PAW PAW — Three Rivers added another three losses to its record this past week, losing twice to Paw Paw in a home-and-home Friday, Feb. 16 by a final of 81-55 and losing Tuesday at Parchment 55-37.
Against Paw Paw Friday, Feb. 16, Three Rivers lost by a final of 81-55. The ‘Cats outscored the Red Wolves in the fourth quarter 22-21, the lone quarter in which they did so. Paw Paw led 35-17 at the half.
The Wildcats were led by Zander Barth, who had 13 points and four rebounds, while Heston Saunders had 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. Mason Awe had nine points, three rebounds and three assists, and Jace Gray had eight points, six rebounds and three assists.
On Monday, the Wildcats played Paw Paw again on the road and lost again, this time by a 45-31 score. It was 8-6 for the Red Wolves after the first quarter and 22-12 at the half. Three Rivers tied Paw Paw in points in the third quarter, scoring 12 to Paw Paw’s 12, but it was not enough to stage a comeback.
Barth led with 11 points and four rebounds, while William Wardell had seven points. Lamonta Stone added five points, four assists and three rebounds.
Against Parchment, Three Rivers scored seven points in each of the first three quarters before outscoring their opponents 16-11 in the final quarter. However, the lucky sevens were not enough as Parchment scored nine in the first, 13 in the second, and 22 in the third to cruise to a victory.
Three Rivers was led against Parchment by Awe, who had 10 poitns and three rebounds, while Barth had nine points and four rebounds. Stone and Wardell had four points, three rebounds and one assist each.
With the losses, Three Rivers drop to a 3-18 record, and will finish up the regular season Friday against rival Sturgis, who beat the Wildcats earlier this season for one of their only three wins of the season thus far; they had been winless up to that point.
Centreville wins SW10 championship over Comstock, lose close game to Hartford
COMSTOCK — Centreville clinched the Southwest 10 championship Friday, Feb. 16, defeating Comstock on the road 59-29, before losing a close home contest to Hartford Tuesday, 65-61.
Against Comstock, the Colts led at the half 23-20 in what was a close game, but Centreville exploded for 19 points in the third quarter and 20 points in the fourth quarter while playing lockdown defense, holding the home team to nine points in the third and none in the fourth.
Matthew Swanwick led the way for the Bulldogs with 22 points, followed by Ben Truckenmiller with 14 points and Ethan Miller with 11 points. Declan Kane added seven points.
Against Hartford, Centreville led 14-8 after the first quarter and held a slim 31-30 lead at the half after two monster quarters by both teams. Centreville would hold that same lead, 44-43 at the end of the third, until Hartford pulled away in the final quarter with a 22-17 advantage.
Swanwick led the way for the Bulldogs with 30 points, while Truckenmiller had 20 and Miller had six points.
Mendon wins on homecoming over Burr Oak, hold on against Eau Claire
MENDON — Danny Schragg brought his Mendon team to Burr Oak last week, the site of many games he had been involved in as head coach of the Bobcats. The Hornets made it a successful homecoming, stopping Burr Oak, 71-45. Nursing a 4-point lead at the half, Mendon outscored Burr Oak by 22 points during the last 16 minutes.
“It was a great team win tonight,” stated Schragg. “We started off real slow, made some bad decisions offensively, and they came at us with a lot of energy to take an early lead. We were able to make some shots at the end of the second quarter to take the lead at halftime.”
Ryder Gorham had a big night for the winners, firing in 23 points to lead the winning effort. Quincy Blair tossed in 18 points, and Brayden Crites scored 11. Owen Gorham added eight points, Dylan Cupp had five points, and Jack McCaw and Mason Wilczynski both had three points in the win. Blair pulled down eight rebounds O. Gorham grabbed five missed shots, R. Gorham had four boards, McCaw added three rebounds, and Cupp and Crites both pulled down two rebounds each. O. Gorham and R. Gorham had five assists, while Cupp and Crites added two helpers each. McCaw nabbed four steals, and Blair had three.
“The third quarter, we came out a whole different team,” added Schragg. “We created turnovers off our press and got to the rim. We finished our plays instead of settling for jump shots. It was a huge third quarter for us, and we never looked back.”
Austin Cole topped the Bobcats with 16 points, Ethan and Braxton Boyles both scored eight points, Garrett Johnson added seven points and a rebound, and Camrin Hagen and Landen West both had three points to complete the scoring for Burr Oak. A. Cole pulled down eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot. B. Boyles added seven rebounds, six blocks and an assist while E. Boyles had six boards. Kayden Cole had four rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Kaynen Ledyard had one rebound and one assist. Also coming up with one assist and one rebound was Camrin Hagen, Brayden Ledyard, and West. Johnson had one rebound, and Jacob Trennepohl notched an assist.
Mendon took a 23-point halftime lead against Eau Claire Tuesday night, and still led 65-49 after three, yet the visitors didn’t go down without a fight. The Beavers cut the lead to 11 points with five minutes to play, but the Hornets held on for the 74-64 win.
“We got sloppy with the ball at times, and made some bad passes,” stated coach Danny Schragg. “They picked up the pressure on us in the second half and forced us into some turnovers, but we were able to score on some inbounds plays, hit some late free throws, and held on for the win.”
Owen Gorham had a double-double, scoring 23 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and passing out six assists to lead the winning effort, followed by Jack McCaw, who added 14 points. Ryder Gorham hit for 13 points, while Quincy Blair and Dylan Cupp both notched eight points.
“We got some big points from Cupp and McCaw, and that was important,” added Schragg.
Brayden Crites popped in seven points, and Mason Wilczynski hit a free throw. Eau Claire placed two players in double figures, led by Daquarius Travis, who scored 19 points, and CJ Jenkins added 18.
The Hornets open district play against the Burr Oak Bobcats on Monday. That game will be played in Athens.
Vicksburg rolls Sturgis
STURGIS — The Sturgis boys hosted the Vicksburg Bulldogs last Friday and got knocked off by the score of 62-35. The visitors held an 18-7 lead after the first eight minutes and moved ahead 34-9 at the half. The Trojan offense had a better go of it in the second half, scoring 15 points in the third stanza, and 11 points in the final quarter.
Grady Miller led the Sturgis effort with 16 points, followed by Carson Eicher and Lukis Bir, who both tossed in six points. Gibson Cary and Tanner Hickey booked three points apiece, and Dawson Miller hit a free throw. Friday’s game was senior night, as Miller, Cary, Matt Wickey and George Bucklin were all honored.
For Vicksburg, Mitchell Beyer had 19 points, Drew Gless had 10 points and Carter Brown had nine points.
Constantine wins squeaker over K-Christian, lose to South Haven
CONSTANTINE — Constantine hosted the Kalamazoo Christian boys last Friday and came up with a close 39-35 victory. Caleb Bontrager paced the winners with 14 points, and Isaac Moore added 12 points in the scorebook for the Falcons.
Against South Haven Tuesday, the Falcons lost to the Rams 45-37. No stats were available as of press time.
Howardsville flies by River Valley, Goshen Clinton and Martin
HOWARDSVILLE — Howardsville Christian’s boys’ basketball team had fairly easy wins this past week, blowing out Three Oaks River Valley on Friday, Feb. 16 by a score of 73-24, winning against Goshen Clinton Christian 71-28 on Monday, and destroying Martin 81-37 Tuesday.
Against River Valley at home, John Paul Rose scored 21 points, Kaden Sparks had 13 points, Isaac Nagel added nine points, and Colin Muldoon had eight points. Dylan Muldoon and Sean Kimble added seven points each, Caleb Schwartz had six and Isaiah Bacon scored the final two points.
Against Goshen Clinton Christian, Rose had 21 points, Sparks had 14 points, Colin Muldoon had 13 points and Kimble had 10 points.
To up their win streak to seven games with their win over Martin, Sparks had a game-high 28 points, including four three-pointers, Rose had 19, Colin Muldoon had 14 and Kimble had 13.
The Eagles’ season finale is Friday at home against Benton Harbor Countryside.
White Pigeon whomps Bloomingdale
WHITE PIGEON — The White Pigeon Chiefs thumped the visiting Bloomingdale Cardinals last week, 82-40.
Ty Strawser singed the nets with 28 points, including eight 3-pointers, to lead the Chiefs offense. Mekhi Singleton and Josh Davidson both added 11 points, Wes Roberts tossed in nine points, and Jordan Pisco had seven points in the win.
Roberts hauled in seven rebounds, Singleton grabbed six misses, and Davidson added five rebounds and also dished out six assists. Singleton picked off four steals and also had four assists in the victory. Leading Bloomingdale in scoring was Curtis Cibirski, who scored nine points.
Colon notches OT win over Bellevue
COLON — It took overtime, but the Colon boys came up with a 55-48 win over Bellevue on Tuesday night.
The Magi outscored the Broncos 8-1 in the extra frame to secure the victory. Bellevue had an 18-11 lead going into the second quarter and led 30-25 at the half. Colon knotted the score at 40 after three periods, and after the buzzer sounded ending regulation, the score was tied again at 47 points apiece.
The Magi came out strong in overtime, scoring eight points, while holding the Broncos to only one free throw. Dalton Williams put up 21 points to pace the Colon offense, while Nic Mock and Kyle Muntain helped out with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Muntain connected on three 3-pointers. Maverick Downs added four points in the winning effort. Mock also snatched 14 rebounds to record the double-double, Williams pulled down eight misses, and Downs grabbed four rebounds. The Magi had 31 rebounds in the win. Downs added nine assists and six steals, while Williams and Kayden LaClair came up with one block each.
Caleb Betz was the only Bronco to record double figures, scoring 18 points.
Burr Oak defeats Litchfield, North Adams, Athens
BURR OAK — The Burr Oak Bobcats travelled to Litchfield on Tuesday, Feb. 13 and picked up a close 55-53 win.
“We came out super aggressive from the start,” Burr Oak head coach Ryan VanDosen said. “We made a couple of clutch stops towards the end of the game, which put us in a position to win the game.”
The Bobcats had four players finish in double figures, with Garrett Johnson topping the list. He finished with 16 points. He also had seven rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot. Austin Cole tossed in 14 points, and added six rebounds, eight assists, and one block. Ethan Boyles fired in 13 points and grabbed five missed shots, while Braxton Boyles booked 12 points, hauled down nine rebounds, blocked three shots, and added two assists and one steal.
“It was a great win on the tonight,” stated VanDosen.
Following their loss to Mendon Friday, Burr Oak cruised to a 26-point win over North Adams Monday, 72-46.
Garrett Johnson led the way with 16 points, followed by Ethan Boyles with 15, and Austin Cole, who added 12. Braxton Boyles notched eight points, Landen West and Camrin Hagen scored six points each, and Kayden Cole and Kanen Ledyard had five and four points, respectively.
B. Boyles controlled the boards, yanking down 10 misses, followed by Johnson and A. Cole, who grabbed seven. K. Ledyard and E. Boyles both had five rebounds in the victory, and West added four. Johnson came up with four steals, while A. Cole had two blocks, and B. Boyles recorded one.
The Burr Oak boys took to the road Tuesday night to face the Athens Indians, and came home with a 70-46 win. Braxton Boyles popped in 21 points to pace the Bobcat offense, followed by Kayden Cole with 13, and Garrett Johnson, who scored 10. Ethan Boyles dropped in eight points, and Kaynen Ledyard, along with Camrin Hagen, scored six points each. Brayden Ledyard added three points, Jacob Trennepohl notched two points, and Austin Cole hit a free throw.
Cole was the leading rebounder for the winners, pulling down nine misses, while K. Ledyard and B. Boyles both had five. Hagin and B. Ledyard had four rebounds each, while E. Boyles and Johnson had three apiece. Trennepohl and K. Cole both added two rebounds in the victory. The Bobcats came up with 10 steals, with A. Cole leading the way with four. He also had a team high of six assists, K. Ledyard had five helpers, and E. Boyles dished out four assists.
The Bobcats will play the Mendon Hornets in the opening round of district action on Monday in Athens. Game time is 5:30 p.m.