THREE RIVERS — The losing skid for Three Rivers’ boys’ basketball team continued this past week, losing 68-48 to Niles on Friday, and nearly being doubled up by Portage Northern on the road Tuesday 71-36.
Against Niles, Luis Warmack had 21 points and five rebounds to lead the team, while Zander Barth had 13 points and six rebounds. Lamonta Stone and Heston Saunders had four points each. Jace Gray nabbed six rebounds and notched three assists for the ‘Cats. Mike Phillips of Niles led all scorers on the evening with 27 points.
Against Portage Northern, Barth led the team in scoring with 10 points, while Saunders had nine points, two assists and five rebounds. Stone, Warmack and Mason Awe had four points each.
The losses move the Wildcats’ record to 2-11.
Centreville wins close game against White Pigeon; defeats Hartford, Bloomingdale
CENTREVILLE — In a big rivalry game played on Friday, the Centreville Bulldogs edged the White Pigeon Chiefs, 41-39. Both teams held double digit leads at various points of the game, with big scoring runs contributing to the close score at the end.
White Pigeon had a 13-2 edge in scoring to close out the third quarter, moving the Chiefs to a 33-25 lead going into the last period. The Bulldogs then went on a 16-6 run, fueled by two Kobe Carpenter threes and a pair of Carpenter free throws, which provided the difference in the outcome.
Matt Swanwick had 19 points on the night to pace the Bulldogs, while Carpenter put nine points in the scorebook. Isaak Miller finished with six points, Ben Truckenmiller had four, and Declan Kane added three points in the win. The Chiefs were led by Jordan Pisco, who tallied 14 points, Wes Roberts had eight, and Ty Strawser notched six points. Also scoring for White Pigeon was Josh Davidson with five points, and Drew Kobryn and Mekhi Singleton with three points each.
On Monday, the Bulldogs defeated Hartford 65-52. Centreville was down 14-8 after the first quarter before a 23-point explosion in the second quarter propelled them to a 31-28 lead at halftime. The lead would expand to 50-38 at the end of the third quarter.
Centreville was led against Hartford by Swanwick with 29 points, Carpenter with 15 points and Truckenmiller with 11.
On Tuesday, the Bulldogs routed Bloomingdale at home by a final of 66-27. Carpenter led the way with 18 points, followed by Swanwick with 15, Truckenmiller with seven, and Garrison Bunning and Ethan Miller with six points each.
White Pigeon wins big against Marcellus
MARCELLUS — The White Pigeon boys made the trip to Marcellus and came home with a 76-59 win.
Strong long-range shooting and balanced scoring was the key for the Chiefs, as they connected on 16 three-pointers and had four players in double figures. Ty Strawser led the way for the winners with 21 points, all coming via the three. He also had four rebounds and three assists. Drew Kobryn netted 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out three assists, while Josh Davidson contributed 15 points, six assists and five rebounds. Mekhi Singleton finished with 10 points and six assists.
Marcellus was led by Beau Ferguson, who had 22 points.
Mendon wins OT thriller against Eau Claire, loses to Bellevue, wins against Climax-Scotts
EAU CLAIRE — Mendon’s Quincy Blair canned a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, and the Hornets would go on to claim an exciting overtime win against Eau Claire Tuesday night, 82-78.
“What a huge road win for us tonight,” coach Danny Schragg said. “We fouled for the entire last minute of regulation, they missed some free throws, and we were able to get within one point.”
The Beavers got to the free throw line again, made both shots, and were up by three points with just seconds left on the clock. Brayden Crites found Blair on the wing, and he was able to knock down the game-tying shot as the clock ran out.
In the overtime period, Blair canned another three and Dylan Cupp hit a layup, and Mendon was able to seal the game with a steal.
“We were kind of sloppy on the defensive end early on, but we managed to grab a 12-point lead in the second quarter, but they kept chipping away and cut our lead to seven at the half,” added Schragg.
Mendon was able to build another double-digit lead early in the second half, but the Eau Claire press forced turnovers which lead to a Beavers lead in the final period. The last second heroics by Blair gave the Hornets new life, and eventually, the victory.
Blair not only scored the biggest bucket of the game, but he ended as the leading scorer for the winners with 25 points. He had plenty of help, as well. Owen Gorham scored 21 points, and Ryder Gorham wasn’t far behind, netting 18 points. Crites finished with eight points, Jack McCaw put up five points, and teammates Dylan Cupp and Mason Wilczynski scored three and two points, respectively.
Blair also yanked down 10 rebounds to finish off his double-double, O. Gorham snagged eight boards, and Crites recorded six rebounds. R. Gorham dished out six assists, O. Gorham had five helpers, and McCaw grabbed six steals, had three assists, and 3 rebounds in the win. Wilczynski added two steals for the Hornets. Summing up the victory, Schragg added “As tough and as close as this game was, man, our kids just never gave up.”
The Mendon Hornets took on the Bellevue Broncos Thursday, and came out on the wrong end of an 89-34 decision. Owen Gorham was the leading scorer for Mendon, putting in 19 points.
Earlier in the week, the Hornets travelled to Climax-Scotts, and picked up an 11-point win over the Panthers. Owen Gorham recorded a double-double for the winners, scoring 15 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Quincey Blair also hit double figures in scoring and rebounding, popping in 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He also added two assists. Brayden Crites tossed in 12 points, Ryan Gorham had 11 points, two steals and two assists, while Jack McCaw scored three points. Mason Wilczynski and Dylan Cupp both notched two points in the win.
“We were able to grind out a win tonight,” commented Mendon Coach Danny Schragg on the Climax-Scotts win. “We were able to take care of the ball for most of the game, and we were able to get our offense going in the second half. It’s a good win for us, and it was nice seeing four of our guys getting into double figures.”
The Hornets are now 8-8 on the season.
Constantine loses heartbreaker to Bronson, loses to Schoolcraft, Coloma
CONSTANTINE — The Constantine boys welcomed the Bronson Vikings to town Wednesday, Jan. 24, and through three quarters, the Falcons looked to be on their way to a win. Bronson, however, spoiled those plans with a 25-point fourth quarter enroute to a tight 56-51 win. Constantine held a 40-31 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Kamron Brackett came up big for the visitors, as he dumped in a game-high 28 points. Saylor Wotta also scored in double figures for the Vikings, scoring 13 points. Miles Losinski added eight points, and Dom Kiomento booked seven points for the winners.
The Falcons had two players hit double digits, as Josh Outlaw tallied 16 points and Caleb Bontrager scored ten points. Cooper Juday had 9 points, Isaac Moore scored seven, and Ivan Baker and Logan Osborne both had three points. Rushawn James and Logan Patmalnieks rounded out the Constantine totals with two points and one point, respectively.
The first half was a close one, as Bronson held a slim 24-23 lead at the half, but behind a 17-7 difference in the third period, the Falcons pulled ahead by nine heading to the final eight minutes. The Vikings then exploded for 25 points in the fourth and held Constantine to 11 points.
On Friday, Constantine lost to Schoolcraft 69-25, and on Tuesday, lost to Coloma 57-45. Against Schoolcraft, Caleb Bontrager led the team with 12 points, and against Coloma, Donovan Miller led the team with 13 points.
Colon loses decision to Hillsdale Academy
COLON — The Colon Magi dropped a 59-36 decision against Hillsdale Academy on Tuesday night. Dalton Williams was the lone double-digit scorer for Colon, as he netted 21 points. He also recorded 11 rebounds to complete the double double. Maverick Downs scored seven, Nic Mock added six points, and Kyle Muntain finished with two points.
The Magi found themselves down 25-13 at the end of the first half, and saw Hillsdale pull away in the second half enroute to the 23-point win. Mock also grabbed 11 rebounds for Colon, and Downs finished with eight. Muntain passed out six assists, Mock had four helpers, while Downs and Colin Trattles finished with one assist each.
The loss drops the Magi to 6-7, and they’ll attempt to get back to .500 when they visit Burr Oak on Thursday to take on the Bobcats.
Vicksburg wins close game against Coldwater, loses close game to Otsego
VICKSBURG — Jordan Diekman hit a free throw with five seconds to go in the game to help his Vicksburg boys’ basketball team to a 62-61 victory Tuesday against Coldwater.
Mitch Beyer had 15 points to lead the Bulldogs, Carter Brown had 12 points and Grant Balazs had eight points. Coldwater was led by Jackson Reilly with 14 points.
On Friday, in a matchup of the Bulldog teams, Vicksburg lost a close 52-48 game to Otsego. Jaxson Wilson led Vicksburg with 16 points, Jordan Diekman had eight points, and Mitch Beyer had eight points.
Pittsford threes too much for Burr Oak
BURR OAK — The Burr Oak boys ran into a hot shooting Pittsford team that hit 11 three-point shots, which led to a 65-49 win for the Wildcats.
“They shot lights out from beyond the arch, and we had a few costly turnovers towards the end that hurt us,” stated Burr Oak Coach Ryan VanDosen. “I am proud of how hard the team fought tonight.”
Austin Cole had 17 points to lead the Bobcat offense. He also had six steals, two rebounds, and two assists on the night. Ethan Boyles dropped in nine points, grabbed seven boards, and had two assists, while Braxton Boyles recorded eight points, pulled down eight rebounds, and booked two steals and one assist. Kaynen Ledyard added seven points, three assists and two rebounds, and teammate Garrett Johnson tallied six points, had four rebounds, two assists and one steal. Kayden Cole rounded out the Burr Oak effort with two points, two steals, two assists and one rebound.
Next up for the Bobcats is a road game in Colon on Feb. 1.
Howardsville Christian defeats Eau Claire, Lawrence
HOWARDSVILLE — Howardsville Christian notched two ins this past week, defeating Eau Claire on Saturday 80-45 and Lawrence on Tuesday 63-45.
Against Eau Claire, three players scored more than 20 points each: John Paul Rose with 27, Kaden Sparks with 24, and Colin Muldoon with 21.
Against Lawrence, Rose led the team with 19 points, Muldoon and Sparks had 13 points each, and Isaac Nagel had 10 points.
The wins move the Eagles to 9-4.