Monday, February 08. 2010
Mild Monday
There were only a few NCTL girls' games on top on Monday night. I was at Port Hope to see the Bluestars run their winning streak to 15 games, improving to 16-1 overall, with a 61-27 decision over Akron-Fairgrove. The victory gives them a share of the NCTL North. They will go for the outright title on Thursday at Kingston. Look for Tuesday's Tribune for a full report from this game. Below are the scores we have tonight, along with some photos from Port Hope's win.
Girls Basketball
Owen-Gage 40, Caseville 36
Port Hope 61, A-Fairgrove 27
Memphis 57, Dryden 26
Peck at CPS
Friday, February 05. 2010
Friday Fun
It was a night of great boys basketball action on Friday. At the game I attended, EPBP remained alone atop of the GTW with a convincing win over USA, holding the Patriots to a season-low 25 points. Also, North Huron saw its 35-game regular season winning streak snapped at Memphis. Meanwhile, Harbor Beach continues to be the top team in the area, with an easy win over Brown City. Below are some photos from EPBP's win over USA.
Boys Basketball
BCAS 57, Bad Axe 51
EPBP 41, USA 25
Vassar 65, Reese 55
Ubly 44, Marlette 37
Harbor Beach 64, Brown City 41
Cass City 57, Deckerville 35
Sandusky 57, Mayville 22
Kingston 80, Caseville 63
Memphis 40, North Huron 38
Owen-Gage 38, Peck 26
CPS 61, Port Hope 23
A-Fairgrove 38, Dryden 33
Thursday, February 04. 2010
Ladies Night
It was a full schedule of girls basketball for the GTC and NCTL on Thursday. The GTW became a lot more interesting after Vassar handed Reese its first league loss to create a tie with EPBP atop of the standings. The Vulcans stand just one game back. In the GTE, Sandusky is still one game up on Brown City. Port Hope tightened its grip on the NCTL North, with Memphis' win over North Huron. The Yellowjackets still have a comfortable three-game edge in the NCTL South. Below are some photos from EPBP's win over USA.
Girls Basketball
BCAS 49, Bad Axe 31
EPBP 42, USA 38
Vassar 58, Reese 49
Deckerville 49, Cass City 32
Brown City 55, Harbor Beach 49
Sandusky 54, Mayville 34
Marlette 64, Ubly 32
Kingston 48, Caseville 36
Memphis 58, North Huron 49
Peck 55, Owen-Gage 43
Port Hope 55, CPS 44
A-Fairgrove 35, Dryden 30
Thursday, February 04. 2010
Pirates get hot late, clip Bearcats
For most of Wednesday’s game, Harbor Beach’s Jacob Murawske was contained by Ubly’s defense.
With 1:12 remaining, Murawske delivered the final blow to the Bearcats, drilling his first, and only, triple of the night to put his team up by five points.
In a back-and-fourth second half, it was too much for Ubly (9-3, 4-1) to recover from as Harbor Beach (12-0, 5-0) took control of the Greater Thumb East with a 56-51 victory.
“I just couldn’t hit a shot all night, but Shane (Ginther) drove in the lane and kicked it out,” said Murawske. “I just had to make it. It was a great feeling. That was a great win in this place. Now, we have to keep it going.”
Murawske ended with 13 points for the game, eight coming in the final quarter when the Pirates outscored the Bearcats 19-9 to pull away.
“He made some huge shots down the stretch,” said Ubly coach Joel Leipprandt. “He had eight points in the fourth quarter, so he stepped up big for them. That’s what good players do.”
Murawske has been a dependable scorer for Harbor Beach all season, and coach Ron Wruble made sure to keep going back to him.
“You knew it was coming sooner or later,” said Wruble. “It was just a great time for us to hit that shot.”
Harbor Beach trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, but used a steady effort to overcome the deficit.
The Pirates were able to cut it to a manageable 29-21 deficit by halftime.
“They had us scrambling for an answer early,” Wruble said. “We wanted to try and get the lead cut in half, then play the game at that point.
“We really didn’t answer the bell at the tip, but I’m really proud of the way our guys fought to get back into the game and to show enough composure at the end.”
Ubly was its own worst enemy, turning the ball over a season-worst 25 times.
Some of the turnovers were due to the relentless pressure by Harbor Beach, but many of them were unforced, bad passes, traveling calls, or other violations.
“You can’t win any games with 25 turnovers,” Leipprandt said. “That’s the most we’ve had all year, but credit Harbor Beach. They pressured us, and at times we just panicked and didn’t handle the ball like we should have.
“You can’t give the ball away like that.
“Normally, we’re probably a 15 or less turnover team, so that’s 10 possessions that we don’t get by turning the ball over.”
Adding to the Bearcats’ problems in the second half was an unusual injury to Eric Booms.
Booms was cut on his upper lip in the third quarter. It forced him to change uniforms from No. 32 to No. 40, and he was in and out the game in the second half because of bleeding.
Leipprandt said he had to get stitches after the game.
“That really hurt us,” he said. “I felt he was having his best game of the year. He was aggressive to the basket, he was pulling up in the lane...
“He was a big factor in that game. I know when he went out, we weren’t the same aggressive, attacking team.”
Harbor Beach led 3-2 early in the first quarter, and didn’t lead again until beginning the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run.
A layup from Brad Booms with 6:59 gave the Pirates the lead.
From there, the teams exchanged it four times until Murawske went on a personal 7-1 run, capped off by the triple to help secure the game.
“It’s our biggest game of the year,” Murawske said. “We got off to a bit of a cold start, but we fought back and got the win.
“We kept our heads in the game, and kept playing tough defense.”
Justin Braun had 16 points to lead Harbor Beach.
Following the game, Wruble showed some rare emotion as he slapped hands with his players.
However, he knows there are eight games remaining, and the GTE championship wasn’t won on Tuesday.
“We need them all, we’re focused on winning that league championship,” he said. “Every game is for the league championship as far as I’m concerned.
“We wanted to see if we could steal one on the road. Fortunately, we were able to come away with the win.”
The Pirates return home to host Brown City on Friday.
“I know these kids enough with the character they have, so I’m not overly concerned with (a letdown),” he said. “I think they will come out with fire in their eyes on Friday.”
With plenty of games left, Leipprandt made sure his players realized winning the GTE is still possible.
“It’s one game,” he said. “The 10 years that I’ve been here, I think there’s only been one team that’s gone undefeated in the league, so we have to hang in there.”
Tyler Kubacki had a game-high 17 points to lead Ubly. Booms added 13 and Steven Weber had eight points.
NOTES: There was a moment of silence for former Huron County Press editor Chris Ogryski before the game. Ogryski passed away last Thursday. Kubacki has a tribute to Ogryski with “CO” written on both of his shoes... Most of the Harbor Beach players have some form of facial hair. They have all agreed not to shave until they lose. Murawske was happy to keep his growing: “I didn’t feel like shaving tonight, so that’s good.”
Here are some photos from Harbor Beach's win over Ubly:
Tuesday, February 02. 2010
Titanic Tuesday
It was a mix of boys and girls action on Tuesday night. I headed to Caseville to see Owen-Gage run its winning streak to six games with a 73-37 victory. For a full report on that game, please see Wednesday's Tribune. We will also have reports from the rest of the action throughout the Thumb. Until then, here are the scores we have, and some photos from the Bulldogs' win.
Boys Basketball
Owen-Gage 73, Caseville 37
North Huron 58, A-Fairgrove 44
CPS 53, Kingston 34
Memphis def. Dryden
Girls Basketball
EPBP 33, Bad Axe 23
Cass City 50, USA 46
Reese 57, BCAS 21
Vassar 55, Mayville 36
Brown City 48, Deckerville 39
Harbor Beach 65, Ubly 22
Sandusky 43, Marlette 34
Tuesday, February 02. 2010
State Basketball Polls
Tuesday, February 02. 2010
Memorable Monday for Port Hope
Kayla Gust made sure of that.
The Bluestar junior bobbed and weaved her way through the North Huron defense in the final four seconds Monday night, and with one flick of the wrist banked in a 30-footer at the buzzer to give Port Hope a thrilling 49-46 North Central Thumb League victory over the stunned Warriors.
"All I did was dribble up court and hit a running one-hander — it worked out perfectly," Gust said, matter-of-factly. "It's a great feeling."
Gust's heroics spoiled a valiant effort from the Warriors, who trailed by as many as 12 points in the final quarter. In fact, North Huron wiped out a 46-38 deficit with 2:22 to play, tying the game at 46 with just under a minute left.
After the teams exchanged possessions, Port Hope got the ball on the far baseline with just four seconds to play.
"We were looking to hit someone running up the sideline," explained Port Hope coach Don Pitts. "It kind of worked exactly like we mapped it out... It just worked, amazingly.
"I'd like to call it skill, but... Kayla is a very good three-point shooter, but to hit one like that... It was kind of a wild shot, but I will take it. We'll take it."
While the Bluestars celebrated, the Warriors stood around silently stunned by the turn of events.
"We played perfect defense on that last play," said North Huron coach Mark Krug. "There is nothing we could have done. They got the ball in the hands of the shooter they wanted. And she can make those kinds of shots.
"It wasn't a good look, a good shot. But she had to put it up — and it went in. We forced her to take that kind of shot — and it went in. We couldn't do anything else."
The dramatic ending wouldn't have happened if not for a wild final few minutes. North Huron sophomore Ashley Case sparked her team's comeback, scoring 10 of her team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter. She drained a short jumper with 1:11 left to make it 46-44. Then, after Port Hope missed the front end of a 1-and-1, she nailed two tosses of her own, tying the game at 46 with 53.3 seconds left.
"I just can't say enough about the girls," Krug said. "I have never been so proud of a team in my life. In the last few minutes I think we were just a lot more aggressive on defense. We gutted it out. I thought we had them rattled a bit.
"We were down (eight) with 2:22 to go and I told them, 'Let's make this the best 2:22 you have ever played.' And they came out... We just about had it. The girls just never quit."
Pitts saw his team back peddling at that point.
"(Ashley Case) came to life for them — she lit us up in the fourth quarter," Pitts said. "We had that eight-point lead with just over two minutes to go and didn't handle it very well. We'll have to work on that and do a better job.
"I think we let our minds get tired. And when that happens, we make silly passes and silly mistakes."
North Huron actually had two chances to take the lead in the final moments, but had a turnover and a missed three-pointer of its own.
Port Hope grabbed the missed shot and called timeout as the clock wound down to 3.2 seconds. After some debate, the officials set the clock at four seconds.
That set up the thrilling finish.
"From a fan's standpoint, I am sure that's what you want. As a coach, I really didn't want it to get to that point," Pitts joked.
The Bluestars were led by Gust and Kristen Smaglinski, both of whom knocked in 14 points. Allyson Koglin added 10 points.
Port Hope, now 14-1 overall, 12-1 NCTL, enjoys a two-game edge over the Warriors in the NCTL North Division. The Bluestars have a pivotal game Thursday at home against pesky Carsonville-Port Sanilac.
"We have CPS coming to town Thursday," Pitts said. "They gave us fits the last time we played them. We have to be ready to play. We can't take a night off."
Besides Case, North Huron (11-4, 10-3) had Sara Clancy and Megan Heffner with eight points each.
The Warriors host NCTL South Division-leading Memphis on Thursday.
"These girls are resilient," Krug said. "They'll bounce back. They played their hearts out tonight, and I know we'll play a good game Thursday."
Port Hope led 17-12 after one quarter and 28-19 at the break, capped by, ironically, a three-pointer from Gust with two seconds left before halftime.
North Huron sliced its deficit to five early in the third quarter, though still trailed 40-30 entering the entertaining final eight minutes.
ROUNDUP
A-Fairgrove 55,
Owen-Gage 48
AKRON — A big second half lifted Akron-Fairgrove over Owendale-Gagetown.
The Bulldogs led 27-24 at the half, but saw the Vikings take a 36-33 lead to the final quarter.
Theresa Burkey had 21 points and six rebounds for the Vikings while Sarah Crane added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Rebecca Timon 10 points.
Owen-Gage had Christy Schmidt with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Christin Harris netted 10 points and 12 boards.
Kingston 37, Peck 34
KINGSTON — Peck gave Kingston a battle before the Cardinals were able to hang on.
Kingston led 8-7 after one quarter and 19-12 at the half.
Emily Chambers had 15 points for the winners while Abby Brzezinski added eight.
Nicole Pries had 11 points for Peck.
Here are some photos from the game...
Saturday, January 30. 2010
Frantic Friday
It was a full slate of boys basketball on Friday night. I attended North Huron's 68-51 win over Kingston while Mike Bogan was at EPBP's 66-55 victory over Reese. Look for Saturday's Tribune for full reports from each of those games, as well as the rest of the action from around the Thumb. Below are the results from Friday's games, along with some photos from North Huron's win.
Boys Basketball
Cass City 71, Bad Axe 40
EPBP 66, Reese 55
BCAS 50, Vassar 48
Ubly 62, Deckerville 29
Harbor Beach 62, Sandusky 51
Marlette 64, Mayville 30
North Huron 68, Kingston 51
Caseville 53, Dryden 49
Peck 64, Port Hope 24
CPS 44, A-Fairgrove 35
Thursday, January 28. 2010
Big IS Better: USA wears down Bad Axe
It worked for a half.
The Patriots then countered with their size and strength in the middle to remain in the top half of the topsy-turvy Greater Thumb West, wearing down the Hatchets and securing a hard-earned 68-42 victory.
USA outscored Bad Axe 43-16 in the second half, turning a one-point deficit at the break into what looked like a blowout win.
It was far from it, says USA coach Mark Gainforth.
"I give Bad Axe credit for the way things went in the first half," he said. "They came out with a lot of energy. Really, until halfway through the fourth quarter the game was in doubt, in my mind.
"Our guard play wasn't that good (in the first half). We panicked. We came out of the gate turning the ball over. We haven't seen a half-court trap like that. You hope they can figure it out themselves, but...
"We talked at halftime and we did a little better job. And I think Bad Axe got a little tired, too. It's hard to play like that for 32 minutes."
Bad Axe's all-over-the-place pace on defense forced several USA turnovers in the first and second quarters. But as the game wore on, the Hatchets wore out.
"I really thought we had them rattled a bit in the first half," said Bad Axe coach Jim Quinn. "Our intensity was high, the game plan was working, and we were hitting some shots.
"All of a sudden, in the second half, we kind of ran out of gas. We were a step behind, especially on defense. They were getting a lot of layups because we were a step too slow."
USA's inside tandem of Clinton Krueger and Jake Holland took advantage. Krueger tossed in a career-high 19 points while Holland, playing in just his fifth game since returning from a hand injury, added 12 points.
"This is Clinton's third game in a row where I think he's gotten double figures in points, rebounds and probably blocks, too," Gainforth said. "He's (played great) the last few games. It's nice to see him play consistently — actually dominant on the defensive end.
"And now, with Jake, we have a couple of guys in the middle."
Not only did the twosome do damage on the offensive end, they swatted away numerous Bad Axe shots inside, and even out on the perimeter.
"Even in the first half they were bothering us with their size," Quinn said.
The Hatchets, who entered the game leading the area in three-pointers, drilled four long-range bombs in the opening half. They led by as many as seven with 1:48 to go before the break, though took only a 26-25 edge to the half.
Still, Quinn liked his team’s first-half effort.
"The kids played great in the first half," he said. "It was probably the best we've played all year, especially against a quality team.
“I think we got tired in the second half. It's an intense way to play the whole game. But the boys played hard."
The Patriots scored 13 straight points early in the third quarter, turning a three-point deficit into a 38-28 advantage halfway through the period. USA settled for a 47-33 cushion heading to the fourth, outscoring the Hatchets 22-7 in the decisive eight minutes after the break.
Besides Krueger and Holland, USA had Dakota Gangler with eight points while Jon Slack, Andrew Botello and Peter Gacik chipped in six points each.
The Patriots, now 6-4 overall, 3-1 GTW, are idle until next Wednesday when they travel to Cass City.
"We have a long way to go to be good, but we're competing," Gainforth said. "That's the most important thing."
For Bad Axe, Luke Flannery knocked in 15 points while Jeremy Pawlowski added 11 and Steve Salens six.
The Hatchets, now 4-6 overall, 0-3 GTW, travel to Cass City on Friday.
"We're headed in the right direction, but we have to get a win," said Quinn, whose team has dropped four straight. "We've been on a little slide, so a win would do us a world of good.
"Being an athlete and a true competitor, the GTC is what you want. This conference is going to test you every night. We have to be ready for Cass City..."
Here are a few photos from the game...
Wednesday, January 27. 2010
Wednesday Wrap...Pirates roll to 10-0
It was a relatively quiet Wednesday around the Thumb with only a five GTC boys games on tap. I was at Harbor Beach for a half to see the Pirates improve to 10-0 with a 67-30 win over Mayville. They got out to a 30-0 lead at one point. Mike Bogan will have a full report on the USA's 68-42 victory over Bad Axe. Below are some photos from Harbor Beach's win.
Boys Basketball
USA 68, Bad Axe 42
EPBP 46, Vassar 37
Reese 53, Cass City 46
Ubly 53, Brown City 48
Harbor Beach 67, Mayville 30
Tuesday, January 26. 2010
Terrific Tuesday
Both boys and girls were in action on Tuesday night. I was at EPBP's 37-21 win over Vassar while Mike Bogan was at Bad Axe's 43-31 victory over USA. Look for Wednesday's Tribune for full reports on both games.
Photos from EPBP's and Bad Axe's wins are posted below.
Boys Basketball
Sandusky 73, Deckerville 43
A-Fairgrove 62, Caseville 35
North Huron 69, Port Hope 48 - Sean Clancy had a career-high 42 points for the Warriors!
Peck 51, Kingston 40
Owen-Gage 45, Memphis 42
CPS 63, Dryden 43
Girls Basketball
Bad Axe 43, USA 31
EPBP 37, Vassar 21
Reese 63, Cass City 20
Brown City 67, Ubly 30
Sandusky 53, Deckerville 25
Harbor Beach 55, Mayville 37
Tuesday, January 26. 2010
Bitzer earns Player of the Week
Tuesday, January 26. 2010
Girls Night Tuesday... State Polls...
Monday, January 25. 2010
Monster Monday
The NCTL girls were in action on Monday night, and I decided to do double duty by attending the North Huron at Caseville contest, then head down Kinde Road for the Owen-Gage at Port Hope tilt. The Warriors and Bluestars rolled to wins. Below are some photos from those games. Please see Tuesday's paper for a wrap of those games, along with the Tribune's new Girls Top 10 Poll, and updated girls basketball statistics. The scores we have are not a misprint, 55 seemed to be the lucky number. Apparently, Memphis didn't get the memo.
Girls Basketball
North Huron 55, Caseville 31
Port Hope 55, Owen-Gage 25
Kingston 55, Dryden 27
Memphis 49, Peck 28
Saturday, January 23. 2010
Fantastic Friday
The GTW took the spotlight on Friday. I was at USA's 46-44 win over Reese while Mike Bogan took in Vassar's narrow 61-58 victory over Cass City. The Tribune will have full reports on both of those games in our Saturday paper. You will also find all the scores from Friday's games, updated standings and highlights from most of the other area games in Saturday's paper. Below are the high scorers from the games that were reported to us, along with some photos from USA's win.
For those wondering about the orange and pink shirts being worn at USA, here is a portion of my story from Saturday's paper to help explain.
USA and Reese may be rivals on the floor, but the schools came together for a great cause. Patriot fans wore orange shirts while Rocket fans sported pink shirts in the “ALL FOR A CURE” Relay for Life Fundraiser. Shirts were available for $10, with all the profits from their sales, along with anything orange bought from the concession stand, and the halftime half-court shootout, being donated to the American Cancer Society in the name of both schools’ Relay for Life teams. The Tuscola County Relay for Life event will be Aug. 21-22 at the Tuscola County Fairgrounds. Over 700 shirts were sold on Friday night.
Boys Basketball
Ubly 65, Bad Axe 43 - For the Bearcats, Tyler Kubacki had 19 points, including 13 in the big third-quarter spurt. Steven Weber and Justin Cleary added eight points each. For the Hatchets, Luke Flannery had 11 points while Ethan Sisco added 10, Jeremy Pawlowski nine and Jesse Quinn eight.Vassar 61, Cass City 58 - The Red Hawks had four players in double figures, paced by Justin Ketterer's 16 points. Rubey delivered a season-high 15 points while Alex Varney had 14 and Cameron Dunnuck 10.
Vassar's trio of Garrett Troike, Troy Hecht and Ryan Amend were responsible for most of the Vulcans' damage. Troike dropped in a season-high 17 points, including eight in the opening quarter. Hecht, the GTW's second-leading scorer, added 16 points while Amend chipped in 14.
USA 46, Reese 44 - Clinton Krueguer had a season-high 18 points for the Patriots. Josh Lakie scored all of his 15 points in the second half for USA. The Rockets had Josh Pickell with a game-high 23 points.
Brown City 41, Sandusky 39 - Dylan Mason had a game-high 14 points to lead Brown City. Sandusky had Jordan Coats with 10 points.
Deckerville 59, Mayville 48 - Fritch led the winners with 25 points while Scott Gobie added 12 and Cody Hoff 10. Mayville had Jonathan Maddocks with 10 points.
North Huron 71, Dryden 50 - Sean Clancy matched his season-high of 29 points to lead North Huron while Kevin Rice and Erik Dhyse each added 10 and Tyler Preston chipped in nine points.
Owen-Gage 55, Kingston 50 - Nick Zaleski had 20 points to lead the Bulldogs while Ryan Francis added 19 points. Taylor Nicol led the Cardinals with 12 points while Terry Edwards added 11.
Harbor Beach 67, Marlette 49
CPS 82, Caseville 43
Memphis 67, Port Hope 20
Peck 54, A-Fairgrove 35
Calendar
|
February '10 |
|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |