Prep Roundup: McBain escapes Traverse City St. Francis with win; Traverse City Central boys, girls pick up hoops wins over Midland
Feb. 13—TRAVERSE CITY — McBain and Traverse City St. Francis both hooped it up in the Gladiators' gym Saturday, but both left the second annual Northern Michigan Showcase with Ls. One was bound to leave with a W when they battled each other Tuesday.
Neither the Ramblers nor the Gladiators wanted to start a losing streak, and the two squads battled back and forth through all four quarters and to the final buzzer with McBain eking out the 36-34 nonconference road victory.
"This is a confidence-builder, for sure," McBain head coach Bruce Koopman said. "We came up here Saturday and got shellacked. I think you could still see some of the ramifications from that, tonight."
McBain (16-2, 10-0 Highland) had won nine straight before dropping a 58-33 decision to Hamtramck on Saturday, and St. Francis (9-9, 8-4 Lake Michigan) fell to Glen Lake in the final game of the NoMI Showcase, 55-42.
The Glads built an early lead and took advantage of McBain star player Evan Haverkamp picking up three fouls in the first quarter, forcing him to the bench until the second half.
"The game was right there for us," St. Francis head coach Sean Finnegan said. "We battled. We competed. That's a good team over there. They're disciplined, well-coached. But we gave ourselves a chance."
Isaiah Millward hit two free throws with 0.1 seconds left in the third quarter to give St. Francis a 29-27 lead heading into the final eight minutes, but the Gladiators would not score again until Luke Gorman drained a three with 1:21 left in the game and McBain leading 36-32.
Haverkamp was key in the Ramblers' fourth-quarter comeback, tying the game at 29-29 with two free throws and then connecting from long distance for the 32-29 lead. Clayton Heuker then scored back-to-back buckets on an offensive rebound putback on a Haverkamp miss and then an easy basket after Haverkamp drew a triple team down low and found Heuker open underneath.
That would be enough for McBain to escape with the win, but the Gladiators made it interesting when JP Miller got an offensive rebound putback of his own with 1.5 seconds left to make it 36-34. Haverkamp was fouled to stop the clock with just 0.2 seconds left, and Ben Rodenbaugh tapped the ball after Haverkamp's second miss to run out the clock.
"I just said in the locker room, 'Get ready, because this is what postseason basketball is all about," Koopman said. "You're going to have to travel. You're going to be playing in different environments. You have to adjust to how the game is being called. Some games are more physical than others, and you have to adjust and keep your composure."
Despite the early foul trouble, Haverkamp finished with a game-high 17 points. Heuker and Rodenbaugh each had six.
"Traverse City played a great game. Sean had his kids locked in," Koopman said. "We'll go back to playing what we know how to play — McBain basketball. ... We have to get back to doing what we do, which is play good defense, rebound and have a little more patience offensively."
For the Glads, Max Ogden led with 11 points and three steals followed by Miller and Gorman with a half-dozen each. Miller also had five boards and three assists.
"That team (McBain) is in our district this year," Finnegan said. "We have to be able to understand that that's a team we can beat. Do we believe we can truly beat them? Do we believe it? Because we've seen signs of greatness and signs of not-so-great."
The Ramblers host Houghton Lake on Thursday. The Glads finish out their LMC slate at Grayling on Wednesday and then Harbor Springs on Friday before battling Cadillac on Tuesday.
Finnegan said they plan the schedule to face tougher teams down the stretch to prepare them for the postseason.
"We're walking away as believers," Finnegan said. "I don't like small victories or the win outside of the loss, but this gave us the opportunity to prove to ourselves that we can beat them. We'll take it from there and try to grow."
BOYS HOOPS
TC Central 75
Midland 50
Traverse City Central: Owen Ribel 19 points, 2 steals; Anthony Ribel 19 points, 5 steals, 4 assists; Brendan Slack 9 points, 6 rebounds; Jaden Clark 9 points; Aden Moorhead 7 points, 10 rebounds; Brayden McCoon 12 rebounds; Ethan Rademacher 2 steals; Ethan Gremel 5 points.
UP NEXT: The Trojans (4-14, 3-5 Big North) welcome Traverse City West on Friday.
GT Academy 58
TC Bulldogs 46
Grand Traverse Academy: Charlie Dennis 21 points, 5 rebounds; Coby Bilderbeck 10 points, 3 steals; Matthew Kinney 6 points, 5 steals, 2 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Mustangs travel to Cadillac Heritage on Thursday.
TC Christian 53
Ellsworth 51
Traverse City Christian: Reece Broderick 21 points.
Ellsworth: Patrick Puroll 18 points, 8 rebounds; Evincio LaCount 20 points, 10 rebounds; Cameron Snyder 6 points, 6 rebounds; Jurgen Griswold 8 points.
UP NEXT: The Sabres (13-5) host Leland on Thursday. The Lancers (8-12, 7-4 Northern Lakes) head to Burt Lake NMC on Friday.
Cadillac 54
Reed City 32
Cadillac: Charlie Howell 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks; Kyle McGowan 11 points, 7 rebounds; Grant Williams 8 points.
UP NEXT: The Vikings (16-2, 8-0 Big North) host Alpena on Friday.
Benzie Central 77
Suttons Bay 53
Suttons Bay: Tyler Porter 12 points, 6 rebounds; Grayson Opie 12 points, 8 rebounds; Urijah TwoCrow 9 points, 4 steals.
UP NEXT: The Huskies (17-2, 12-0 Northwest) host Glen Lake on Friday. The Norsemen (5-12, 2-11 Northwest) welcome Lake Leelanau St. Mary on Thursday.
Glen Lake 64
Kingsley 50
Glen Lake: Jacob Plamondon 18 points, 8 rebounds; Benji Allen 20 points, 5 rebounds; Cooper Bufalini 8 points; Dylan Cundiff 9 points, 7 rebounds.
Kingsley: Eli Graves 17 points; Chase Bott 16 points.
UP NEXT: The Lakers (15-3, 10-1 Northwest) travel to Benzie Central on Friday. The Stags (8-11, 5-8 Northwest) host Cheboygan on Thursday.
Buckley 47
Onekama 40
Buckley: Landon Kulawiak 19 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists; Carter Williams 16 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists; Coy Breithaupt 10 points.
Onekama: Luke Bradford 15 points, 3 rebounds; Caden Bradford 9 points, 2 steals; Tyler Hart 5 points, 7 rebounds; Arden Bradford 5 points, 4 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Bears (12-8, 8-6 Northwest) head to Traverse City Christian on Tuesday. The Portagers (11-9, 5-7 Northwest) travel to Frankfort on Tuesday.
Frankfort 63
Leland 34
Frankfort: Emmerson Farmer 30 points, 7 rebounds; Carter Kerby 16 points, 6 rebounds; Tristin Griffin 7 points.
UP NEXT: The Panthers (12-7, 8-5 Northwest) host Baldwin on Monday. The Comets (3-15, 0-12 Northwest) head to Traverse City Christian on Thursday.
Elk Rapids 72
Lake Leelanau SM 28
Elk Rapids: Christian Kerfoot 14 points; Wyatt Bargy 14 points; Keagen Cotterman 14 points.
Lake Leelanau St. Mary: Jerry Schaub 12 points; Luke Bramer 6 points.
UP NEXT: The Elks (13-7, 11-2 Lake Michigan) head to Boyne City on Thursday. The Eagles (7-12) travel to Suttons Bay on Thursday.
East Jordan 47
Kalkaska 31
East Jordan: Korbyn Russell 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists; Lucas Stone 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; William Webb 5 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists; Angel Delgado 6 points, 6 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Red Devils (7-12, 3-10 Lake Michigan) host Charlevoix on Thursday. The Blazers (1-17, 0-12 Lake Michigan) head to Grayling on Thursday.
Onaway 59
Mancelona 55
Mancelona: Tavin Morgan 15 points; Ivan Kuzmanoski 13 points; Jackson Bennett 8 points; Ryan Naumcheff 8 points.
UP NEXT: The Ironmen (15-4, 12-2 Ski Valley) host Forest Area on Thursday.
Forest Area 64
Pellston 36
Forest Area: Cameron Patton 21 points; Daniel White 11 points; Luke Czuk 4 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks; Tyler Singer 10 points, 6 rebounds.
UP NEXT: Forest Area (5-15, 1-13 Ski Valley) travels to Mancelona on Thursday.
Gaylord SM 54
Central Lake 43
Gaylord St. Mary: Rylan Matelski career-high 33 points; Lucas Cherwinski 10 points.
Central Lake: Drayten Evans 23 points; Garrison Barrett 11 points.
UP NEXT: The Snowbirds (12-7, 9-5 Ski Valley) head to Johannesburg-Lewiston on Thursday. The Trojans (8-12, 5-9 Ski Valley) travel to Inland Lakes on Thursday.
Marion 66
Mesick 22
Mesick: Tyler Hall 7 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals; Landon Hall 9 points, 2 rebounds; Aiden Kimberling 5 blocks in freshman debut.
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs (7-13, 7-9 West Michigan D) host Pentwater on Thursday.
McBain NMC 52
Lake City 42
McBain Northern Michigan Christian: Ethan Bennett 19 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks; Titus Johns 12 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Comets (13-6, 9-5 Highland) head to Pine River on Friday. The Trojans (5-14, 2-12 Highland) travel to Manton on Friday.
TC Central JV 65
Midland JV 28
Traverse City Central (13-4, 7-1 Big North): Cassius Feeney 16 points; Jack Reb 8 points; Spencer Stegenga 7 points; Ethan Rademacher 5 assists.
GIRLS HOOPS
TC Central 54
Midland 38
Traverse City Central: Jakiah Brumfield 20 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals; Lucia France 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; Lorelai Zielinski 10 points, 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Trojans (13-3, 8-0 Big North) host Traverse City West on Friday.
Lake Leelanau SM 53
St. Ignace 45
Lake Leelanau St. Mary: Kyla Barnowski 13 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals; Muriel Korson 12 points; Cathryn Mikowski 10 points; Delana Kirt 12 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Eagles (13-1) head to Ottawa Lake Whiteford on Friday.
East Jordan 49
Kalkaska 38
East Jordan: June Kirkpatrick 15 points.
Kalkaska: Lucy Hall 21 points, 5 rebounds; Alyssa Colvin 8 points, 9 rebounds; Ally Sutton 6 blocks.
UP NEXT: The Red Devils (9-8, 4-7 Lake Michigan) travel to Charlevoix on Friday. The Blazers (0-14, 0-11 Lake Michigan) host Grayling on Friday.
Grayling 52
Cheboygan 46
Grayling: Makayla Watkins 11 points; Emma Kuziel 10 points; Cali D'Amour 9 points; Amanda Lewis 8 points; Ali Helinski 7 points; Olivia Duba 6 points.
UP NEXT: The Vikings (9-9, 5-6 Lake Michigan) head to Kalkaska on Friday.
Manistee CC 42
Walkerville 20
Manistee Catholic Central: Regan Leiffers 9 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block; Maddie Gunia 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 5 steals; Jocelyn Howes 6 points, 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Sabers (10-7, 8-2 West Michigan D) host Pentwater on Friday.
