Millington coach Shane LeVan celebrates his team’s District Championship Friday night. (photo by John Cook)
By Mike Gallagher
Sports Writer
VASSAR — It was a real slugfest here Friday night, as Millington traveled seven miles up M-15 to knock off Vassar, 46-45, as the Cardinals won their first back-to-back district titles since the 1952 and 1953 seasons.
The Vulcans came out strong in the rematch between the two old rivals, opening up an 8-0 lead in the first quarter.
Millington, however, answered quickly. Shawn Pardee hit three free throws and then knocked down a 3-pointer, before teammate Austin LeVan hit a 3-pointer of his own. Vassar held a 10-9 lead after the opening period.
Pardee would score nine points in the second quarter for Millington, helping the Cardinals carry a 24-19 lead into the half.
Late in the third quarter, Vassar’s Colton Fabbro hit a 3-pointer to put the Vulcans ahead 31-29, and a steal and score by DeAundre Callahan pushed the lead to four. But a quick bucket by Millington’s T.J. Dues, and a three-point play by LeVan put the Cardinals back up 34-33 at the end of the quarter.
Shawn Pardee puts up a shot against Vassar Friday night. Pardee would finish with 19 points in the win. (photo by John Cook)
The final quarter was a back and forth affair, and a big 3-pointer by Caleb Wascher put Millington up 44-40. A layup by Vassar’s Blake Ruppal cut the lead to two, and after Vassar’s Logan Amend drew a charge on a Millington offensive player, Vassar got the ball back.
The Vulcans went to Tyler Humpert who tied the game at 44 with a layup.
With less than a minute remaining, Millington worked the ball around, and burned the clock down to 15 seconds. Pardee drew a foul, and proceeded to knock down two free throws.
Vassar came down court, and passed the ball down low to Humpert, who drew a foul.
Humpert would hit the first free throw, but a shotclock malfunction delayed the game before the second shot, and Humpert would miss the second attempt, making the final score 46-45.
Pardee led all scorers with 19 points, while LeVan added 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Dues grabbed 11 rebounds.
Humpert led the Vulcans with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Ruppal added 11, and Fabbro contributed seven points and six assists.
Millington will play in the Class C regional in Reese on Monday night against the winner of the USA-Bad Axe game on Saturday night in Bad Axe.
Frankenmuth survives at Caro
Caro’s Alex Phillips, and Frankenmuth’s Marion Whitley tip off Friday nights District Championship at Caro (photo by Kevin Gregory)
CARO — The Caro Tigers threw a scare into favored Frankenmuth in the Class B district final here Friday night, but the Eagles found their shooting touch in the second half en route to a 48-46 victory.
Tony Fox connected on a trio of 3-pointers for Caro in the first half, and Bailey Krueger grabbed seven rebounds in the half, as the Tigers surged to a 20-17 halftime lead. Caro lead 15-14 after one quarter, with Krueger scoring four points in the first period and Brandon Tomlinson scoring three.
Zac Janson tallied the lone points for Frankenmuth in the second quarter, nailing a 3-pointer.
Frankenmuth outscored Caro 20-8 in the third period, however, to take the lead, and then held on in the fourth quarter as Caro staged a final rally. Caro’s Kyle Sharp, Alex Phillips and Jacob Zawilinski each would nail 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds to cut the final margin to two points.
Tony Fox and Krueger led Caro with 12 points apiece. Frankenmuth’s Brady Wood scored 16 to lead the Eagles.
Frankenmuth moves on to play a regional semifinal game on Monday at 7:30 p.m. against Goodrich, in Goodrich.
Sandusky stuns Marlette
BROWN CITY —Conner Green hit the game-winning bucket for Sandusky in a Class C district final here on Friday night, giving the Redskins a championship in a victory over their Sanilac County rival, 38-36.
Sandusky trailed 21-15 at the half, and was down by as many as 10 points in the final quarter.
Green led Sandusky with 11 points, while Brandon Potter and Danny Hale both scored seven.
Andrew Storm led Marlette with 16 points.
Sandusky will play Flint Beecher on Monday night in Sandusky in a regional semifinal game.