STURGIS, MI (WTVB) – In high school basketball, Coldwater pulled out a win on the road over long-time rival Sturgis with the Cardinals beating the Trojans 51-45. The two teams will have a rematch a week from tonight in the state tournament Coldwater Class B District semifinals.
The Cardinals won every quarter last night but none by more than 2 points. Coldwater was up 23-20 at the half and they built their biggest lead of 35-25 in the third quarter before Sturgis cut the deficit in half with a 41-36 edge for the Cardinals heading into the final period. There were 5 lead changes and 5 ties on the night. Sharing our McDonald’s Player of the Game honors for Coldwater were the Cardinals’ leading scorers last night, Collin Warner with 17 points and Nate Waterbury with 15.
The non-conference victory gave Coldwater a 4-15 record while the Trojans slipped to 11-8. The Cardinals wrap up regular season play tomorrow night at home against cross county rival Bronson.
Coldwater made it a sweep last night by winning the junior varsity game over Sturgis 42-38 with ten points for Jaden Coney.
In the Big 8 last night, in a battle of Branch County rivals, Quincy was a winner at Union City 65-49. The Orioles took control in the second quarter after a 13-13 first quarter tie and were in command at halftime with a 39-25 lead. Quincy was up by 16 after 3 quarters and the Chargers were unable to mount any comeback as they lost the season series to the Orioles. Jake Rider had a game-high 29 points for Quincy with 11 points for Nate Karney. Union City got 18 points from Darren Austin with the loss dropping their record to 9-4 in the conference and 15-4 overall.
The outcome sets the stage for tomorrow night’s showdown for the Big 8 crown as Quincy plays the only team it has loss to this season with the Orioles taking their 12-1 league mark on the road to face Concord, which is undefeated in conference play.
Bronson staged a second half comeback last night at home to beat Colon 52-42. The Vikings trailed 17-11 at the break but then outscored the visiting Magi 24-15 in the third quarter to take the lead and they stayed strong in the final period for the ten point victory. Noah Roberts had a team-high 14 points for Bronson. The Vikings will take a 6-12 record into their game tomorrow night at Coldwater. Bronson won last night’s JV game over Colon 58-28 with 22 points for Courtney Salesman.
In girls basketball, the only Branch County teams still alive in opening week of the MHSAA state tournament suit up tonight with Union City taking on Hillsdale in the semifinals of the Reading Class C District. Union City drew a first round bye while Hillsdale eliminated Quincy Monday night. In tonight’s first semi-final game, at 6 p.m., it’s Homer vs. Jonesville. Also tonight, at the North Adams-Jerome Class D District, Pansophia Academy has a semi-final game with North-Adams-Jerome.
The 42nd annual Al Clyne Coldwater Noon Exchange Club Freshman Boys Basketball tournament continues tonight with third round action including the host Coldwater Cardinals with a championship bracket game at 7:15 against Jackson Lumen Christi. In the consolation bracket opener at 5:30, it’s Jonesville vs. Kalamazoo Loy Norrix. In last night’s first round contests, Marshall beat Sturgis 61-18 while Jackson High defeated Hillsdale 59-38. The tournament being played at Legg Middle School continues through Saturday.
Today on the Coaches Corner, it’s Bronson Boys basketball coach Dennis Guest.
