SMCC, Flat Rock, Airport, Dundee, Ida earn boys basketball wins
MILAN — Ian Foster keeps earning the respect of his coach.
Foster paced St Mary Catholic Central's boys basketball team with a 19-point performance and dished out eight assists as the Falcons beat Milan 61-32 Friday night.
SMCC coach Randy Windham heaped praise on the junior floor general.
“I think he’s one of the top point guards in the county,” Windham said. “He’s slowly becoming a leader and he keeps raising his game.”
After scoring five points in the opening half, Foster hit his stride after the intermission hitting three 3-pointers on his way to scoring 14 second half points.
Ten different Falcons logged points, including 10 from Buddy Snodgrass.
Defensively the Falcons were just as focused, holding Milan to single digits in three of the four quarters.
“We were really locked in defensively tonight,” Windham said.
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Jackson Raasch scored 10 points to lead Milan.
Milan coach Bobby Green was frustrated with the second-chance scoring opportunities his team allowed for SMCC.
“SMCC outrebounded us on both ends of the floor, which led to multiple shots and we played behind because of that,” he said.
Dundee 78, Hillsdale 71
HILLSDALE — It nearly was a very long ride home for Dundee on Friday night.
The Vikings got 32 points from Braiden Whitaker and 14 from Ethan Layton, but both of them fouled out.
Ryan Zanger stepped up with seven of his career-high 13 points in the two overtime periods as the Vikings survived a test from Hillsdale.
“Ryan Zanger was the person who really saved us,” Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt said. “He hit a big three in double overtime. He hit some clutch throws down the stretch. I was really impressed. He lifted us to this win when our top two scorers were out.”
Dundee ran its record to 13-1 overall and 7-0 in the Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Ida 60, Clinton 55
IDA – Beck is back.
Beck Kukiela, whose previous season-high was five points, broke loose for 15 points.
“I couldn’t be happier for senior Beck Kukiela,” Ida coach Jared Karner said. “He has been in a season-long shooting slump and tonight he showed us the Beck we know he is.”
AJ Schrader paced the 10-3 Blue Streaks with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Shay Schoenberg added 14 points.
Hazen Vogt scored 13 points for Ida in a 43-45 junior varsity loss.
Flat Rock 59, Grosse Ille 46
GROSSE ILE — Alex Gillum’s work on the boards paved the way for Flat Rock.
Gillum notched a double-double grabbing 17 rebounds and scoring 14 points to lead the Rams in both categories
“Alex Gillum was a monster on the boards,” Flat Rock coach Rick Smith said.
Cyrus Goins added 12 points and nabbed six rebounds. Tim Murphy scored 11 points.
Flat Rock’s junior varsity won a 46-40 overtime thriller behind Evan Szalay’s 19 points and 16 rebounds.
Airport 64, Jefferson 56
NEWPORT — Airport fended off a Jefferson comeback bid after taking a nine-point lead after the opening quarter.
Jefferson cut the Jets lead to a single possession at the break and trailed by three points after the third quarter.
Colin Nowak poured in four 3-pointers to help the senior finish with 21 points and Brett Moore added 15 points and Dillon Byrd 10 for the 7-5 Jets.
The Bears were led by Trey Oldenburg who scored 22 points and shot 10-for-11 from the free throw line.
“We had a nice Huron League battle tonight, both teams competed hard,” Jefferson coach Corey Wiley said.
Ypsilanti Lincoln 66, Bedford 38
TEMPERANCE — Ypsilanti Lincoln’s ball pressure made things difficult for Bedford as the Mules turned the ball over 16 times.
Bedford’s turnover woes were amplified by being outrebounded 21-3 on the offensive glass.
“Hopefully we can clean that up and continue to improve,” Bedford coach Jordan Bollin said.
Ish Hakki led the 2-8 Mules with eight points.
Dexter 72, Monroe 59
DEXTER – Monroe trailed by four points at the intermission, but Dexter opened things up outscoring the Trojans 23-13 in the third quarter.
Dexter hit 11 3-pointers.
“Dexter shot the ball extremely well from 3 and we turned it over way too much, not a great recipe for success,” coach Larry Middleton said.
Lucis Rzepa led Monroe with 14 points while Adam Nabozny scored 12 points and Lukas Johnson 10.
Riverview 46, Huron 34
NEW BOSTON — Kyle Kantola scored 13 points, but New Boston Huron dipped to 6-5 overall and 3-2 in the Huron League.
“It was a great atmosphere tonight.” Huron coach Ted Tackett said. “We played a solid first half, and unfortunately struggled to score in the third quarter.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Boys Basketball: Foster on point for SMCC; Zanger, Kukiela shine
