Just a tip, the ZOOM function may come in handy if trying to read the top part on this one. Feel free to leave comments on if you agree or disagree with these selections. And just FYI, I did indeed consult most area coaches on who they felt was deserving on the honors.
[caption id="attachment_297" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Hillsdale senior guard Mitchell Gabriele was named to the SMAA First-Team for his efforts on the court this season."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 18, 2009
Trio of Hornets honored by SMAA
Following a 14-7 season that included a an 8-4 mark in SMAA play, three Hillsdale seniors, affectionately called “The Big Three” by Hornet coach Brad Felix were honored by the conference for their play.
Senior guard Mitchell Gabriele, one of the Jackson area’s leading scorers, was the lone SMAA First-Team selection.
He averaged 21.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.1 steals per game this season.
He also mae a team-high 53 3-pointers and scored 43 points in a game earlier this year.
At the end of December he was named the Pat Paterson Holiday Tournament MVP for Hillsdale’s pool.
6-4 big man Nick Kelley was named an SMAA Second-Team selection in his final season.
He was a double-double machine, averaging 12.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest.
He also averaged 1.8 steals and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field.
Senior guard Scott Lantis was an Honorable Mention pick by the league.
He also averaged 12.7 points per contest, to go with 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
He made 37 3-pointers on the year.
The SMAA First-Team consisted of these four players aside from Gabriele: Thomas Lovachis of Stockbridge, Ryan Hobson of Albion, Nate Scholten of Western and Albion’s Justin Edmonds.
Chargers have three earn All-American status
Each year, the Hillsdale College track teams end up well-represented among the nation's best, and the 2009 version was no different.
Aaron Falk, Andrew Dodson and Jared Krout all earned All-American status this weekend at the 2009 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships, held in Houston, Texas.
This was the second consecutive year Dodson has been named an indoor track All-American, both times placing among the top eight in the country in the high jump event.
Dodson was tied for seventh in Division II with his best jump of 6 feet, 8 inches. His two-time All-American status makes Dodson one of the best high jumpers in the past decade at Hillsdale.
Falk has emerged as a dominant athlete in the weight throw event over the past two years, and at this year's championships, he only added to that reputation. He placed fourth in the nation with a weight throw mark of 64 feet, 10 inches, also earning five points for the Charger team at the national meet.
Krout, who already has many All-American honors on his impressive resume, tacked on another one with his performance in the long jump event. His mark of 23 feet, 6 3/4 inches was good enough for eighth place, and his fifth All-American honor in three indoor track seasons.
On the women's side in the meet, two impressive performances were turned in by Marta Schiewe and Amanda Putt, though neither were able to advance to the finals in their respective events.
Schiewe ran the 400 meter dash in just 59 seconds, a blazing-fast time. Putt, a freshman, turned in a mile run in 5:10, both performances putting a cap on excellent seasons for each.
[caption id="attachment_274" align="alignright" width="188" caption="Hudson's Sam Klinger sends back a shot from Pittsford's Garet Lee as the Tigers put an end to the Wildcats perfect season."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 12, 2009
It took the Hudson Tigers just 32 minutes to tear down what the Pittsford Wildcats spent nearly four months building.
After losing to the Wildcats by 22 points Friday night the district-hosting Tigers (8-13) didn't trail by more than nine points Wednesday and their intense defense was just enough to keep Pittsford uncomfortable and timely shooting eventually helped break the Wildcats 20-0 season, 56-52.
"We just wanted to return the favor for what they did to us last time and we just had great momentum to do that and we wanted to get to the finals," Hudson junior forward Sam Klinger said, after scoring seven points in the win.
For Pittsford it appeared senior forward Corey Gamble might set the table, as he went off for three 3-pointers and 16 points in the first half, and junior forward Garet Lee might serve the Tigers a defeat, as he gathered steam and scored nine points in the third quarter alone. But Gamble didn't score a single point in the second half, Lee made just six of 14 free throws and a 29-22 halftime lead didn't stand the test of time.
An emotional Mike Burger said funny things sometimes happen in single elimination tournaments and he couldn't fault his kids effort, only praise Hudson's.
"They made a lot of shots, they played hard, they wanted it just as bad as we did and they just made a few more plays than we did. Friday was a different night. That's the quirky thing about basketball...March Madness, one and done," Pittsford's head coach said.
He said his players certainly felt the pressure to succeed on the bigger stage and that may have played into the final outcome.
"The pressure was there to be successful, they knew the magnitude of the game, they knew what was at risk and maybe that got to them a little bit. But you've got to give credit to Hudson for making the plays," he said.
Nathan Smith, Luke Milligan and Brandon Hephner all led Hudson with eight points, but it was the same team mind-set on defense that truly made a difference.
Burger said the Tigers are "big and strong" and he thought Klinger affected quite a few Wildcat shots. Klinger had help from Hephner among others down low and he said everything went according to plan.
"We just wanted to be great defenders and we wanted to shut down Lee and basically their 3-point stuff and make them go low," he said.
Lee had only three points at the half ad the Wildcats were piggy-backing onto Gamble's back, much to the delight of Pittsford fans who roared loudly with every long-range attempt from the lanky senior.
He not only buried three triples in the first half, he was also fouled on two 3-point attempts and he was far and away the game's most effective offensive player.
As Klinger said though, Hudson coach Lance Horwath switched his concern from interior defense to perimeter coverage at the half.
"We talked about never leaving your man if you can and making sure you got back on time and we just played tough in-your-shorts man-to-man 'D' and it worked out," he said.
Pittsford led 32-24 early in the second half thanks to several strong drives from Lee and some errant long-range shooting from Hudson.
Nonetheless Luke Milligan finally drilled a 3-pointer with 1:05 left in the third period and a 7-2 run to end the quarter put the Tigers within 40-41.
Josh Shephard made one of the biggest plays of the contest on Hudson's first possession of the fourth quarter when he made a long 3-pointer to give his team their first lead all night.
Pittsford guard Seth Weber hit a triple of his own to get the Wildcats within one with 4:32, but a 51-46 deficit with 2:20 remaining proved too much to overcome. The Wildcats went just 10-for-20 from the charity stripe in the contest and several Clark Pelham 3-pointers rimmed out in the final minutes.
Pelham was held to just three points Wednesday, as was Wes Smith. Zac Vanlerberg tallied four.
Despite an earlier finish to the season than he hoped for, Burger said he will never forget the ride this group of guys took him on and their character would be defined as much by the first-round loss as all their victories.
"You could play 1,000 games like tonight and lose a lot and win a lot and you learn so much about yourself, and that's what sports is about. You know you feel so alive and so wonderful during the game, the fight and just watching the guys play and I couldn't be more proud of them," he said. "They had a ton of fight tonight, they didn't quit and I think you learn a lot your character in adversity and these guys, they'll be alright."
Hudson's gift for taking down the Wildcats is a finals date on Friday with 18-4 Hanover-Horton who beat Manchester 56-40 Wednesday.
"We're going to have to play some real tough 'D' because defense wins games mostly and we have to find out who there best player is and shut them down." Klinger said.
Tip-off for that game is set for 7 p.m.
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
A column published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 11, 2009
Call me a loser, because in fact I like losing.
I was a starter on a JV basketball team that lost 16 times in 20 tries my sophomore year, I lost out on a $10,000 college scholarship by .04 of a grade-point and I've lost myself numerous times, only to have God bring me out a better man.
From my experiences you can either let losing eat you alive and turn you into a spiteful, regretful person or you can lose admirably and try hard to learn from failure.
On Monday night I saw the Hillsdale Hornets boys basketball team lose, but during and after the disheartening 60-32 district defeat at the hands of Coldwater I saw kids maturing and how losing can truly impart wisdom on individuals.
Take senior star Mitchell Gabriele for example. He is arguably one of the finest scorers in the greater-Jackson area, but he also has a tendency to let his über-competitive personality take over for the worse at times.
Getting thrown out of the first contest this season and sometimes taking poor shots out of frustration much to the dismay of his coaches are just two examples.
But if Monday night is any indication, he has matured the past few months and winning is still what drives him, but not what controls him.
In the midst of the worst shooting performance of his career, a 2-for-22 outing, Gabriele remained poised and just kept willing himself to get open and try to lead the troops back.
When he could’ve barked at the refs for not calling obvious contact he remained tight-lipped and prepared to go to work on defense; when his outside shot continued to rim out he started posting up and trying to get even better looks, instead of just hoisting up bad shots because the game was already decided.
"Yeah I was getting contact, but they were letting us play on both sides of the ball,” he said. "It is frustrating... anytime you shoot that bad when you're averaging as many points as I am. When they're not falling and they should be falling, and you're trying to get your team back on top and trying to get the 'W' it's very frustrating and it hurts."
Yes losing hurts but no one should let it define who they are, and to his credit Gabriele quickly found the positive in the darkest of moments last night, something that’s not always easy after failing to meet expectations and letting down a rather passionate fan base.
“Toward the end of the season we had two back-to-back losses and this one kind of sticks a dagger to your heart. But you know, we played well the whole season and there are no regrets, we don't regret anything, but it's too bad we couldn't pull out a 'W' tonight," he said. "Like coach said earlier on, he was talking to people in the community and they were like 'I think it would be good if you guys won five games' and then we came out and won (14), so it feels good."
Sometimes effort doesn’t equal results every time out in life, whether at work, in relationships or in striving for goals and the Hornets now know that all too well.
Head coach Brad Felix said the team executed his game plan to a near tee and he had no reason to yell at them, because missing shots, shooting 21.8 percent from the floor, was not a result of being undisciplined or ill prepared, it kind of just happened.
It is a reminder that we aren’t always in control of everything no matter how hard we try to and there are always unknown variables involved — such as Coldwater point guard Cameron Holicki (26 points, five assists) in Hillsdale’s case. Or just tough-luck rims or mounting pressure, pick your poison.
Senior Scott Lantis said it would've been nice to have gone out playing better and it wouldn't have stung so much if they could have shot decent, but instead of looking at it as an end all he still gave credit to Felix for having them prepared and told it as it was without sugar-coating it.
"We've got some athletes here, we've got some players and if we would've gone out and shot well and they beat us, I think we'd have a little better taste in our mouths," he said. "We had the looks, the game-plan was there, but you can't coach shooting and like coach said, we weren't trying to miss. The game-plan was perfect, coach had us ready, we just couldn't finish."
In the wake of one of their most difficult nights as high school athletes Gabriele and Lantis were good enough to take the time to be honest with me and try to put it all in perspective. No excuses, just heavy hearts, but hearts that were thankful for the opportunities they've been given. I wouldn't say they were joyful in defeat, but they were at least respectful and reflective.
Lantis talked about how he felt their senior class had stayed loyal to the Hornet tradition and Gabriele said he was proud to have gone to battle with his fellow seniors, even though they'll never win a district title.
It would do us all some good to remember that Michael Jordan was cut from his JV basketball team, the apostle Paul was once a Pharisee and we all fall short, but can choose how we act and react in the face of failure.
Being a proponent of failing for your own good once in a while, I was impressed with how Hornet players handled themselves at a most vulnerable time.
Lantis' last words to me after the game were "God bless you" — and no, I didn't sneeze.
A fitting ending to another life experience that everyone involved will remember, and a hopeful look at how very special some of our area teenagers really are.
[caption id="attachment_265" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Nick Kelley (40) and Scott Lantis (30) walk off the court for the final time as Hillsdale Hornets basketball players."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sport Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 10, 2009
The one thing coaches say you can't teach is the one thing the Hillsdale Hornets boy's basketball team couldn't do Monday.
In a first-round district showdown with Coldwater the Hornets took care of the ball, played solid defense for four quarters and executed their game-plan almost to a tee according to head coach Brad Felix — but they couldn't shoot worth a lick and their season is now over because of it.
The Hornets shot just 21 percent from the field as a team, senior guard Mitchell Gabriele was held to seven points on a 2-for-22 shooting effort and for the second straight meeting Cardinals' point guard Cameron Holicki was the man of the hour in a 60-32 Coldwater victory.
It was an unfathomable way for the Hornets to end a season in which they finished 14-7 and almost pulled off an SMAA championship.
Hillsdale players were antsy to finally get over the hump and win a district title with this group of guys, but a short-handed Coldwater team, who was without starters Jacob Robison and Bobby White due to team violations, shot 58 percent from the field and ended the game on an astonishing 35-6 run.
Felix said he wasn't angry whatsoever, just disappointed.
"I told them it was a tough way for the seniors to finish their career. Quite frankly we're real disappointed...we picked a horrible time to shoot the ball like that. It's a little embarrassing," he said. "They play good man-to-man defense, but I'll tell you what man, we got good shots. We had a real good game-plan coming in and we were getting the ball where we wanted it and to the people we wanted to be touching it."
Coldwater head coach chalked Brian Stevens chalked the win up to defense and heart.
"That was our best defensive effort all year right there. And you know we had to really step it up because we knew we were going to have some guys out, but it was just a fantastic effort," he said. "I've never been more proud of a group of kids than I was tonight. The telling thing here is we have a good team and we don't have to rely on just two people."
It also didn't hurt that Holicki had one of the best games of his career on the same night Gabriele's had one of his toughest outings.
Holicki scored 13 first-half points, the same number the Hornets had in falling behind by 10 at the break, and he finished the game with 26 points to go with six boards and five assists.
Stevens said Holicki was at his best when Hornets defenders got right up in his face and he was able to drive by them and get to the lane.
"He's a gamer. He knew he was going to have to step up ands play huge tonight with a few guys out," he said. "The guy is a great competitor... they just gave him the opportunities and he took them."
For the Hornets, Gabriele gave it his all and even hit a key 3-pointer early in the second half to begin a run that would give the Hornets a 26-25 advantage, but no one had an answer to why the ball just wouldn't fall through the cylinder.
"It is frustrating... anytime you shoot that bad when you're averaging as many points as I am. When they're not falling and they should be falling, and you're trying to get your team back on top and trying to get the 'W' it's very frustrating and it hurts," he said.
Felix said he doesn't understand what happened, but he has sympathy for his floor general.
"It's tough to fathom. I just feel bad for Mitchell that he's got to finish his career like that. That's his last game and he probably couldn't have shot the ball any worse than he did," he said, "He's a competitor man, and we were going to keep throwing him the ball and getting him looks and we even tried to get him the ball inside. The sets we ran worked, we got him shots on the block and he just couldn't finish."
Backcourt mate Scott Lantis had a little better success, knocking down three 3-pointers en route to 11 points, but he said the sting of losing in such a fashion is pretty strong.
"I just think it would've been nice if we went out playing well. We've got some athletes here, we've got some players and if we would've gone out and shot well and they beat us, I think we'd have a little better taste in our mouths," he said. "We had the looks, the game-plan was there, but you can't coach shooting and like coach said, we weren't trying to miss."
For the Cardinals, who will take on Parma Western in the semifinals Wednesday, Seth Szafranski pitched in nine points and Sam Foster and Spensor Tanner both put in seven.
Nick Kelley had six points and six rebounds in his final game as a Hornet.
Despite the defeat, Felix said he was extremely proud to have coached a team who was led by a senior class who had to overcome the shadows of players like the Laser brothers and Mike Blanchard.
"I think they've overachieved really and it's a credit to them. Another thing I'll remember is they're competitors, they always go the extra mile and they've been loyal parts of our program," he said. "I enjoyed coaching those guys and I thought they had a great year. We didn't finish it how we wanted to, but overall it was a pretty good year."
[caption id="attachment_255" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Hillsdale's Scott Lantis and Pittsford's Chase Weber are just two local kids who will star this week. Photos by RJ Walters."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 9, 2009
If girl's district play was any indication, these postseason battles will be worth every penny of your $5 ticket in boys district action this week. Here is a breakdown of who is playing where and what to look for:
District No. 36 at Marshall
Hillsdale County teams: Hillsdale
Hillsdale head coach Brad Felix used the word “loaded” several times to describe the Hornets’ district and it’s hard to argue with him.
Two of the teams in the district have handed the Hornets losses this season, one is fresh off a victory over Jackson High and two teams who have hovered around .500 have been deceptively good at times.
To even discuss a possible district championship the Hornets have to get by Coldwater, a team that beat them 73-61 at the Hive in late January. In that contest guard Cameron Holicki put up 18 points to go with nine assists, but he had plenty of help — including from Jacob Robison and Bobby White, a pair of starters who may not even suit up Monday.
They were suspended last week for violating team rules and did not dress for the team’s regular season finale Thursday. Several sources have said they expect the pair to be absent from the lineup for the district opener, but Felix said nothing is set in stone yet and he’s preparing for the game as if they’ll be able to play.
“That’s up in the air. I’ve heard that (Robison) is not playing and there’s another starter in limbo who is appealing the whole thing. I’m sure they’ll pull as many strings as they can to get their guys in there, but from what I’ve heard they’re in trouble,” he said.
“I’ll tell you what though, I watched the film on that game and I think we can beat that team with them or without them. Sometimes guys will come off the bench and play inspired too, so we’re going to treat it as if they’re going to be full-strength in our practices and if (they don’t) play, (they don’t) play.”
Despite what Felix said, Robison and White had a major impact in the outcome the first time the teams met. Robison tallied 19 points and 16 boards and White shadowed Hornet star Mitchell Gabriele all evening, forcing him into a 10-for-25 shooting performance.
Felix said he expects the momentum from Thursday’s game from Lansing Christian to carry over and the fact his boys are seeking a little sweet revenge on the Cardinals doesn’t hurt either.
If they can reverse their fortunes from earlier this season, they will face league foe Parma Western in the semifinals.
The two teams split the season series, with both squads winning at home. Western finished the season 10-10 overall.
A trio of teams loom as a possible district finals opponent: Jackson Lumen Christi, Marshall, and Columbia Central, with the Titans and Redhawks being the most likely challengers.
Lumen Christi finished the season 13-7, including a 71-67 win over Jackson High Thursday. Looking at common opponents, the Titans beat Western 43-40 early on this season and were blown out by Coldwater, 59-32 on Jan. 13.
Marshall started the season 4-0, but has been on a roller-coaster ride ever since and they finished out the year with back-to-back losses to Mattawan and Sturgis. Nonetheless, Felix and his assistants have noted several times this season that Marshall has quite a few athletes and the Redhawks are not a team to take lightly.
As Felix said, he’s not taking anything at less than face value in the postseason.
“We feel like we can win the district and we’ve got to play better than we have the last few weeks,” he said. “Even back against Leslie and Harper (Creek) we hit 12 and 13 threes those nights, but as far as our game goals were concerned, they were a little low, so I was a little red-flagged because we weren’t playing all that well, just shooting well. Sometimes you hit 12 or 13 pointers and it can mask other stats and Albion got us and Stockbridge got us.”
Editor’s pick to make the finals: Jackson Lumen Christi and Hillsdale
District No. 67 at Bronson
Hillsdale County teams: Jonesville, Reading
A trio of area teams will tangle in Bronson this week, with at least one guaranteed a berth in the district finals.
Quincy and Reading both have the luxury of first-round byes, but one of them will be going home after the two teams meet in the semifinals Wednesday.
Jonesville on the other hand will go up against the host Vikings at 7 p.m. Monday, where a victory would earn them a date with Union City two days later.
Records alone would tell you this is Quincy’s district to lose, but both Jonesville and Reading have two variables that could very easily propel them to a district crown — a go-to outside shooter, who can bury 3-pointers in tight situations, and a post presence who can cause a little havoc, especially when they’re playing against guys their own size.
For the Comets, guard Mitch Miller has already hit one game-winner and several other timely shots this season, and down low Logan Jenkins has been putting up double-figure rebounds and 3-7 blocks per outing over the course of the last month as Jonesville surged to a winning regular season.
For Reading, Joe Hubbard is as close to a 3-point specialist as you’ll find around here, and forward Alex Eastwood isn’t afraid to bang bodies in the paint, but he can also step out and routinely hit the 15-footer, making him a tough assignment for any defender.
Bronson has been a model of inconsistency much of the year, finishing 8-12, but they do have a road win at Quincy to their credit.
The Orioles finished near the top of the Big Eight, and seem to fare best when they can control the tempo and keep the score below 60.
Who will come out on top though is anybody’s guess and the head-to-head match-ups between some of these teams shows why.
Quincy drilled Jonesville 63-39 on Jan. 16, but the Comets paid them back with a 7-point victory just last week.
If a team has a few players get hot for a couple of games it could make all the difference.
Editor’s pick to make the finals: Bronson and Quincy
District No. 68 at Hudson
Hillsdale County teams: Pittsford
The Pittsford Wildcats can hang their hats on a 20-0 regular season, a feat that even time will not change, but the clock is now reset for all intensive purposes.
The records of some of the challengers on their side of the Class C district in Hudson may not look all that impressive, but the fact that it’s Class C period is a challenge in itself.
The Wildcats have the minimum number of students enrolled to qualify as a Class C school, meaning they are essentially a Class D team, who has played mainly Class D competition trying to take a step up the ladder.
Pittsford head coach Mike Burger is not using that as a crux though, and quite frankly he likes the challenge his boys have ahead of them.
They have a bye Monday, before taking the court at 7:30 p.m Wednesday.
“We’ve got a good team, it’s a wide-open district, with some exceptional teams like Hanover-Horton and Clinton and we’re going to play the winner of the Hudson-Addison and they’re going to come out and fight,” he said. “If it’s Hudson, it will be their fans this time, their community and they’ll fight hard if they can get past Addison.”
The Wildcats beat Hudson 65-43 in their final game of the regular season Friday.
Addison finished well below .500 this season, but lost by only four points to a Michigan Center squad that finished 16-4 and only fell by a combined 24 points in a pair of battles with Napoleon who finished the season 20-0.
The marquee matchup in this district — prior to the championship game — is Clinton taking on Hanover-Horton at 6 p.m. Monday.
The Komets went 16-4 this year using their depth and several sharp-shooters to lead the way.
Clinton meanwhile won eight of its last 10 games and 12 of its final 15 to finish the year at 13-7.
The winner of that game will take on Manchester for a spot in the finals.
Pittsford senior guard Clark Pelham said he’s confident he and his teammates have what it takes to win a district, but if that doesn’t happen this season will still be just as meaningful to him.
“Do I want this thing to end? No, I wish it never would. But if it does, then oh well, we have something no one can ever take away from us and it’s still an amazing feeling,” he said.
Editor’s pick to make the finals: Hanover-Horton and Pittsford
District No. 100 at Litchfield
Hillsdale County teams: Camden-Frontier, Hillsdale Academy, Litchfield, North Adams-Jerome, Waldron, Will Carleton Academy
This district may be one of the biggest crapshoots of them all.
Waldron brings the best record to the table, but they have to take on Hillsdale Academy at 5:30 p.m. Monday and all three games between these two teams have been single-digit margins this season.
With a healthy Peter Sullivan in the lineup the Colts are not a team to take lightly, especially when guys like Thomas Lundberg start getting into a rhythm. Mark Long’s team on the other hand has shown plenty of promise and is at its best when playing a physical brand of basketball and attacking the rim.
Two-time Pat Paterson Holiday Tournament MVP John Martin will be one player to keep an eye on, because a loss means his career as a Spartan is over.
In another first-round matchup, Camden-Frontier butts heads with the host Terriers, two teams who have struggled to find consistency this year.
The Redskins have plenty of scoring options all over the floor, but need to rebound well to win, while the Terriers have one of the SCAA’s best post presences in Terry Lawler, to go with Jeremy Cornish on the perimeter.
The other side of the bracket should not be overlooked though.
North Adams-Jerome surprised everyone but themselves last season by winning a district title in Pittsford and Patrick Humphrey has been playing as well as anyone in the area the last month.
They take on Jackson Da Vinci Institute at 7 p.m. Monday, and a win would set them up against Will Carleton Academy Wednesday.
Will Carleton’s Greg Balcom has been putting up monster scoring and rebounding numbers the second half of the season and this is the perfect stage for him to showcase his skills.
Editor’s pick to make the finals: North Adams-Jerome and Waldron
[caption id="attachment_249" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Senior guard Clark Pelham gets some love from a teammate after Pittsford wrapped up a perfect regular season Friday."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 7, 2009
It was a wondrous night in Pittsford, the type grandparents tell their grandchildren about 40 years later, the kind that makes a small town feel like the only place in the world for a few hours.
The Wildcat boys basketball team methodically hammered Hudson 65-43 in front of an electric crowd at home, putting the finishing touches on the first undefeated regular season in Pittsford High School history —a feat that left head coach Mike Burger nearly speechless, and something so big for the community that the team was donning brand new Wildcat shirts with a huge "20-0" on the back by 9:15 p.m.
"It's an exceptional bunch of guys and to me that's what it's about — having the rare privilege of coaching a great bunch of kids who are just extra special in my heart and I probably will never see this again in reality, and I'm going to savor it that much more," Burger said.
"I think a lot of it had to with the amazing atmosphere we had down here. I mean, it was electric, our community came out big for our kids tonight and supported us. I think we just fed off the energy of this atmosphere."
The band was playing loud and proud for four quarters, it was standing room only in the gym and the Wildcat players rose to the occasion.
Fired up by five quick points from star Garet Lee, off of two steals by the junior forward, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 14-9 lead.
Less than two minutes later, after a Clark Pelham triple followed by a fist pump and a Corey Gamble 3-pointer it was 22-11 and the rout was on. The Wildcats had already experienced a close call earlier this week, in a three-point overtime win over Battle Creek St. Phil, and they weren't about to let the Tigers hang with them.
"I just told everyone 'This is just a regular game, play it like we play any other game' and we came out intense and it shows on the scoreboard," said Pelham, a senior guard who scored 11 points in his final home game.
Pelham said to go undefeated with this group of guys is by far the best thing that has happened to him in his athletic career, but he also realized he has a special place in history for years to come.
"With about 5:00 left in the fourth I looked at the scoreboard and said to myself, they can't come back, we just did it, we did it, 20-0," he said. "We just tied the school record for wins (in a season), we just made history — we are history."
Lee dominated all phases of the game, per usual, with 19 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and three assists, but it was junior guard Seth Weber who signified the progress the team has made over the course of one year.
As a sophomore he admits he was at times unsure, and hardly ever looked for his shot. On Friday he wanted to take the big shots, and almost every chance he had he delivered in the clutch. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 21 points to go with four assists.
"He's the leader of this team period. Everything run through Seth, he and I have a lot of important conversations and he's really grown up," Burger said. "He worked, he lifted, you can see it in his game. Sure he gets rattled and has a turnover here or there, but good players will make turnovers trying to make plays....but tonight it seemed like every time Hudson started to make a run Seth made a big basket at just the right time."
Weber credited Burger for teaching him how to settle down and just make plays, while realizing mistakes happen and you just have to play through them. And as for Friday's performance, he said it was the fruits of his labor. as well as a certain optical enhancement.
"At the beginning of the season I wasn't shooting very well and then I started working on my shot, getting more gym time and I just shot all the time, even in sixth hour at school in Advanced P.E. And I got contacts last week and the rim is humungous now," he said.
What also is humongous right now is Pittsford's confidence, after completing a regular season journey that began December 9 unblemished.
Sure they have Class C district play in Hudson starting next Wednesday and Burger said he'll probably start turning his attention to that rather soon, but even he was all about basking in the moment.
"It's just an amazing feeling, I couldn't be more proud of those guys. I mean they work so hard to get where we're at, we put them through heck everyday in practice and they just work so hard and they deserve it," he said. "We play three sports down here and we just expect our kids to play sports at Pittsford, and they do and they learn to depend on each other and it develops this camaraderie...and there's nothing better than winning with your good buddies. It's just an amazing thing, I can hardly express it at this point."
Garrett Schoonover led Hudson with 10 points and Luke Milligan pitched in with eight including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Tigers drew no closer than 16 in the second half.
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 6, 2009
The idea of a perfect season for the Pittsford Wildcats is no longer a premature one, because by 10 p.m. tonight the boys basketball team will either be 20-0 or they won't — no room left for a debate.
The Wildcats made that prospect increasingly possible with a 71-35 home win over North Adams-Jerome Thursday, a contest in which they jumped out to a 21-5 lead and never looked back.
"We focused on deflections on defense and carried some momentum over from Tuesday's game (against Battle Creek St. Phil). I thought we played well," Pittsford head coach Mike Burger said.
Garet Lee led the Wildcats with 15 points, Zac Vanlerberg pitched in 11 and Brandon Williams was good for 10 points and five rebounds. Seth Weber added five points and eight assists.
Patrick Humphrey and Logan Longman both scored 11 for North Adams-Jerome in a game the Rams trailed the entire way.
Thursday's game may have been just another contest, but even Burger can't deny the opportunity his team has tonight when the Wildcats host Hudson at 7:30 p.m.
"It is what it is and I'll be honest, I'm excited about this. I'm pumped about the opportunity and the challenge," he said. "My boys have taken it one game at a time all season long and even though the pressure has built they've always played hard and done what it takes. If we get beat it will be because the other team is better for one night."
Burger said he know the Tigers have several good athletes who can bang bodies down low and Taylor Milligan is a threat all over the floor, but he thinks his team stacks up well against them.
The Tigers have had somewhat of a tumultuous season, with head coach Wayne Perry having brain surgery earlier this year, and Burger said he's just glad Perry is recovering steadily and he knows the Tiger players have been playing hard for him ever since he left the sidelines.
If Pittsford can pull it out though, it will be the first recorded undefeated regular season in school history, for a program that has won just six district titles.
"The guys want it real bad and they will show that I think. If they get it done it will be something real special they will always have."
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
A Walters 'n Words exclusive blog post
Here is a quick look at the three high school boys basketball games from Tuesday night.
And three quick thoughts of my own to go along with the brief recaps: 1.) I think I'm finally realizing Hillsdale isn't as good as I once believed they were. Four league losses in a league that has a few teams in rebuilding years is two to many for my liking. And the inconsistency of Nick Kelley in the post from game-to-game is something I actually overheard a few Hornets faithful talking about at the Hillsdale College men's basketball game last night, and come district play they're going to need A+ performances out of him to keep up with Marshall and Colwater. Well, that is if Coldwater's 6-4 play-maker Jake Robinson plays in the first-round battle. He apparently was picked up by the cops over the weekend (I've been told by several sources what for, but have no legal confirmation) and is in jeopardy of being forced to sit out for the district opener via a suspension by the program. So at least that's one positive thing for Hillsdale. 2.) Unless Hudson is somehow a whole lot better now then when I saw them earlier this year, Pittsford is going to make a perfect regular season a reality. North Adams-Jerome should be a 20-point win Thursday night and I don't think the Wildcats will succumb to pressure against the Tigers at home on Friday. 3.) I wouldn't want to play Jonesville right now. They played Homer extremely tough, they just beat Quincy and they have Mitch Miller outside and Kyle Flint and Logan Jenkins on the inside. They can't win a slug-fest where the score is in the 60s or higher, but if they control the tempo and do what they've been doing as of late then they are a dangerous team.
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on Feb. 28, 2009
Living from beyond the arc proved to be a bit too dangerous and the Hillsdale Hornets ran into a hungry, wheeling and dealing Ablion Wildcats team Friday night.
The result — a crushing blow to the Hornets SMAA title hopes.
Albion paid Hillsdale (135 overall, 7-3) back for when Hornets senior Mitchell Gabriele buried the Wildcats with a long banked in 3-pointer in overtime in January with a 64-48 win at the Hive.
The victory all but guarantees the Wildcats another league crown, with only two games remaining for each team and the Hornets now owners of three SMAA defeats.
The Wildcats controlled the boards all evening long and junior Justin Edmonds proved he was the most athletic player in the gym in a game Albion players have been looking forward to for weeks.
"We worked real hard to try and stay focused and not overlook anybody...we knew they would hold serve and our focus was to hold serve until this matchup and we knew it was going to be a dog fight," Albion head coach Durant Crum said. "My hats off to coach Felix and his guys, they played really hard. We're just happy to come out of here with a win."
Crum said it was his team's plan to contest every single shot Friday night, knowing Hillsdale had drained 12 and 13 3-pointers in recent games, but right away it looked like his plan might go awry.
Just seven seconds into the game Hornets senior Mitchell Gabriele drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and senior Kyle MacDonald knocked one down from distance the following possession to put Hillsdale up 6-0.
What transpired the next eight or so minutes of the contest though was what Hornet coach Brad Felix said ultimately determined the outcome.
The Wildcats put on the jets and started running- and-gunning at a frantic pace, while also dumping the ball off to Edmonds and Eoghann Stephens for easy points in the paint at an alarming rate.
The Hornets turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter and a 152 Wildcat run put them up 23-13 after that period. Felix said playing catch-up isn't the way to beat a team like Albion.
"Quite frankly I think the difference in the game was the run-outs early. We gave them way too many easy baskets and when you get behind they go to that spread they were running... we just couldn't quite get over the hump and we missed some good shots."
Most of those good shots were from the perimeter though, with the Hornets shooting 10-for-29 from 3point range. All nine of the Hornets second quarter points were via long balls and in the third quarter Hillsdale made three more triples to just one two-point field goal.
Scott Lantis scored all 15 of his points from a distance and Gabriele knocked down three 3-pointers en rout to 15 points, after going off for 28 in the last head-to-head.
Nonetheless, Felix said he couldn't fault his boys too much.
"We probably shot too many of them tonight, but it's really tough for us as coaches and for the kids because we've playing well and shooting it well,' he said. 'And really the 3-pointers we were taking were good looks...I don't think we were forcing them. The way we've been shooting with good shot selection...they just weren't going down."
What both Felix and Crum agreed on though was the presence of Edmonds out on the floor.
The lanky forward finished the night with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
"He's a tough kid for us to defend out there and he plays well against us, I don't know what it is. His numbers are average at best against everyone else in the league, but when he plays us he plays well and we can't play with him inside at all," Felix said. "He plays elbows over the rim and we've not one who can touch the net so he's a tough guard for us. He was the defensive rebounder for them tonight too."
The Hornets grabbed only 24 rebounds, and only a handful on the offensive glass, something Felix said he was disappointed in.
Crum said Stephens played well inside, but it was Edmonds who really shifted the momentum in his team's favor.
"When he's playing well and he's focused he's a hard matchup — he's got speed, he's got size, he leaps well, he handles the ball pretty well and when he's on target he's a load. He really showed up big for us tonight," Crum said.
Helping Edmonds out was Ryan Hopson, who scored 20 points, including two huge 3-pointers and Stephens who totaled 10 points, seven boards and four blocks.
Felix was complimentary about Albion's performance, but not ready to say the better team necessarily won Friday.
"Based on one game, one night they played a little better, but I'm not going to discredit my kids by saying they're the better team. Tonight they were better, in January we were better," he said. "To be honest with you coming into the season we felt like if we split with Albion we'd be doing well. It's the couple other losses that are kind of setting us back right now."
[caption id="attachment_215" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Track and field state championship banners litter the wall at the Pittsford High School gymnasium."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on Feb. 27, 2009
Strength and speed are the essential elements of championship success at Pittsford High School.
Walking into their gym, only state title banners are worthy of being hung. So that means football and track and field hold a prominent place in unending Wildcat lore. Nothing else.
According to the school records on the wall basketball is one their varsity sports, but names like Bob Clement and Bruce Caswell echo throughout the entire community, names that stand for the knock-your-helmet-off football tradition and the blazing state championship speeds on the track that propelled Pittsford to greatness in the 90s.
A greatness worth remembering, a greatness that is still talked about today.
A greatness that the 2008-09 edition of the Wildcats basketball team is nearing — with similar strength and speed and crowning character to tie it all together.
Heading into tonight's road contest at Tekonsha the Wildcats have played 16 games. Since early December Pittsford has shown it is home to one of the area's top talents, junior forward Garet Lee, it has proven worthy of being called SCAA Champs with its 12-0 mark in SCAA East clashes and it has not lost once and the prospect of losing is far from the minds of coaches and players.
Not a single person associated with the team is starving for attention though or even putting much stock into the possibility and increasing probability of going 20-0. There are more important things to worry about they say: the next day's weight lifting regimen for example, or Class C districts where they will butt heads with the likes of Hudson, Addison and Hanover-Horton in a few weeks.
But with just eight days until the end of the regular season, an unthinkable proposition looms and suddenly fans with Pittsford basketball t-shirts are easier to spot and a school other than Hillsdale has stolen a bit of the area's high school hoops spotlight.
[caption id="attachment_204" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Garet Lee was good for 20 points and nine boards as Pittsford wrapped up an SCAA East Division championship with a win over Hillsdale Academy Tuesday. Photo by Nick Sarles."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on Feb. 25
Thanks to an immovable object inside, plenty of shooting stars on the outside and a head coach who truly understands the game the Pittsford Wildcats are SCAA East Division champs.
Winning the first 16 games of a 20-game season will lead to those types of achievements and a strong third-quarter carried the Wildcats past league foe Hillsdale Academy 65-43 Tuesday, their 12th win in as many tries against opposing SCAA East squads.
Wildcat head coach Mike Burger said it is a title that every single one of his players deserves fully.
"They buy in to what we do and what we want to do, they work hard everyday. Those kids come to practice and just give a lot of great effort and great heart and it really is about the kids," he said. "I've had success coaching before and it's not about me, it has nothing to do with me. This is the first league title of hopefully many more but you never know and you treasure the experience and the relationship with the kids and for me that's what it's all about."
Tuesday they were able to overcome an aggressive offensive effort out of Colts senior forward Thomas Lundberg, who netted 18 points, and the return of the Academy's leading scorer, sophomore Peter Sullivan, who had been out for more than a month with a serious injury to his right knee.
Getting the job done offensively for Pittsford was junior Garet Lee who put in 20 points to go along with nine boards and six other Wildcats scored at least six points.
According to Colts head coach Max Miller, the sheer number of different weapons is what made Pittsford so difficult to hang with.
"They've got a lot of shooters and they move well. Garet Lee is tough to stop one-on-one and if you help out they have guys who can make a shot," Miller said. (Wes Smith) came in and hit a couple of threes and I didn't even know he could shoot."
Zach Vanlerberg scored nine points, including two triples and Seth Weber knocked down two 3-pointers en rout to eight points. Cody Krasny also scored eight, Brandon Williams poured in seven, to go with three blocks, and Corey Gamble and Smith both scored six.
Burger said he's always preaching about how guys don't have to score a ton of points to be a big time contributors and Tuesday night was a fine example.
"We have a lot of good guys who can shoot and if you're not on you can pass and there are other ways to contribute," Burger said. "It's not always scoring points — it's about making that pass, getting that rebound, making that stop."
And making the necessary stops they did indeed, especially in the third quarter.
A pair of Lundberg 3-pointers to go with a triple from Patrick Sullivan had the Colts down just five at the half, but the feel-good effort didn't last long.
The Wildcats forced a few timely turnovers with its full-court pressure, Smith came into knock down a pair from beyond the arc, and less than six minutes later it was a 47-33 Pittsford lead.
Miller said he was proud of how hard his boys fought in the first half and hopes that a healthy Peter Sullivan can help them put it all together by the time district play rolls around.
Sullivan scored eight points in his first game back, Zach Lefere pitched in with seven and Patrick Sullivan scored five.
During Pittsford's second-half surge the Wildcats imposed their physical nature, while the Colts seemed to shy away from contact at times. Burger said it's all part of his gameplan every time out.
"We really try to emphasize physical play obviously and we lift weights in basketball and we try to help out all our sports here in Pittsford. I think it helps for all of our programs to do weight lifting and get after it," Burger said.
In his team's quest for a 20-0 regular season Pittsford plays at Tekonsha Friday before finishing up with three games next week.
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
An exclusive Walters 'n Words blog
Hornet girls down Redskins by 11
The Hillsdale Hornets girls basketball team overcame a 23-point effort from Morgan Warfield to down Camden-Frontier 63-52 at home Tuesday.
With the win the Hornets are now 10-9 overall and they can secure a winning season with a ‘W’ Friday over Albion. Last season Hillsdale won just one game altogether.
On Tuesday five Hornets scored at least six points, including Jackie Anderson who scored 17 and added seven rebounds.
Julie Shaffer added 12 points and Tiki Malone had six points and six steals.
Megan Schwarzebgraber added 11 points for C-F in the non-conference showdown.
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PLAYER OF THE DAY: Litchfield Terriers defense
THE FEAT: The Litchfield boys basketball team swiped 20 steals and blocked 11 shots in an 81-13 pounding of Burr Oak Tuesday.
Mike Henley had five steals and Sykes blocked six shots for Litchfield. The Terriers are now 5-6 in SCAA play on the season.
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BUZZER-BEATER: Brady Nusbaum hit a shot with just 1.5 seconds remaining to break a 43-all tie and give Camden-Frontier an SCAA victory over North Adams-Jerome. The Redskins overcame a 21-point outing from Rams forward Patrick Humphrey.
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STAT STUFFERS FROM THE REST OF THE EVENING'S ACTION:
Points: Jordon Fox, Litchfield — 24, Morgan Warfield, Camden-Frontier — 23, Aubrey Laughlin, Hudson — 18, Ben Olmstead, Quincy — 17.
Rebounds: Sykes, Litchfield — 13, Dustin Truitt, Quincy — 11, Logan Jenkins, Jonesville — 10, Kyle Flint, Jonesville — 10.
Steals: Michael Henley, Litchfield — 5, Jordon Fox, Litchfield — 4, Ben Olmstead, Quincy — 4.
Blocks: Logan Jenkins, Jonesville — 7, Sykes, Litchfield — 6.
Assists: Michael Henley, Litchfield — 4, Kyle Flint, Jonesville — 4.
[caption id="attachment_130" align="alignright" width="225" caption="The Hornets are still on track for a shot at an SMAA crown after Friday night's victory."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on Feb. 21, 2009
Everything looked good from a distance for the Hillsdale Hornets Friday night.
A 26-point first half lead looked good to Hornet faithful in the stands, three players with at least 15 points looked good to head coach Brad Felix and almost every open 3-pointer looked like it was going in — and most of them did.
Senior Mitchell Gabriele drained seven 3-pointers, one short of Tyler Laser's school record, backcourt mate Scott Lantis hit five triples and the Hornets buried 13 shots from behind the arc altogether in a 75-56 SMAA road win at Leslie.
Gabriele poured in 28 points, including 13 in the first quarter, Lantis added 20 and Kelley finished with 15.Beyond their amazing efficiency from long range the Hornets did a much better job of keeping the Blackhawks stars in check than they did in past meetings.
Senior Trent Page scored 17 points in his first game back from a leave of absence after scoring 24 the last time he played the Hornets and Travis Crowe added 17 as well, 13 less than he scored at The Hive earlier this season.
The Hornets jumped out to a 24-11 first quarter lead behind four 3-pointers and then equaled that feat in the second quarter to take a 45-24 to the break.
The Blackhawks went on a little 6-0 run in the early stages of the third quarter and traded baskets with the Hornets throughout the second half, but got not closer than 16.
The win kept the Hornets SMAA title hopes well and alive and set up a mega showdown with Albion next Friday on Hillsdale's home floor.
The Hornets took out the Wildcats in Albion on a crazy banked-in Gabriele 3-pointer in overtime earlier this year.
The winner of Friday's contest will be outright conference champions.
Prior to that bout the Hornets host non-conference foe Harper Creek at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on Feb. 21, 2009
Colts girls take down Terriers, prepare for pivotal battle with Waldron
The Hillsdale Academy girl’s basketball team didn’t get caught looking ahead as they took down Litchfield 57-39 Friday night.
Now tonight, less than 24 hours later the Colts who are 9-1 in the SCAA host Waldron, the only team who is unblemished in league play.
But first the Colts jumped out to a 33-18 halftime lead on the Terriers to take care of business.
Connaught Blood scored a game-high 24 points, including 12 in the first four minutes of the second half. Shena Albaugh added 11 points and Emily Pewe scored four and added 14 boards.
Laura Thomas led Litchfield with 12 points.
At 7:30 p.m. tonight the Spartans will invade the Academy.
The last time the two teams met Waldron prevailed 40-39 with the Colts failing to get up a last second shot.
Academy coach Jeff Hubbard said he’s telling his girls they are underdogs Saturday, but have a great shot.
“Waldron always seems to find ways to win and we’re kind of underdogs and we’re just going in knowing we have a chance, he said. “It’s hard to tell the girls not to over-emphasize this one though, because we’ve been working on stuff all week.”
Waldron is trying to wrap up its first league title since 1973 and the Academy is clinging to hopes of its first SCAA title ever.
Comet boys now within one game of .500
With three games remaining in the regular season the Jonesville Comets still have a shot at posting a winning record.
The Comets allowed Union City to score 17 points in the second quarter Friday, but only 16 the entire rest of the game in a 39-33 Big Eight home win.
Logan Jenkins put up six points, nine rebounds and five blocks and Mitch Miller tallied 12 points and four assists for the Comets.
Jonesville is now 8-9 overall and 5-6 in Big Eight play.
AcMoody led Union City with 11 points and Mitchell Inman scored eight.
[caption id="attachment_158" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Hillsdale senior guard Scott Lantis hit three 3-pointers and used strong drives toward the hoops like this one to score 17 points Friday. Photo by Nick Sarles, Daily News."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on Feb. 14, 2009
The Hillsdale Hornets certainly learned a thing or two from losing to Western last month and now tough lessons have become happy smiles as Brad Felix’s team controls its own destiny.
The 3-point line was the land of good and plenty for the Hornets (10-4 overall. 5-2 SMAA) Friday and the charity stripe was equally generous as Hillsdale carried a 14-5 first quarter margin to a 62-54 conference win over the Panthers (6-8, 5-2).
When the two teams played at Western on Jan. 9 the Panthers hit 15 straight free throws at one point and cruised to a double-digit victory. On Friday Western didn’t even attempt a single free throw, while Hillsdale went 15-of-26.
And 35 days ago no one stepped up to help when Mitchell Gabriele was smothered by Panthers defenders. This time Nick Kelley and Scott Lantis pitched in 17 points apiece and Kyle MacDonald added 11, while Gabriele was held to 10. It also helped that the Hornets drained eight 3-pointers.
“They were guarding up Gabs pretty good, just like they always do, they were all over him and coming in we knew Kelley and I had to step up and MacDonald also hit some big shots and it was good to see everybody contributing,” said Lantis, who hit three 3-pointers in the contest. “We control our own destiny and we’re really going to make a run at this thing and try and sweep the second half and go for it. This is a big momentum builder for us, a big win and it was a lot of fun.”
For the fun to continue the Hornets must keep winning. If they win out, including a second victory over Albion who has just one league loss to this point, they are guaranteed an SMAA crown.
It was Lantis who got the ball rolling early, with seven points in the first quarter and he picked up the slack late with a triple to put the Hornets up 42-41 with 6:46 left.
Felix said he is thrilled to see his senior playing so well the past few weeks after a January slump.
“I used a baseball analogy with him since he’s a baseball guy,” Felix said. “When he was in a slump I simply told him, ‘What would you do if you were not hitting the ball?’ and he said, “Well, I’d keep swinging.’ So I said, then keep shooting until I tell you to stop and we keep on working on it.”
Western coach Lee Ingles thought Lantis was half the reason the Hornets prevailed, with the other piece being Kelley.
“They really stepped up tonight, especially Kelley on the boards,” he said. “I thought he had a great game and that bothered us.”
Ingles relied on a stellar senior of his own to keep things close at The Hive. Leading scorer Nate Scholten had just five points at the half, but finished with 22 with a nice array of long shots and hard drives to the basket.
Ingles called Scholten a “gutsy guy who loves to play and wants to do good things”, but admitted even he couldn’t get the job done late.
When asked about his team not getting to the foul line all evening Ingles said it surely helped the Hornets cause, but it was not an unfair advantage.
“It’s almost a reverse from last time since we didn’t have any free throws in the fourth quarter this time and some of that’s home court, but I thought it was a well played game and the officials did a good job,” he said.
Felix said part of the free-throw discrepancy was from how the Hornets attacked defensively, but even Felix grinned at the final stat-line.
“We knew we had to play defense without fouling them because we know what happened last time and we had that on the board....so that was a big key,” But oh, hell I didn’t even know that. I don’t want to talk about it then, I didn’t know it was that bad. That was a big part of our win obviously with the way those guys shoot free throws.”
Gabriele added six boards and five assists in the win and Lantis pulled down six rebounds.
Nick Eddy scored 10 for Western and Conner Clark put in eight points.
[caption id="attachment_142" align="alignright" width="189" caption="Hornet senior Mitchell Gabriele was good for 15 points and nine assists on an off-shooting night Tuesday. Photo by Nick Sarles, Daily News."]
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published on Feb. 11, 2009 in the Hillsdale Daily News
Nick Kelley didn’t like the taste last Friday’s road loss to Lansing Christian left in his mouth — so he decided to take action.
Despite picking up two fouls in the first two minutes Tuesday the Hillsdale senior was efficient and consistent all night long in the post, helping anchor the Hornets 74-52 non-conference win over Onsted.
Kelley struggled to contain Lansing Christian’s 6-6 star Mickey DeVries Friday, but Tuesday he pulled down 14 rebounds and scored 11 of his 17 points in the second quarter to help his team.
“At the Lansing Christian game I played terrible and I actually texted all my teammates and told them I was really sorry for losing game and I was going to work hard so it didn’t happen again,” Kelley said. “I took a personal challenge that I was not going to get out-worked by a center again. It was kind of my whole weekend ruined.”
Tuesday could have been ruined, when the Hornets let the Wildcats cut a 20-point lead to seven by the end of three quarters, but Kelley and fellow senior Mitchell Gabriele amped up the intensity once more in the final quarter to seal the deal.
Hornet head coach Brad Felix was extremely pleased with Kelley’s play.
“I thought he played one of his best games of the year tonight, just for the fact he finished shots. I’m sure he’s had as many points as he had tonight another time this year but he got them on a lot less shots. I thought he did a good job of playing in the second quarter,” he said. “We put him at the eight-minute mark and we were hoping he could get to the two-minute mark without fouling and making a difference on the offensive end. He did just that.”
Onsted had a post-presence of their own at The Hive as Braxton Southwell scored 17 points (13 in the second half) and added 10 boards and five blocks, but the two big guys weren’t matched up for a lot of the evening.
Out on the wing Hornet senior Scott Lantis made a difference, draining four 3-pointers en rout to a game-high 20 points, and he seems to have kicked his little bout of shooting woes from January aside.
Gabriele struggled a bit with his shot, but started finding teammates more and more as the game wore on. Felix said his leader needs to learn how to do that for entire contests.
“We keep chirping at him and he needs to realize the defense is going to collapse around him because of the type of player he is this year,” he said. “He needs to realize he makes our other guys so much better with his drive-and-kick. When those guys start hitting those shots then he’ll get his.”
Gabriele finished the evening with 15 points and nine assists.
What made more of a difference than anything in Felix’s opinion was the Hornets high-pressure full-court defense. They forced 20 turnovers on the evening, which helped them jump out to a 17-4 first quarter lead and made it difficult for the Wildcats to run plays from their half-court sets.
“For once I thought our pressure gave us some points and we got some deflections,” Felix said. “Onsted had some nice set plays that we saw on film that quite frankly we couldn’t run, until they did a little bit in the second half.”
The second half was when the Wildcats drew close, with the help of three 3-pointers from guard Carl Reams, but Felix called a timeout out, reamed his guys out for their poor man-to-man defense and everything settled down.
“In the fourth quarter we righted the ship though, we got better. Baby steps, and hopefully by March we’ll be playing defense more consistently,” Felix said.
The Hornets now have two days to get ready for a home game against league foe Parma Western, a team that beat them by double-digits just a few weeks ago.
Kelley said the guys are hungry and everyone knows this game is vital to their goal of winning a league championship.
“We’re just going to work on that Wednesday and Thursday by playing some 6-on-5 and working on taking care of the ball and do smart passes,” he said referring to Western’s high-pressure man-to-man scheme. “We have some mismatches and we need to exploit that, kind of unlike we did last game.”
By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor
As published on Feb. 7, 2009 in the Hillsdale Daily News
It was almost a brilliant come-from-behind road win that culminated with a renewed commitment to post defense in the second half and big 3-pointer after big 3-pointer.
But it wasn’t.
Instead, it was a heartbreaking road loss, the type Brad Felix said he was worried about.
The Hillsdale head coach said earlier thi
[caption id="attachment_130" align="alignright" width="225" caption="The Hornets lost their second SMAA bout on Friday night."]
s week he knows his team will win most games where they score in the 70s or 80s, but he’s concerned they aren’t at the point where they can win games that are played in the 50s. Friday was a prime example with the host Pilgrims edging the Hornets 57-54 in a key league tilt.
The first half was yet another slow start to a road contest for the Hornets (8-4, 3-2) , one they had to spend plenty of energy fighting back from.
After Hillsdale got out to a quick 8-6 lead the Pilgrims went to the post almost every possession, where 6-6 Mickey DeVries scored 12 points in the first quarter to stake Lansing Christian to a 16-9 lead.
In the second quarter Hillsdale senior Scott Lantis drained a 3-pointer to bring the Hornets within 14-20, but a 12-6 run to end the half gave the Pilgrims a 32-20 edge.
Matthew Romey scored eight points in the final three minutes of the half and DeVries put in six more points in the quarter to pace Lansing Christian.
Whatever Felix said at halftime must of worked. Either that or the Hornets just decided it was finally time to start knocking down the long ball.
After making just 2-of-12 3-point shots in the first half, the Hornets nailed four triples, including a Gabriele 4-point play to knot the score at 35-all just four minutes into the second half.
Another MacDonald 3-pointer gave Hillsdale its first lead since 3-0 at 42-41, but it was more than just good shooting that helped the Hornets climb back in the contest.
After 18 first half points by DeVries, strong defense from Hillsdale forwards Nick Kelley and Brennan Holroyd held him scoreless in the third period.
The Hornets took a 1-point lead into the final quarter, but several offensive putbacks, including DeVries first bucket of the half haunted them down the stretch.
Lantis knotted the score at 51-all with a layup with 2:10 remaining, but that was the last time the score was tied.
DeVries scored on the Pilgrims next trip down the floor and on the ensuing possession Gabriele fouled out when DeVries stepped in to take a charge.
The Hornets clawed within 54-55 with a minute to play, but a pair of Romey free throws, coupled with two missed 3-pointers by MacDonald in the final 15 seconds sealed the deal.
MacDonald led the Hornets with 14 points, including four triples and Gabriele and Lantis both added 13.
Kelley scored nine in the loss.
DeVries finished with 23 points and Caleb Coleman poured in 14. Romey finished with 10.
The Hornets only turned the ball over seven times all game, all in the first half.
Hillsdale faces Onsted on Tuesday and hosts Parma Western next Friday.
By RJ WALTERS / Daily News Sports Editor
Published in the Feb. 6, 2009 edition of the Hillsdale Daily News
[caption id="attachment_122" align="alignright" width="229" caption="Garet Lee was good for 25 points and 18 rebounds in the Wildcat win Thursday night. Photo by Nick Sarles / Daily News."]
Players were crying, coaches were sweating, the officials were being questioned and pile-ups were the norm.
Just another Pittsford, Waldron basketball game and as it turned out for the Wildcats, just another win in a season full of them.
Both teams tried to force things on offense all evening long, but the difference was Pittsford’s outside shooters actually made a few shots and Waldron’s just didn’t.
It was a sloppy, physical battle that Pittsford led most of the way and finished off 58-43 to improve to 12-0 overall and 9-0 in the SCAA, good enough for a three-game lead in their division.
“Ultimately what I think really happened tonight is both teams wanted to win really really bad and both teams tried to force the action. And when you force things in basketball you just make a lot of mistakes and that’s what you saw,” said Wildcat head coach Mike Burger, who saw his team turn the ball over 22 times. “There are a lot of close friends here and these guys know each other real well and that’s what makes it so hard. It’s like Michigan State, Michigan, you just throw it out, it’s really emotional and kids wanted to win real bad.”
Only five players scored for the Wildcats, but Garet Lee was a monster in the post, tallying 25 points and 18 rebounds and Clark Pelham was stroking the three-ball well, hitting four of five triples en rout to 19 points.
On the flip side, Waldron head coach Mark Long was at a loss to figure out how his team scored even 43 points in a contest the Spartans (8-5 overall, 6-3 SCAA) hung tough in only because of their feisty defense.
“I don’t know, did we ever make a basket outside of three feet? I don’t think so. Offensively we played awful,” he said. “The kids fight and play hard but offensively we were pathetic.”
The Spartans didn’t hit a 3-pointer in the contest and were just 9-of-23 from the charity stripe.
John Martin led the Spartans with 13 points, but fouled out on an offensive charge midway through the fourth quarter and he never really found a rhythm.
Long said part of the problem was his team wasn’t moving the basketball and Berger thought his Wildcats did a good job of playing help defense.
“We used a bunch of different guys and ran at (Martin) and anytime he put it on the bounce we looked to have someone slide in for good, solid help. We don’t try to block a lot of shots, we just try to slide over and play solid defense,” he said. “I thought (Cody) Krasny executed that really well and took a few charges and did a great job.”
When it came to charges or blocking fouls or hand-checks for that matter both coaches were constantly asking for explanations and fans from both teams were riding the refs hard.
Following the contest there was a consensus from the coaches that the officiating could certainly have been better, but the same calls were being made both ways.
“I thought it was poor both ways. We beat the (heck) out of each other under the basket on both sides and they didn’t call much. Both ways it was inconsistent,” Long said.
What was also inconsistent was Waldron’s ability to score the ball.
The Spartans actually took a 13-12 lead into the second quarter after Sam Lockwood hit a buzzer-beater, but a helter-skelter second quarter left them trailing 26-21.
“I told the guys we were just 3-of-10 from the foul line and played about as poorly as you can on offense in the second quarter and were still in it. Unfortunately we played hard, but not a whole lot changed,” Long said.
On the flip side, Lee was the best thing going for Pittsford.
Lee used solid footwork and played within the flow of the game to get most of his points. Nonetheless, Berger knows his star player has had better games.
“I thought tonight he forced the action at times and tried to take over and that’s not how you play well. This was a good learning experience for our kids,” he said. “ Garet is a big part of what we do, everybody tries to neutralize him and I was pretty happy how we were just able to get a win.”
Long was completely complimentary of Lee, and the entire Wildcat team.
“Pittsford is easily one of the best teams we’ve played all year. Pelham don’t miss when he’s open, Lee is an unbelievable player and they play hard and are a good team,” he said. “What makes Lee so good is he’s so unselfish. He don’t force any shots, he gets a lot of offensive boards and putbacks, whatever he is given.”
With only eight games left Pittsford faithful are starting to talk about the possibility of an undefeated season, but Berger dismissed it as being a focal point in his locker room.
“We don’t worry about that too much. It would be a great thing to do, but honestly we never thought about that at the beginning of the year,” he said. “Our only goal for the season was to get better every day in practice and work hard and I think we’ve played hard and represented ourselves with class and excellence.”
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