Boys Basketball: Mules rediscover drive, avenge loss to Saline

TEMPERANCE – The formula was simple when Bedford’s boys basketball won 10 of its first 11 games this season.

“We played with untenable desire and drive,” Bedford coach Jordan Bollin said.

That same desire and drive hasn’t quite been there of late when the Mules were losing four of their last five.

“I told the guys we have to get back to that,” Bollin said.

Photo Gallery: Saline at Bedford boys basketball

There was a simple formula for that, too – get Simon Eighmey back in the lineup.

The senior forward returned after missing the last three games with an injury and sparked the Mules to one of their biggest wins of the season – a 54-53 conquest of Saline Friday night.

Saline beat Bedford 57-47 four games ago.

It was evident that the drive and desire were back from the opening tip.

Bedford outrebounded its guests 36-14.

As usual, Eighmey and Andrew Hollinger were doing most of the work inside.

Hollinger finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds while Eighmey had 15 points and 9 boards.

“He played a great game,” Bollin said of Eighmey. “He was 9-of-11 from the line.”

Tommy Huss added 11 rebounds as Bedford improved to 12-5.

The Mules were deadly from the free-throw line in the final minute as Carsen Behnke hit 3-of-4 and Hollinger and Griffin Wolf went drilled both of their shots.

BEDFORD: Huss 2 0-1 4, Fackelman 0 0-1 0, Eighmey 3 9-11 15, Behnke 1 (1) 5-6 8, Hollinger 10 3-4 23, Wolf 1 2-2 4. Totals 17 (1) 19-26 54.

SALINE: Mesman 6 (3) 2-2 17, Fidh 4 (2) 0-1 10, Rogers 1 (1) 0-0 3, Anderson 7 (3) 3-3 20, Baldwin 1 (1) 0-0 3. Totals 19 (10 5-6 53.

Erie Mason 62, Britton Deerfield 52

ERIE − Erie Mason won Friday to clinch at least a share of the Tri-County Conference championship. It is the Eagles' third straight TCC title and fifth in five years, including the team's last two in the Lenawee County Athletic Association.

Mason outscored BD 17-7 in the second quarter to take over the lead 31-26 at halftime, and then carried an 11-point advantage into the fourth.

Xavier Wise (15 points), Carson Brown (13), Jackson Iocoangeli (10), and Trent Herrera (10) all hit double figures for the Eagles (12-4 overall, 10-0 TCC).

ERIE MASON: Langenderfer 2 0-0 4, Carson Brown 5 (3) 0-0 13, Casey Brown 1 0-0 2, Wise 5 (5) 0-0 15, Iocoangeli 3(2) 2-3 10, T. Herrera 5 0-0 10, Kreger 2 (1) 0-0 5, Albright 0 1-2 1, Knopp 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 (11) 3-5 62.

BRITTON DEERFIELD: Watson 2 (2) 0-0 6, T. Johnson 3 0-0 6, L. Shiels 5 (3) 4-4 17, C. Johnson 5 2-7 12, Hauser 1 0-5 2, B. Shiels 1(1) 1-2 4, Bush 0 2-2 2, Plum 1 1-1 3. Totals 18 (6) 10-21 52.

Ida 48, Onsted 46

ONSTED − Ida kept itself in the race for the Lenawee County Athletic Association crown by dealing Onsted its first league loss of the season.

It was the fifth-straight win for the Blue Streaks who had to hold off a strong rally by Wildcats in the second half. Onsted erased a 10-point halftime deficit but came up short to fall to 13-4 overall and 10-1 in the LCAA.

Kirby Carsten (15 points) and Ty Robertson (13) led Ida, which improved to 10-7 overall and 9-2 in the LCAA.

IDA: Robertson 4 (2) 3-3 13, Miller 2 2-3 6, Schrader 2 (1) 2-2 7, Hemry 1 (1) 0-0 3, Schoenberg 2 0-0 4, Carsten 5 5-5 15. Totals 12 (2) 9-11 48.

ONSTED: Henagan 3 (1) 4-4 11, Paquin 3 0-1 6, Hill 1 (1) 0-0 3, VanBrunt 4 (2) 0-0 10, Davis 8 0-0 16. Totals 19 (4) 4-5 46.

Airport 79, Jefferson 49

CARLETON − Airport's offense was firing on all cylinders off the opening tip. The Jets shot 19-for-29 in the first half and 7-for-11 from 3-point range to build a 51-19 lead.

"We played aggressively in the first half, using that energy on offense to force 15 turnovers," Airport coach Jason Ruhlig said. "Very proud of our Jets this evening for sharing the ball with 18 assists and 11 players in the scoring column."

Brandon McComas and Joel Westaway scored 19 points apiece to lead Airport, and Cooper Nye added 12.

Trey Oldenburg (17 points) and Myles Tackett (16) paced Jefferson.

"Airport dominated from the start," Jefferson coach Corey Willey said. "It was an old fashion butt kicking."

Airport won the JV game 65-28 behind 19 points from Lance Choike and 14 each from Dillion Byrd and Aidyn Stahr.

AIRPORT: Nowak 2 (1) 4-6 9, Westaway 8 (1) 2-3 19, Harvell 2 1-2 5, Moore 1 (1) 2-2 5, McComas 7 (3) 2-4 19, Nye 6 0-1 12, Harper-Lewis 1 0-0 2, Langton 1 0-0 2, Ruhlig 1(1) 0-0 3, Lakatos 1 0-0 2, Byrd 0 1-2 1. Totals 30 (7) 12-20 79.

JEFFERSON: Tackett 7 2-5 16, Gennoe 1 (1) 0-0 3, Armetta 0 1-2 1, Kegley 3 2-2 8, Merkel 0 1-2 1, Minney 0 1-2 1, Allen 1 (1) 0-0 3, Oldenburg 6 5-6 17. Totals 18 (2) 12-19 49.

SMCC 60, Milan 40

A fast start helped St. Mary Catholic Central snap a four-game losing streak.

The Falcons led 17-4 after the first quarter and played nearly even the rest of the way.

Michael Laboe led SMCC with 18 points and 9 rebounds and Buddy Snodgrass added 15 points and 11 boards.

“We came out quick led by Michael Laboe scoring the first 11 points of the game,” SMCC coach Randy Windham said. “Defense was our story the rest of the way giving up 16 in the first half.”

SMCC: Jones 0 0-4 0, Foster 3 (1) 1-4 8, Illes 0 2-2 2, Kuehnlein 1 0-2 2, Snodgrass 6 3-5 15, Kinsey 2 (2) 0-0 6, Lipford 1 0-0 2, Chinavare 0 1-2 1, Laboe 6 (4) 2-2 18, Zachel 0 1-2 1, Boberg 1 (1) 2-3 5, Vuich 0 0-2 0. Totals 20 (8) 12-28 60.

MILAN: K, Ballard 6 (6) 1-5 19, Denham 3 (3) 0-0 9, Ballard 1 0-0 2, Dessellier 5 0-2 10. Totals 15 (9) 1-7 40.

Flat Rock 59, Grosse Ile 52

FLAT ROCK − Graham Junge had the best game of his young career, scoring 31 points with 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Red Devils threatened to deal Flat Rock its first Huron League loss of the season, staying within single digits throughout most of the game. The Rams survived to win its ninth straight while improving to 15-2 overall and 11-0 in the league.

"Grosse Ile played really well and (Grosse Ile) Coach (Corey) Bammer had his team ready to play," Flat Rock coach Rick Smith said. "Graham showed he is one of the best players in the area."

Flat Rock won the junior varsity game 43-31 behind 19 points from Cyrus Goins. Ben Scully and Andrew Gillum scored 13 points apiece to lead the freshman Rams to a 49-39 win.

FLAT ROCK: Breslin 2 0-1 4, Lannon 1 (1) 0-0 3, Nemeth 4 (1) 0-1 9, Godfrey 1 (1) 1-2 4, Murphy 3 2-4 8, Junge 12 (4) 3-4 31. Totals 23 (7) 6-12 59.

GROSSE ILE: Cappelino 1 1-2 3, Molnar 5 (1) 2-3 13, Swick 8 (1) 6-7 23, Driscoll 3 (3) 0-0 9, Miller 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 (5) 9-12 52.

Summerfield 63, Sand Creek 49

PETERSBURG − Summerfield turned up the heat to break away from a 23-23 halftime tie and win for the first time in the past five games.

"(We) finally found a way to win a close game down the stretch," Summerfield coach Phil Schiffler said. "We needed this one. We just came off of a five-game grind that we struggled with, so this one was a feel-good game."

Tyler Dafoe led all scorers with 23 points and Teddy Gault added 21 for Summerfield (8-9).

Owen Thomas scored 14 to lead the JV to a 43-42 win.

SUMMERFIELD: LaRocca 2 0-2 4, Gault 8 (4) 1-2 21, Kalb 1 0-0 2, St. John 2 (1) 4-4 9, Dafoe 6 (5) 6-10 23, Myshock 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 (10) 11-18 63.

SAND CREEK: Garcia 2 (2) 0-0 6, Opel 5 1-7 11, Gartee 2 1-2 5, Preston 1 0-0 2, Walsh 1(1) 0-0 3, Eack 3 (1) 2-2 9, Hulett 5 (3) 0-0 13. Totals 19 (7) 3-11 49.

State Line 57, Lakecrest 41

WATERFORD – Eli Dyer had another big night with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists and Zac Marshall and Cooper Worley added 13 and 9 points, respectively.

But after the game, coach Nathan Nash was singing the praises of Landon Worley.

“Our defense was led by Landon in a big way,” Nash said. “He shut down their leading scorer and added 9 points.”

State Line pushed its record to 14-9.

STATE LINE CHRISTIAN: C. Worley 4 (2) 0-0 10, Reddick 2 0-0 4, Rains 2 (2) 1-2 7, E. Dyer 7 0-0 14, Marshall 5 (3) 0-0 13, L. Worley 4 (1) 0-0 9. Totals 24 (4) 1-2 57.

WATERFORD LAKECREST: T. Dalton 5 (1) 1-2 12, Dusseault 4 2-4 10, Peck 7 (3) 2-3 19. Totals 16 (4) 5-9 41.

Skyline 65, Monroe 36

Monroe gave Ann Arbor Skyline a fight in the first half, but the Eagles pulled away late for a lopsided result.

Skyline led 29-20 at the break before outscoring the Trojans 36-16 the rest of the way.

"We played a pretty good first half," Monroe coach Larry Middleton said. "We had no answer for their length and kind of got wore down in the fourth. Game was a little closer than the score indicates."

Gabe Sweat scored 15 to lead Monroe.

ANN ARBOR SKYLINE: Koeling 7 4-4 18, Williams 1 0-0 2, Eilerson 1 (1) 1-2 4, Stille 6 (1) 0-0 13, Roebuck 4 (2) 0-0 10, Bond 1 (1) 0-0 3, Silkworth 2 0-0 4, Soldman 1 3-4 5, Bhagat 1 2-2 4, Algady 1 0-1 2. Totals 25 (5) 10-13 65.

MONROE: Sczsnsy 4 0-0 8, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Frank 2 (1) 0-0 5, Rzepa 1 2-2 4, Sweat 6 3-4 15, Collett 0 2-4 2. Totals 14 (1) 7-10 36.

Clinton 57, Dundee 39

Clinton carried a narrow 39-36 lead into the fourth quarter before outscoring Dundee 18-3 to pull away.

"It was a very good game," Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt said. "We just could not score in the fourth quarter."

Matt Atkinson scored 11 points to lead the 8-9 Vikings.

CLINTON: Tschirhart 1 1-2 3, Richie 0 2-5 2, Fair 1 3-10 5, Stelzer 5 (4) 4-7 15, Stockford 8 (4) 5-7 25, Busz 1 (1) 2-4 5, Gilson 1 0-2 2. Totals 17 (9) 17-37 57.

DUNDEE: Atkinson 3 (3) 2-2 11, Layton 3 (1) 1-5 8, Zanger 1 (1) 0-0 3, Lee 0 2-2 2, Whitaker 3 3-5 9, Daniel 1 1-2 3, Spare 1 1-2 3. Totals 12 (5) 10-20 39.

Riverview 64, Huron 55

RIVERVIEW – New Boston Huron tried to throw a wrench into Riverview’s Huron League title hopes.

Huron trailed by just 4 points heading into the fourth quarter.

The second quarter was the undoing of the Chiefs. They were outscored 13-4 in that period to fall into a 32-19 halftime hole.

"I was proud of how our team battled tonight,” Huron coach Ted Tackett said. “We just couldn't get over the hump. Riverview played hard and is a well-coached team."

Ethan Woolery scored 22 points and Sammy Farrugia 13 for 5-11 Huron.

Riverview is a game behind Flat Rock in the Huron League standings heading into a head-to-head meeting with the Rams Friday.

Riverview took the junior varsity game 55-51.

RIVERVIEW: McAlinden 3 (3) 0-0 9, Je. Tiberia 2 0-0 4, Doyle 0 2-2 2, Adams 1 1-2 3, Dorn 7 (3) 9-12 26, Spencer 1 0-1 2, Gallimore 6 (4) 2-4 18. Totals 20 (10) 14-21 64.

NEW BOSTON HURON: Farrugia 3 (2) 5 -6 13, Handyside 1 1-1 3, Kantola 1 5-6 7, Martin 0 2-2 2, Moczydlowsky 4 0-0 8, Woolery 10 (2) 0-0 22. Totals 19 (4) 13-15 55.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Boys Basketball: Bedford rediscovers drive to avenge loss to Saline