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: 12/14/15
December 14, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Close finishes highlighted the first Friday of boys basketball season, as those results led a weekend of impressive performances across the state in a variety of sports.
Boys Basketball
Class C Flint Beecher outlasted Class A Detroit East English 72-69 at the Horatio Williams Foundation Tip-Off Classic – Flint Journal
Reigning champion Lansing Everett opened its season with a 55-48 win over Grand Ledge in a matchup of the top two teams from the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue in 2014-15 – Lansing State Journal
Trishton Jackson scored to send the game to overtime and then added the game-winner in the extra period as West Bloomfield edged Southfield Christian 77-76 at the Oakland County Invitational – Mlive-Detroit
Ludington opened up Lakes 8 Conference play with a 54-42 win over reigning champion Muskegon Catholic Central – Ludington Daily News
Marquette rode the hot hand of Troy Sergey, who scored 22 points in a 68-60 win over Traverse City West on Saturday at the Petoskey Invitational – Marquette Mining Journal
From Thursday, St. Ignace football star Gage Kreski is pretty good at basketball too; he had 38 points, 13 rebounds and nine steals in a 75-48 win over Rudyard – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Girls Basketball
Muskegon Mona Shores standout Jordan Walker, also a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, had 26 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals in a 68-42 win over Dearborn Heights Robichaud – Muskegon Chronicle
Girls Bowling
Paw Paw came back from a 10-0 deficit after the Baker games to edge Portage Northern 16-14 thanks in part to a 311 series by Grace Sylvester – Kalamazoo Gazette
Ice Hockey
Reid Pietila scored all five goals as Houghton defeated Utica Eisenhower 5-1 on Friday – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Wrestling
St. Johns, No. 2 in Division 2, finished 5-0 at the Jackson Area Wrestling Showdown with wins over Division 1 No. 9 Temperance Bedford and Division 4 No. 5 Manchester – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Every Hartland wrestler placed among the top five at his weight as the Division 1 top-ranked Eagles won their invitational – Livingston Daily