COLDWTER, MI (WTVB) – The boys high school basketball regular season wrapped up last night with a Coldwater win at home over cross-county rival Bronson, a Big Eight Conference title clinching victory on the road for Quincy and a home win for Union City. At Coldwater, the Cardinals controlled the first half and they kept Bronson at bay for the rest of the night to beat the Vikings 77-60. The first quarter ended with Coldwater up 16-5 and at the break, the lead was 35-18 and that 17 point spread turned out to be the final margin of victory for the Cardinals.
Nate Waterbury had a game-high 22 points for Coldwater with 19 for Collin Warner. Also, Logan Targgart had his fourth double-double in six games with 12 points and 10 rebounds. And our McDonald’s Player of the Game for Coldwater was freshman call-up Brady Beckhusen, who finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds. For the Vikings, Justin Robinson had a team-high 17 points and he was our Player of the Game for Bronson. Sean Kenny added 12 points and Daniel McMichael 11 as the Vikings’ record dipped to 7-13. Bronson begins State Tournament play Monday in the Hillsdale Class C District. Coldwater improved to 5-15 with their second win in-a-row and the Cardinals next week will start March Magic by hosting their own Class B District.
In last night’s junior varsity game, Bronson beat Coldwater 41-39. Collin Torrey had 10 points in the loss while for the Vikings, Courtney Salesman had 15 points and Brenden Bell 10 along with 11 rebounds for Dakota Schlautman.
Quincy is the Big 8 Conference champion after the Orioles last night captured their title showdown game at Concord with a 75-65 victory over the Yellow Jackets. The win avenged Quincy’s only loss of the season when they fell at home by 19 points to Concord last month. Jake Rider came up big for the Orioles last night with a game-high 34 points. Chase Cook and Jake Jodway had 13 points apiece while Nate Karney had 12 as Quincy improved to 19-1 overall and 13-1 in the conference. The Orioles now join Bronson at the Hillsdale Class C District where Union City will also play next week.
Last night, Union City defeated visiting Homer 74-59. The Chargers had 5 players score in double figures in the win with 16 points for Darren Austin, 13 for Elijah Way, 12 apiece for Jalen Boes and Seth Bruce and 11 for Lucas Vaccaro. Union City finished the regular season at 10-4 in the Big 8 and 16-4 overall.
Tekonsha last night lost 52-42 at Pittsford with 15 points for Connor Jenkins and 10 for Riley Lloyd. The Indians drop to 5-14 and tonight, they have a makeup game with Waldron.
The 42nd annual Al Clyne Coldwater Noon Exchange Club freshman Boys basketball tournament at Legg Middle School continued last night with a pair of second round games as Hillsdale downed Sturgis 71-59 and Marshall got by Jackson High 52-48. There a 4 games tomorrow to conclude the tournament beginning at 2 p.m. The host Coldwater Cardinals play Jackson High for 3rd place at 5:30 followed by the title contest at 7:15 between Marshall and Jackson Lumen Christi.
The MHSAA Wrestling State Finals got underway yesterday with 7 competitors from Branch County taking to the mats for first round action in the double elimination event at the Palace of Auburn Hills. In Division Two, Coldwater’s Jesse Miller and Zach Chehowski both suffered losses. The only winner from the county on Thursday was in Division 4 with a victory for Bronson’s Kahle Scheenks. Four of his Viking teammates went down to defeat as Wes Disbro, Jukoada Sexton, Brett Burtrum and Nathan Caudill will all try to stay alive today in consolation bracket action. The Finals continue through tomorrow.
The State Bowling Finals are this weekend with the Coldwater Boys and Girls teams competing in Division Two at Century Lanes in Waterford with the team finals today and the single finals tomorrow. Also this weekend, it’s the MHSAA Gymnastics Regionals with Coldwater competing tomorrow at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills High School.
Today on the Coaches Corner, it’s Coldwater gymnastics coach Kim Nichols.
