Today in the MHSAA: 3/8/16

March 8, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The upsets were few, but the late-game heroics aplenty Monday during the first night of the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament.

Boys Basketball

After falling twice to its rival during the regular season, Traverse City West opened a 13-1 lead and downed Traverse City Central 55-52 in Class A – Traverse City Record-Eagle

South Lyon’s 3-pointer with fewer than two seconds to play gave it a 40-37 win over Brighton in Class A – Livingston Daily

Also in Class A, Bloomfield Hills took over in double overtime to get past Auburn Hills Avondale 65-56 – Oakland Press

Warren Woods-Tower emerged from a close matchup with St. Clair Shores Lake shore, 46-42, dropping Lakeshore’s final record to 17-4 – Macomb Daily

Noah Ingram made 10-pointers and scored 44 points total as Mount Pleasant downed Midland Dow 81-70 in Class A – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

In arguably the biggest matchup of opening night, reigning Class B champion Wyoming Godwin Heights downed Wayland 65-62 in a matchup of teams with a combined record of 34-5 – Grand Rapids Press

Freeland won a crossover of top Class B teams in the Tri-Valley Conference, 45-42 over Bridgeport – Saginaw News

Also in Class B, Marshall survived a last-second basket that forced overtime to get past Battle Creek Pennfield – 89-81 – Battle Creek Enquirer

Trey Newsham made 4 of 4 free-throw attempts during the final 14 seconds and went over 1,000 points for his career in Essexville Garber’s 60-59 Class B win over Bay City John Glenn – Bay City Times

Flint Beecher eliminated rival Flint Hamady in Class C for the 10th straight season, 68-62, in a matchup of teams that were a combined 34-4 – Flint Journal

In a Class C matchup of teams with a combined 32-10 record, Traverse City St. Francis got past Johannesburg-Lewiston 79-65 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Also in Class C, Hartford’s 3-pointer with 11 seconds left pushed the team past Kalamazoo Christian 46-45 in an upset of the formerly 17-2 Comets – Kalamazoo Gazette

Good Read

Last summer, the Kronemeyer family of Holland was forced to mourn the death of 18-year-old daughter Marissa, who had died in a car crash. But community and eventually Holland Calvary basketball have assisted as the family continues to cope – Holland Sentinel

Today in the MHSAA: 4/20/16

April 20, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tuesday’s statewide action was highlighted by a number of swing-and-miss baseball pitching performances, including some perfection for the second day in a row.

Baseball

Holland Christian senior Mike Mokma threw a perfect game in beating Holland 3-0, striking out 15 batters – Grand Rapids Press

Battle Creek Lakeview dominated in sweeping Division 1 No. 3 Portage Northern 12-2 and 10-1 – Battle Creek Enquirer

Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s Matt Kornexl struck out 19 in shutting out Blanchard Montabella 5-0 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Traverse City West swept rival Traverse City Central 2-1 and 2-0 with a walk-off win in the opener – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Coldwater’s Nick Shaw threw a five-inning no-hitter as his team swept Battle Creek Pennfield 11-7 and 5-0 – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Holland Black River’s JP Fowler also tossed a no-hitter, striking out 12 in a 4-1 win over Byron Center Zion Christian – Holland Sentinel

From Monday, Norway’s Dan VandenHeuvel reached perfection as well in a 4-0 win over Eben Junction Superior Central – Iron Mountain Daily News

Boys Golf

From Monday, Onsted’s Josh Jeffords shot a 1-under 70 to win the Maple Invitational at Lenawee Country Club, coming off a 3-under 33 in a match the week before – Adrian Daily Telegram

Boys Lacrosse

Rochester Hills Stoney Creek downed Royal Oak 12-7 to move to 7-0 and equal its win total from three of the last four seasons – Oakland Press

Softball

Marysville edged Port Huron 4-3, thanks in large part to 15 strikeouts by pitcher Paige Ameel – Port Huron Times Herald