NILES — Three Rivers’ boys’ basketball team lost three in a row in the last week, losing to Niles 76-47 Friday, Dec. 5, losing to Gull Lake on the road 62-24 Monday, and losing a close 51-45 decision at home to Hopkins Tuesday.
Against Niles, the Vikings scored more than 20 points in all but one quarter en route to the victory, while a four-point second quarter was the only non-double-digit quarter the Wildcats had.
Brayden Carpenter had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting on the evening to lead the team, to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. Gabe Young and Cam Cropper had six points each, Mason Awe and Zander Barth had four points each, DJ Fuller and Carter Langston each chipped in with three points, and Elijah Craig had two points.
Against Gull Lake, Carpenter led the team with eight points, while Awe and Langston had four points each.
In the loss to Hopkins, Three Rivers was down 36-17 at the half, but was unable to complete the comeback after outscoring Hopkins 28-15 in the second half.
Carpenter had 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a steal to lead the way for the ‘Cats. Langston had eight points and five rebounds, Young had six points and three rebounds, Austin Michelin had five points and four assists, and Awe, Fuller, and Blake Stewart each had three points. Cropper added a free throw.
With the losses, Three Rivers goes to 1-3 on the season. They play next on Friday on the road at Vicksburg at 7 p.m.
Sturgis comeback falls short against Harper Creek; downed by Paw Paw
STURGIS — Finding themselves down by 20 at one point, the Sturgis boys came back, cutting the lead to three with less than five minutes to play, but couldn’t close the gap any further, losing to Harper Creek 47-41 Tuesday.
According to the coaching staff, “The guys fought hard the whole game. It’s a real tough loss for us.”
No statistics were made available to print.
Paw Paw was in town last Friday night for a boys’ hoops contest, and the visitors, last season’s Wolverine Conference champ, downed the Trojans, 55-44.
The Red Wolves took a 12-6 lead after one, and moved that lead to 12 points, 27-15 at halftime. The Trojans put up 19 points in the final period to cut a 15-point lead to 11, but Paw Paw returned home with the win. Lukis Bir led the scoring for Sturgis with 12 points, followed by Beckett Lamb, who finished with 11. Also adding to the scoring totals for Sturgis was Simon Phillips who had six points, Wyatt Miller booked five, followed by Fernando Villasan and Gavin Lewis, who notched three points each. Oliver Lamb and Dane VanNest both finished with two.
The Trojans (1-1) will host Niles tonight, with the game starting at 7 p.m.
Mendon defeats Constantine on the road
CONSTANTINE — The Hornets picked up their third win of the season Monday, travelling to Constantine and returning with a 69-49 victory.
Ryder Gorham fired in 33 points, and in the process, eclipsed the 1000 career points mark. He also had nine steals, six assists and three rebounds. Owen Gorham notched 16 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Dante Goto added 13 points, 10 boards, seven blocked shots and one assist. Also adding to the win was Carter Huston with five points, a pair of rebounds, three assists and four steals. Tristan Wood came up with two points, one rebound, one assist and two steals He was followed by Ky Truckey with three rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Jayden Haigh booked an assist, a steal and a rebound.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we fought for every possession and came out with the win,” Mendon coach Matt Gorham said. “In the end, I’m proud of how our team stayed together and found a way to finish strong.”
The Falcons were led by Braden Bienz with 21 points.
The Hornets hosted Bellevue last night, with those results appearing in next week’s edition.
Constantine drops to 0-4 to start season
CONSTANTINE — The early-season struggles for Constantine continued this past week, as the Falcons lost to Parchment 57-43 Friday, Dec. 5, and lost 48-39 to Allegan Tuesday.
Against Parchment, Braden Bienz led the team with 15 points. Against Allegan, Bienz also led the team, this time with 13 points on the evening.
Constantine drops their record to 0-4 and look to break their 28-game losing streak Friday night at Lawton, with tip-off at 7 p.m.
Strawser sets White Pigeon threes record in loss to Bloomingdale
BLOOMINGDALE — Host Bloomingdale downed White Pigeon Tuesday evening in a boys basketball contest, 72-64.
Ty Strawser poured in 32 points for the Chiefs, and in the process, set a new school record for three-pointers. He now has a total of 172, breaking Josh Donaldson’s mark of 170. Strawser also had four assists. Zach Royce finished with 11, and also dished out nine assists, while Riley Horner added 10 points and five boards. Jace Roach chipped in with eight points and five rebounds for White Pigeon, who is still looking for win number one on the season.
The Chiefs will be in action tonight, traveling to Decatur to square off against the Raiders.
Colon outlasts Morenci
COLON — Dalton Williams led four Magi players in double figures Tuesday night with 24 points, as Colon edged Morenci in a real nail-biter, 74-70. Quincy Blair popped in 20, Jeremiah West added 14 points, while Brennan Morrell finished with 12. Colin Trattles and Dylan Smith chipped in with two points each.
The Magi held a 15-12 lead after one, however the visitors came back to grab the lead at halftime, 35-33.
The winners were able to regain the lead by the end of the third stanza, 49-46, then withstood a 24-point barrage from the Bulldogs by scoring 25 points of their own to seal the victory.
Blair and Williams both gathered in eight rebounds apiece, while Morrell and West had five and three, respectively. Williams led the team with eight assists, while West handed out six. Blair paced Colon with three steals, while Williams had the lone blocked shot. With the win, the Magi evened their record at 1-1.
Marcellus defeated by Hartford
MARCELLUS — Marcellus’ boys’ basketball team dropped its game Friday, Dec. 5 to Hartford by a final of 59-38.
Javonne Robinson was the lone player to score in double digits for the Wildcats, notching 10 to go with five rebounds and two assists. Jamarion Robinson had nine points and nine rebounds, Zade Tyszka had eight points and four rebounds, Matt Jansen had six points, six rebounds, three blocks, and two assists, and Aiden Cadwell had five points, two rebounds, and three steals.
Howardsville blasts Covert
HOWARDSVILLE — Howardsville Christian had no trouble with Covert Tuesday night, defeating their visitors 78-28.
Sophomore Caden Grant led the way for the Eagles with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Keaton Grandlinard had 16 points, freshman Chase Gilson had eight points, eighth-grade callup Kavin Sparks had eight points and six assists, freshman Kason Witt had six points, and freshman Micaiah Gardner had five points.
