Vassar’s Tyler Humpert goes up for shot in a game held earlier this season. Humpert scored 15 points in the 58-49 win over Reese. Nine his 15 points were scored in the final two minutes. (Photo by John Cook)
By Tom Gilchrist and Mike Gallagher
Advertiser Staff
VASSAR – The MVP chants coming from Vassar’s rowdy student section here Friday night were loud, appropriate, and directed towards senior forward Tyler Humpert.
Humpert’s Vulcans had build a 30-12 halftime lead, and were up by ten at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Reese started mounting their comeback.
With around two minutes left in the final quarter Reese had cut the Vassar lead to six, and had the ball in their possession. That was when Humpert made the play that shifted the momentum of the game back in Vassar’s favor.
A steal turned into a outlet pass to a wide open Humpert, who threw down a two handed dunk. As he was coming down from the dunk however Humpert was flipped as he got caught up with a Reese player, and fell hitting his head and back off of the court. The foul did not appear to be intentional, but Humpert was having trouble catching his breath, and had to sit out while a teammate shot and missed his two technical shots.
Once Humpert was cleared to come back into the game, he went on to score seven points in the final two minutes, grabbed a steal, and for good measure blocked a Reese shot on their second to last possession. The final score would end up being 58-49.
Humpert finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Colton Fabbro added 13. Reese, playing without injured starting guard Kyle Gnatkowski, were led by Jared Schrader, who scored 15 points. Kyle Stockmyer scored 12, including nine in the final quarter. Drew Brechtelsbauer grabbed 10 rebounds for the Rockets.
The loss puts Reese two games behind Bad Axe in the Greater Thumb Conference West Division standings. Vassar (11-4, 4-3) will visit Saginaw Nouvel on Wednesday, and Reese (9-5, 4-2) wil host Caro.
Sandusky 41, Kingston 37: The Redskins ended the Cardinals winning streak at nine games, earning a comeback win Friday night. “”It was a great game between two good teams,” said Kingston coach Dave Lester. Kingston led 10-9 after the first quarter, and built a six point lead by halftime. The Cardinals held the six point lead through the third quarter, but the fourth quarter was a different story for Kingston. “We led for a majority of the game, but struggled to score in the fourth quarter,” stated Lester. Danny Hale scored 13 of his game-high 16 points in the final quarter, and Sandusky outscored Kingston 15-5. Brandon Potter scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds for Sandusky. Travis Tucker led Kingston with 12 points, and Aaron VanHorn contributed nine points, six rebounds, five steals, and five assists. Kingston (11-4, 10-0) can clinch the North Central Thumb League title when they host Peck Tuesday.
Millington 77, LakeVille 55: The Falcons held a 20-19 lead after one quarter against the Cardinals Friday night. That lead would not last long, as Millington, led by LakeVille transfer Shawn Pardee, outscored the Falcons 18-6 in the second quarter and 40-29 in the second half. Pardee scored a career high 40 points against his former school, and added seven rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. With teammate Austin LeVan out with injury, Pardee has led the Cardinals to four straight wins, averaging 37.7 points per game during the streak. Caleb Wascher scored 13 points for the Cardinals, and Jimmy Reed added 10 points. With a Frankenmuth loss Friday night, Millington (13-2, 9-1) now sits alone in first place in the Tri-Valley East Conference, and will host Birch Run Wednesday.
Akron-Fairgrove’s Jeremy Verhelle takes a shot against Bay City All Saints earlier this year. Verhelle scored a game-high 21 points in the win over Owen-Gage.
Akron-Fairgrove 58, Owen-Gage 53: The Vikings held off the Bulldogs at home in a Michigan Summit League showdown. A close game throughout, Owen-Gage held a one point lead after one quarter, but Akron-Fairgrove outscored the Bulldogs 44-38 in the final three quarters. “We are playing more unselfish basketball now and playing much better team oriented basketball,” said Akron-Fairgrove coach Adam Moore. Owen-Gage had three players score in double digits, with Jacob Wright leading the way with 19 points. David Binder and Dan Good both scored 15. Akron-Fairgrove had three double digit scorers of their own, with Jeremy Verhelle scoring a game high 21 points. Austin Carter scored 17, and Adrian Vliet chipped in 14 points. “When our trio, Jeremy, Adrian, and Austin, play well we usually play well as a team and come out on top,” stated coach Moore. Owen-Gage (2-12, 0-7) will host North Huron Friday, and Akron-Fairgrove (9-6, 2-5) will visit Mayville on Tuesday.
Caro 67, North Branch 57: The Tigers won their second game of the week, pushing their record past .500 on the season. Caro (8-7, 6-4) held a 16-12 advantage after the first quarter, and a 17-9 run in the second quarter gave the Tigers a 33-21 halftime lead. Tanner Tysick led the Caro scoring attack with a game-high 21 points, and Kyle Sharp scored 15. Tony Fox and Bailey Krueger scored nine points apiece for the Tigers. Quentin Andrews led North Branch with 19 points, and Mike Stone and Curtis Garza scored 17 and 16 points respectively. Caro will travel to Reese on Wednesday, and North Branch (6-10, 2-8) will travel to LakeVille on Friday.
USA 53, EPBP 34: The Patriots knocked off the Lakers in a Greater Thumb West matchup Friday night. USA was led by Aaron Saenz who scored a game-high 14 points. The Patriots led 21-13 at intermission, and extended their lead in the second half, outscoring EPBP 32-21. Harrison Cramer added 11 points for USA, and Dakota Valentine led Lakers with 12 points. USA (9-5, 4-2) will host Bay City All Saints Wednesday.
Caro 69, LakeVille 57: Ten Caro players found the scoring column Wednesday night as the boys basketball team knocked off the Falcons.Bailey Krueger led Caro with 16 points, while three others scored in double digits: Alex Phillips (12), Brandon Tomlinson (12) and Tanner Tysick (10). The game was close at intermission, with Caro leading 29-22, but a 26-9 scoring run in the third quarter broke open the game for the Tigers. The win moves Caro’s overall record to 7-7.
Millington 73, Garber 68 (OT):The Cardinals found some “Pardee power” again Wednesday night as they knocked off conference road foe Garber in overtime. Junior guard Shawn Pardee scored a game-high 35 points, which included 5-of-7 shooting beyond the three-point line, and 14-of-15 from the foul line. The free-throw miss ended Pardee’s streak of 52 consecutive made free throws. Millington held a 52-46 lead after three quarters, but the Dukes came back to take a late four-point lead. With less than 43 seconds remaining in regulation, Pardee hit a deep 3-pointer to cut the lead to one point, and then Garber split a pair of free throws. Millington’s Jimmy Reed got the ball at the end of regulation and drew a foul, sinking both free throws to send the game to overtime. Millington outscored Garber 9-4 in the extra quarter. Reed scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on the night, while Caleb Wascher contributed nine points and nine rebounds.
Frankenmuth freshman Mario Whitley goes up to the bucket in a game against Millington. Whitley scored a career high 26 points in the win over Bridgeport Wednesday.
Frankenmuth 75, Bridgeport 49:Freshman Mario Whitley scored a career-high 26 points in the Tri-Valley Conference East win Wednesday night. Whitley scored 15 points in the first quarter, and the host Eagles jumped out to a 21-6 lead. Frankenmuth led 37-22 at halftime before outscoring the Bearcats 27-10 in the third quarter. Brady Wood scored 15 points for Frankenmuth, and Colton Zimmer contributed six points, seven assists, and 10 rebounds. Sam Bookmyer grabbed 10 rebounds. Frankenmuth moved to 11-2 on the season, and sits in second place in the TVC East.
Vassar 40, Laker High 30: The Vulcans picked up their 10th win of the season, beating the Lakers on the road Wednesday. Tyler Humpert led Vassar with 12 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and four assists. The Vulcans led 19-11 at halftime, and outscored the Lakers 21-19 in the second half. Blake Ruppal chipped in 12 points for Vassar, and Brennan Wissner scored a game-high 16 points for Lakers.
Genesee 62, Mayville 44: The Wildcats dropped a non-conference matchup against the visiting Wolves Thursday night. Mayville outscored Genesee 41-37 in the final three quarters, but a 21-7 disadvantage in the first quarter ended up costing the Wildcats. Andrew Morrison led Mayville with 19 points, and 11 rebounds, while Dalton Bailey added 12 points and 19 rebounds. Mayville (4-10, 3-7) will host Akron-Fairgrove on Tuesday.