Pintar said.

Alpena plays Gaylord on Friday.

Leading Alpena’s total scoring was Bright, who had 24. The Wildcat’s second and most efficient scorer, Connor Cameron, finished with 18.

The Elks were led by Noah Hilley and Jayden Hresko, who just cracked double-digit points with 11 each.