Ewen-Trout Creek Starts Fast, Holds On to Reach 1st Final Since 1982
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2022
EAST LANSING – What began playing out early like a certain blowout turned into quite a thriller to begin Thursday’s Division 4 Boys Basketball Semifinals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Making its first Semifinals trip since since finishing Class D runner-up 1982, Ewen-Trout Creek was in full control in the first Division 4 matchup of the night with a double-digit lead for the majority of the game.
But appearing in its first-ever Semifinal, Lake Leelanau St. Mary pulled off a furious comeback, tying the game with just over two minutes remaining.
Ultimately, Ewen-Trout Creek made more plays from there, holding off St. Mary to earn a 62-56 win and advance to its first championship game since it won the Class D title in 1972.
“Wow,” Ewen-Trout Creek coach Brad Besonen said. “That was fantastic. High school sports at its finest. Two small schools on the big stage at Breslin Center. These guys have dreamed about being here forever. They’ve played together since second grade.”
After trailing 48-31 with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, St. Mary began its rally, mainly because it finally found some rhythm offensively.
St. Mary scored the final six points of the third quarter to make it 48-37, but Ewen-Trout Creek restored its lead to 12 at 54-42 with 6:13 remaining.
Then, the Eagles made their big move.
St. Mary went on a 14-2 run over the next 4:11 to tie the game at 56-56 with 2:02 remaining.
The comeback wasn’t anything new to the Eagles, who trailed by 18 in the second half of their District Final against Buckley and by 12 points in the final five minutes of their Regional Final against McBain Northern Michigan Christian before rallying to win both games.
“They just have no quit in them,” St. Mary coach Matt Barnowski said.
But down the stretch, Ewen-Trout Creek regained its composure.
Senior Jaden Borseth gave the Panthers a 58-56 lead with 1:46 remaining, and after St. Mary had 3-point shots rim out on back-to-back possessions, Ewen-Trout Creek took a lead with 33.8 seconds left on two free throws by senior Kelsey Jilek.
Following another missed 3-pointer by St. Mary, Borseth made two free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining to make it 62-56 Panthers.
Jilek led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Borseth scored 18 points and senior Eric Abramson added 15 points for Ewen-Trout Creek (23-3), which had its eye on this year the minute last season ended with a loss to Bessemer in the District round.
“We were in the gym the day after we lost,” Jilek said. “We wanted more than anything to make a run last year. We put everything we had into it, and here we are.”
St. Mary junior Shawn Bramer led all scorers with 25 points to go along with eight rebounds, and Schaub added 14 points to lead St. Mary (21-5).
The Eagles started the season 2-3, then went 19-2 the rest of the way to make school history.
“That was a fun game,” Barnowski said. “Everybody got their money’s worth, there’s no doubt about that. I’m proud of these kids.”
Ewen-Trout Creek got off to a good start offensively, making nine of its first 15 shots and taking a 20-14 lead after the first quarter.
Leading 24-18 in the second quarter, the Panthers started to separate, going on an 11-2 run to take a 35-20 advantage with 1:08 remaining before halftime.
The Panthers eventually took a 37-22 lead into the break.
PHOTOS (Top) Ewen-Trout Creek's Eric Abramson lays up a shot during his team's Division 4 Semifinal win Thursday. (Middle) St. Mary's Shawn Bramer (32) works to split the defense of Kelsey Jilek (24) and Brendan Polkky (44). (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Wonders Gives Iron Mountain Lift in Overtime Climb
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2021
EAST LANSING – Schoolcraft presented a tall order in Thursday’s second Division 3 Semifinal.
With three players standing 6-foot-6 or taller, the Eagles soared over Iron Mountain in size.
But one advantage Iron Mountain had was Foster Wonders, a 6-5 senior guard with more than 2,000 career points who could see over the defense and wasn’t bashful about launching 3-pointers.
He kept the Mountaineers in the game, led them into overtime and all the way into Saturday’s Final against Flint Beecher – scoring 34 points total in a 54-50 thriller over Schoolcraft (19-2) at the Breslin Center.
“They were very physical, and they made it hard for us to do anything,’’ said Wonders, who was already thinking about Flint Beecher. “We changed the offense in the second half, and we were able to find some openings. I just tried to stay aggressive.’’
The Mountaineers (19-0) made their final push with under five minutes left in regulation on a 3-pointer by Ricky Brown to reduce the deficit to 33-32.
After a timeout, Wonders scored in the lane to give Iron Mountain a one-point lead.
However, Schoolcraft junior Ty Rykse and Wonders traded threes before senior Bryce VanderWiere scored inside to keep the Eagles up one.
Not to be denied, Wonders drained a triple, and the Mountaineers were up two, 40-38. Teammate Jurgen Kleiman scored inside while being fouled. He missed the free throw, but Iron Mountain was up four.
Schoolcraft’s Tyler DeGroote scored with 54.2 seconds left to cut the deficit in half. Each side turned the ball over before a steal and basket by Jonathon Able tied the score again with 24.3 left – and that’s where it would remain, forcing overtime.
Wonders had scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, and he then made four free throws in overtime.
“He hit his average, an average game for Foster,’’ said coach Harvey Johnson. “You see FAMILY on the front of our warmups. These guys really love each other. We matched their physicality. We competed.”
Wonders scored six points in the first quarter to give the Mountaineers an 11-7 lead as Schoolcraft shot just 22.2 percent from the field during the opening period.
The Mountaineers held on to an 18-17 advantage at halftime, but Schoolcraft pulled ahead in the third quarter. Iron Mountain went on a scoring drought and Rykse’s floater put Schoolcraft up six, 30-24, late in the period as the Eagles seemed to wear down the Mountaineers and force most of their scoring to come from the outside.
With eight minutes left in regulation, Schoolcraft maintained its six-point lead. But Wonders scored five straight points to get Iron Mountain to within three, 32-29.
“I thought we did a pretty good job on him,’’ Schoolcraft coach Randy Small said of his team’s defense on Wonders. “He hit one from 28 feet. He made some big shots. We had a hard time scoring.’’
VanderWiere led Schoolcraft with 15 points, and freshman Shane Rykse added 14. Ty Rykse had 11, and VanderWiere also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Wonders sank 13 of 24 shots from the field, including 4-10 3-point attempts, and also grabbed eight rebounds.
PHOTOS: (Top) Iron Mountain's Dante Basanese splits a pair of defenders in the lane during Thursday's Semifinal against Schoolcraft. (Middle) Schoolcraft's Tyler DeGroote and Iron Mountain's Bryce Pietrantonio battle for a loose ball. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)