COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – In Branch County high school sports last night, in varsity boys and girls basketball, it was a split for Coldwater and Pennfield in their Interstate 8 Conference contests with the Coldwater Boys losing at home to the Panthers in a game we had on the radio while at Pennfield, it was a comeback win for the Coldwater girls.
Offense was in the forefront in the Boys matchup with Pennfield coming close to the century mark as they pounded the Cardinals 96-76. It was a one point game at halftime with the Panthers leading 36-35 after Coldwater won the first quarter 22-15. Pennfield then exploded for 31 points in the third quarter and scored 29 more in the final period on their way to the 20 point victory. Brady Beckhusen had a team-high 18 points for the Cardinals while freshman Gage McGuire had 17 points and 4 blocked shots and was our McDonald’s Player of the Game for Coldwater. Also in double figures were Nate Waterbury with 12 points, 11 for Zack Murphy, and 10 for Luke Beckhusen. The Cardinals fifth loss in six games dropped their record to 6-5 in the conference and 9-8 overall. Coldwater stays at home Friday to face Harper Creek on Senior Night for the Cardinals.
In last night’s reserve games, the Coldwater junior varsity lost 52-45 to Pennfield with 11 points for Ethan Wiley and 10 for Ryan Murphy. The Cardinals’ freshman team beat the Panthers with 10 points in the win for Coldwater’s Lucas Jones.
The Coldwater Varsity girls game at Pennfield featured quite a winning rally for the Cardinals who were down by ten points early in the 4th quarter before racing past the Panthers for a 53-47 victory. With 6:41 remaining in the final period, Pennfield was ahead 41-31 but a full court press by Coldwater produced a 22-6 run for the Cardinals to close out the Panthers. Freshmen Malorie Rzepka and Tyler Scheid combined to go 13 for 15 from the foul line in the 4th quarter. Rzepka finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals while Scheid added 14 points to help Coldwater improve to 6-5 in the I-8 and 10-7 overall.
The Cardinals dropped the JV game to Pennfield 54-46 with 11 points apiece for Emilee Smoker and Samantha Rodesiler and 10 points for Carly Duke. The Coldwater freshman beat the Panthers 44-42 with 19 points and 11 rebounds for Kelsi Herlan and also a double-double for Valy Yaldo, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
In Boys only basketball last night, the Branch County battle at Quincy between the Orioles and the visiting Union City Chargers ended in a Big 8 victory for the home team as Quincy pulled away in the 4th quarter to win 63-42 and end the Chargers 9 game winning streak. The Orioles outscored Union City 19-4 in the final period. Quinn Eifrid had 24 points and 8 rebounds for Quincy while Brandon Gary added 13 points and Nate Karney had 12 points and 11 assists. The Orioles improved to 7-3 in the conference and 9-6 overall while Union City slips to 8-2 in the league and 12-3 overall. Quincy also won the JV game 53-41.
And Tekonsha picked up its second win of the season with an upset victory at home in overtime with the Indians beating Jackson Christian 70-65. Everett Lewis-Lanphar had 17 points with 16 points apiece for Connor Jenkins and Anthony Layne and 11 points for A.J. Crisp. Layne and Crisp are freshmen and Layne had 14 of his points in the fourth quarter.
In a Girls only game last night, Bronson won their non-conference contest at home over Athens 49-47 with 16 points for Payton Robinson as the Lady Vikings improve to 8-9.
Tonight in high school sports, in wrestling, it’s the MHSAA Team Regionals with Bronson the only Branch County school still in the competition. The Vikings take on Schoolcraft in the semifinals of the Mendon Division 4 Regional with Decatur vs Niles Brandywine in the other bracket. Tonight’s survivor advances to the state quarterfinals. Coldwater didn’t make it out of the Harper Creek District last week, but tonight, Coldwater will be hosting a Division Two Team Regional with the wresting getting underway at 5:30. In Boys basketball tonight, it’s Bronson at Athens. And in Bowling this afternoon, it’s Coldwater at Charlotte while Bronson hosts Sturgis at the Strike Zone.
Today on the Coaches Corner, it’s Bronson Boys basketball coach Dennis Gest.
In middle school sports yesterday, in girls basketball, Coldwater won 3 out of 4 games from Pennfield with the 8th grade teams sweeping the visiting Panthers while the Cardinals 7th grade B squad also picked up a win on the road. In the 8th grade A game, Coldwater beat Pennfield 60-28 with 14 points for Olivia Foley, 12 for Carlee Crabtree and 10 for Taylor Wilber. The B team downed the Panthers 27-23 with 15 points for Emma Moore. The 7th grade A team lost at Pennfield 39-37 with 13 points for Mia Rzepka. The B team scored a 17-14 victory with 6 points for Joselyn Salto.
