Weekend Hoops Roundup: Jonesville and Reading win thrilling homecoming games
HILLSDALE COUNTY — Winning on a homecoming night can be tough, especially when you are the visiting opponent. However, even the homecoming hosts can find a path to victory seemingly blocked by the tough opponents they face in those matchups. Jonesville and Reading hosted their homecoming games on Friday, Feb. 3. Both teams had their games come down to the final minute of competition. The two Big 8 teams found a way to get the job done and sneak out with victories.
Jonesville looked like they were destined to split their matchups with their Big 8, and future Cascade, rival Homer this season. Jonesville defeated the Trojans on the road in a 44-40 final in December. The Trojans started the night off with a 13-7 lead over Jonesville. The Comets made up some ground in the second, but they still faced a 17-21 deficit at halftime.
Homer and Jonesville traded shot-for-shot in the third quarter. The Trojans and the Comets both scored 11 points. Jonesville scored 17 in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime with the Trojans in the final minutes of the game. The Comets and Trojans fought a defensive battle in the overtime period, with the Comets escaping with a 50-49 victory.
Jaxson Phifer scored 11 points for the Comets. Brady Wright had 10 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. Tyler Scholfield scored eight points. Warrick Elder had nine points and four assists.
Homer’s Tyson Garrett and Kane Blatter led the Trojans with 12 points each.
The Comets extended their overall season record to 12-2. The Comets take on Bronson in a road contest on Tuesday, Feb. 7. The game will start at 7:00 p.m., and it is currently slated to be streamed on the NFHS Network.
The Rangers faced a similar battle on their home court on homecoming night. Reading hosted the Quincy Orioles for their homecoming game. The Rangers defeated the Orioles 46-39 back in December, but the Orioles have steadily improved in the past few weeks, and the Rangers were losers of their last two games. The Rangers battled their way back into the game in the second game, winning their 11th game of the season in a 42-38 final.
The Rangers started the game with a 9-3 lead, but the Orioles rebounded to come within two points of the Ranger lead at halftime. The Oriole scoring attack traded shots with the Rangers throughout the third quarter. The Orioles would end the quarter leading 29-27.
The Rangers would rely on 3-point shooting and a combination of free throws in the final minute of the game to pull away from Quincy. Brady Kling hit 2 3-pointers in the final quarter to help the Rangers capture the homecoming game win. Senior Maverick Messenger hit three free throws . The Rangers had a total of six 3-pointers, including two from Nathan Robbins.
The Ranger scoring effort was led by Colton Wiler and Maverick Messenger, who each had 11 points. Messenger and Wiler each had six rebounds. Messenger also had three steals. Jesse Cabrera had seven points, including a 3-pointer. Nathan Robbins had six points. Brady Kling had seven points. Zac Affholter had six rebounds. Kling and Cabrera had three rebounds.
Wiler said the team was focused, heading into their homecoming game, on getting back to control on offense, which led to crucial baskets in the final minutes of the game that sealed the victory.
"The shots weren't falling from deep like they had the past couple of games," said Wiler. "I felt like tonight we just put our head downs and controlled what we could control. We knew we had to play hard and get some control on offense and slow it down. We got a couple stops on defense and got a bucket or two here and there, and that was enough to win tonight."
Ranger head coach Brett Kerspilo was impressed with his team's efforts in the final minutes to slow the game down to their own pace, which allowed the players to take better looks or to make sure they got to the free throw line against a much-improved Quincy team.
"Quincy has been much-improved since the beginning of the season," said Kerspilo. "And in the Big 8, any game where you can't bring it, you're going to get beat if that happens. We have lost a couple of close games by not quite getting the look we wanted. I was happy to see that once we got the lead, we were able to slow it down a little bit and try to get a good look. We made sure that we got a good look or got fouled, and in that last minute we made our free throws when we needed to."
The Rangers have been strong defensively throughout the season, but recently they have had slumps where they fell behind in shooting, leading to teams to either go on a run or close the gap with the Ranger lead. Coach Kerspilo believes that a long season of consistent play on the defensive side of the court will eventually help bring back the strong shooting nights the team had in the beginning of the year.
"We started the year out shooting so well that you always had a chance to set your defense," said Kerspilo. "We are always a good defensive team. It's a long season, and you know you are going to go through some shooting slumps or some tough times, and it kind of feels like we are going to hopefully break out of that and get back to us."
Coach Kerspilo believes that the team is starting to get healthy, and the junior varsity has been a big part of helping set the confidence of the team heading into games. The Rangers are now 11-4 on the season. They travel to Springport on Tuesday, Feb. 7 before taking on Homer at home on Feb. 10.
Jonesville and Reading girls prep hoops earn defeat rival teams
The Jonesville and Reading prep girls hoops teams earned rivalry wins at home and on the road in their second games of week eight. The Ranger girls basketball team defeated Homer in a 61-56 final, their second win over Homer this season. Jonesville defeated Quincy on the road 42-33, earning a revenge victory after losing to the Orioles back in December.
The Comets are now 7-9 overall this season. The Comets used a balanced scoring effort to defeat the Orioles. Alexis Trine had seven points and three rebounds. Natalynn Beach had six points and four rebounds. Kierstyn Keller had six points and two steals. Julie Mach had five points. Reese Stanton had four points, three assists and six steals. Korra Estel had four points, three steals and two assists.
Morgan Baker had three points and two steals. Gracen Hager had three points and three rebounds. Lyra Nichols had three points, nine rebounds and two steals. Brooke Owen had one point and two rebounds.
The Comets look to head to Ypsi Arbor Prep in a matchup with the number one ranked team in D3 girls basketball. The game will start at 6:00 p.m. and is scheduled to appear on the NFHS Network.
Reading led 30-29 against Homer at halftime. The Rangers led by double digits heading into the fourth quarter, before the Trojans made a comeback attempt, leading to the 61-56 final score. The Rangers are now 11-5 on the season.
Aubree Ervans led the team with 17 points and nine rebounds. Ervns also had three assists and three blocks. Jenna Londeau hit two 3-pointers on her way to 14 total points. Londeau also had seven rebounds and four assists. Taylor Engel had six points from two threes and had three steals. Ariana McDowell had five points, one rebound and three assists.
Maggie Santure had a strong defensive effort, hauling in seven defensive rebounds and scoring four points. Alexis Engel scored four points and had a rebound and a steal. Serenity Trott had one point, one rebound, two assists, one block and two steals. Blakeleigh Cornstubble had two points and one steal. Abby Affholter had eight points, five rebounds, one assists and one steal.
The Rangers face a tough league outing this week. They face Union City on Wednesday, Feb. 9.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Jonesville and Reading hoops teams win February contests
