Today in the MHSAA: 12/20/18
December 20, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
Teams are getting in their final competitions before at least a brief holiday break, and we’re taking one too after today’s list – “Today” will return Jan. 7, although Second Half will continue publishing stories from all over the state during the final week of December and first of January.
1. Boys Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary broke a 31-game, 14-year losing streak to Bellaire with a 29-26 win – Gaylord Herald Times
2. Boys Basketball: Camden-Frontier improved to 7-0 by handing a first loss to Reading, 57-46 – Hillsdale Daily News
3. Hockey: Evan MacDonald had a hat trick as Division 1 No. 5 Brighton downed reigning Division 3 runner-up Livonia Churchill 4-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
4. Boys Basketball: Mancelona gave Pellston its first loss of this season, 67-65 – Petoskey News-Review
5. Girls Basketball: Waterford Our Lady made a late run to get past Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 61-56 – Oakland Press
6. Wrestling: Grand Haven came back from a 24-0 deficit to defeat Caledonia 39-33 – Grand Haven Tribune
7. Gymnastics: Escanaba remained undefeated to start the season with wins over Marquette and Negaunee – Escanaba Daily Press
8. Boys Basketball: Portland St. Patrick closed on a 22-5 run to beat Fowler 52-42 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
9. Hockey: Brendan Pellerito had 34 saves as Mattawan shut out Portage Northern 4-0 – JoeInsider.com
10. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Hudson earned a pair of league wins over Blissfield and Onsted – Adrian Daily Telegram
Also of note …
Hockey: The status of high school hockey is on the rise with talent evaluators at the game’s next levels – Observer & Eccentric
Tennis: Longtime coach Paul Bandrowski retired after leading Traverse City St. Francis’ girls and boys teams to a number of strong MHSAA Finals finishes – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Girls Basketball: From Tuesday, Eaton Rapids came back to stun Jackson Northwest 44-41, but the Mounties’ Sydney Shafer went over 1,000 career points – Jackson Citizen Patriot
Boys Swimming & Diving: From Tuesday, Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 2 Ann Arbor Skyline edged LPD2 top-ranked Dexter 95-90 – We Love Ann Arbor
Today in the MHSAA: 2/22/19
February 22, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
More league championships were awarded Thursday as boys basketball teams finished up their regular season and girls teams closed in on the final week of theirs – and we’re also glad to especially highlight an impressive United Sports effort that brought more than 250 athletes to Novi.
1. Unified Basketball: Novi and the Kensington Lakes Activities Association hosted 10 schools for a league tournament that showcased the growing Unified Sports effort – Detroit News
2. Boys Basketball: Canton downed Howell 78-58 to clinch the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Tournament championship – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
3. Boys Basketball: Walled Lake Northern earned the inaugural Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title with a 29-26 win over White Lake Lakeland – State Champs!
4. Girls Basketball: A big win over Memphis helped Harbor Beach earn a share of the Greater Thumb Conference East title – Huron Daily Tribune
5. Girls Basketball: St. Ignace defeated Cheboygan to clinch the outright Straits Area Conference championship – The Upbeat
6. Boys Basketball: Otsego finished the regular season 20-0 with a 75-61 win over Sturgis in the Wolverine Conference championship game – JoeInsider.com
7. Boys Basketball: Bear Lake’s Trey Gilbert scored 50 points in a 71-48 win over Baldwin to go over 1,000 for his career – Manistee News Advocate
8. Boys Basketball: Pellston secured the outright Ski Valley Conference title with a 54-39 win over Gaylord St. Mary – Petoskey News-Review
9. Boys Basketball: Ovid-Elsie downed New Lothrop 48-28 to secure the outright Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title – Owosso Argus-Press
10. Boys Basketball: Kyle Hulett went over 1,000 career points with 31 for Byron in a 74-72 win over Mount Morris – Flint Journal
Also of note …
Boys Basketball: New Haven’s Romeo Weems, Detroit Renaissance’s Chandler Turner, Canton’s B. Artis White and Westland John Glenn’s Joe Moon were named finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award – State Champs!
Boys Basketball: Gladstone downed Kingsford, but Kingsford’s Tyler Beauchamp became the program’s all-time leading scorer and teammate Luke Terrian scored his 1,000th point – Iron Mountain Daily News
Boys Basketball: From Tuesday, Hale defeated Posen to claim its third straight North Star League Little Dipper title – WBKB