Millington’s Austin LeVan puts up a jumper against Frankenmuth. LeVan had a game-high 32 points, and scored his 1,500 career point.
Tom Gilchrist and Mike Gallagher
Advertiser Staff
MILLINGTON — In a battle of unbeaten teams in front of a packed house here Friday night, Millington defeated Frankenmuth, 58-55, vaulting the Cardinals into first place in the Tri-Valley Conference East Division.
Millington guard Austin LeVan scored 32 points — including his 1,500th career point — to help lead Millington to the win. LeVan also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked five shots. Cody Hill added 11 points for the Cardinals, now 9-0 and 6-0 in the conference.
“Austin just played … an unbelievable game,” said Millington coach Shane LeVan. “Cody Hill made a major step up on defense for us tonight. He played very, very well.”
Millington came into the game averaging 76 points per game, but high-scoring Millington guard Shawn Pardee picked up three fouls in the first half. Pardee was scoreless at intermission but finished the game with 10 points.
“Frankenmuth is deep and they have a lot of athletes,” Shane LeVan said. “It was a defensive-minded game tonight.”
Millington led 38-35 at the half.
Frankenmuth fell to 6-1 overall with the loss, and 5-1 in the conference. Mario Whitley scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Frankenmuth, which connected on only 10 of 25 foul shots. Millington, by comparison, sank 22 of 24 free throws.
Brady Wood added 12 points for the Eagles, while Colton Zimmer scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Reese’s Travis Lynch looks for some room against Vassar’s DeAundre Callahan.
Reese 38, Vassar 34: The Rockets earned a hard-fought victory Friday night, picking up their first conference win in the process. “It’s nice to get the first conference win out of the way, especially at home,” said Reese coach Brian Kern. Jared Schrader led Reese with 16 points, and Andrew Jasman added seven. The Rockets held an 18-12 haltime lead, and a Travis Lynch three-pointer at the buzzer in the third extended the Reese lead to 29-24. Vassar fought back in the fourth, and a bucket by Tyler Humpert put the Vulcans up 30-29. A 9-4 run by Reese ended the Vulcan comeback, however. Humpert finished the game with nine points and 11 rebounds, but was held scoreless in the first half. “We really wanted to keep Humpert away from the glass tonight, and that was the gameplan going in,” Kern said. Reese (5-3, 1-0) will be at Bad Axe Wednesday, and Vassar (7-2, 1-1) will play at home against USA.
Caro 54, Birch Run 51: Caro’s Bailey Krueger scored 16 point to spark the Tigers to a 54-51 home win over the Panthers on Friday night. Peyton Miller scored 14 points for Birch Run, which missed a shot at the buzzer for a chance to tie the game.
North Branch 51, Bridgeport 47: Curtis Garza poured in 23 points and Quentin Andrews added 14 to lead the Broncos to a home win over the Bearcats on Friday. North Branch upped its overall record to 4-9, and 2-4 in the Tri-Valley Conference East Division.
Mayville 52, Caseville 49: The Wildcats picked up a victory on the road Thursday night over the Eagles in North Central Thumb League action. Trailing 43-40 after after three quarters, Mayville outscored Caseville 12-6 in the final quarter. Dillon Pollard took the lead for the Wildcats with about two minutes remaining, and a pair of Andrew Morrison free throws sealed the victory. Dalton Bailey led Mayville with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Morrison had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals, and Pollard added 10 points. Mayville (2-2, 2-2) will be on the road Monday against North Huron.
Kingston 55, North Huron 38: The Cardinals kept their NCTL record unblemished Thursday night as they defeated the Warriors. Kingston jumped out to a 20-7 lead after the first quarter, and was up 26-16 at the half. “We got off to a great start, but struggled to put them away,” said Kingston coach Dave Lester. Kingston outscored the Warriors 29-22 in the second half. Aaron VanHorn scored a game-high 18 points, and added seven assists, while Travis Tucker contributed 10 points, six steals and six assists. The win sets up a matchup today at Peck, which is also undefeated in the conference. “Our team is looking forward to a big challenge with Peck,” said Lester. “It should be a great game and a great atmosphere.” Kingston is now 6-3 on the season with a 5-0 conference record.
Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy 76, Akron-Fairgrove 38: SASA led 35-20 at halftime Friday night and pulled away in the second half for a Michigan Summit League victory. Dre Allen led the Dragons with 22 points, while Austin Carter powered Akron-Fairgrove with 17 points. SASA outscored the Vikings 16-4 in the third period.