Merkel helps Jefferson avenge earlier loss to New Boston Huron
NEWPORT – Corey Wiley returned to Jefferson’s basketball team three years ago.
He was the junior varsity coach the first season before taking over the boys varsity squad the past two seasons.
Wiley has always been able to lean on Ben Merkel during that time.
“I think he’s started ever game since I’ve been back,” Wiley said.
Merkel isn’t exceptionally big, but he is the biggest of the Bears. Wiley asks him to play bigger than his slight 6-3 frame.
“We don’t have a whole lot of size on our side,” Wiley said.
Merkel played big Tuesday as Jefferson avenged a loss from earlier this season with a 53-46 victory over New Boston Huron.
“Ben Merkel has been special the last three games,” Wiley said. “Against Milan and Grosse Ile, I bet he had 10 rebounds each game. Tonight, he had 15 points and 10 rebounds. … When he plays well, we play well.”
The 15 points was two shy of the season high Merkel scored last week against Milan.
“We did a nice job defensively and led from start to finish,” Wiley said. “We had nice balance scoring on offense. Proud of our guys tonight.”
Kyle Kantola (17), Alex Tejeda-Walker (10) and Zennon Grant (10) all scored in double figures for 11-6 Huron.
“It was a tough night for us,” Huron coach Ted Tackett said. “I thought our team played hard, but unfortunately came up short.”
Flat Rock 57, SMCC 42
FLAT ROCK – Rick Smith collected his 100th victory as Flat Rock’s coach.
“We were solid defensively holding them to 42 points,” Smith said. “We were very efficient in the secondnd half and it was a great team win.”
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Rocco Breslin scored 8 of his 10 points in the first half and had a strong game defensively.
Tim Murphy led the Rams (15-3 overall, 10-0 in Huron League) with 18 points and 8 rebounds and Graham Junge contributed 12 points and 7 assists.
Ian Foster scored 13 points for SMCC (8-8).
Evan Szalay logged 15 points and 9 rebounds for Flat Rock in a 55-50 junior varsity victory. The Ram freshmen won 44-29 behind 15 points by Jaxon Faraone.
Airport 62, Milan 36
CARLETON – Brett Moore scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half and added 7 assists as Airport zoomed out to a 34-17 halftime lead.
“We started the game off a little bit slow, but found our way to the line with some success knocking down 8-for-12 from the charity stripe.”
Cooper Nye rang up 11 points and 9 rebounds for the 10-8 Jets.
Gavin Mick scored 12 points for Milan (2-14).
Summerfield 73, Hudson 27
HUDSON – Summerfield, No. 9 in Division 4, kept its concentration with a showdown No. 1 Lenawee Christian looming Friday.
“Tonight was the trap-game opportunity and our young boys stayed locked in on the road,” Summerfield coach Phil Shiffler 15-3 Bulldogs.
Rylee Schiffler added 12 points and Teddy Gault 10.
Whiteford 80, Morenci 28
MORENCI – Whiteford took command of the game by dominating the the three quarters 74-17.
Whiteford got points from 12 players led by Josh Hill (15) and Evan Parker (10) in running its record to 12-7.
Saline 59, Monroe 46
“Our guys played well tonight against a really good Saline team,” Monroe coach Larry Middleton said.
Lukas Johnson led the 4-11 Trojans with 11 points.
Ann Arbor Huron 71, Bedford 47
ANN ARBOR – Turning the ball over 24 times on the road against a state-ranked opponent was not a good recipe for Bedford.
“Wasn’t a great outing for us,” Bedford coach Jordan Bollin said. “Huron is a great team as it is, aiding them with the turnovers didn’t help.”
Jace Williams scored 12 points for Bedford (2-13).
Lenawee Christian 50, Erie Mason 26
ADRIAN – Erie Mason shot just 22 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 24 times against the No. 1 team in Division 4.
“We have the effort and defensive intensity but honestly can’t seem to hold on the ball or make a basket,” Mason coach Kevin Skaggs said.
Logan Goodin led the Eagles (4-12) with 9 points.
Mason’s junior varsity improved to 11-5 with a 55-32 win. David Sweeney (17), Logan Doom (15), Maddix Wise (13) and Lucas Hutson (10) all scored in double figures.
Edsel Ford 50, Carlson 49
DEARBORN – Gibraltar Carlson lost for the 10th time this season by 8 points or less.
Brendan Stanley led the 5-12 Marauders with 13 points.
State Line 59, Rochester Christian 55
TEMPERANCE – State Line Christian won for the third time in its past four games to improve to 7-11.
“We keep improving defensively,” State Line coach Nathan Nash said. “This was the best one of the year for us.”
Cooper Worley scored 26 points for the Patriots.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Boys Hoops: Jefferson, Airport, Flat Rock, Summerfield, Whiteford win
