Harper Creek climbs into first place with win over city rival Pennfield

It was a big game because it was a rivalry contest. An even bigger game because first place was on the line.

Which meant the final result would be huge for whichever team was on the winning side.

Harper Creek defeated Pennfield, 59-41, in this Interstate 8 Conference boys basketball contest at Harper Creek High School on Friday.

MORE: Basketball Notebook - Marshall, Coldwater win as top of I-8 gets crowded

Here are five takeaways from Friday's game:

'Looking Forward To This One'

Harper Creek lost all three times it faced city rival Pennfield last year, including in the districts, which ended the Beavers' season.

That meant Friday's contest was circled a long time ago on the Harper Creek (6-2) calendar.

"We have been looking forward to this game all year," Harper Creek senior Ben Shafer said. "To beat them feels amazing."

First Place Up For Grabs

Defending Interstate 8 champ Pennfield (7-1) came into Friday's contest undefeated overall and alone in first place in the league. With Harper Creek's win, the Beavers have climbed into a tie with Pennfield, along with Marshall and Coldwater, all at 4-1 in league play.

"Tonight was huge for lots of different reasons, but definitely huge for the rest of the league," Harper Creek coach Matt Bowling said. "Now we have a four-way tie for first in the league. We have two league games next week left as we finish the first round of games, so sitting in first with some company is not a bad place to be at this time of the year."

Hot & Cold

Harper Creek came out strong and took control early, leading 17-9 after the first quarter. The Beavers continued that torrid pace as Shafer had back-to-back three-point plays at the rim to give Harper Creek a 25-9 lead with 5:28 remaining in the half.

On the way to being up 33-18 at halftime, Harper Creek shot 53% from the floor.

The Beavers were just as good on defense in the first half. Harper Creek came out with an aggressive man-to-man defense that focused on shadowing Pennfield's high-scoring senior guards, Luke Davis and Aiden Burns, from baseline to baseline. That resulted in the Panthers shooting just 17% in the first half, including 1-for-6 from the 3-point line.

Pennfield played better in the second half and made a run, cutting the lead to 10 at 41-31 on a 3-pointer by Davis in the fourth quarter. And the Panthers were as close as eight as Harper Creek struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 17-of-30 in the second half. But the Beavers would not let Pennfield get any closer.

Shafer had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Harper Creek, with Marcus Ransom adding 13 points and six boards and Deshawn Leslie-Tinsley chipping in with 11 points and five rebounds.

"We came out of the gates shooting the ball really well in the first half and I was really pleased with our defensive effort overall," Bowling said. "We had some guys we knew we had to key on and take care of. We made life as hard as we could on those two guys. Don't know if you can stop them, but you have to do your best to slow them down.

"The kids have been looking forward to this one. They have some rivalry games on the schedule and some of them mean a little more than others and I think you can tell by our effort tonight, they wanted this one."

Davis had 14 points to lead Pennfield, with Burns finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds.

What's Next?

Last week, Burns called his upcoming schedule a gauntlet. That gauntlet continues for Pennfield, heading into next week. After tough games with league rivals Marshall and Harper Creek the last two times out, the Panthers now face another league contender in Coldwater on Tuesday. Harper Creek will also see second-place Coldwater next week on Friday following a road game at a struggling Lumen Christi club.

What they said ...

Pennfield coach Nate Burns: "They were ready to go. We knew they had good athletes and would defend us well. You learn more from losses than you do from wins, so we are hoping to learn from this. The good thing is we are walking out of here still in first place with still a lot left to play for."

Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-966-0678. Follow him on Twitter: @billbroderick.

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Harper Creek climbs into first place with win over rival Pennfield