Jonesville boys and girls basketball sweep the Pat Paterson Pool A finals
HILLSDALE — In a battle between two former conference rivals, it was the newly minted Cascades programs that took down the Big 8 at the Pat Patterson Pool A finals.
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The Jonesville boys and girls basketball teams were matched up against the Reading Rangers in Friday night's Pat Paterson Pool Rotary tournament finals held at Hillsdale College.
Both Comet teams dominated the second half of their games to earn Pat Paterson Pool A championships. For the Comet girls basketball team and coach Tom Dunn, this was their second straight Pool A title. The Comet boys basketball team won the Pool B title in 2021. They fell to Reading last year but managed to take down the Rangers in this year's finals.
The Jonesville boys basketball team defeated Reading for a Pool A title in a 53-26 final. The Comets had a single-digit lead for the entirety of the first half and held a 21-17 advantage at halftime.
The Comets then outscored Reading 16-3 in the third quarter to seal the win.
Leading the way for the Comets was Warrick Elder with 15 points and six steals. Gavin Van Kampen had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Van Kampen would end up winning the Pool A boys MVP. Micah Calligan had eight points and Caleb Blonde had seven points.
The Rangers were led by Brady Kling, who had eight points, including two triples. Brayden Wright had seven points. Nathan Robbins had five points and three steals.
Over in the girls championship game, the Comets won 46-28 over Reading, despite the drastic score differential, the Comets held on to a slim 29-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Rangers were only able to sink one free throw for their only point of the final quarter of play. Meanwhile, the Comets added 17 points before the buzzer sounded.
Three Comets had 10 points in the game, including Alexis Trine, Reese Stanton and Lyra Nichols. Gracen Hager added six points to the team total. Haley Mach had five points. Trine had six rebounds. Korra Estel had four assists. Mach had six steals, four rebounds and three assists. Nichols had five rebounds.
For the Rangers, Aubree Ervans had 13 points. Maggie Santure had six points. Jenna Londeau had one triple and Brea Wiler had three points. Ervans led the team with six rebounds. Wiler had five. Londeau and Arian McDowell each had two steals.
The MVP of the Pool A girls tournament went to Alexis Trine. This is the second year in a row that Trine has earned MVP and this is the third straight Pool A title for the Jonesville girls prep hoops team and coach Tom Dunn.
The Comet girls basketball team now stands at 4-3 overall heading into the New Year. The Comet boys team is 6-3 overall, just behind the 7-2 Colts and Hornets who lead the County regular season standings.
For the Rangers, the boys team drops to 3-6 overall. The girls prep hoops team is 4-5 overall.
Full All-Tournament teams will be released separately, including consolation game results from Friday night and a special recognition for one of the longtime Pat Paterson organizers.
The Rangers and Comets will not meet again this season, at least in boys and girls basketball. The Jonesville girls basketball team returns to action on Jan. 8 against East Jackson in a home matchup. They then play Hanover-Horton on the road on Jan. 11 for their first matchup as league opponents.
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The Jonesville boys basketball team returns to action on Jan. 9 against Grass Lake at home. They take on Hanover-Horton at home in a Comet-Comet Cascades battle on Jan. 12.
Reading boys basketball will be back in action on Thursday against Concord (on the road). Reading girls basketball will be back in action against Quincy on Jan. 5. They then head to Concord on Jan. 9.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Jonesville boys and girls basketball sweep the Pat Paterson Pool A finals
