Cadillac outscored Big Rapids 11-5 in overtime to post a 55-49 victory on Tuesday in a Class B state quarterfinal game at Ferris State. Big Rapids ended its season at 20-5 while Cadillac is 19-6 as it goes to the semifinals Friday night. Big Rapids led 9-5 after the first quarter and 24-23 at half-time but trailed 38-32 after the third quarter. It was tied 44-44 after the fourth quarter. Jalen Brooks had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead Cadillac while Justin Liptak added five points.
Big Rapids’ boys basketball season for the second straight year ended at 0-5 with a 55-49 overtime loss Tuesday Class B state quarterfinals to Cadillac at Ferris State University.
Big Rapids led 9-5 after the first quarter an 24-23 at half-time but trailed 38-32 after the third quarter. It was tied 44-44 after the fourth quarter. Cadillac had an 11-5 scoring advantage in the overtime. Quinn Tyson had 21 points while Demetri Martin had 12 rebounds for Big Rapids which ended its season at 20-5.
By BUTCH HARMON
OWOSSO – They don’t call it March Madness for nothing.
Trailing by four points with 10 seconds remaining in the game, the Pewamo-Westphalia Pirates stunned Flint Beecher with five straight points to claim a 42-41 victory in the Class C state quarterfinals at Owosso.
“It’s just unbelievable,” Pewamo-Westphalia coach Luke Pohl said. “To accomplish this in this kind of atmosphere is unbelievable. I just told the kids to keep on playing and not quit. My guys just would not quit. I’m speechless. I can’t beleive it. The guys never quit, they just kept believing.”
Trailing 41-37 with 10 seconds remaining in the game, Pewamo-Westphalia’s Kyle Nurenberg drained a three-point shot to cut the Beecher lead to a single point. On the inbounds play, Pirate senior Nick Spitzley stole the ball in the corner off a trap and then drove in for a layup that gave Pewamo-Westphalia a 42-41 lead with 4.1 secondss remaining in the game.
“Coach just told us to keep playing,” Spitzley said. “He told us to keep playing and that our time would come. We doubled them in the corner and they threw a lazy pass. I grabbed it and went in and laid it in.”
Beecher tried a desperation half-court heave with second seconds remaining but the ball fall well short setting off a wild Pirate celebration.
“I’ve been coaching for 17 years and we finally made it to the Breslin,” Pohl said. “We’ve made it to the quarterfinals twice. This time we finally made it. I’m so proud of these guys. They never quit.”
Pewamo-Westphalia jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the game before Beecher battled back to tie the game at 11-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Beecher took command of the game late in the second quarter when the Bucs hits three consecutive three-point shots as they went up 26-18 at halftime.
Pewamo-Westphalia began to chip away at the deficit early in the third quarter. Lane Simon scored the first eight Pirate points of the second half to help the Pirates tie the game at 28-28 by the end of the third quarter.
Beecher regained the lead in the fourth quarter and was up 36-31 midway through the fourth quarter before the Pirates made one final charge.
Spitzley led the Pewamo-Westphalia offense with 18 points while Simon added 11 points. Adam Wesley finished with seven points and Nurenberg added four points.
Flint Carman-Ainsworth’s boys basketball season ended last Wednesday with a 64-61 loss to Mount Pleasant in the Class A regional finals. Mount Pleasant was up 15-10 after the first quarter but trailed 34-27 at halftime and 52-40 after the third quarter. Mount Pleasant had a 24-9 scoring advantage in the final eight minutes. Justice Greene had 22 points for Mount Pleasant while Cameron Morse added 19 points.
Mount Pleasant defeated Flint Carman-Ainsworth 64-61 last Wednesday to advance to the Class A quarterfinals this week. Mount Pleasant was up 15-10 after the first quarter but trailed 34-27 at halftime and 52-40 after the third quarter. Mount Pleasant had a 24-9 scoring advantage in the final eight minutes. Aaron Leasher scored 17 points while Anton Cotton had 16 points and Laleel Hogan had 14 points.
Wayland defeated Jackson Lumen Christi with a 58-51 victory in the Class B regional 12 title game on March 13. It was the school’s first regional title in nearly 60 years. Wayland was up 19-13 after the first quarter but trailed 29-25 at halftime. Wayland was up 41-40 after the third quarter and the game was tied 49-49 going into the overtime. Wayland had an 9-2 scoring advantage in overtime. Dilon Aten had 28 points while Lacey James scored 16 points. James had eight rebounds.
Pewamo-Westphalia will be in the Class C state quarterfinals on Tuesday following last Wednesday’s Class C regional victory over Shelby 59-55. The game was tied 11-11 after the first quarter. Pewamo-Westphalia was up 28-24 at halftime and trailed 43-40 after the third quarter. But P-W had a 19-13 scoring edge in the final eight minutes. Nick Spitzley who has passed the 1,500-points career scoring mark, led P-W with 22 points.
Morrice’s basketball season ended at 17-6 with a 58-36 loss to Adrian Lenawee Christian in the Class D regional finals on Thursday. Lenawee Christian was up 11-3 after the first quarter, 27-16 at halftime and 41-22 after the third quarter. Griffin Lewis scored 15 points for Morrice. Ronnie Hubble had seven points.
Morrice won its first Class D regional semifinal game since 1984 with a 71-63 win over Bellevue on Tuesday. Morrice was up 22-13 after the first quarter, and trailed 33-30 at halftime and 49-45 after the third quarter. Morrice had a 26-14 scoring advantage in the final eight minutes. Ronnie Nuble scored 22 points for Morrice while Griffin Lewis had 21 points and Jake Bindschatel added 12.
Dustin Neyer’s 25-foot jumper at the buzzer stunned Fulton 50-47 in Wednesday’s regional title Class D game in Big Rapids and ended Fulton’s season at 21-3. Neyer grabbed the ball when Brooke Hyble’s inbounds pass at 0.8 seconds, intended to hit a teammate underneath the basket, went too far, hit the backboard and caromed to Neyer whose desperation shot just beat the buzzer. The ball bounced around the rim before going in for the game-winner.
Fulton was up 17-8 after the first quarter, 24-21 at halftime and 37-32 after the third quarter. Sacred Heart had an 18-10 scoring edge in the fourth. Colton Ames had 22 points for Fulton.
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