Jan. 9: Blue Water basketball roundup
Updated: Jan 24
As we enter the heart of the season, local basketball teams are beginning to work their way through league play, separating themselves from their peers.
Several remain undefeated at the top, while others are finding their identity again after the break. Here's a look at last week's highlights:
BOYS BASKETBALL
Port Huron Northern remains unbeaten
The Huskies continue to impress at 6-0 overall. They introduced themselves to the MAC-White last week with an 80-42 victory over Warren Mott.
Senior Tyler Jamison led the team with 18 points, while freshmen Cam Harju added 15, including three 3-pointers, and Amir Morelan chipped in with 13 points. Senior Luke Maher and freshman Alex Jamison added 10 points apiece as well, putting five Huskies at double-digits on the night.
Northern is now ranked No. 14 on the latest DZone Top 100 list and will host Utica Eisenhower (3-5, 0-1 MAC-White) on Tuesday before hitting the road to play Romeo (3-3, 1-0 MAC-White) on Thursday.
Armada regains its footing
After dropping their conference opener and a pair of non-league games, the Tigers were looking for a win, and they managed to find a rather exciting one over Almont last week.
They led for much of the game, but Almont refused to back down. The Raiders took a one-point lead with less than a minute to go. Armada senior Justin Schapman then made the last-second bucket on an inbounds play to secure the Tigers’ 48-47 win. He led the team with 13 points on the night. Senior Andrew Sniesak added 10 points.
Almont was led by junior Marko Radisavljevic with 23 points and four steals and senior Clay Roszczewski who added 11.
Armada is now 5-3 overall and 1-1 within the league and will play Algonac and North Branch this week.
Cros-Lex snaps Yale’s winning streak
Led by senior Trey Kolakovich, the Cros-Lex Pioneers spoiled their rival’s perfect 6-0 record when they handed Yale a 67-52 loss. Kolakovich had a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Four different Bulldogs reached double-digits in the loss, led by freshman Jackson Kohler with 14 points and junior Ryan Monarch with 13.
Cros-Lex is now leading the BWAC at 2-0 and stands 6-2 overall. The Pioneers will be home against Almont (0-2) on Tuesday and Imlay City (1-0) on Friday.
Yale (6-1, 1-1) will play Imlay City and Algonac (0-2).
Port Huron finds momentum
Last week was a good one for the Big Reds, and just in time as they work their way into league play. They hosted Armada on Monday for a 51-44 victory, holding the Tigers’ to their lowest-scoring game of the season. Seniors Nate Oriel and Jaiden Ashford led the team with 14 points apiece.
They then hosted Marysville in the MAC-Silver opener on Friday, securing a 59-32 victory. Senior Conner Rosenau led with 15 points and fellow senior Dwynell Benjamin posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Port Huron is now 3-4 overall and will host St. Clair (1-6, 0-1 MAC-Silver) this Tuesday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Marine City, St. Clair look to end each other’s conference streak
The Mariners (6-2) will host St. Clair (5-4) this week in an exciting MAC-Gold matchup. Both teams are 3-0 in conference play, but only one will remain undefeated.
They each returned from a break in league play Thursday as St. Clair defeated Lake Shore 48-16 and Marine City topped Fraser 46-30.
Thursday’s victory was an outlier for Marine City’s defense, which has been a staple all season, holding teams to less than 20 points on average in each of its wins. Offensively, they’ve been led by juniors Jade Blanchard and Josalyn Dietlin who are averaging 13 and 10 points per game, respectively.
The Mariners will be tested by the Saints, however, who are averaging 47 points per game. They’re led by senior Erin Seros with a double-digit scoring average and a season-high of 18 points.
Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday night in the Marine City gym.
Marysville’s doing just fine in new league
The young Marysville Vikings are meeting the challenge of their new league.
They’re now 7-3 overall and 3-0 within the MAC-Blue after their most recent win over Chippewa Valley.
Senior Ava Grant stepped up with 10 points while fellow senior Kara Miller added 13, including three 3-pointers. Miller is averaging 10 points per game this season with 68% of her scoring coming from beyond the arc.
The Vikings will play Stevenson (0-8) and Cousino (5-3) this week.
North Branch rises to top at 4-0
After a pair of conference games last week, the Broncos improved to 4-0 in the BWAC and 8-1 overall. They defeated Richmond 48-13 and Algonac 41-19.
Senior Natasha Bickel led the Broncos against the Blue Devils with 19 points, while fellow senior Bailey Gromley led with 16 points against the Muskrats. Sophomore Ella Swoish added seven and six points in each of the games, respectively.
North Branch will hit the road for the first time since Dec. 20 this week as the Armada Tigers will host the conference leader.
The Imlay City Spartans are right behind at 3-0, after defeating Yale 56-44, on Wednesday. These two teams will see each other on Jan. 20.
For a full look at the BWAC scores and standings, click here.
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