Roundup: Lakeview boys shock Kalamazoo Central; St. Philip girls win big
BATTLE CREEK - Kalamazoo Central came into Lakeview High School undefeated in division play and as the owners of a 20-point win over the Spartans from back in December.
But this was a different night and a different result.
The Spartans shocked Kalamazoo Central as Lakeview came away with a 72-50 win in this Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference boys basketball game at Lakeview High School on Friday.
"That's a nice win for us. Still trying to process it all, take it all in as to how it happened," Lakeview coach Steve Wichmann said. "There was something about our guys tonight. They were really confident and excited to play and I felt comfortable going into this game because of that."
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Lakeview jumped out to a 28-5 lead in the first quarter. The Spartans held on to that momentum to lead 40-20 by halftime. It was a big turnaround from when Kalamazoo Central beat Lakeview, 71-51, in December. It is the first SMAC East Division loss for first-place Kalamazoo Central, which is now 5-1 in the division and 8-5 overall.
"That 20-point loss before was not a 20-point game, we knew that. It was a four-point game in the fourth quarter last time and we let that game get away. So we knew we could play with them," Wichmann said. "But tonight was different for sure. It was the best game we have played all year."
LeBron Campbell had 26 points and three assists to lead Lakeview with Jake Kucharczyk adding 16 points and three assists as Malaki Bell added 10 points with the Spartans improving to 12-4 overall, sitting just a game behind the Maroon Giants in the standings at 4-2.
More Boys Basketball
Jackson Northwest 66, Harper Creek 55
After Harper Creek beat Jackson Northwest in December, the Mounties earned some revenge with the Interstate 8 Conference win over the Beavers this time around. Jackson Northwest has won four of its last five league games and is 7-9 overall. Harper Creek's Brady Vette and Davion Roye each had 12 points as the Beavers are now 4-12 overall.
Parma Western 48, Pennfield 45
Pennfield led 36-27 at the end of the third quarter, looking to knock off league-leading Parma Western. However Parma Western remains undefeated in the I-8 with the win at 7-0 and is 11-4 overall. Zach Walling had 13 points to lead Pennfield, which falls to 4-10 with Johnathan Lake adding 10 points and 10 rebounds and Brevin Bailey chipping in nine points, seven assists and three steals.
Loy Norrix 67, Battle Creek Central 53
After losing to Loy Norrix, 98-51, on the road in December, things were much closer this time at the BCC Fieldhouse, but the Bearcats still fell short in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division win to fall to 1-12 on the season. Loy Norrix is now 8-6. Josh Harris had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Bearcats.
Coldwater 48, Marshall 46
Coldwater held off Marshall in overtime in this battle between the two teams that shared the Interstate 8 Conference title a year ago. Niko Downs led Coldwater with 12 points with Gavin Taylor adding 12 points and Zach Coffing chipping in with eight points and eight rebounds. Ty Keeler had 13 points with Austin Burns adding 12 for Marshall, which falls to 7-8 overall and 4-4 in the league.
Galesburg-Augusta 54, Saugatuck 46
G-A outscored Saugatuck 18-13 in the fourth quarter to escape with this win. Jeremiah Mann had 24 points to lead Galesburg-Augusta with Ethan Gibson adding 12.
Sexton 64, Olivet 61
Bo Lincoln had 22 points, five rebounds and four steals as Olivet dropped this Capital Area Activities Conference White Division game to league-leading Sexton (10-4). Olivet falls to 11-5 as Bryce Wine added 16 points with Tayven Feldpausch adding 11 points.
Springport 52, Climax-Scotts 40
Springport led 33-16 by halftime. Miles Shannon led Climax-Scotts with 19 points, five rebounds and three blocks with Chase Middlesworth chipping in seven points, six rebounds and three steals.
Mendon 66, Athens 26
Kale Kiefer had nine points as Athens remained winless in this conference loss to Mendon.
Brooklyn Columbia Central 71, Homer 28
Tyson Garrett had 10 points to lead Homer, which falls to 3-12 overall.
Girls Basketball
St. Philip was in search of a spark to kickstart its season. And the Tigers just might have gotten that on Friday.
St. Philip earned a confidence-boosting 44-20 win over Bellevue in Southern Central Athletic Association girls basketball action at Sheila Guerra Gymnasium.
The Tigers, who used a late surge in the season last year to finish at .500 with a young team, were hoping to take the next step toward a winning season this year. However, St. Philip has been up and down recently as this win put them at 5-7 overall.
The victory over the Broncos could get the Tigers back on the road to .500 and beyond.
“We’re hoping a game like this can start something for us,” St. Philip girls coach David Grimm said. “We are young, but we are getting better and that’s what we need to do. Get better as the season goes.
“We are still young, going through some growing pains as the season goes, so we’ll see if we can use this to get better going forward.”
St. Philip, with five freshmen and an 8th-grader on the varsity roster, gained a lot of confidence with a fast start against the Broncos. The Tigers led 26-7 at halftime and rolled from there.
Freshman Addi Dzwik led the Tigers with 17 points with senior Mimi Hibbard coming up with 15.
Bellevue falls to 2-11 with Elizabeth Odette coming up with six points and Addison VanSickle adding five.
More Girls Basketball
Battle Creek Central 35, Loy Norrix 32
Myliyah Mosely had 13 points and A'Mya Hodges added 11 as Battle Creek Central improves to 9-3 overall after the league win over Loy Norrix (6-7).
Kalamazoo Central 58, Lakeview 38
Lakeview dropped to 3-11 after the SMAC loss to first-place Kalamazoo Central (8-8). Camille Oxley had 12 points for the Spartans.
Marshall 42, Coldwater 36
Marshall beat defending league champ Coldwater for the second time this season as the two teams are now tied for second in the Interstate 8 Conference at 5-3. Addie Waito had 17 points with Emily Dingee adding 13 for Marshall, which is now 6-8 overall. Mya Porter had 10 points for Coldwater, which falls to 13-3 overall.
Parma Western 53, Pennfield 33
Parma Western (8-7) led 16-5 after the first quarter. Natalie Hensel had 16 points, five rebounds and three blocks to lead Pennfield (3-10). Julia Perez De Doria chipped in six points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers.
Colon 70, Burr Oak 28
Colon All-State guard Reese Williams set the all-time scoring record for the school, passing Tracie Craver, set in 1986. With 24 points in the win, Williams now has 1,532 career points.
Olivet 59, Sexton 1
All 11 Olivet players scored, led by Kendall Beam and Olivea Gessner, each with nine. The Eagles are 8-7 overall as Sexton falls to 1-10.
Factoryville Christian 41, Calhoun Christian 31
Calhoun Christian falls to 9-5 overall as Jayna Schwartz had 13 points for the Cougars and Elise Wylie added 12.
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Roundup: Lakeview upsets first-place Kalamazoo Central in boys hoops
