Scouting Reports: City rivals Battle Creek Central vs. Lakeview clash highlights week

BATTLE CREEK - Scouting reports for all the key prep basketball games in the Battle Creek readership area:

Boys

Battle Creek Central (1-7)

Next: vs. Lakeview, Friday; vs. Mattawan, Tuesday

Scouting Report: Battle Creek Central had its game on Tuesday at St. Joseph postponed due to weather. That's the second straight game the Bearcats have had to sit out and they didn't get a chance at city rival Harper Creek, as last Friday's game was also postponed. But the Bearcats are looking forward to another rival as BCC will host city foe Lakeview next in the annual grudge match between the two Division 1 schools. Despite a standout 17-8 record a year ago, BCC lost twice to Lakeview during the season. The Bearcats, who were hit hard with graduation losses and have struggled so far, could salvage the early part of the season this year with an upset win over a Lakeview team that is 7-4 at the halfway point. The BCC vs. Harper Creek game will be made up on Feb. 21.

Lakeview (7-4)

Next: at Battle Creek Central, Friday; vs. St. Joseph, Tuesday

Scouting Report: Lakeview won both meetings against city rival Battle Creek Central a year ago. The Bearcats' lone win came during the Chuck Turner Holiday Classic as BCC only had two players with varsity experience coming into this season. Lakeview has lost two straight league games to slip to 7-4, but has had a nice first half of the season. The Spartans are led by an athletic backcourt that includes leading scorer LeBron Campbell as well as Malaki Bell and Jake Kucharczyk. Kucharczyk hit eight 3-pointers on the BCC Fieldhouse floor in December against Harper Creek and is most likely eager to return to the site of his best game of his basketball career.

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Harper Creek (3-8)

Next: at Parma Western, Friday; at Parchment, Tuesday

Scouting Report: Harper Creek won its last three league games before losing in Tuesday's clash with defending Interstate 8 Conference champ Coldwater. The Beavers will look to stay in the top half of the conference standings with a game on the road against league-leader Parma Western. The Beavers split with Parma Western a year ago, when the Panthers finished league play at 5-9. Parma Western has turned things around this season with a 4-0 start in the I-8 and 8-4 overall. Harper Creek's postponed game with BCC last Friday will be made up on Feb. 21.

Pennfield (3-8)

Next: at Jackson Northwest, Friday; vs. Coldwater, Saturday

Scouting Report: Jackson Northwest is trying to turn its season around, winning three of its last four games since the holidays despite the sub-.500 record. After going cold against Harper Creek last week, Pennfield is hoping to regain some of the rhythm it found in a key win over Battle Creek Central at the Chuck Turner Classic. However, a loss to Hastings on Tuesday had to be disappointing as both teams came in winless in league play. Pennfield will play a makeup game against Coldwater at 1 p.m. Saturday.

St. Philip (5-4)

Next: vs. East Jordan at WMU, Saturday; at Centreville, Monday

Scouting Report: St. Philip gets to play on the big stage over the weekend, finding itself in a showcase game against East Jordan at Western Michigan University. The Tigers set up the contest, in part, because East Jordan is coached by the cousin of St. Philip players Carter Dzwik, Jackson Dzwik and Lincoln Dzwik. East Jordan has lost three straight. The Tigers lost in the final seconds on Tuesday to small-school rival Calhoun Christian, 40-38. It was a major turnaround after St. Philip had defeated Calhoun Christian, 61-41, in December.

Calhoun Christian (5-5)

Next: vs. Zion Christian, Friday; at Delton Kellogg, Tuesday

Scouting Report: Calhoun Christian earned a dramatic win over rival St. Philip on Tuesday, giving the Cougars their second win over a team with a winning record this season. Calhoun Christian's schedule continues to get tougher moving forward as it will challenge itself with games against Zion Christian (5-3) and Division 3 Delton Kellogg (4-4) as the Cougars look to create some momentum for the second half of the season.

Battle Creek Academy (6-3)

Next: vs. Marshall Academy (Late Thursday); vs. Coldwater Pansophia, Wednesday

Scouting Report: Battle Creek Academy is facing winless Coldwater Pansophia for the second time already as the Tigers won the first meeting 75-27. It will be the first of back-to-back games next week on Wednesday-Thursday with a meeting on the road at Lawrence.

Girls

Battle Creek Central (7-1)

Next: vs. Lakeview, Friday; at Mattawan, Tuesday

Scouting Report: The Bearcats saw their Tuesday home game against St. Joseph postponed due to weather. Battle Creek Central will look to continue its hot start to the season and will roll into a home matchup with city rival Lakeview at the BCC Fieldhouse on Friday. The Bearcats were swept by Lakeview a year ago, so they will be looking for some payback. The injury-plagued Spartans have struggled this year at 2-8, but have won their last two, including a 50-34 victory over Portage Northern on Tuesday.

Lakeview (2-8)

Next: at Battle Creek Central, Friday; at St. Joseph, Tuesday

Scouting Report: Losing its top scorer from a year ago to injury prior to the season, Lakeview has found wins hard to come by this year. But the Spartans have won their last two games after an 0-8 start, with a 50-34 victory over Portage Northern on Tuesday. The Spartans could salvage the first half of their season with a win over city rival Battle Creek Central. Lakeview has won five straight over the Bearcats.

Harper Creek (4-7)

Next: at Parma Western, Friday; vs. Gull Lake, Tuesday

Scouting Report: Harper Creek is facing a Parma Western team on the road on Friday. Both teams are fighting to stay in the top half of the Interstate 8 Conference. Parma Western beat the Beavers twice last year, including 64-25 in the final game of the regular season.

Pennfield (1-5)

Next: at Jackson Northwest, Friday; vs. Coldwater, Saturday

Scouting Report: Pennfield is getting two of the best teams in the Interstate 8 Conference in a tough back-to-back during this challenging part of the schedule. Jackson Northwest is currently undefeated in league play and Coldwater is the defending champ. The Coldwater contest on Saturday is a makeup from last week's game that was postponed due to weather.

St. Philip (2-5)

Next: Off, Friday; at Kalamazoo Hackett, Monday

Scouting Report: St. Philip has lost five straight, including an emotional defeat at the buzzer to Calhoun Christian on Tuesday. The Tigers had beaten Calhoun Christian 40-21 in the opening game of the season. The St. Philip girls have a hole in their schedule and won't play again until Monday against Hackett. It will be part of three-game week for the Tigers, also facing Burr Oak (Wednesday) and undefeated Colon next Friday.

Calhoun Christian (6-3)

Next: vs. Zion Christian, Friday; at Delton Kellogg, Monday

Scouting Report: Coming off a buzzer-beater win over St. Philip on Tuesday, Calhoun Christian has now won five games in a row. The Cougars will try to use that momentum with a game against a Zion Christian team that is on a roll at 6-1.

Battle Creek Academy (4-3)

Next: vs. Marshall Academy (Late Thursday); at Will Carleton, Monday

Scouting Report: Heading into a late Thursday game against Marshall Academy, BCA hadn't played in seven days. Starting on Monday, BCA will play three games in four days with action on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick.

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Basketball Scouting Reports: Top games for Friday-Tuesday