Article - High School Sports Scene

John Raffel
Sports Scene
Josh Elliott played no small role in a sensational regular season for Freeland’s boys basketball team this season.
A 72-45 win over Sanford Meridian on March 1 clinched a 20-0 regular season for the Falcons.
It’s Elliott’s third year on varsity and has been his best year. After 18 games, he was averaging 19 points. 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and shooting 58 percent from the floor, 47 percent in threes and 91 percent in free throws.
There’s been a clear reason behind Elliott’s success.
“We had a summer in the offseason and I was putting in work at the local gym,” Elliott said. “I’ve been looking to be a leader, run the show and make the best decisions for our team.”
He had 30 points in a win against Alma and he’s had some others in the high 20s.
“I like to get to the rim and shoot threes,” he said. “I’m mainly a three-point shooter so most of my points come from there.”
The key to being an effective three-point shooter “is repetition, mainly,” Elliott said. “I worked during the offseason getting tons of shots up.”
Shooting is not Elliott’s only forte.
“We don’t have a true point guard so I’ve tried to take on the role this year,” Elliott said. “I try to find my teammates for good looks and make it tough for the other team to set up its offense and set the tone for our defense. Usually when teams press us I’ll handle the ball.”
Elliott said coming into the season, Freeland had nine seniors who had played together for a long time. The expectations were high.
“It’s been our chemistry,” he said. “Most of us have played together since the fifth grade. We know when someone is going to be open. We work well together.”
An impressive late season win for Freeland was 63-57 over 16-4 Pewamo Westphalia at P-W.

Back

It was March Madness at its finest at Alma on Monday (March 14) with Freeland (23-0) overcoming Alma 55-52 in an overtime thriller in the regional semifinal.
The game was tied 12-12 after one. Alma led at the half 21-20. Freeland took a two-point lead into the fourth, and after four quarters the game was knotted at 45. Trailing by two with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation, Alma sent the game into overtime with a Sam Leppien dunk at the buzzer. Each team would own the lead in the overtime, but with the game tied, Josh Elliot gave Freeland the final advantage with a three-pointer with 1:08 remaining.
Rosales cashed in a three with 4.3 remaining to make it a two-point game and after a split of free throws by Alex Duley, Alma was unable to answer in the end.
Sam Rosales had 18 for Alma while Michael Howey had 11 points. Connor Lemerand 10, Cade Sutherland had seven seven and Sam Leppian six.
“I could not be more happy or proud with the way our guys played and represented our school and community,” Alma coach Chris Brown said. “We took a great team to the wire, executed our entire game plan, but sometimes being victorious isn’t alway reflected in the scoreboard.
“We had the opportunity to coach 12 great individuals and we could not have asked for a better group of young men to sharpen iron with throughout this season. We have so much to be proud of.”
Bryson Huckeby led the Falcons with 23 points.
Elliott was happy his team was still undefeated.
“I thought the environment was insane and it was extremely loud,” he said. “We played one of our worst games but still found a way to win the game. I think it just shows the grit of this team and how we never quit.”
Freeland plays Flint Hamady on Wednesday for the regional title.

Back

John Raffel
Sports Scene
Chris Brown has been getting the job done in his first year as Alma varsity basketball coach and 25th overall.
The team record as of mid-February was 13-3 overall in the TVC 8.
“We have had some strong wins against teams like Frankenmuth (11-3), Clare (13-2), Chesaning (13-4), and rival Shepherd (8-7),” Brown said. “The TVC 8 has some traditionally, very strong teams (Freeland, Bridgeport, and Frankenmuth) and some extremely difficult gyms to play in.”
Alma beat Bridgeport 69-53 on Feb. 18, led by Connor Lemerand with 25 points and Cade Sutherland with 22 points.
“Since taking over the program this year our expectations have been to be our very best at the end of the season and to represent our school and community in a positive way,” Brown said. “We continue to work towards those goals everyday with high intensity practices and a group of 12 great guys who push each other in everything we do. Our program’s motto is ‘Iron Sharpens Iron’ and we focus on the fact that no one is self made.
“We need everyone, players and coaches included, to help maximize our teams and individual’s potential. We talk about trying to do things the right way and that the right way isn’t always the easiest way. We strive to do things first class, like dressing up with shirts and ties for every game, writing thank you notes to people who have helped or influenced us, and being involved in our community and youth. Some may consider some of those things a little bit old school during this day and age, but we’re striving to teach our guys as much about life and being great young men, as we do about becoming better basketball players.”
Sam Rosales is a junior point guard averaging 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game.
Lemerand is a senior shooting guard averaging 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.
Michael Howey is a junior power forward averaging 12.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Sam Leppien is a senior center with 10.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.
“With four athletes averaging double figures we have a well balanced offense that can play quick or slow things down in the half court,” Brown said. “We pride our selves on playing great team defense and much of that comes from our senior captains, Mason Stambaugh, Mike Hunter and Sam Leppien. They do a great job setting the tone for our team with fantastic work ethic and communication every day.
“Sam Rosales and Michael Howey have also been great leaders and could easily be considered captains as well. We want to play as many games as possible, but we continue to approach the next game on our schedule as the most important one.”

Back

Sanford Meridian 49, McBain 43
Meridian improved to 16-6 with this regional semifinal win over McBain at Grayling.
Nick Metzger had 22 points and two steals for the winners. Dane Plichta had eight points, seven assists and five steals. Sawyer Moloy and six points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Cam Haiser had seven points.
Evan Haverkamp had 15 points for McBain.
Meridian had quarter leads of 14-9, 29-20 and 42-31.
“We built a 14-point lead but missed some easy shots and they got back in it,” SM coach Mitch Bohn said. “Dane sealed the deal with 4-for-4 from the free-throw-line. Nick made 6-for-6 from the 3-point line to keep us ahead all game.”
Meridian plays Grayling on Wednesday in Grayling for the regional title.

Back

Pewamo-Westphalia 69, Calvin Christian 66 (OT)
P-W improved to 19-4 with this overtime win on Monday in the regional semifinal at Carson City-Crystal. P-W was up 10-6 after the first quarter, 24-14 at halftime and 44-32 after the third.
Calvin Christian had a 25-13 scoring edge in the fourth to tie the game 57-57. But P-W had a 12-9 scoring advantage in overtime.
Jamison Eklund had 29 points for P-W while Evan Droste had 12.
P-W faces Ravenna in Wednesday’s title game.

Back

Flint Beecher 77, Hemlock 48
Beecher got out to a 26-5 lead after the first quarter and was up 34-15 at halftime and 55-35 after the third. Beecher had an 18-13 scoring advantage in the fourth.
Hemlock finishes at 15-8.
Carter Gensch had 14 points for Hemlock, followed by Bryce Murphy with 13 points and 3 assists, Chad Brown with nine points and seven rebounds and Jacob Shelagowski with six points and six rebounds.
Carmelo Harris had 23 points for Hemlock followed by Robert Lee with 10 points.
“I was hopeful that we’d get off to a better start in this one,” Hemlock coach Matt Bauer said. “Beecher is just so skilled and disciplined. It’s almost impossible to spot them a lead like that and find a way to get back into the game.
“We had a solid season and won a district trophy for Hemlock. I was always proud of this teams effort and teamwork. We played some of our best basketball at the end of the year and that what it is about. We had seven seniors on this team. They will be missed for all that they brought to this program.”

Back

It was March Madness at its at Alma on Monday (March 14) with Freeland (23-0) overcoming Alma 55-52 in an overtime thriller in the regional semifinal.
The game was tied 12-12 after one. Alma led at the half 21-20. Freeland took a two-point lead into the fourth, and after four quarters the game was knotted at 45. Trailing by two with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation, Alma sent the game into overtime with a Sam Leppien dunk at the buzzer. Each team would own the lead in the overtime, but with the game tied, Josh Elliot gave Freeland the final advantage with a three-pointer with 1:08 remaining.
Rosales cashed in a three with 4.3 remaining to make it a two-point game and after a split of free throws by Alex Duley, Alma was unable to answer in the end.
Sam Rosales had 18 for Alma while Michael Howey had 11 points. Connor Lemerand 10, Cade Sutherland had seven seven and Sam Leppian six.
“I could not be more happy or proud with the way our guys played and represented our school and community,” Alma coach Chris Brown said. “We took a great team to the wire, executed our entire game plan, but sometimes being victorious isn’t alway reflected in the scoreboard.
“We had the opportunity to coach 12 great individuals and we could not have asked for a better group of young men to sharpen iron with throughout this season. We have so much to be proud of.”
Bryson Huckeby led the Falcons with 23 points.
Elliott was happy his team was still undefeated.
“I thought the environment was insane and it was extremely loud,” he said. “We played one of our worst games but still found a way to win the game. I think it just shows the grit of this team and how we never quit.”
Freeland plays Flint Hamady on Wednesdy for the regional title.

Back

It was Hemlock 53 and Ithaca 35 in district boys basketball title action on Friday. Hemlock had quarter leads of 25-7, 36-17 and 41-27 to improve its record to 12-7.
Hemlock was led by Jake Shelagowski with 22 points and 11 rebounds; Bryce Murphy with 11 points, three steals and three assists; Chad Brown with 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals and Max Dinninger with four points, six rebounds and three assists.
Bronson Bupp had 10 points and Brendan Wood had five points.
Hemlock coach Matt Bauer: “The kids were really hungry in this tournament. We found another gear and played inspired basketball. We loved playing the role of underdog in this tournament as the No. 2 seed. We may have lost seven regular season games, but six were by a combined total of 17 points. Once again tonight, we came out of the gates flying. I think we were up 14-0 before Ithaca got on the board with a driving lay-up.
“Our defense was strong and Jacob Shelagowski had another monster game with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He was also 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. His improvement this year has been fun to watch. Chad Brown might have played his best game in his young Huskie career. He had nine big points and a couple steals in the first quarter to really get us going. Ithaca plays really hard and they probably have the deepest team that we played. They kept making runs but we were able to hold them off and finish strong, something that we’ve really improved at.”
Hemlock will play Flint Beecher at Beecher High School on Monday.

Back

It was Alma 63 (18-4) over Tri County 35 (12-11) in district title boys basketball action on Friday.
For Alma, Michael Howey had 20 points while Connor Lemerand had 17, Sam Leppien 10 and Mason Stambaugh six.
Alma coach Chris Brown: “Alma jumped out to a 20-7 lead after one and never looked back as they outscored Tri County in every quarter. Howey and Leppien led the way in the lane and Lemerand did a great job in transition as all three players scored in double figures for the second straight District game. The win gives Alma their first District title since 2019.
Ty Merlington led the Vikings with 10 points.
Alma will play at home in the regional semifinals vs. undefeated Freeland on Monday.

Back

It was Pewamo-Westphalia over North Pointe Christian 69-52 in boys basketball district title action, on Friday.
Braden Miller scored 22 points for P-W. Jamison Eklund had 16 points. Evan Droste added 12 points.
P-W led 31-15 at halftime.

Back

Elliott Leads Freeland To 20-0 Regular Season

Freeland Edges Alma In Overtime Thriller

Panthers enjoy solid season under first-year basketball coach

Sanford Meridian boys beat McBain in regional semifinals

P-W survives Calvin Christian in overtime thriller

Flint Beecher too much for Hemlock

Freeland holds back Alma in boys basketball regional semifinal thriller

Hemlock overcomes Ithaca for title

Alma boys defeat Tri County for district crown

Pewamo-Westphalia boys enjoy district championship