Local Sports: SMCC's adjustments deliver win over Flat Rock
Basketball took on a more cerebral feel Thursday night at St. Mary Catholic Central.
A game of chess mixed with a game of chance.
Or missed chances.
A final shot in the closing seconds came up just short for Flat Rock as SMCC made the right moves to rally for a 39-37 victory in the Huron League opener for both squads.
PHOTO GALLERY: SMCC girls basketball defeats Flat Rock
Flat Rock coach Brian Kryk drew up a play to get Sophia Somerset the ball on the left wing with 9 seconds remaining and the Rams trailing by 2.
With fouls to give, SMCC coach John Durbin paused the action with 5 seconds to go.
"We tried a quick little set to try to get Sophia open but then John called a time out to better set his defense," Kryk said. "So we switched it up. We had her come off a screen instead."
Adjust. Readjust.
Somerset came off the screen with a good look and one more chance at the basket, but the shot came up short.
"That's all you can do it put yourself in the position to have a shot at the end of the game," Kryk said. "Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't."
It was the Kestrels' adjustments that put them in a position to win.
Flat Rock led 16-6 after the first quarter.
"We just could not make a basket," Durbin said. "Even at close range. There was a lid on the basket and we could not get one to fall."
More than that, the Kestrels both looked and felt a step behind defensively.
Durbin made the early call to switch from a man-to-man defense to a modified zone. The team practices both sets.
"Some nights one works better than the other," Durbin said. "What we were doing (in the first quarter) was not working well. We asked them what they were comfortable running. We made some adjustments and that seemed to help us."
SMCC cut Flat Rock's lead down to 18-17 at halftime.
"I told the girls at the end of the first quarter that you can't sleep on this team," Kryk said. "It doesn't matter how many points you're up, you're always struggling to stay afloat. And, sure enough, at halftime that's what happened."
Kryk said that the Rams' young team has struggled at times with zone defense. But the improvements are coming quickly.
"We've seen a lot of zone this year," Kryk said. "It's been giving us a little trouble. We've been working really hard on that. We've put in a new offense this year against the zone and it actually looked really good. We had some nice looks, but we just couldn't convert the pass or make the layup."
SMCC took the lead midway through the third quarter and built up to a 39-30 advantage in the fourth.
Flat Rock went on a 7-0 run down to the final missed shot, nearly completing the comeback. It was the third straight loss for the Rams after opening the season with a win over Gibraltar Carlson.
"The group I have is pretty resilient," Kryk said. "They know my expectation is to just get better every game. I'm starting to see some things change for the better. I'm proud of their effort and they're doing what I'm asking them to do, it's just a matter of cleaning things up a bit, reduce our turnovers and capitalize on easy opportunities. We've had a ton and we can't squander those."
Somerset finished with a team-high 13 points, Matajia Cerroni added 11, and Abigail Goldobin had 5 points and 8 rebounds.
SMCC's Abigail Keshen led all scorers with 14 points and four 3-pointers. Amaya Leslie and Ava Kuehnlein played strong defense. The Kestrels improved to 2-1.
"It's always good to start out (league play) with a win, especially at home," Durbin said. "... It's probably been a few years since we've been able to beat Flat Rock. They're just so well coached. Brian does a great job and makes things difficult on you."
SMCC ; 6 ; 11 ; 12 ; 10 ; - ; 39
Flat Rock ; 16 ; 2 ; 7 ; 12 ; - ; 37
ST. MARY CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Turner 1 (1) 0-1 3, Kuehnlein 0 0-1 0, Roecker 1 0-0 2, Leslie 2 0-0 4, Conant 0 2-2 2, Keshen 5 (4) 0-2 14, Cousino 2 4-4 8, Kapp 1 (1) 1-2 4, Dalton 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 (6) 7-12 39.
FLAT ROCK: Goldobin 2 1-2 5, Geresy 2 0-0 4, Cerroni 5 (1) 0-2 11, Kopp 2 0-0 4, Somerset 5 (3) 0-0 13. Totals 16 (4) 1-4 37.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Dundee rises for rivalry
IDA – Dundee bounced back from a three-game losing streak with a 53-46 victory over rival Ida.
The Vikings played well on both ends of the floor, taking a 22-18 lead into halftime and then sealing the decision with a strong fourth quarter.
"We played a great game tonight and it was a team effort all around," Dundee coach Josh Salley said. "The team shot 92 percent collectively from the free-throw line, which is tremendous. It was a great team effort. The girls worked hard and played well together."
McKenna Salley was 5-for-5 from the charity stripe and finished with a game-high 18 points, while Sara Marek and Heather Spare recorded 10 points apiece. Coach Salley also said that Marek "played phenomenal defense, had tons of steals, and caused chaos for their offense all night."
Spare, Natalie Stahl and Kaylee Imo led the Vikings (2-3) in rebounding.
Jessica Schrader led Ida (2-2) with 13 points and Alayna Sexton added 11.
Ida won the junior varsity game 38-29. Rylee Shaffer scored 13 points to lead Ida. Dundee's Kendall Karner had 12 points
Dundee ; 11 ; 11 ; 12 ; 19 ; - ; 53
Ida ; 12 ; 6 ; 12 ; 16 ; - ; 46
DUNDEE: Salley 5 (3) 5-5 18, Marek 4 2-2 10, Imo 2 0-0 4, Spare 4 2-3 10, F. Stahl 2 0-0 4, Salenbien 2 (1) 2-2 7. Totals 19 (4) 11-12 53.
IDA: Burkey 1 (1) 0-0 3, Hovest 2 (1) 4-4 9, Schrader 5 (2) 1-3 13, Capling 1 0-0 2, Albring 3 0-0 6, LaRoy 1 0-0 2, Sexton 4 (1) 2-2 11. Totals 17 (5) 7-9 46.
Jets get first win
MILAN – Airport struggled in its season opener against Erie Mason, but the Jets got back on track Thursday with a 51-33 victory over a hobbled Milan squad.
“We played a much better brand of basketball tonight than we did in our opener," Airport coach Darrell Mossburg said. "Tara Szuper, Mara Szuper and Lauren (Pitock) shot extremely well from the perimeter and Raeann Drummond played with grit tonight. Looking forward to playing at (SMCC) Saturday.”
The Jets led 29-15 at halftime and stretched its lead in the second half.
Pitock (16 points), Mara Szuper (13 points) and Tara Szuper (10 points) all scored in double figures for Airport (1-1).
Milan was playing with a depleted roster due to COVID-19 for the second straight game.
"We still had some pieces out with girls that are sick," Milan coach Bobby Green said. "We wont be whole against until after the break. Luckily that was our last game before break, so we have the opportunity to improve in some areas and get some people back healthy and be a better basketball team going forward."
Allie Millina led the Big Reds (1-4) with 12 points.
Airport ; 14 ; 15 ; 11 ; 11 ; - ; 51
Milan ; 7 ; 8 ; 10 ; 8 ; - ; 33
AIRPORT: M. Szuper 5 (1) 2-3 13, T. Szuper 3 (3) 1-2 10, Lambrix 0 1-2 1, Pitock 6 (1) 3-7 16, Boyless 1 0-0 2, Drummond 2 5-5 9. Totals 17 (5) 12-19 51.
MILAN: McCray 2 (2) 2-4 8, Stines 0 2-6 2, Segrist 3 0-0 6, Millina 2 8-12 12, Hatfield 0 1-2 1, Beck 1 1-2 3, Wourman 0 1-2 1. Totals 8 (2) 15-28 33.
Huron surges past Bears
NEW BOSTON – A third-quarter surge carried New Boston Huron past Jefferson 59-45 Thursday night.
Huron was nursing a 4-point lead at halftime but came out after the intermission to control the third quarter 15-5.
Lila Clements hit a pair of 3-pointers in that period and Kendra Pritt scored 5 of her game-high 20 points. Clements finished with 15 points.
Sydney Masserant scored 16 points and Abby Roberts 14 for Jefferson.
Huron won the JV game 41-18 as freshman guard Gabby Emelian scored 20 points.
Huron ; 15 ; 13 ; 15 ; 16 ; - ; 59
Jefferson ; 11 ; 13 ; 5 ; 16 ; - ; 45
NEW BOSTON HURON: Pritt 7 (3) 3-8 20, Belair 2 0-2 4, Strochine 2 0-2 4, Jackson 2 (1) 0-0 5, Anderson 1 0-0 2, Kirk 1 0-0 2, Clements 5 (3) 2-2 15, Mentzer 1 0-0 2, Leporowski 1 (1) 0-0 3, Sic 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 (8) 5-14 59.
JEFFERSON: R. Roberts 3 (1) 1-4 8, Hintz 0 0-2 0, A. Roberts 4 6-11 14, Masserant 4 (4) 4-5 16, Costas 1 0-1 2, McKinney 1 3-5 5. Totals 13 (5) 14-28 45.
Carafelli leads Carlson
PLYMOUTH – Sophomore Abby Carafelli hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points as Gibraltar Carlson slipped past Plymouth 56-45 Thursday.
The Marauders led 15-12 after one quarter and 26-20 at the half but could never shake Plymouth.
Carlson got all but 3 of its points from three girls. Emma Shimizu added 19 and Elyse Miller 13. It was the same story for Plymouth, which got all but 3 of its points from two players.
Carlson ; 15 ; 11 ; 17 ; 13 ; - ; 56
Plymouth ; 12 ; 8 ; 12 ; 13 ; - ; 45
GIBRALTAR CARLSON: Fowler 1 1-2 3, Carfelli 9 (5) 0-0 23, Miller 6 1-1 13, Shimizu 6 (1) 6-8 19, Bongiorno 0 0-2 0. Totals 22 (6) 8-11 56.
PLYMOUTH: Rosiewicz 0 1-2 1, Miller 0 (1) 4-6 23, McCarthy 9 (1) 0-1 19, Dimaria 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 (2) 5-9 45.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Junge lifts Flat Rock
Sharp shooting from freshman Graham Junge and solid defense lifted Flat Rock to a 53-36 victory over St. Mary Catholic Central Thursday night.
Junge connected on his first three shots from long range to give Flat Rock an early 9-3 lead.
The Falcons rallied to go up by 3 before halftime, but the Rams went on a 16-4 run to take 29-20 lead into the intermission. Flat Rock then held SMCC to 16 points in the second half to secure the win.
Junge finished with 22 points and 4 assists, Tim Murphy scored 12 points with 6 rebounds, and Alex Gillum added 6 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots for Flat Rock (2-2).
"Hats off to Flat Rock," SMCC coach Randy Windham said. "They really took it to us. The difference is that those kids play a ton of basketball in the offseason, and it really showed tonight."
Cyrus Marks scored 17 and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace SMCC (0-2)
Flat Rock ; 13 ; 16 ; 9 ; 15 ; - ; 53
SMCC ; 16 ; 4 ; 8 ; 8 ; - ; 36
FLAT ROCK: Breslin 1 (1) 2-2 5, Lannon 2 1-2 5, Gillum 3 0-0 6, Godfrey 1 (1) 0-0 3, Murphy 6 0-0 12, Junge 6 (6) 4-4 22. Totals 19 (8) 7-8 53.
ST. MARY CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Marks 8 1-1 17, Jorgensen 0 0-1 0, Theisen 2 (2) 0-0 6, Kinsey 1 0-0 2, Lipford 0 4-6 4, Laboe 0 2-2 2, Barno 2 1-1 5. Totals 13 (2) 8-11 36.
Summerfield-Mason off
PETERSBURG – Thursday’s Erie Mason at Summerfield game had to be postponed because of a power outage.
It will be rescheduled.
PREP SWIMMING
Dundee relays shine
ADRIAN – Dundee swept the relays and the 200-yard freestyle team of Trevor Schroeder, John Swisher, Harrison Valentine, and Drew Eastman hit a state-qualifying time during a 119-59 win over Adrian Thursday.
The Vikings went 1-2-3 in diving with Ashton Rakebrand, Zach Fenbert and Erik Weiler. Other firsts came from Schroeder (200 freestyle), Lucas Hernandez (butterfly), Valentine (backstroke) and Ean Borbely (breaststroke).
Monroe improves
ANN ARBOR – Monroe lone goal in Thursday’s 139-31 loss to state-ranked Ann Arbor Huron/
“The team was able to score more points against the River Rats than last year’s team was able to do,” Monroe coach Erin Dowen said. “This is a great accomplishment for this young group.”
Alex Apetroaei, Ashton Walker and Maxx Adams were the top performers for Monroe.
JUNIOR HIGH BASKETBALL
Big year for Renton
NEW BOSTON – The Renton seventh-grade boys basketball team finished the season with an 11-0 record and the eighth grade went 8-2.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Local Sports: SMCC's adjustments deliver win over Flat Rock
