BAY CITY, MI – A look at the high school sports scene in the Bay City area for Dec. 8, 2022. Area coaches are asked to submit results, highlights and comments the night of each event by emailing lthomps2@mlive.com.
BOYS BKB: PINCONNING 51, HARRISON 39
Pinconning has shown first-year coach Jason Donahue a lot already this season.
Including that it knows how to win.
The Spartans fought off a hardy challenge from Harrison for a 51-39 victory, giving their rookie head coach his first win at the helm.
“The team showed nice growth from our first game,” Donahue said. “We are very young and still trying to figure out how to put a complete game together. But they made a great step forward tonight, not cracking under pressure when Harrison fought back.”
Pinconning (1-1, 1-0) made its Jack Pine Conference opener a success, building a 25-13 lead at halftime. Harrison clawed back, cutting the margin to a single point in the fourth quarter.
But the Spartans responded like winners, reeling off a 12-0 run that brought home milestone win No. 1 for their coach.
Brady Lupcke delivered 13 points and six rebounds in the win while Garrett Zehr knocked down four 3-pointers in a 12-point performance. Andrew Wilson, Cole Brady and Ayden LaLonde each added six points while LaLonde pulled down a team-high seven boards.
Conner Kirby scored 18 points to lead Harrison.
BOYS BKB: SAGINAW NOUVEL 85, REESE 62
Reese had no answer for the Yeager twins, as M.J. Yeager piled up 42 points and Donny Yeager counted 28 to burn the Rockets 85-62.
The Nouvel twins combined to sink 13 3-pointers in the win.
Reese (0-2) got 22 points from Beck Shores and 21 from Konner Kratz.
READ Hugh Bernreuter’s full story
GIRLS BKB: ALL SAINTS 28, MAYVILLE 13
Bay City All Saints was prepared for a defensive slugfest and got it.
The Cougars couldn’t get much going offensively, but that wouldn’t be necessary in a 28-13 victory over Mayville.
“We knew it was going to be a physical game and it certainly was,” All Saints coach Mike Debo said. “The nice thing is that we played from in front tonight and defense was the name of the whole game.”
All Saints (2-1) led 13-6 at the half and still had Mayville in single digits through three quarters, up 21-8.
Lili Costilla led All Saints with 10 points while Annaka Neetz added nine points and seven rebounds. Both players nabbed five steals.
GIRLS BKB: CASS CITY 31, UBLY 23
Shorthanded Cass City found a way to win, outdueling Ubly for a gritty 31-23 victory.
Saylar Cuthrell scored 13 points and Olivia Krueger added 11 for the Red Hawks, who trailed 15-13 at the half before outscoring Ubly 18-8 after halftime.
GIRLS BKB: UNIONVILLE-SEBEWAING 37, HARBOR BEACH 36
Unionville-Sebewaing Area won the fourth quarter and won the game.
In a game that was tight from start to finish, the Patriots finished on top 37-36. The game was knotted at 30-30 entering the final stanza.
Riley Werschky scored 14 points and Lauren Green 13 to lead USA. Maliah Jahn scored 12 to pace Harbor Beach.
GIRLS BKB: HILLMAN 62, OGEMAW HEIGHTS 23
Ogemaw Heights ran into a tough matchup in Hillman, dropping a 62-23 decision in the non-league matchup.
Ogemaw trailed 16-3 after the opening quarter and never recovered, but the offense picked up a notch over the next two quarters.
Alivia Whisman scored nine points for the Falcons and Aaliyah Dantzer added six. Saige Flaugher led Hillman with 20 points.
BOYS BKB: SANFORD MERIDIAN 46, GLADWIN 44
It was a thriller to the buzzer – and a bit beyond – but Gladwin came up one bucket short of its first victory in a 46-44 loss to Sanford Meridian.
Gladwin trailed virtually the entire way in the Jack Pine Conference opener but made a serious push for the win down the stretch. The Flying G’s cut a seven-point deficit down to two and had the ball for the final possession.
“(Lucas Mead) got the ball and got to the rim, and met in a huge collision with a couple of Meridian players,” Gladwin coach Mike Verellen said. “It was a bit of a hold-your-breath moment as everyone was waiting for the charge or block call as the buzzer sounded. There was no call, game over.”
Mead finished with a 21-point, eight-rebound performance for the G’s (0-2, 0-1). Nick Metzger led Meridian with 13 points and Landon Sinclair added 12.
BOYS BKB: ST. HELEN HESTON 53, AU GRES 29
The scoreboard suggested it wasn’t a good night for Au Gres.
But first-year coach Chase Blackmore saw the progress he was looking for in a 53-29 loss to St. Helen Charlton Heston.
“We have a young group that is showing us they have the heart of a varsity team,” Au Gres coach Chase Blackmore said. “They are making incredible progress in a short amount of time and are going to be fun to watch as they develop this season.”
Casey Williams scored 17 points and Levi Jones added 10 for Au Gres, which trailed 29-9 at the half before making strides offensively in the second half.
Ethan Sharrow knocked down six 3-pointers in a 27-point effort for Heston while Ryan Patterson notched 10 points and seven rebounds.
BOYS BKB: ALCONA 48, HALE 32
Alcona used a balanced attack to get the edge on Hale, scoring a 48-32 victory.
Garrett Somers scored 14 while Hayden Johston and David Sharboneau each added 10 for Alcona, which led 24-16 at the half then inched away.
Hale got 11 points from Jeff Guoan and 13 rebounds from Brady McCadie.
WRESTLING: BEAVERTON NOTCHES PAIR OF WINS
Beaverton downed Byron 54-10 then edged Corunna 43-42 for a 2-0 night on the wrestling mat.
Eric Larson (106), Isaiah Biers (150) and Justin Wood (215) each posted two wins for the Beavers.
SWIMMING: GARBER 123, STANDISH-STERLING 35
Essexville Garber isn’t at full strength yet, but the Dukes are heading in the right direction.
The Dukes opened the dual portion of their season with a 123-35 victory over Standish-Sterling, winning all but one event.
“This week has been challenging for us. A lot of the team has been out due to illness, but we are pushing through,” Garber coach Erin Dowd said. “Once everyone is healthy, I can’t wait to see how fast these swimmers become.”
Chance Owen and Connor Dowd each won four events, with Owen taking the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle and Dowd claiming the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. Matthew Killey was tops in the 200 IM, Cameron Callahan won the 50 freestyle and Thoth Moya took the 100 breaststroke for the Dukes.
Dowd, Moya, Killey and Callahan won the 200 medley relay, Callahan, Wesley Rathke, Elijah Smith and Owen won the 200 freestyle relay and Owen, Killey, Smith and Dowd took the 400 freestyle relay.
Jacob Switala delivered a memorable opener for Standish-Sterling, breaking his own school record while winning the 100 freestyle in 53.04. He added a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke while Emily O’Dell was second in the 100 breaststroke and Thomas Thurston-Gillespie took second in the 50 freestyle.
If you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily, click here and sign up for one of our local high school sports newsletters.
Love reading about local sports? Don’t miss any of the excitement from the season ahead. Purchase your subscription now and get full access to every story on MLive!
RELATED READING
Dishwashing injury nearly cost All-State chance to play in state final
Roundup: Back-to-back games poses early season challenge
Roundup: Bay County clash is physical to the finish
Just 10 days after football glory, Gladwin gets blitzed by Glenn
Roundup: Season-opening comebacks set tone for wild season ahead
Ad Choices