Today in the MHSAA: 11/30/16

November 30, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Although a handful of teams kicked off girls basketball season Monday, the majority took the court for the first time Tuesday – and wasted little time delivering dramatic finishes and a look at some of what we can expect this winter.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Girls Basketball

Otsego, which won 20 games last season, opened with a nail-biting 33-31 victory over Portage Northern – Kalamazoo Gazette

Jordan Walker scored 33 points as Muskegon Mona Shores downed Grand Rapids Catholic Central 59-52 in a matchup of expected state contenders – Grand Rapids Press

Beecher came back in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but Flint Southwestern emerged with a 42-41 victory – Flint Journal

Reigning Class B runner-up Grand Rapids South Christian also started with a close win, 38-35 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – Grand Rapids Press

In another low-scoring opener, Bay City Central just edged Traverse City West 32-31 – Bay City Times

Frankenmuth came back from an 11-point deficit to edge Bullock Creek 40-38 – Saginaw News

Lansing Catholic trailed Perry by six points at halftime but came on to win by 28, 56-28 – Lansing State Journal

Charlevoix freshman Elise Stuck had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead her team to a 43-39 win over Petoskey – Petoskey News Review

Belding’s Hallee Breimayer put up 32 points in her team’s 57-52 win over reigning Greater Lansing Activities Conference champion Lake Odessa Lakewood – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Edwardsburg, coming off a District title last season, survived a 37-32 opener against Niles – South Bend Tribune

Southfield Arts & Technology won its first game since the merger of Southfield and Southfield-Lathrup this fall, 64-43 over Birmingham Groves – Oakland Press

Ice Hockey

Hancock continued another strong start with a 5-0 defeat of rival Houghton – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Softball

Gladstone coach Ashley Hughes, who led the Braves to the Division 3 championship in her first season in 2014 and the Semifinals this spring, has resigned amid sad circumstances – Escanaba Daily Press

Today in the MHSAA: 12/7/16

December 7, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s report could be renamed “buzzer beaters” as the first full Tuesday of girls and boys basketball season produced plenty of gutsy deciding shots during the final seconds of play.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Girls Basketball

Ella Bontrager’s layup with three seconds to play after her steal with 21 seconds left gave Jackson Northwest a 44-42 win over Grass Lake – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Grace Reinhold’s game-winner gave Muskegon Oakridge a 47-45 win over Grand Haven – Muskegon Chronicle

Bloomfield Hills Marian emerged from its latest matchup of top Class A teams, downing Waterford Kettering 37-34 in overtime – Oakland Press

Mount Pleasant built an early 14-2 lead and held on to defeat McBain 44-39 – Cadillac News

Utica Eisenhower earned an impressive early-season victory downing Grosse Pointe South 53-42 – Macomb Daily

DeWitt came back to down East Lansing 59-58 in a matchup of top Lansing-area teams – WLNS

Boys Basketball

Battle Creek Pennfield downed Olivet 85-83 in overtime on Ronald Jamierson’s bucket with one second to play – Battle Creek Enquirer

Keyed by a strong perimeter shooting night by Carson Charvat, Three Rivers outlasted Niles 74-72 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Austin Harless’ free throws with three seconds to play gave Holly a 55-53 win over Flint Powers Catholic – Flint Journal

Ann Arbor Pioneer rose above playing without three injured starters to edge Southfield Christian 66-62 – Ann Arbor News

Lansing Waverly rode 21 second-half points from Jaden Sutton to a 51-47 comeback win over Holt – Lansing State Journal

Benton Harbor earned an impressive 57-36 win over Dowagiac in a matchup of frequent Class B powers – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Hillman’s Gunnar Libby went over 1,000 points for his career scoring 30 in a 68-51 win over Cedarville – Alpena News

After going 1-20 last season, Troy Athens is 1-0 with a nail-biting 46-45 win over Rochester Adams – Oakland Press