Comet boys hoops falls short against Michigan Center in crossover; all-league honorees
SPRING ARBOR — The Jonesville varsity boys basketball team fell short in a gritty, high-scoring 74-67 battle with the Michigan Center Cardinals. The game was the third-place match in the annual Cascades Crossover championships.
The crossover championship games were held at Spring Arbor University in front of a crowd that included multiple other Cascades teams and fan bases. Jonesville and the Cardinals played the early game before Napoleon faced Hanover-Horton in the championship match.
The game marked the season finale for the Comets first year in the Cascades Conference. The Comets took second in the West with a 12-4 record and took fourth overall in the conference standings. Michigan Center improved to 18-3 overall on the season.
The Comets built a strong early lead over the Cardinals in their rematch game. The Comets lost to Michigan Center in December of 2023 and were determined to start the rematch with a commanding lead. Three-pointers rained from deep with Caleb Blonde, Warrick Elder and Drew Bradley all hitting 3s. Drew Bradley had two from deep. In addition, seniors Gavin Van Kampen and Micah Calligan had seven and six points, respectively.
The Comets led 22-13 after one quarter. Things would slow down for the Comets in the second quarter, and the Cardinals would outscore the Comets 16-13 before intermission. The Comets held onto a 35-26 lead thanks to Van Kampen and Calligan hitting their four combined free throws and Warrick Elder banking in another triple.
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The Comets had a relatively successful third quarter, scoring an additional 16 points and Bradley hitting another 3-pointer. However, Michigan Center was hot from the arc to start the quarter and cut into the Comet lead early on. They scored a total of 26 points and had four 3s before teams headed back to their benches for the quarter break. Michigan Center now led 55-51.
The fourth quarter would be a traditional back-and-forth struggle with the Comets chasing down a Cardinal lead that would continue to just stay ahead until it was time for fouls. Tre Collins of Michigan Center hit every single free throw in the final stretch of the game to expand the Cardinal lead until the 74-67 final score was sealed.
Coach Jeff Turner saw his team play a well fought game against a team that could have been competing in the Cascades championship game, but in the end, Michigan Center made a few more plays.
"Michigan Center is a really good team," coach Jeff Turner said. "If you look, they could have easily been the first-place team playing in tonight's championship, but the FPR is what got them. So, it was a great game. I thought we came out and played really well to start the game. I think we surprised them a little bit and did some really good things. We knew they were a good team and were going to make some runs. You're not going to keep a 17-win team down for very long before they start to figure it out and start to make shots and plays, and that's what they ended up doing. I think in the end, they just made more plays than us."
Several Comets had standout nights in the scorebook. Senior Warrick Elder had 20 points. Senior Micah Calligan had a season-high 18 points. Senior Gavin Van Kampen had 17 points. Junior Drew Bradley had four 3s for 12 points.
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The Comets, currently 15-6, have played similarly well against the best the Cascades Conference had to throw at them in their inaugural season. Coach Turner believes that the battled hardened Comets showed where they are at as a unit on Saturday night and in a regular season where a couple things bounce their way, and they could have ended up fighting in that championship game themselves.
"We're always talking about how you want to be remembered," coach Turner said. "I think that these guys want to be remembered as winners. So, (we were) fourth place in the league, and we feel like all the teams we played we were right there; a couple bounces here and there, and we easily could have been third, or second or even first. But it didn't work out that way for us, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. Our kids do everything that we ask as a coaching staff and they put us in a chance to get a win. We got down and didn't quit and kept fighting back."
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Looking ahead, the Comets have one more game left on their regular season slate, a LCAA-Cascades matchup against Adrian Madison at home. The (presumed) senior night game on Thursday, Feb. 22 will mark the end of most boys prep hoops games before district play begins.
The Comets will be in Division 3, district 84. More news about matchups will soon be determined, but what is known is that Concord is hosting, and it will include teams from Addison, Hanover-Horton, Hillsdale and Hudson.
Cascades Championship Game
The Napoleon Pirates defeated Hanover-Horton 63-41 to win back-to-back Cascades championships. They improved to 18-3 with one game remaining on their schedule. They haven't lost since the start of the new year. Grant Bradley led the Pirates with 34 points. Luke Soper and Logan Blackledge led the H-H Comets with 13 each.
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Comets earn all-league honors
Between the first and second crossover games, the Cascades Conference recognized the first team all-conference honorees and the 2023-24 Cascades dream team.
Earning dream team honors was senior Warrick Elder. Senior Gavin Van Kampen earned first-team honors and freshman Caleb Blonde earned first-team honors. Junior Drew Bradley earned second-team honors. Senior Micah Calligan earned honorable mention honors.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Jonesville basketball falls short against Michigan Center Spring Arbor
