Reed City boys basketball coach Brennan Walsh talks to his team during a timeout in a recent game.
Pioneer photo/John RaffelREED CITY – Reed City’s boys basketball team had a strong offensive performance in posting a 63-50 win over Tri County in a Central State Activities Association tournament contest on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Reed City (12-9) was the no. 5 seed for the tournament facing No. 8 Tri County.
Blake Nelson had three triples in the first quarter for Tri County, leading the Vikings to a 12-10 advantage. The Coyotes rallied to lead 25-20 at halftime. Xavier Allen had eight points in the third quarter and RC was up 41-38 going into the fourth. Max Hammond had 10 points in the fourth quarter for Reed City.
Allen had 18 points for the Coyotes, followed by Hammond with 14 and Teddy Szymanski with eight.
“Our boys responded well,” Reed City coach Brennan Walsh said. “I am proud of them. We took care of the ball and made free throws. Xavier made a lot of good decisions. Teddy was huge on the boards. We had to earn it because Tri County played well and hit nine threes.”
Evart 53, Marion 51 (OT)
EVART – It was what Evart coach Kris Morgan called a “tough back and forth game” on Tuesday with the Wildcats taking the nonleague win by two points.
Evart led 12-11 after the first quarter but trailed 29-27 at halftime and 38-37 after the third. It was tied at the end of regulation and the Wildcats prevailed in the extra four minutes.
Dakobe White led Evart with 16 points, followed by Kamden Darling and Jacob Ladd with 10 apiece and Marcel White with nine.
“Marion played solid defense all night and made shots when they needed to,” Morgan said. “We struggled maintaining our runs. We would come up short on shots and turned the ball over too much. But in the end, our defensive pressure was enough to cause some key turnovers and hit enough free throws to seal it.
“Kamden Darling’s length and speed up on top on our zone was a difference maker.”
Pine River 49, Kalkaska 33
Pine River trailed Kalkaska 13-10 after the first quarter on Tuesday and led 24-23 at halftime. It was tied 32-32 after the third quarter and the Bucks had a huge 17-1 fourth-quarter advantage.
Dante Fauble had 12 points and five steals for the Bucks while Sheen Pink had 10 points, Trevor Holmquist had eight points and 13 rebounds and Evan Esiline had four points and 10 rebounds.
“Our guards did a very good job of handling Kalkaska’s pressure, and Evan and Trevor dominated the glass to keep them from getting second chances,” Pine River coach Brian Goodenow said. “Sheen Pink came up huge in the fourth quarter, scoring all 10 of his points. Everyone bought in to playing outstanding defense, especially in the second half. I’m very proud of my guys for closing out a game the right way.”
Pine River is 7-14 overall and 4-10 in the Highland Conference.
Pine River won the JV game 59-48.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Farwell 44, Pine River 24
EVART -- Pine River’s season ended at 5-18 with this loss to Farwell in a Division 3 district first round game on Tuesday at Evart.
Farwell had quarter leads of 12-2, 21-9, and 31-14.
Emma Tice had six points for the Bucks.
“We went in with a game plan to attack Farwell and it worked in the first half,” Pine river coach Steffen Halvorsen said. “The shots didn’t fall in the fourth quarter.
“The underclassmen looked good. We’re looking forward to next year.”
