SMCC, Whiteford to play for title of Division 3 District at Blissfield
BLISSFIELD – Brady Hines picked the perfect time to have his first 20-point game.
The St. Mary Catholic Central sophomore has recorded double digits in nine of the Falcons games but had never reached 20 points until Wednesday’s 68-63 over Blissfield in the semifinals of the Division 3 District at Blissfield.
The win moved the Falcons into Friday’s 7 p.m. finals against Whiteford, which lost its poise, found it, forced overtime, and beat Erie Mason 68-62 in the first semifinal game.
“Brady played well tonight,” SMCC coach Randy Windham said. “He can score inside and out for us, and he did that tonight.”
Hines knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the game to give the Falcons the early lead on the Royals. He later showed his driving ability with key drives to the basket when SMCC needed a bucket. He had an offensive rebound bucket early in the fourth quarter to break a 49-49 tie and give SMCC the lead. He scored on another drive to the basket to make it 59-51 and then hit a pair of free throws to make it 64-56.
In addition to the 20 from Hines, Buddy Snodgrass finished with 18 points, Ian Foster 15 and Drew Vuich 15.
Boys Basketball District Tournaments: Scores and pairings
“We have a lot of selfless guys,” Windham said. “That’s the type of team we have.”
The biggest sequence of the game came at the end of the third quarter. Hines had tied the game at 45-45. With just under 30 seconds left in the quarter, Snodgrass caught an inbounds pass after a dead ball and scored inside to make it 47-45. Before Blissfield could get into its offense, Foster grabbed a steal, went the length of the floor, scored, was fouled, and finished off a three-point play for a 50-45 Falcon lead.
The Falcons seemed unbothered by the large home crowd and loud atmosphere.
“The last three Friday’s we’ve had three away games,” Windham said. “Nothing fazes them. I know it seems minute, but to win those three games, on the road, was big. We knew this was on their home floor. Those games prepared us for that.”
Whiteford’s Hunter DeBarr was whistled for a technical foul in the first half. He shook it off and scored 19 points in the second half to spark the Bobcat comeback. He scored seven points in overtime, including a two-handed dunk in the final seconds of the game.
“We kept our composure and had a lot of energy, especially in the end,” DeBarr said. “We knew they were going to give us their best shot. It’s the playoffs. We were ready to play and knew what we had to do to win.”
The game featured 16 lead changes until the 15-8 Bobcats seized control in overtime.
Erie Mason’s last lead of the game came on a Logan Goodin offensive rebound with 3:24 left in the fourth quarter. DeBarr scored inside with 2:55 left to make it 53-52 then Noah Stevens scored the first of his two important baskets in the final two minutes to give the Bobcats a three-point advantage.
Mason wasn’t done, however, as Karter Stubleski hit a 3-pointer with 1:46 left to tie the game at 55-55. Stevens and Jackson Iocoangeli traded buckets in the final minute and the game went into overtime.
DeBarr gave Whiteford a 58-57 lead on a free throw then Stevens buried two free throws for a 60-57 lead. DeBarr followed that with two more free throws to put the Bobcats up five and they held on from there.
DeBarr finished with a career-high 25 points, with almost all of his shots coming at the rim.
“He did a good job,” Whiteford coach Nick Abalos said. “He was crashing the boards hard and scoring when we needed him to score. We needed it to because Erie Mason was really keying in on Evan (Parker) and Josh (Hill). We put Hunter down low so he could get the ball in there and score. He passed the ball really well too.”
DeBarr said he’s more known for rebounding and defense than offense. He was just taking advantage of the situation, he said.
“It was kind of a personnel thing with guys we had on the court,” DeBarr said. “I’m not a very good shooter, but I can play down low and rebound.”
Ryin Ruddy scored 12 points and Hill 9 for Whiteford.
“Our confidence is sky high right now,” DeBarr said. “We are playing good basketball. We just have to continue to play hard.”
The Eagles bowed out with a 6-18 record but had a great district and has some building blocks for the future, including freshman David Sweeney, who came off the bench Wednesday to hit four 3s and score 15 points. Xavier Wise finished with 14 and Iocoangeli 11.
Mason made a season-high 12 3-pointers.
“That’s kind of how our whole season has gone,” Mason coach Kevin Skaggs said. “We were there but couldn’t get it in the end. I’m proud of our guys. They played hard and fought all season. We have some good things to look forward to.”
Whiteford has never beaten SMCC beat on the hardwood. The Bobcats will be looking for their first district title since 2014.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: SMCC, Whiteford to play for title of Division 3 District at Blissfield
