News Photo by James Andersen Rogers City’s Nick Freel (2) drives in for a layup during a boys basketball game against Whittemore-Prescott on Friday in Rogers City.

ROGERS CITY–With about 41 seconds to go in the first quarter, J.D. Ellenberger launched a shot from the perimeter, hitting a perfect three-point shot.

Just 11 seconds later, there was Ellenberger again, coming up with a steal and another bucket.

It was just that kind of night for the Rogers City boys basketball team; a night of big plays on both ends of the floor and lots of scoring.

Nick Freel scored 26 points, Ellenberger added 13 and eight different Rogers City players scored as the Hurons ended a challenging week on a dominating note with a 71-27 win over Whittemore-Prescott on Friday.

Cam Stretch added 11 points for the Hurons (7-4), who bounced back strongly after a frustrating loss to Posen on Tuesday. The Hurons raced out to a 25-5 lead after one quarter and never looked back.

Ellenberger’s steal and score in the final 30 seconds was just one of several times where the Hurons picked the ball off around half court and turned it into points on the other end.

“We came out and we did really well on defense. Offensively, we hit some shot finally and looked good,” Rogers City coach Matt Ponik said. “I was proud of them today with the effort. We did a good job I think overall. The way they came out…it was a huge difference from the effort and energy we had against Posen.”

Against a shorthanded Whittemore squad playing without Dana Thorson, the Hurons did just about everything they wanted to offensively on their homecoming night. The Hurons attacked the basket early, had some success from long range with four three-pointers in the first quarter and outrebounded the Cardinals for several second-chance buckets.

It was just the kind of thing Ponik hopes to see as Rogers City gears up for the second half of the season.

“We’re trying to teach them how to do different things–working on the high-low, working on back doors, working on seeing the floor better against zone (defense)–just working on the things and we to (and tell them) don’t rely on just one thing,” Ponik said. “You get that emotion and basketball is all about momentum.”

Rogers City led 39-10 at halftime and stayed ahead comfortably, despite an improved effort from the Cardinals in the third quarter. Whittemore was only outscored 17-12 in the third quarter, but was limited to just four points the rest of the way.

Andrew Woloszyk hit a triple at the buzzer to end the third quarter, giving the Hurons a 56-22 lead and Rogers City put together a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to finish the game strong.

Alex Kendra led Whittemore with 10 points.

Rogers City hosts Onaway on Monday.

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BOX SCORE: Field Goals Made/Free Throws Made/Free Throws Attempted/Total Points

ROGERS CITY (71): C. Streich 3 3-4 11; L. Fleming 1 1-2 3; N. Freel 10 6-6 26; J. Ellenberger 5 0-0 13; M. Newhouse 1 2-5 4; D. Flewelling 2 2-2 6; A. Woloszyk 2 0-0 6; D. LaFleche 1 0-0 2.

WHITTEMORE (27): K. Hottois 2 0-0 6; T. Mars 1 0-0 2; N. Smith 2 0-0 5; A. Kendra 5 0-0 10; L. Mervyn 2 0-0 4.