By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Holiday break is nearly upon us, but heroics of December, these few included, are setting up what should be an interesting January and February for a number of teams all over the state.

Girls Basketball

Detroit Renaissance might be the best in Detroit this winter – and a contender in Class A – after handing a rare city loss to Detroit Martin Luther King, 68-65 – Detroit News

Muskegon’s Mardrekia Cook drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Big Reds a 55-52 win over Muskegon Oakridge – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Shawn Pardee is again starring for Millington this season – and missed his school record by only a point Thursday with 55 in an 83-77 double overtime win over Essexville Garber – Saginaw News

Frankfort and Traverse City St. Francis traded baskets over the final 20 seconds, with St. Francis getting the last in a 69-68 victory – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Andrew Terry’s fifth 3-pointer of the game gave Warren Lincoln a 61-60 final lead with 4.9 seconds to play against Center Line – Macomb Daily

Girls Swimming & Diving

Gladstone, runner-up at last season’s Upper Peninsula Final, edged Kingsford by three points in a tri-meet; Kingsford was sixth last season – Iron Mountain Daily

Track & Field

Longtime Kingsford athletic director and 2001 MHSAA Bush Award winner Don Edens, Jr., died Tuesday at the age of 70. Edens also was a longtime manager of the U.P. Track & Field Finals – WLUC