Last Second Loss

The Pirates may have been suffering from Coming Home-itis. They didn't seem focused - and it showed.

The Pirates trailed the entire game - down four at the half and four an the end of the third quarter despite putting up 17 - they still couldn't close the gap.

It wasn't until the :57 second mark that they took the lead on a Jacob Murawske 3 - and were up by as many as four in the last 12 seconds. The Redskins made two HUGE three's - the last one coming with just 2.7 seconds to go in the game to seal a 56-55 victory and ruin what could have been a Coming Home Victory for the Pirates.

The fourth quarter was the diffence tonight for the Lady Lakers who didn't score for the first six minutes of the last frame. They certainly had their chances and played well on D - but couldn't convert their great defensive work into points. When they did start scoring - they were able to pull within one, but couldn't get over the hump. To add insult to injury - Shelby Pietruck went down late with an ankle injury - no word yet on the severity and no work how long she may be out. Pietruck had a great run in the third quarter on offense and will be missed if she is out for an extended period of time.

Sweep...

Mitch Cleary
Eric LaBuhn

Kaufm Steven Weber

Jordan Kaufman

Weber

Kaufman

Brandon Sorenson, Kaufman, Cleary

Tyler Kubacki

Brown City completed the two-game sweep tonight, as the boys knocked off Ubly 56-49 tonight. The Bearcats led by two at the half, but the Green Devils turned things up in the second half to retake the lead. Ubly pulled within two with a little over three minutes to go, but could never regain the lead.

Defensively, Ubly used a triangle-and-2 to stop Jack McPhail and AJ Burton (they combined for 25), but it was Brown City's role players who made the Bearcats pay and ultimately cost them the game.

The Hatchets once again left it all on the floor against one of the top teams in the league and held their own for the first quarter and then some.............but them the floodgates opened and USA was off to the races.

Bad Axe didn't do well getting the ball down low - and when they did they weren't able to finish.

The Hatchets were within six of the Patriots half way through the second quarter - but that was as close as they would get.

By the end of the half the Patriot lead was 23. At the end of three they were up 21, and ended the night with a 71-37 victory.

The Hatchets were forced to shoot from the perimeter and were living on 3s - but couldn't get enough to get the job done.

The game saw the return of Clint Kreuger who had a few minutes of floor time and got his firts point at the charity line. USA will be even stronger down low once Kreuger gets back in the flow for the Patriots.

Ubly falls to Brown City

For one of the first times this season, Ubly's Alicia Leipprandt was held in check. Brown City used a strategy of keeping fresh legs on Leipprandt, according to BC coach Cindy Burton.

That strategy paid off as Leipprandt was held under 20 points (19) for only the second time this season (she scored 18 in game 2 vs. Vassar) and the Green Devils got a well-rounded effort to polish off the Bearcats.

Ubly faced double digit deficits throughout the game, but made a couple of runs where they pulled within six or seven points on several occasions. Each comeback was answered by an increased intensity from Brown City.

The loss even thinks up atop of the Greater Thumb East, as Sandusky, BC and Ubly each have losses.

Missed Opportunities

After a disappointing performance against Caseville, the Lady Bulldogs looked to improve against North Huron - not an easy task, but they were up to the challenge - for a while.
Both teams looked flat and missed easy opportunities on both sides of the floor.

Owen-Gage had the lead at the end of the first quarter 9-7, but would see that lead slip away as the Lady Warriors came alive in the second quarter and were up as many as nine.

The Bulldogs didn't help themselves much with more turnovers than Coach Fritz would like to see, but it could have been much worse for the Bulldogs as the free throw shooting for North Huron was less than impressive.

Caseville Doubles up Akron Fairgrove

The Lady Eagles were too much for the Vikings as they dominated the entire game and dumped Akron Fairgrove 52-24.

The Vikings had height advantage down low, but that still wasn't enough as the Lady Eagles found a way to get the ball inside.

Caseville hit on three - three balls to increase their lead in the second half and had the opportunity to substitute to get some of the bench involved in the win.

Tuesday update

Here's a look at area stat leaders through last week, we'll have an update on those this weekend. Later tonight, I'll have some pictures and some thoughts up from tonight's BC vs. Ubly girls game...my prediction if Greene doesn't play, Ubly by 10, if she does it's a toss up and I'll give it to the Bearcats by 3 (I know that's a pretty bold pick, but we'll see).
Steve Jias, who for the most part will be taking over the blog from here on out (I'll put some occassional posts up when I cover games), will be showcasing some photos from Caseville and NH girls tonight.

Boys Stat Leaders
Through Thursday, Jan. 22*
Points per game (Minimum nine ppg)
G TP PPG
1. Sean Clancy, North Huron 8 170 18.9
2. Jacob Murawske, Harbor Beach 6 112 18.7
3. Scott Fletcher, USA 4 62 15.5
4. Nick Zaleski, Owen-Gage 6 90 15.0
T4. Luke Flannery, Bad Axe 6 90 15.0
6. Tyler Kubacki, Ubly 8 116 14.5
7. Jordan Kaufman, Ubly 4 57 14.3
8. Jakob Holland, USA 4 56 14.0
9. John Iseler, North Huron 9 124 13.8
10. Charlie Karafa, Caseville 5 68 13.6

Free Throw percentage (Minimum nine attempts, 55 percent)
FM FA FT %
1. Devon Prich, Owen-Gage 11 13 .846
2. Luke Flannery, Bad Axe 19 24 .792
3. Tyler Kubacki, Ubly 26 34 .765
4. Kevin Dubs, EPBP 12 16 .750
5. Alex Lackowski, Port Hope 7 10 .700
6. Sean Clancy, North Huron 25 37 .676
7. Nick Zaleski, Owen-Gage 10 15 .667
T7. Mitch Cleary, Ubly 16 24 .667
T7. Jacob Murawske, Harbor Beach 12 16 .667
9. Eric Montreuil, Owen-Gage 13 20 .650
10. Heath Schmidt, USA 9 14 .643

Three-pointers per game (Minimum one per game)
G 3’s 3’s pg
1. Devon Prich, Owen-Gage 6 20 3.3
2. Luke Flannery, Bad Axe 6 19 3.2
3. Jacob Murawske, Harbor Beach 6 16 2.7
4. Scott Fletcher, USA 4 9 2.3
5. Sean Clancy, North Huron 9 17 1.9
6. Grant Gnagey, EPBP 5 9 1.8
T6. Charlie Karafa, Caseville 5 9 1.8
8. Nick Wehner, Bad Axe 6 10 1.7
9. Justin Cleary, Ubly 8 10 1.3
T9. Eric Montreuil, Owen-Gage 6 8 1.3

Best Game (Most points scored in a game)
1. Devon Prich, Owen-Gage 29 points (nine triples) vs. Caseville
T1. Luke Flannery, Bad Axe 29 points vs. Sandusky
3. Sean Clancy, North Huron 27 points vs. Deckerville
4. Sean Clancy, North Huron 25 points vs. Dryden
5. John Iseler, North Huron 24 points vs. Memphis
T5. Luke Flannery, 24 points vs. Deckerville
7. Jacob Murawske, Harbor Beach 23 points vs. Peck
8. Brent Reil, Owen-Gage 22 points vs. CPS
T8. Chris Rowe, EPBP 22 points vs. Cass City
10. Jacob Murawske, Harbor Beach 21 points vs. Cass City
T10. Scott Fletcher, USA 21 points vs. Ubly
T10. John Iseler, North Huron 21 points vs. Dryden
T10. Jakob Holland, USA 21 points vs. Marlette
T10. Charlie Karafa, Caseville 21 points vs. CPS
* For all reported scores.

Girls Stat Leaders
Through Thursday, Jan. 22*
Points per game (Minimum nine ppg)
G TP PPG
1. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 8 215 26.9
2. Meaghan Fortsch, Caseville 9 141 15.7
3. Jillian Williamson, USA 9 134 14.9
4. Stephanie Maxwell, EPBP 8 118 14.8
5. Dani Gremel, USA 9 121 13.4
6. Sara Clancy, North Huron 8 98 12.3
7. Bethany Grates, Caseville 9 106 11.8
8. Samantha Breault, Bad Axe 7 79 11.3
9. Allyson Koglin, Port Hope 7 75 10.7
10. Shelby Pietruck, EPBP 8 80 10.0

Free Throw percentage (Minimum 55 percent)
FM FA FT %
1. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 56 64 .875
2. Stephanie Maxwell, EPBP 20 24 .833
3. Shelby Pietruck, EPBP 11 14 .786
4. Ashley Hattfield, EPBP 16 21 .762
5. Sara Clancy, North Huron 34 46 .739
6. Estay Ruppal, USA 19 27 .704
7. Brittany Gruehn, USA 11 16 .688
8. Samantha Breault, Bad Axe 19 28 .679
9. Heidi Grekowicz, H. Beach 9 14 .643
10. Kayla Gust, Port Hope 17 27 .630

Three-pointers per game (Minimum one per game)
G 3’s 3’s pg
1. Dani Gremel, USA 9 16 1.8
2. Lyndsay White, Ubly 8 11 1.4
3. Kayla Gust, Port Hope 7 9 1.3
T3. Stephanie Maxwell, EPBP 8 10 1.3
5. Shelby Pietruck, EPBP 8 9 1.1
T5. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 8 9 1.1
7. Meaghan Fortsch, Caseville 9 9 1.0

Best Game (Most points scored in a game)
1. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 33 points vs. Sandusky
2. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 32 points vs. Harbor Beach
T2. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 32 points vs. Cass City
4. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 29 points vs. USA
5. Jillian Williamson, USA 28 points vs. John Glenn
6. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 27 points vs. EPBP
7. Stephanie Maxwell, EPBP 23 points vs. BCAS
8. Meaghan Fortsch, Caseville 22 points vs. Dryden
9. Alicia Leipprandt, Ubly 21 points vs. Reese
T9. Shelby Pietruck, EPBP 21 points vs. Ubly
T9. Dani Gremel, USA 21 points vs. Reese
*For all reported games

Monday update

We'll have all your area stat leaders, our weekly polls and Power 10 posted here on Tuesday, as well as some thoughts on one of the more intriguing match-ups of the night between the Ubly and Brown City girls.
Until then, here are tonight's match-ups:
BOYS NCTL
A-Fairgrove @ Owen-Gage
Port Hope @ Caseville

North Huron 41, Port Hope 40

It doesn't matter how long you lead the game, it only matters if you are leading when the last second ticks off the clock.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the game, North Huron trailed for roughly the next 30:30 minutes, before scoring on a Jodie Pettit free throw (she split a 1-and-1)with six seconds to go to give her team the ultimate come from behind win, 41-40.

The victory gives the Warriors a three game edge in the NCTL North and putting Port Hope in a position where they need to win out and have some help, if they are going to have a chance at the league title.

Ubly 62, Sandusky 61

Wow! That is all I can say after an amazing 62-61 victory for Ubly over Sandusky.

Heading into the game, I thought this would be a battle between Alicia Leipprandt and Marissa DeMott for position in the battle for the TSA's Player of the Year...it was all that, but so much more.

Leipprandt led the way with 33 points, 11 boards and three assists, but it was the strong play of teammates Lyndsay White and Nicole Franzel, hwo kept Ubly in the ball game, as both unofficially scored in double-figures, despite the fact that they both averaged about six points heading into the showdown with the Redskins.

Down the stretch, Leipprandt hit a pair of free throws with 0:04 left in the game to take a 62-59 lead.

Ubly, who had six fouls at this point, made the heads up play to foul DeMott as she got the inbounds pass. DeMott, who was shooting 80.4 percent from the line (33-for-41) heading into the game, made the first, but with only three seconds left, she would need to miss the second one and one of her teammates would need to get the rebound and put it back in.

But DeMott, who holds the MHSAA record for free throw shooting in a season (.915, 118 -for-129 in 2007-08), attempted to miss the second shot, but accidently made it.

This allowed Ubly to inbound the ball and run out the clock, as Sandusky was unable to foul or get the steal.

After the win, Ubly coach Brent Wehner commented that this was a huge win in a really tough division. He explained it will likely take 10 or 11 wins to win the crown, because things are so tough this year.

I respectfully disagree, because in my opinion with the parrity, the champ will have two or possibly three losses, finsihing with nine or 10 wins on the high side.

Whether that holds true or not remains to be seen, but it should be a fun ride nonetheless. I know I'm going to pencil in the rematch for this game on my schedule tomorrow when I get back to the office.