Basketball roundup: St. Philip girls run past Bellevue; Harper Creek boys get first win
BELLEVUE - The St. Philip girls basketball team features athletes who are quick.
So the strategy for Tiger coach David Grimm, is to hope his team gets off to quick starts and not let up on the gas after that.
The Tigers' game plan worked well on its trip to Bellevue as St. Philip started fast and didn’t let up as it rolled past the home Broncos, 49-19, in Southern Michigan Athletic Association girls basketball action on Friday at Bellevue High School.
Using pressure defense and scoring almost exclusively on the fast break early, St. Philip led 33-8 at halftime on its way to a 2-1 record on the season.
“We always want to set the tone early. We have good athletes, so we want to get the ball and go and move the ball up court as fast as we can,” Grimm said. “The matchup dictated what we could do tonight. We thought we could run. We always want to move the ball on the fast break where I know we can score.”
Addi Dzwik led St. Philip with 22 points with Mimi Hibbard adding 11 points.
Alivia Endsley had 11 points for Bellevue, which fell to 1-3.
St. Philp hadn’t played for more than a week, but the Tigers didn’t look it.
“Last time we played was last Thursday. Having that week off so early in the season, I was worried how we were going to play. But we got a win on the road in the conference, so I was happy with that,” Grimm said.
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Battle Creek Central 42, Gull Lake 39
In a game that was close throughout, with BCC leading 17-16 at halftime, the Bearcats pulled away with a 14-9 advantage in the fourth quarter for this Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference win. A'Mya Hodges had 20 points and four steals for BCC, including 13 points in the second half. Za'Kariona Caldwell added 13 points for the Bearcats, who go to 2-1. Bree Eklund had 11 points for Gull Lake with Addy Woodrow adding 10 as the Blue Devils fall to 2-2.
Parma Western 60, Pennfield 33
Pennfield dropped its league opener and goes to 1-2 overall as Emilee Klacking had 10 points and five rebounds for the Panthers as Natalie Hensel added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Portage Central 53, Lakeview 27
Lakeview fell to 0-4 after this loss to undefeated Portage Central. Monroe Jewell led the Spartans with nine points.
Marshall 45, Coldwater 37
Marshall upset defending league champ Coldwater as the Redhawks go to 2-2. Addie Waito had 21 points to lead Marshall with Emily Dingee adding 15. Coldwater suffered its first loss of the season and is now 3-1.
Climax-Scotts 45, Calhoun Christian 25
Climax-Scotts is now 4-0 after a non-conference win over Calhoun Christian (1-3). Holly Talbert had 13 points to lead the Panthers. Jayna Schwartz had 11 points for Calhoun Christian.
Colon 50, Burr Oak 16
Colon stays undefeated at 3-0 as the Magi led 30-3 at halftime. Reese Williams led Colon with 29 points and four steals.
Olivet 50, Sexton 15
Magan Priesman scored a career-high 27 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists as Olivet improves to 2-2. Karley King added 12 points and three assists for the Eagles.
Battle Creek Academy 61, Coldwater Pansophia 21
Sofia Keller had 31 points as Battle Creek Academy gets to 4-0 with Olivia Keller adding 24.
Mendon 61, Athens 16
Athens fell to 0-3 as Maria Bronsink chipped in with seven points for the Indians.
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Boys Basketball
Harper Creek 58, Jackson Northwest 38
Harper Creek earned its first win of the season and is now 1-5 after knocking off Jackson Northwest (2-4) in Interstate 8 Conference play. Tre'Quon Cotton led the Beavers with 14 points with Spencer Denney and Brayden Bess adding 12 points each.
Coldwater 48, Marshall 46
In a battle of the two teams that shared the Interstate 8 Conference title a year ago, Coldwater edged Marshall to improve what has been a slow start to the season and climb to 2-4. Gavin Taylor led Coldwater with 18 points as Ayden Dirschell added 13 points and nine rebounds. Marshall is now 3-3 as the Redhawks were led by Austin Burns with 16 points and 10 rebounds as Austin Miller added 10 points.
Parma Western 56, Pennfield 49
Pennfield trailed 31-19 at halftime in this Interstate 8 Conference game and falls to 2-4 overall. Jonathan Lake had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Pennfield with Calvin Paesens adding 10 points and four assists.
Portage Central 79, Lakeview 74
Lakeview suffered its first loss on Thursday and goes to 4-1. The Spartans entered the fourth quarter tied at 58-58 before Portage Central came away with the hard-fought win to improve to 4-1. LeBron Campbell had 28 points and nine rebounds for Lakeview with Jacob Kucharczyk adding 12 points as Bradyn McGill grabbed eight rebounds.
Gull Lake 60, Battle Creek Central 51
Gull Lake climbed back to .500 and is 3-3 after a league win over the Bearcats. Ryker Corstange had 19 points and 14 steals with Kai Watts adding 19 points. Battle Creek Central remains winless at 0-4 as Michael Mosley had 16 points and Josh Harris added 14.
Climax-Scotts 57, Calhoun Christian 44
Climax-Scotts outscored Calhoun Christian 14-1 in overtime to come away with this non-conference win. Chase VanMiddlesworth had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead C-S with Miles Shannon adding 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Quincy 43, Reading 36
Quincy used a 21-14 advantage in the second half to earn this Big Eight win after the game was tied 22-22 at halftime. Brandon Miller led the Orioles with 13 points and 12 rebounds as Quincy improves to 2-2.
Battle Creek Academy 75, Coldwater Pansophia 27
Nathan Thomson set the school record for points in a game with 45, including five 3-pointers, as Battle Creek Academy is now 4-2. Jordan Morey chipped in with 11 points.
Colon 55, Burr Oak 50
Colon trailed 27-17 at halftime, but rallied for the SCAA win. Dalton Williams had 26 points for the Magi with Dom Mock adding 20 points.
Saugatuck 48, Galesburg-Augusta 34
Saugatuck led 22-9 at halftime as Galesburg-Augusta falls to 4-2. Ethan Thomas had 11 points to lead the Rams.
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Basketball Roundup: St. Philip girls, Harper Creek boys get key wins
