Union City captures Division 3 district basketball title with win over Centreville

BRONSON – Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald once said, “Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time spots.” It is almost like he had the Union City Chargers in mind.

Union City avenged their last-second heartbreaking loss from last season to the Centreville Bulldogs on this exact stage, riding the huge play of juniors Rick Austin, Aidan Decker, and Eli Payne, among others, to the 69-58 victory, giving Union City the Division 3 boys basketball district 80 title.

“Rick Austin comes to the bench and says, 'Give me the ball in the post,' Aidan Decker says, 'Feed me the ball on the double team,' while Eli Payne says, 'Get me the ball.' I mean, I just have basketball players, and what a great feeling that is,” Union City coach Ben Chard said. “Those guys know exactly what they are doing, and I just get to sit and watch like everyone else. They are such an excellent group of guys. Things certainly did not start the way we wanted to tonight. I mean, that is three games in a week, so we were a bit tired early, but once we buckled down, we were able grind it out and get the huge win.”

What Happened?

The game was back-and-forth, as both squads took turns hitting big shots to steal momentum.

Things started out well for the Bulldogs, who rode on the wide shoulders of big man Mathew Swanwick to a quick 4-0 lead. Union City did not panic one bit, and it was Payne dialing up long distance for back-to-back 3-pointers, setting the tone for the pace of the entire game. Centreville rode the dominant early play of Swanwick, who scored 11 first quarter points, to a 17-14 first-quarter advantage.

The second quarter saw Union City take advantage of early foul trouble for the Bulldogs, as Union City found themselves in the bonus midway through the quarter. The duo of Decker and Payne combined to shoot 5 of 6 from the charity stripe throughout the second quarter as Union City outscored Centreville 17-12 to build a 31-29 lead at the half.

The teams played to a near stalemate in the third quarter, as both adopted unique styles of play. Centreville continued to feed the ball to Swanwick, who scored eight third-quarter points. Union City, meanwhile, also started to feed the post, and it was Austin doing the eating. Austin scored 14 third-quarter points, a number that included a clutch 8-for-9 effort from the free-throw line. Centreville outscored Union City 18-16, however, knotting things up at 47-47 following three quarters of play.

After the teams traded buckets to start the final quarter, Union City took control of the pace, outscoring Centreville 12-3 throughout the first half of the fourth quarter to give the Chargers a 59-50 lead with just under four minutes left.

As Centreville dug deep to remain in the game, Union City then took charge at the free throw line. Payne and Decker combined to hit 7 of 7 from the charity stripe late to ice the game, giving the Chargers the Division 3 district 80 championship with the 69-58 victory.

They Said It

“A big key tonight was (Rick) Austin being able to post up our guards. One of our biggest obstacles in Centreville is size; we do not have enough size, and we understand that, that is why we play as hard as we do because we need to make up for that. I told the guys in the locker room that sometimes you just get beat by a better team, and Union City is a better team. We need to get back to work, work hard in the summer and get better so that we can come back here next year and play them again. That is the only way you are going to get better.” -Matt Price, head coach of Centreville.

“What a great feeling for these boys, they have worked so hard, and we have gone through our own growing pains all year, and they really deserve this. But we are not done, it is back to work on Monday because we have a regional to get ready for.” -Ben Chard, head coach Union City.

Scoring Leaders

Union City had three players reach double figures and two hit the 20-point plateau as the Chargers were led by Rick Austin, who had 24 points, a number that included an 8 of 9 effort at the free-throw line.

Also hitting the 20-point mark was junior Eli Payne, who poured in 20 points thanks to a 7-for-9 effort at the charity stripe and three made 3-pointers.

More: Union City guts out win, takes down Bronson to advance to Division 3 district finals

Aiden Decker also hit double digits scoring 12 points, while Jason Shoop added seven points and Jeremy Zehr scored six points.

Centreville had three players reach double figures, led by a monster game from Mathew Swanwick, who scored 32 points. Ben Truckenmiller added 12 points while Kobe Carpenter chipped in with 10 points.

What’s Next?

With the loss, Centreville ends their 2023-24 season with a record of 17-5 overall. The Bulldogs will now say goodbye to seniors Declane Kane and CJ Noble, who will move on due to graduation.

Union City meanwhile improves to 16-9 overall on the season. The Chargers now advance on to the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 3 regional 20 semifinals, where they will face Niles Brandywine Tuesday night at Watervliet High School, with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The winner will move on to face either Schoolcraft or Watervliet in the championship game Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Union City guts out win over Centreville, claims Division 3 district title