COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – In Branch County high school sports, five out of the six Friday night varsity basketball games played by county teams ended up in the loss column but there were plenty of winning athletes recognized with Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Coldwater and Union City. At the Coach Floyd Eby Gymnasium in Coldwater, in the doubleheader action we had on the radio, the visitors from Marshall picked up a pair of Interstate Eight Conference victories as they beat the Cardinals Boys team 67-54 and defeated the Coldwater Girls 63-38. Following the Girls action that tipped off the evening, the intermission before the Boys contest featured the ceremonies that honored this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, Corey Post, Cam Holicki, Keely Gruner Beemer and Cassie Krenzalek. The 13 point loss for the Cardinals in the Boys game saw Marshall outscore Coldwater in the second, third, and fourth quarters after the Redhawks trailed 13-12 at the end of the opening period. Marshall was ahead 27-23 at the break and took a 45-33 lead into the final quarter. Zach Murphy with 12 points was our McDonald’s Player of the Game for Coldwater. Nate Waterbury and Brady Beckhusen each scored a team-high 13 points. The defeat dropped the Cardinals record to 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the conference. Marshall tops the league standings at 6-1 with their overall mark at 9-3. The Cardinal’s next game is Tuesday at Portage Central.
In last night’s Girls contest in Coldwater, the 25-point win by Marshall boosted their unbeaten conference record to 8-0 while the defeat left the Lady Cardinal’s at 4-4 in the I-8 with the overall mark at 7-5. Coldwater trailed 30-18 at the half and the Redhawks stayed in control the rest of the way. Freshman Malorie Rzepka was our Girls Player of the Game for Coldwater with a team-high 12 points. Kendall Galloway added 9 points in the loss. The Lady Cardinals will host Portage Central on Tuesday.
In Boys only basketball last night, Quincy came up short at Homer, losing to the host Trojans 58-55. It was tied at 24 at halftime and the Orioles stayed close to the end before suffering the 3 point defeat. Quinn Eifrid had 21 points to lead Quincy while Nathan Karney added 13 points and 8 assists. Also in double figures was Brandon Gary with 11 points as the Orioles slipped to 3-3 in the Big 8 and 5-5 overall.
The Union City Boys enjoyed the only victory for a Branch County team Friday as the Chargers capped Hall of Fame Night at the McNett Fieldhouse with a 62-37 win over arch-rival Athens. Elijah Harris had a game-high 17 points for Union City and made it a double-double with 10 rebounds. The Chargers improved to 5-1 in the Big Eight and 8-2 overall. Union City lost the Girls game to Athens 51-19 with 5 points for Allison Adams and 7 rebounds for Haley Harty. The defeat dropped the Chargers to 3-11 and 2-6 in league play.
Back to Boys only contests last night, Bronson lost at home to White Pigeon 72-68 with 17 points apiece for Jonah Klingler and Branson Thenen, 13 for Noah Roberts and 12 for Daniel McMichael. The Vikings’ record slides to 1-5 in the BCS East and 2-8 overall. Bronson won the JV game 66-25 with 13 points for Caleb Stayner and 10 for Wyatt Heal.
And Tekonsha lost at Litchfield 70-57 with 14 points for Connor Jenkins, and 10 apiece for A.J. Crisp and Anthony Layne. The Indians are now 1-11.
Today in high school sports, in wrestling, Coldwater, Bronson, and Union City compete in the Bill Evans Invitational at Battle Creek Central and it’s Quincy at Constantine. And in gymnastics, it’s Coldwater at the St. Johns Redwing Invitational
