www.monroenews.com stories: Sports

SMCC ends Milan's record streak

Niles Kruger — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 01:36:55 -0500

Niles Kruger

Brad Shinevarre isn’t playing at full speed.

The St. Mary Catholic Central senior still is battling the effects of a broken leg suffered during football season. Coach Randy Windham says Shinevarre is at about 80 percent.

He got the most out of that 80 percent Tuesday night, scoring a game-high 17 points as the Falcons beat Milan 62-44 to end the Big Reds’ Huron League-record 61-game winning streak.

The last time SMCC got the best of Milan was on Feb. 19, 2011. In that game, Shinevarre’s older brother Ed Shinevarre scored 30 points to lead the Falcons to a double-overtime win.

Ed was watching Tuesday night as his little brother played a starring role.

Shinevarre got the Falcons started with a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the game. He wound up with 8 points in the first period then added an exclamation point to his big night with 7 points in the fourth quarter.

He hit five of his seven shots in the game.

SMCC jumped out to a 16-8 lead after one quarter and led 27-16 at the half.

Nick Welch added 16 points and Stephan Umfress tossed in 10 for the Falcons, who improved to 10-1 overall and took over sole possession of first place in the Huron League at 7-0.

An unsung hero for SMCC was Hunter Coombe, who scored 6 of his 8 points in the third quarter when the Falcons pushed their lead to 45-28.

SMCC’s lead grew to as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Eric Price led Milan (7-6 overall, 6-1 in the Huron League) with 15 points and Trevor Ballard scored 13.

Indiana beats Michigan 80-67 after huge run to end 1st half

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 01:32:38 -0500

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Facing an early double-digit deficit in a tough environment, Indiana coach Tom Crean still felt fairly confident.

"I didn't have any panic. We were getting great shots, they just weren't going in," Crean said.

The 22nd-ranked Hoosiers regrouped and rallied, finishing the first half with 25 straight points en route to an 80-67 victory over Michigan on Tuesday night.

Indiana missed eight straight shots early in the game and fell behind 10-2. The Wolverines eventually went ahead 15-4, but by halftime it was the Hoosiers who had turned the game into a rout.

Yogi Ferrell had 17 points and nine assists for Indiana.

"I had no idea until halftime that we had the run that we had," Crean said. "I just knew that we were getting stops and the ball was really moving for us offensively."

The Big Ten-leading Hoosiers (19-4, 9-1) were nearly flawless in the final minutes of the half. Indiana led 45-24 at halftime and went on to its most lopsided victory over the Wolverines (17-6, 7-3) in Ann Arbor since 2008.

Robert Johnson scored 16 points for the Hoosiers and O.G. Anunoby added 11.

Zak Irvin led Michigan with 16 points. The Wolverines were without Caris LeVert for a ninth straight game because of a lower left leg injury.

Indiana recovered from its shaky start, but the Hoosiers still trailed 24-20 after Michigan's Duncan Robinson made a 3-pointer with 9:05 left in the half. The Wolverines wouldn't score again before halftime, and what was supposed to be a close game in front of a raucous crowd quickly became a blowout.

"We tried everything we could," Irvin said. "We were trying to stay connected as a unit, but obviously we got a little bit away from that."

Michigan took two timeouts in the half but still couldn't steady itself.

"I think probably, if I'd do it over again, use the third timeout — which I don't think I've ever done in the history of coaching," Wolverines coach John Beilein said.

A dunk by Troy Williams off an alley-oop pass put Indiana ahead 36-24, and then the Hoosiers added 3-pointers by Collin Hartman, Ferrell and Nick Zeisloft. Indiana ended up shooting 19 of 31 from the field in the half, which was remarkable considering its early dry spell.

"We picked up our intensity on defense," Anunoby said. "And, we did a lot better focusing."

Anunoby opened the scoring in the second half with a 3 before Michigan finally ended its scoreless stretch.

The Wolverines scored the game's final nine points to make the final margin a lot more respectable than it could have been. Michigan trailed by as many as 27 points in the second half.

FAMILY MATTERS

On the eve of national signing day, Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh was at the game, but he has ties to both sides of this rivalry. Harbaugh's sister is married to Crean, and Harbaugh was in the Hoosiers' locker room at halftime Tuesday, although Crean said he didn't talk to the team.

Crean said Harbaugh attended Monday night's practice, but may not have watched it much because he was walking up and down steps, on the phone.

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and the head of the family, Jack, a former assistant football coach at Michigan, were also on hand.

RETURN

Max Bielfeldt had five points and seven rebounds for Indiana in his return to Ann Arbor. Bielfeldt went from Michigan to Indiana as a graduate transfer this past offseason. He received a nice hand from the crowd when he checked in the game in the first half.

"On behalf of Indiana basketball, I would like to thank the crowd for how they reacted to him," Crean said.

TIP-INS

Indiana: The Hoosiers scored 41 points in the last 14:10 of the first half. ... Indiana beat Michigan 78-64 in Ann Arbor in 2008.

Michigan: Robinson scored 14 points for the Wolverines but made only one 3-pointer. He made only one 3 in the previous game against Penn State — after making at least two shots from beyond the arc in each of his previous 17 games.

UP NEXT

Indiana: Plays at Penn State on Saturday night.

Michigan: Hosts No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday.

Boys Basketball Roundup: Whiteford tops Summerfield in OT; Monroe triumphs

Monroe News Sports Staff — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 01:26:02 -0500

Monroe News Sports Staff

PETERSBURG — Cameron Iott scored just two points in the first four quarters Tuesday night.

But when the game went to overtime, he took over.

The Whiteford sophomore poured in 9 of his 11 points in the extra period – including 7 of 8 free throws – to lead the Bobcats to a 62-54 win over Summerfield.

Hunter Lake, the younger brother of All-Stater Colin Lake, scored 18 points in his second varsity game for Whiteford (7-6).

Summerfield (6-6) got 20 points from Tyler VanKainen, 19 from Trent Schankin and 10 from Josh VanKainen.

Monroe 67, Dearborn Edsel Ford 58

Monroe grabbed the lead in the first half and never relinquished it.

Tevin Nickols and Jalen Wilkerson led with 15 points and Marlon Martin scored 10 for 5-8 Monroe.

Gibraltar Carlson 69, Allen Park 53

ALLEN PARK — Patrick Hesson (15), Michael Poole (13), Thad Enwerejobi (10) and Zach Kohn (10) all scored in double figures as Carlson (4-9) snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Marauders dominated the first quarter 17-8 and never looked back.

Erie Mason 65, Brooklyn Columbia Central 63

ERIE — Erie Mason’s saw a 14-point lead evaporate in the second half but came back and held on to win.

Greg Liedel had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Connor Willis 12 points and 7 assists and C.J. Henning scored 13 points as the Eagles ran their record to 9-3.

Mason lost starter Tyler White to a dislocated shoulder, but the injury is not believed to be serious.

BCC took the JV game 67-40.

Ida 67, Hudson 42

IDA — Ida got contributions from everybody and won easily. It led 26-8 at the quarter mark.

Bryan Laux had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Tanner Burkett 14 points and 8 boards, and Graham Lassey and David Kolakowski played well as Ida improved to 6-6.

Grosse Ile 47, Flat Rock 45

FLAT ROCK — Flat Rock dropped another game in the last minute. It led by six points with about three minutes left.

“Six of our seven losses have been by four points or less,” said coach Dave Bogataj.

Tyler Karas again led Flat Rock with 14 points.

Onsted 43, Dundee 30

DUNDEE — Dundee led as late as the third quarter against the second-ranked team in Class B.

Dundee (7-6) did a good job defensive on Michigan recruit Austin Davis, but he still led both teams with 23 points. Matt Ott led the Vikings with 9 points and Ben Miller scored 8.

Riverview 55, New Boston Huron 52

RIVERVIEW — New Boston Huron outscored Riverview 17-8 in the fourth quarter to nearly catch the Pirates.

Adam Gregoire’s 3-point try went in and out at the buzzer.

Gregoire led the Chiefs with 14 points and Matt Coffee scored 12.

The JV game went to Riverview.

Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 83, Lutheran South 36

STERLING HEIGHTS — Lutheran South started the game with an 8-0 lead on the road at Sterling Heights Parkway Christian.

The Eagles rebounded to lead 30-13 by the quarter mark and 54-23 at halftime.

Luke Konkel had a big night with five 3-pointers and 21 points.

State Line Christian 54, Bowling Green Christian 45

TEMPERANCE — Larry Jones had 14 points and 9 rebounds to lead State Line Christian. Nick Easter and Danny Kerekes added 11 points each.

For the full story, pick up a copy of Wednesday's Monroe News.

Girls Basketball Roundup: Ida comes back; Monroe's Vitale scores 21

Monroe News Sports Staff — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 01:17:08 -0500

Monroe News Sports Staff

HUDSON — Ida’s girls basketball team had to come from behind to beat Hudson 53-18 Tuesday night.

“Hudson jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then we went on 30-0 run,” Ida coach Tim Leonard reported.

The Blue Streaks improved to 10-3. Alex Elliott led the Blue Streaks with 15 points.

Monroe 57, Dearborn Edsel Ford 45

DEARBORN — Victoria Vitale scored a career-high 21 points as Monroe squared its record at 7-7.

Vitale hit 6-of-12 shots from 2-point range and both of her 3-pointers.

Whiteford 45, Summerfield 28

OTTAWA LAKE — Whiteford only beat the Bulldogs by two points in their first meeting.

It was an altogether different story Tuesday as the Bobcats took control of the game in the second quarter.

Erin Manley had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Lauren Walker 10 rebounds and 4 steals, Katlyn Taylor 8 rebounds and Baylee Baldwin 4 steals.

Sophia Ostrosky and Julia Keller scored 8 points each for Summerfield.

Clay 61, Bedford 48

OREGON, Ohio — Bedford could not contain Clay’s Hannah Hess, who hit seven 3-pointers and scored 32 points.

The Mules (11-4) were within 24-22 at halftime, but got outscored 37-26 after the intermission.

Kendall Anderson scored 18 points and Madsyn King 15 for Bedford.

Allen Park 52, Carlson 11

GIBRALTAR — Gibraltar Carlson won the second quarter 7-4 was but the game was dominated by Allen Park the rest of the way.

Brooklyn Columbia Central 68, Erie Mason 27

BROOKLYN — The Eagles had a hard time matching up with Brooklyn Columbia Central.

Mary Liedel led the Eagles with 14 points.

Brooklyn also won the JV game.

Onsted 45, Dundee 26

ONSTED — Dundee’s struggles continued with a loss on the road.

Payge Salenbien led the Vikings with 8 points.

Lutheran South at Parkway

STERLING HEIGHTS — Lutheran South’s scheduled game at Sterling Heights Parkway Christian Tuesday had to be postponed because the Saints had only four players available.

The game was rescheduled for Feb. 11.

Tuesday's high school scoreboard

Niles Kruger — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 17:51:07 -0500

Niles Kruger

BOYS BASKETBALL

SMCC 62, Milan 44 (details on Twitter @NilesKruger)

Whiteford 62, Summerfield 54, OT

Grosse Ile 47, Flat Rock 45

Monroe 67, Dearborn Edsel Ford 58

Onsted 43, Dundee 30

Ida 67, Hudson 42

Airport 58, Jefferson 50

Gibraltar Carlson 69, Allen Park 53

Riverview 55, New Boston Huron 52

Erie Mason 65, Brooklyn Columbia Central 63

Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 83, Lutheran South 36

State Line Christian 54 Bowling Green Christian 45

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Allen Park 52, Gibraltar Carlson 11

Whiteford 45, Summerfield 28

Ida 53, Hudson 18

Clay 61, Bedford 48

Monroe 57, Dearborn Edsel Ford 45

Brooklyn Columbia Central 68, Erie Mason 27

Onsted 45, Dundee 26

Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. Lutheran South, postponed rescheduled for Feb. 11

BOYS SWIMMING

Dundee 116, Tecumseh 70

HOCKEY

SMCC 7, Riverview 4

Drummond, Jackson help Pistons edge Nets 105-100

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 22:45:22 -0500

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) – Reggie Jackson was nearly on the bench, his coach believing he was being beaten by cramps.

Instead, Jackson battled through it to beat the Nets.

Andre Drummond had 21 points and 18 rebounds, Jackson scored 19 points, and the Detroit Pistons beat Brooklyn 105-100 on Monday night.

Jackson had been listed as questionable to play because of dehydration but started and played 31 minutes, making huge plays during the last of them.

"He was cramping up, that's why he came out in the third quarter and I was about to take him out before that stretch at the end because he just looked like he was about dead," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I was about to take him out and then he made every play down the stretch."

Drummond fell just shy of an NBA-high sixth 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season but delivered the tiebreaking basket on a dunk with 1:30 remaining on a pass from Jackson. Jackson added a couple of clutch jumpers as the Pistons avoided a third straight loss.

He had been so weakened after the last game that he remained overnight in Toronto after a loss on Saturday.

"I'm just a little bit banged up but I'm still out there playing, competing, so no excuses," Jackson said. "Everybody's dealing with something at this point."

The Pistons were coming off losses to Cleveland and Toronto, the East's top two teams, but were just good enough to get by the Nets, one of the worst.

"We played the top teams in the East and it kind of set the bar for ourselves," Drummond said. "We have a little more work to do but we can definitely beat them."

Brook Lopez scored 27 points for the Nets, who have lost four in a row. He got a couple bad breaks on the same play in the closing seconds, when he appeared to be trying to foul Drummond intentionally just before getting a piece of Jackson's floater went in to clinch it.

"I didn't do a great job with Drummond. He got some easy ones," Lopez said. "I tried to wrap him up at the end of the game, making him earn it at the line. But it was something that was a focus tonight."

Andrea Bargnani added 18 points off the bench for the Nets, who were outscored 28-7 on second-chance points.

"That was the game," Nets interim coach Tony Brown said. "Drummond is a load. That was one area where we fell short tonight."

Brooklyn led by three before Jackson tied it with a 3-pointer with 2:05 to go. He finished with six assists, while Ersan Ilyasova scored 16 points.

In a game that featured 21 lead changes and 12 ties, the Nets led 63-58 early in the third quarter before Detroit answered with a 17-2 run, capped by Drummond's slam on a lob from Brandon Jennings, to go ahead 75-65.

Drummond made all five shots in the third quarter and had 10 points and eight rebounds in the period.

TIP-INS

Pistons: Drummond finished 10 of 15 from the field and took just three free throws, making one. ... Drummond had his NBA-leading 21st game this season with 15 points and 15 rebounds and the 59th of his career. Bill Laimbeer had 61 such games, most by a Piston since the 1985-86 season.

Nets: Backup point guard Shane Larkin had eight points, a career-high 14 assists and six rebounds. ... Lopez finished one point shy of a career-best third straight game with 28 points.

DISAPPOINTED BY THE DEFENSE

Van Gundy was critical of his team's defensive performance, particularly after it opened the big lead in the third quarter.

"We're not playing defense, we're just not," he said. "We played eight minutes, nine minutes of pretty good defense today. We're just not defending. So it's frustrating, I'm not happy with it, I'm angry about it, but it's just not changing. So I don't know what we're going to have to do, but we're not a good defensive team."

UP NEXT

Pistons: Visit Boston on Wednesday.

Nets: Host Indiana on Wednesday.

Monday's High School Scoreboard

Monroe News Sports Staff — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 21:24:08 -0500

Monroe News Sports Staff

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Flat Rock 46, St. Mary Catholic Central 42

Airport 42, Milan 16

New Boston Huron 61, Jefferson 37

High school schedule Feb. 1-7

Niles Kruger — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 10:02:49 -0500

Niles Kruger

MONDAY

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Airport at Milan, 7 p.m.

Flat Rock at SMCC, 7 p.m.

New Boston Huron at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

BOWLING

Monroe vs. Bedford at Forest View Lanes, 4:15 p.m.

Flat Rock vs. Milan, Riverview vs. New Boston Huron 2, Dundee vs. Jefferson, Airport vs. New Boston Huron 1 at Flat Rock Lanes, 3:30 p.m.

TUESDAY

BOYS BASKETBALL

Airport at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

Onsted at Dundee, 7 p.m.

Brooklyn Columbia Central at Erie Mason, 7 p.m.

Grosse Ile at Flat Rock, 7 p.m.

Gibraltar Carlson at Allen Park, 7 p.m.

Hudson at Ida, 7 p.m.

Milan at SMCC, 7 p.m.

Dearborn Edsel Ford at Monroe, 7 p.m.

New Boston Huron at Riverview, 7 p.m.

Whiteford at Summerfield, 7 p.m.

Lutheran South at Sterling Heights Parkway Christian, 7 p.m.

Bowling Green Christian at State Line Christian, 6:30 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bedford at Clay, 7 p.m.

Dundee at Onsted, 7 p.m.

Erie Mason at Brooklyn Columbia Central, 7 p.m.

Allen Park at Gibraltar Carlson, 7 p.m.

Summerfield at Whiteford, 7 p.m.

Ida at Hudson, 7 p.m.

Monroe at Dearborn Edsel Ford, 7 p.m.

Lutheran South at Sterling Heights Parkway Christian, 5:30 p.m.

HOCKEY

Gibraltar Carlson vs. Flat Rock-Airport at Southgate Ice Arena, 7 p.m.

BOYS SWIMMING

Tecumseh at Dundee, 6 p.m.

Detroit Country Day at Erie Mason, 6 p.m.

COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADING

Flat Rock, Airport, Jefferson, New Boston Huron in Huron League Meet at Huron, 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

WRESTLING

Lincoln Park at Gibraltar Carlson, 5:30 p.m.

Ida at Southgate Anderson, 5:30 p.m.

HOCKEY

Bedford vs. Ann Arbor Skyline at Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, 6:30 p.m.

Gibraltar Carlson at Allen Park, 6:50 p.m.

Ann Arbor Huron vs. SMCC at Monroe Multi-Sports Complex, 6:50 p.m.

BOWLING

Bedford at Saline, 3:30 p.m.

Ann Arbor Huron vs. Monroe at Nortel Lanes, 3:30 p.m.

COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADING

Ida at Hudson, 6 p.m.

THURSDAY

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Airport at Riverview, 7 p.m.

Dundee at Ida, 7 p.m.

Hudson at Erie Mason, 7 p.m.

Flat Rock at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

Milan at New Boston Huron, 7 p.m.

SMCC at Grosse Ile, 7 p.m.

Sand Creek at Summerfield, 7 p.m.

Whiteford at Britton Deerfield, 7 p.m.

BOYS SWIMMING

Ann Arbor Pioneer at Bedford, 6 p.m.

Trenton at Gibraltar Carlson, 6:30 p.m.

Monroe at Saline, 6 p.m.

BOWLING

Ann Arbor Skyline vs. Bedford at Forest View Lanes, 3:30 p.m.

COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADING

Monroe, Bedford in Bedford Invitational, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY

BOYS BASKETBALL

Flat Rock at Airport, 7 p.m.

Tecumseh at Bedford, 7 p.m.

Ida at Dundee, 7 p.m.

Erie Mason at Hudson, 7 p.m.

Trenton at Gibraltar Carlson, 7 p.m.

Milan at Jefferson, 7 p.m.

Adrian at Monroe, 7 p.m.

Riverview at SMCC, 7 p.m.

Grosse Ile at New Boston Huron, 7 p.m.

Summerfield at Sand Creek, 7 p.m.

Britton Deerfield at Whiteford, 7 p.m.

Lutheran Northwest at Lutheran South, 6 p.m.

State Line Christian at Faith Davison, 6:30 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bedford at Tecumseh, 7 p.m.

Gibraltar Carlson at Trenton, 7 p.m.

Monroe at Adrian, 7 p.m.

Lutheran South at Oakland Christian, 5 p.m.

HOCKEY

SMCC at Grand Rapids Pink Out Tourney

SATURDAY

WRESTLING

Airport, Flat Rock, Jefferson, Milan, New Boston Huron in Huron League Meet at Huron, 9 a.m.

Bedford, Monroe in Southeastern Conference at Ann Arbor Skyline

Dundee, Ida, Erie Mason in Lenawee County Athletic Association Meet at Dundee

Gibraltar Carlson in Downriver League Meet at Gibraltar Carlson

BOYS SWIMMING

Bedford in Monroe County Invitational at Dundee, 10 a.m.

HOCKEY

SMCC at Grand Rapids Pink Out Tourney

New Boston Huron vs. Bedford at Toledo Ice House, 1 p.m.

COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADING

Airport, Bedford, Gibraltar Carlson at Southgate Anderson Invitational

Monroe at Saline Invitational, 10 a.m.

Raptors power past Pistons for 11th straight win, 111-107

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 22:23:26 -0500

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TORONTO (AP) – The Toronto Raptors led from start to finish Saturday night while stretching their franchise-best winning streak to 11 games.

Coach Dwane Casey was anything but impressed with the way his team closed out, though.

"We have to make sure we value playing at home and treating our fans to quality basketball, but that last quarter wasn't quality," Casey said after the Raptors' 111-107 win over the Detroit Pistons. "You give up 35 points, and turnovers and lack of focus, human nature letting human nature take over down the stretch is not winning basketball."

The Raptors let a 20-point fourth-quarter lead shrink to four by the buzzer, and Casey thought that took the sheen off a largely dominant performance. DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, Kyle Lowry had 18 and Cory Joseph had 16 off the bench for Toronto. Bismack Biyombo also had 12 points and 13 rebounds.

"This game is fleeting," Casey said. "You can win 11 in a row and also you can lose seven, eight in a row if you continue to play with the lack of focus we did in the fourth quarter. Hopefully we learn from it and continue to go. We have to learn from it."

Reserve guard Brandon Jennings led the way for Detroit with 22 points, with starter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributing 15. Andre Drummond had 11 points and 12 rebounds for his NBA-leading 39th double-double.

After sweeping a seven-game homestand for the first time in team history, the Raptors may have been fatigued late. But Lowry, whose two free throws pushed the lead to 20 with 6:19 remaining, chose to credit the Pistons for making the game close at the end.

"I don't think we ran out of gas," he said. "I think they played ultra-aggressive and they made some good plays down the stretch. At the end of the day, we got the win."

It was aggression that got Drummond thrown out of the game. He got his sixth personal foul with 6:37 remaining in the game after getting through the first half without picking up a single one. He had four fouls in the first half of the third quarter to put himself in trouble for the remainder of the game.

Coach Stan Van Gundy singled Drummond out after the game for not putting a better focus on rebounding. Drummond grabbed 12 in the game but entered as the NBA leader with 15.1 boards per game and 20 games of 15 points and 15 rebounds.

"It starts with Andre's not dominating on the boards. He's just not," Van Gundy said. "He had eight last night (against Cleveland), he's not dominating on the boards and it starts there. Then our other guys have to do a better job."

Drummond's recent struggles on free throws continued, too, with the All-Star center going 1 for 9 from the line after going 2 of 8 in Friday night's loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Van Gundy thinks Drummond is getting distracted.

"He's got to get back to rebounding," he said. "It has to be a focus of his. One of the things that's happened is that his focus and everybody else's focus has gone to free-throw shooting instead of to the fact that he needs to be a dominant rebounder, so I don't think his head is where it needs to be right now."

BRANDON'S BRIGHT SPOT

If there was any bright spot for Detroit, it was Jennings, who was 5 of 11 from beyond the 3-point line. Jennings credited a chat he had with assistant coach and former NBA player Tim Hardaway for his resurgent play. "Just control what I can control," was how Jennings described the message from Hardaway. "Just play basketball. It's a blessing to be able to play this game so he told me just control what you can control and go out there and play hard every night."

STAR POWER

Despite being passed over as the main musical act for the NBA All-Star Game next month in Toronto in favor of Sting, award-winning Toronto-born rapper Drake was all smiles sitting courtside Saturday night. Also taking in the action was former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.

TIP-INS

Pistons: Drummond has now grabbed five or more rebounds in 64 straight games, the second-longest active streak in the NBA after Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (115). ... After losing the rebounding battle 45-40, Detroit is 22-10 when outrebounding its opponent this season but 3-13 when its opponent is either tied or ahead in rebounding.

Raptors: DeRozan and Lowry were both presented with their white Eastern Conference NBA All-Star Game jerseys before the opening tip-off. All-Star Weekend takes place in Toronto from Feb. 12-14. ... After playing Detroit, Toronto has now played every team in the Eastern Conference and has a 23-8 record in intra-conference games. The only team the Raptors haven't beaten in the Eastern Conference this season is the Chicago Bulls. ... Toronto is shooting a combined .498 (291 for 584) from the field and .453 (68 for 150) from 3-point range in the team's first 24 minutes of games this month.

UP NEXT

Pistons: Visit Brooklyn on Monday night.

Raptors: Visit Denver on Monday night.

Saturday's High School Scoreboard

Niles Kruger — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 17:48:18 -0500

Niles Kruger

BOYS BASKETBALL

SMCC 44, Dexter 40

Sylvania Northview 67, Bedford 36

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Brooklyn Columbia Central 73, Dundee 29

HOCKEY

SMCC 4, Southgate Anderson 3

WRESTLING

Wittibslager Challenge

First Round

Bedford 63, Pinckney 8

Second Round

Hudson 58, Pinckney 21

Dundee 62, New Boston Huron 14

Third Round

Bedford 68, New Boston Huron 12

Dundee 76, Pinckney 0

Round Four

Bedford 39, Hudson 28

New Boston Huron 55, Pinckney 21

Round Five

Hudson 49, New Boston Huron 26

Dundee 58, Bedford 4

Jefferson Tournament

Jefferson 59, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 18

Jefferson 60, Ann Arbor Skyline 13

Jefferson 74, South Lyon East 6

Jefferson 73, Summit Academy 3

Allen Park Team Tournament

Monroe 51, Gibraltar Carlson 23

Monroe 51, Flint Carmen-Ainsworth 28

Monroe 66, SMCC 9

Monroe 34, Dearborn Fordson 32

Finals: Caro 39, Monroe 36

Lincoln Park Team Tournament

Ida 48, Southfield 27

Ida 62, Centerline 18

Ida 37, Detroit Catholic Central B 25

Ida 39, Woodhaven 30

Finals: Ida 37, Ypsilanti Lincoln 36

Goodrich Martian Duals

Hastings 63, Erie Mason 15

Erie Mason 53, Grosse Pointe North 18

Goodrich 65, Erie Mason 15

Clarkston 42, Erie Mason 28

Erie Mason 57, Clawson 24

Airport loses ‘an amazing individual’

Jeff Meade — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 17:36:23 -0500

Jeff Meade

Jordan Erz, a 2010 Airport graduate who starred in volleyball in high school and college, died this week in Little Rock, Ark., from injuries suffered in a Jan. 16 traffic accident.

Erz, 23, was 6-2 middle hitter who helped Airport win four straight Regional titles, twice advance to the state semifinals and win 28 consecutive Huron League matches.

Her collegiate volleyball career came to an end in 2013, but Erz still was attending Arkansas-Fort Smith and worked as a manager of a nearby animal shelter.

“She was an outdoors kid,” said Barb Kohn who coached Jordan throughout her high school career. “She loved animals. She loved hunting and fishing and camping. She was big in 4H. She always had a smile on her face. She was a pretty special young lady, just an amazing individual.”

Kohn said Jordan was driving at about 1 a.m. when her vehicle overturned and she was ejected from the car just outside a Baptist church. The church happened to be conducting a special midnight service, those inside heard the impact and rushed outside where they assisted and kept her warm until an ambulance arrived.

Erz was at a Fort Smith, Ark., hospital until Monday when she was air-flighted to a Little Rock hospital that has a trauma center.

Kohn went to Arkansas to watch Erz play in college. She said Jordan and former Monroe County Region Player of the Year Jessica Nagy gave Airport a tremendous 1-2 punch in the middle. Nagy and Erz both went on to play college volleyball in Arkansas.

Kohn said the loss of such a well-known young woman has a major impact on a small community like Airport.

“She had an impact with a lot of people,” Kohn said. “She always had goals for herself. She wanted to make it a better place for her friends and the people around her.”

A native of Carleton, Erz was born in Ann Arbor. She participated in 4H for 10 years, raising chicken and rabbits, showing goals and dairy cattle. She bought a horse with her own money that she loved taking on trail rides. She also loved archery, rifle shooting and hunts.

Erz was continuing to take classes for business administration at Arkansas-Fort Smith and worked as a manager of Autimutt Doggy Day Care for five years.

She is survived by her father, Dan Erz of Dundee; her mother, Karen Goretski and Jim Montgomery of Carleton; her stepfather, Allen Goretski, Sr.; two brothers, Allen Goretski, Jr. and Justin Goretski; her maternal grandmother, Noreen Tkachuk; her uncles, Dan and Michael Tkachuk; aunts, Susan Tkchuk, Linda Brown and Sandy Sanders. She was preceded in death by her brother Peter Joseph; her maternal grandfather, Peter Tkachuk, and her paternal grandparents, Roy and Simone Erz.

A memorial service was held Thursday at the Stubblefield Arena on the Arkansas-Fort Smith campus.

Area funeral arrangements were incomplete, but a funeral Mass will be held later this week.

Irvin leads Michigan to 79-72 win over Penn State

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 15:32:05 -0500

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) – Derrick Walton Jr. had quite a stat line Saturday. He had a lot of faith in his Michigan teammates, too.

Walton had 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Wolverines in a 79-72 victory over Penn State at Madison Square Garden.

"I said it time and time again: This group of guys are really resilient. Game after game, we have made runs, withstood runs and we never get too high or too low," Walton said.

"Tonight was another great example. We couldn't get a shot to go, we had a couple of empty possessions in a row, but just with the character of this group we always knew that down the road guys make the big plays we're accustomed to getting."

Zak Irvin scored 20 points and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 15 for Michigan (17-5, 7-2 Big Ten), which won for the fifth time in six games.

Both teams were excited about playing in Madison Square Garden.

"It was a great experience for us, especially with the crowd being over 12,000. That's awesome," Irvin said. "The momentum was going both ways and we were able to adjust to that. I'm just proud of how hard we were able to fight."

The Wolverines led throughout the game and looked to be putting it away until Penn State managed one last drive to keep it close.

Brandon Taylor had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Nittany Lions (11-11, 2-7), who have lost five of six.

Michigan took a 10-point lead three times in the first half and the Wolverines' biggest lead of the half came when Irvin hit a 3 at the halftime buzzer to make it 38-26.

Irvin scored four points in a 7-0 run that gave the Wolverines a 60-43 lead and it looked like Michigan was getting ready to pull away.

But Shep Garner, who finished with 22 points, hit two 3s and Davis Zemgulis added another as the Nittany Lions got within 64-59 with 4:46 to play.

Duncan Robinson and Walton scored for Michigan to end the run and Penn State was never closer than six points the rest of the way

"We've got a youthful team and when they make mistakes, because they want to be perfect, it hurts for that 3-to-4 minute spurt that the other team goes on," Nittany Lions coach Patrick Chambers said. "These younger kids are getting better and I am gaining more confidence in them."

Garner was 1 of 5 from 3-point range in the first half but he finished 5 of 12 from long range. Penn State came into the game shooting 29 percent on 3s and finished 9 of 29 (31 percent).

"I just think it's confidence," Chambers said of Garner's shooting. "We did a pretty good job of getting him some one-two-step 3-point shots. That's something else we've been talking about – other guys need to get Shep shots instead of him trying to get his shots off ball screens and dribble handles."

Michigan was shooting 41.7 percent from long range – 19th in the nation – and the Wolverines went 6 of 20 (30 percent) on Saturday.

HOCKEY & HOOPS

This game was part of the Big Ten Super Saturday. The schools met in basketball in the afternoon and then in hockey at night. The basketball attendance was 12,108.

FIRST MEETING

Michigan won the first meeting this season, 79-56, with the Wolverines making 10 of 14 3-point attempts in Ann Arbor.

TIP-INS

Michigan: This was the eighth game that Caris LeVert has missed with a lower left leg injury. He still leads the team in scoring (17.6), rebounds (5.4) and assists (5.2). His status is listed as day-to-day. ... The Wolverines are 18-11 at Madison Square Garden. Their last trip here resulted in the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions came into the game with a five-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden that included the 2009 NIT championship.

UP NEXT

Michigan hosts No. 19 Indiana on Tuesday.

Penn State at No. 3 Iowa on Wednesday.

Girls Basketball Roundup: Levicki gets Ida started, Mules win again

Monroe News Sports Staff — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 00:10:32 -0500

Monroe News Sports Staff

ERIE — Jordyn Levicki didn’t start for Ida’s girls basketball team Friday night, but she got the Blue Streaks started.

The sophomore came off the bench to score all 8 of her points in the first half — including a pair of 3-pointers — to get Ida rolling towards a 55-28 win over Erie Mason.

The Blue Streaks led 31-13 at the intermission, then held off the Eagles in the second half.

Mallorie Duvall paced 8-3 Ida with 18 points and Alex Elliott added 10.

Mary Liedel poured in 20 points for Mason (1-10).

Ida’s junior varsity team won 32-15.

Bedford 62, Adrian 24

TEMPERANCE — Kendall Anderson had a big night with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists as Bedford moved to 11-3.

The Mules led 20-3 after one quarter and 30-6 at halftime.

Roma Lucarelli led Bedford with 13 points while Madyson King added 9 and Lynsey Spotts 8.

Joelle Griner scored 10 points as Bedford’s JV rolled to a 52-5 win.

Blissfield 58, Dundee 36

BLISSFIELD — Dundee could not contain Blissfield’s All-State candidate Kelsey Wyman, who racked up 25 points.

Payge Salenbien notched 14 points for the 5-7 Vikings and Tori Gossard was a standout on defense.

Riley Clark scored 6 points, but Dundee dropped the reserve game 42-17.

Tecumseh 61, Monroe 33

Monroe slipped to 6-7 with a loss to a good Tecumseh team.

Mikayla Taylor led the Trojans with 8 points and Destiny Goins and Amari Aaron played well off the bench.

Alecia Rocker scored 12 points and Erica Berns 10 as Monroe took the JV game 41-26.

Taylor Kennedy 48, Carlson 30

GIBRALTAR — Gibraltar Carlson dipped to 3-10, but coach Blake DuDonis saw plenty of positives.

Samantha Clark and Samantha Camilleri scored 6 points each for the Marauders.

Carlson ruled the JV game 40-24 as Natalie Stefanko scored 14 points.

Huron Valley 30, Lutheran South 22

NEWPORT — The Saints played Westland Huron Valley Lutheran even until the fourth quarter.

Sarah Salewske scored 13 points, Lauren D’Haene played well and Rebekah Anderson had a big night with 19 rebounds.

For the full roundup, including comments from Region coaches, pick up a copy of Saturday's Monroe News. Find newsstand locations here.

Boys Basketball Roundup: Jets win OT thriller, Monroe gets road win

Monroe News Sports Staff — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 00:03:16 -0500

Monroe News Sports Staff

CARLETON — New Boston Huron came back from a 15-point halftime deficit. Airport rallied from a five-point deficit in the final minute of regulation.

In the end, the Jets pulled out a 68-59 overtime victory in a wild Huron League boys basketball game Friday night.

Casey Hammar scored 14 of Airport’s 16 points in overtime and led both teams with 25 for the game. Brent Mossburg had a career night for the Jets with 20 points and 22 rebounds.

The Jets led 29-14 at the break. Huron outscored them 38-13 in the second half and had the lead until Mossburg grabbed a rebound, converted a putback and hit a free throw to complete a three-point play and tie the game 52-52 with 18 seconds left in regulation.

Airport outscored the Chiefs 16-5 in overtime.

Adam Gregoire led an improving Huron squad with 15 points and Christian Crawford scored 10.

Josh Kaplan had 17 points and Anthony Coiffard 14 to help the Jets win the junior varsity preliminary 67-57.

Monroe 56, Tecumseh 47

TECUMSEH — Monroe overcame foul trouble to several players and posted a nice win on the road.

The Trojans had a balanced scoring attack. Tevin Nickols led with 15 points, Marlon Martin scored 14 and Mikal Farris 13. Isziah Harris-Madison and Farris played great defense.

Tecumseh won the JV game 49-39, but Monroe took the freshman contest 52-40.

Milan 59, Grosse Ile 54

MILAN — The Big Reds won their seventh straight game but had to hold on at the end.

Milan (7-5) led 27-14 at the half and seemed to be in control. But Grosse Ile hit 11 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter and got within two points.

Trevor Ballard led with 14 points and Jeremy Morgan scored all 8 of his points in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.

Grosse Ile won the JV game.

SMCC 68, Jefferson 52

Nick Welch racked up 20 points and 11 rebounds and Stephan Umfress finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 5 assists as St. Mary Catholic Central won its sixth straight game to improve to 8-1.

Drew Sconochia added 13 points for the Falcons.

Jefferson (1-9) was led by Noah Fiala, Corey Wilkens and Hunter Kegley with 11 points each.

Dundee 59, Brooklyn CC 41

DUNDEE — Playing on back-to-back nights brought out the best in Dundee.

Matt Ott and Brayden Federer scored 16 points apiece as the Vikings ran their record to 7-5.

Columbia Central won the JV game 60-48 despite 16 points by Dundee’s Cole Salenbien.

Summerfield 83, Whitmore Lake 59

PETERSBURG — The Bulldogs put a lot of points on the board in a fast-paced game.

Trent Schankin led with 20 points, Tyler VanKainen added 18, Josh VanKainen had a great game at point guard and Cameron Krueger played well and scored 10 points.

Summerfield was a 61-38 JV winner. Joel Breeding scored 14 points, Noah Cunningham 11 and Michael Parker 10.

Adrian 57, Bedford 44

ADRIAN — Bedford was tied 14-14 after the first quarter, but Adrian won every quarter after that.

Jacob Binder scored 16 points for the 1-9 Mules.

Bedford’s JV team won 62-48.

Riverview 55, Flat Rock 46

RIVERVIEW — Flat Rock led 28-18 in the second quarter, but the Pirates answered with a 14-point run.

Tyler Karas scored 15 points and Parker Neal added 12 for the Rams (4-6).

Flat Rock was a 61-40 JV winner.

Kennedy 64, Carlson 53

TAYLOR — Gibraltar Carlson shot just 7-for-20 from the foul line and dropped a Downriver League game to Taylor Kennedy.

Matt Harmon scored 13 points and Patrick Hesson 12.

Daivon Ready’s 16 points helped Carlson win the JV game 60-48.

Sand Creek 74, Whiteford 59

SAND CREEK — How does a team lead in the fourth quarter but still lose by 15 points?

“In the first half we played really well,” reported Whiteford coach John Rice. “We have a four or five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter where they were pressing and we started turning over the ball. We were outrebounded 41-20 and that really hurt us. If we don’t start rebounding and checking out, it’s going to be a long season.”

Antonio Diterlizzi had a big night with 18 points and 4 three-pointers. Thomas Eitniear added 14 points.

Sand Creek pulled out a 32-30 JV win.

State Line 65, Heritage 57

TEMPERANCE — Larry Jones had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Nick Easter held Cleveland Heritage Christian’s best player to 10 points as the Patriots improved to 12-7.

Danny Kerekes led with 17 points. Evan King and Easter scored 11.

Huron Valley 60, Lutheran South 22

NEWPORT — The Saints had a bad shooting night on their homecoming and fell to Westland Huron Valley Lutheran. Luke Konkel did connect on a trio of 3-pointers and led with 12 points.

For the full roundup, including comments from Region coaches, pick up a copy of Saturday's Monroe News. Find newsstand locations here.

Love, Irving sharp as Cavaliers beat Pistons 114-106

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 23:25:39 -0500

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Kevin Love scored 19 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving had 28 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to another high-scoring win, 114-106 over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

The Cavaliers have won three straight since losing to Chicago in Tyronn Lue's first game as Cleveland's coach. Lue wants the Cavs to pick up the pace offensively, and they seem to be responding. Cleveland has scored at least 114 points in each of the past three games.

LeBron James had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, shrugging off a rare missed dunk in the third quarter. He surpassed the 26,000-point mark during that period, becoming the youngest player to do so at 31 years, 30 days.

Andre Drummond had 20 points and eight rebounds for Detroit.

Cleveland has the best record in the Eastern Conference at 33-12, but it's hardly been a smooth ride of late for the defending conference champions. Lue took over when coach David Blatt was fired, and Cleveland ended up with only one player (James) picked for the All-Star team.

Love was left out when the All-Star reserves were announced Thursday, but put up his second-highest scoring total of the season a night later.

James was one point shy of 26,000 when he breezed in on a breakaway in the third. As he went up for a dunk, the ball came loose from his right hand, and by the time he reached up with his left, he'd lost control.

James reached the milestone on a free throw with 4:04 left in the quarter.

The Cavs led 66-58 at halftime and scored the first seven points of the third. It was 96-78 after three, and when the Pistons cut the lead to nine in the fourth, Detroit's Reggie Jackson missed a 3-pointer and Cleveland was able to stay comfortably ahead.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 19 points for the Pistons and roused the crowd a bit in the second quarter when he blocked James' 3-point attempt from behind.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Cleveland made 27 of 29 free throws.

Pistons: Detroit shot 7 of 23 from 3-point range.

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Host San Antonio on Saturday night.

Pistons: Play at Toronto on Saturday night.

Friday's high school scoreboard

Niles Kruger — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 20:22:03 -0500

Niles Kruger

BOYS BASKETBALL

Milan 59, Grosse Ile 54

SMCC 68, Jefferson 52

Riverview 55, Flat Rock 46

Airport 68, New Boston Huron 59, OT

Dundee 59, Brooklyn Columbia Central 41

Sand Creek 74, Whiteford 59

Monroe 56, Tecumseh 47

Adrian 57, Bedford 44

Taylor Kennedy 64, Gibraltar Carlson 53

Summerfield 83, Whitmore Lake 59

State Line Christian 65, Cleveland Heritage 57

Westland Huron Valley Lutheran 60, Lutheran South 22

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bedford 62, Adrian 24

Taylor Kennedy 48, Carlson 30

Tecumseh 61, Monroe 33

Blissfield 58, Dundee 36

Ida 55, Erie Mason 28

Westland Huron Valley Lutheran 30, Lutheran South 22

HOCKEY

SMCC 3, Airport 2

No. 12 Michigan State makes 16 3s, beats Northwestern 76-45

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:25:21 -0500

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) – The 15 turnovers bothered Michigan State coach Tom Izzo very much. Same for the Spartans' disparity at the line against Northwestern, and a few issues with the shot clock.

The shooting was very impressive.

Denzel Valentine made five of Michigan State's season-high 16 3-pointers, and the 12th-ranked Spartans clamped down on sliding Northwestern for a 76-45 victory Thursday night.

"As I'm learning more and more and I don't really say I like it, but you make a shot, it takes away all evils," Izzo said, "and we made a lot of shots."

Valentine finished with 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds as the Spartans (18-4, 5-4 Big Ten) beat the Wildcats for the seventh straight time. Matt McQuaid scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, and freshman Deyonta Davis had eight points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Valentine went 5 for 7 from long range to improve to 21 for 45 from beyond the arc in six games since returning from arthroscopic left knee surgery.

"I was just kind of in a zone and just shooting the ball with confidence, really," he said.

Northwestern (15-7, 3-6) shot a season-low 20.7 percent from the field in its fourth consecutive loss. It finished with more free throws (17) than field goals (12).

Bryant McIntosh had 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting for the Wildcats, and Aaron Falzon finished with 11 points. Redshirt senior Tre Demps was 2 for 14 from the field, missing each of his seven 3-point attempts.

"I can sit up here for an hour and we can talk about a lot of things, but if you can't put the ball in the basket you're not going to win against really good teams," coach Chris Collins said.

Valentine scored 14 points in the first half, and then focused on more of a distributing role as the Spartans pulled away in the second half.

Northwestern closed to 41-29 on Alex Olah's two free throws with 16:44 left, but Michigan State responded with a 13-2 run. McQuaid had the final 11 points of the spurt, including three 3s – two of them coming off passes from Valentine.

It just got worse from there for the Wildcats, with little-used Matt Van Dyk giving the Spartans their biggest lead of the game with a fast-break dunk in the final seconds. Michigan State shot 51 percent (28 for 55) from the field, including its 16-for-26 night from long range.

DAVIS' DEVELOPMENT

Davis set a season high for blocks and matched his best total for rebounds. He leads the team with 45 blocks on the year.

"I'm starting to understand," Davis said. "But I give credit to my teammates because they help me along with my coaches."

MISSING LINDSEY

Scottie Lindsey, who plays guard and forward for Northwestern, did not play for the first time this season. The sophomore went 0 for 5 and failed to score in Saturday's 89-57 loss at Indiana.

"I just went with other guys tonight," Collins said.

TIP-INS

Michigan State: Izzo's 513th win with the Spartans snapped a tie with Gene Keady for second-most victories at a Big Ten school. Bob Knight leads the way with 661 wins. ... Valentine's 3-pointer with 8:06 left in the second half moved him past Julius McCoy (1,377) for No. 23 on the school's career scoring list. ... The Spartans' previous season high was 12 3-pointers in a 78-35 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Dec. 9.

Northwestern: The Wildcats have one game left in their first stretch of four straight against ranked opponents since the 1989-90 season. They take on No. 3 Iowa on Sunday. ... Northwestern went 17 for 19 from the free-throw line, compared to 4 for 4 for the Michigan State.

UP NEXT

Michigan State: Hosts Rutgers on Sunday.

Northwestern: Visits No. 3 Iowa on Sunday.

Thursday's High School Scoreboard

Monroe News Sports Staff — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:00:43 -0500

Monroe News Sports Staff

GIRLS BASKETBALL

St. Mary Catholic Central 42, Riverview 20

Flat Rock 40, Airport 26

Jefferson 52, Milan 34

Summerfield 40, Whitmore Lake 25

Grosse Ile 59, New Boston Huron 52

Sand Creek 65, Whiteford 49

Macomb Christian 42, Lutheran South 25

BOYS BASKETBALL

Macomb Christian 73, Lutheran South 26

Dundee 68, Blissfield 47

Erie Mason 61, Ida 47

State Line Christian's concession stand draws praise for its unique menu

Jeff Meade — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 16:00:00 -0500

Jeff Meade

Is it a concession stand, or is it the county fair?

State Line Christian School’s concession stand has all the staples like hot dogs, chili dogs, sloppy joes, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, candy, popcorn, soda pop and bottled water.

But the stand at the Patriot Activity Center has escalated into something more than a concession stand. For many it has become a destination spot.

The most popular items are deep-fried Oreos, in part because they are sold at three-for-a-dollar, and burritos.

But State Line also sells octopus bites, elephant ears, cotton candy, Texas nachos, big pickles, pizza rolls, taco in a bag, chicken nuggets, soft pretzels, pretzels with cheese, french fries, cheese fries, chili cheese fries, soft tacos and mini corn dogs.

When the Patriot Holiday Classic all-day basketball tournament was held in December, concession workers added a pancakes and sausage combination for two dollars.

In addition to a wide candy and beverage selection, the Patriots also sell Gatorade, coffee, hot chocolate, Fruit Shoots, Ring Pops, Slim Jims, Air Heads and Air Head Extremes.

The prices are reasonable. Hot dogs, elephant ears and octopus bites all sell for one dollar.

Steve and Lisa Kurtz run the concession stand with the help of Lisa Borst and State Line soccer coach Dan Yglesias. Kevin Bradstreet, Steve Worley and athletic director Bill Owens also help out when needed.

Officials rave about the offerings. Visiting teams and coaches were offered free food in a hospitality room at a recent tournament but still paid for food at the concession stand.

“We have a lot of coaches come in and say, ‘you have the best concession stand. You have such a variety.’” said Yglesias, who makes the Texas nachos with his wife Becky’s special recipe.

Soft taco shells are cut into wedges then deep fried to resemble tortilla chips. Then it is layered with ground beef or ground turkey that is mixed with special Mexican spices and beans. Add-ons include sour cream, lettuce, cheese, salsa and jalapenos.

Octupus bites are hot dogs sliced up and deep fried.

Not every addition to the menu has been a success.

“We tried deep-fried pickles. They were disgusting,” Borst said.

Yglesias said the problem was the batter wasn’t right.

Mrs. Kurtz said it takes a good hour to prepare and set everything up before the concession stand is ready to open.

“When we have Dan Yglesias’ burritos, they’re the best seller,” she said. “Everybody loves the chili cheese fries. We just started the Texas nachos. They’re popular among the adults, but the kids don’t buy them because they’re more expansive.”

School secretary Carol Tate and her husband Jerry ran State Line’s concession stand for many years, Shannon Owens (wife of athletic director Bill Owens) took over after that and the Kurtzes were talked into running the stand three years ago.

“When Steve and I took it over, we looked to revamp it,” Mrs. Kurtz said. “I’ll go to Gordons (Food Service Marketplace) and price something new. Then I’ll bring it before Bill (Owens) and he decides whether it’s something we’ll be able to sell.”

The concession stand is open for all home basketball and volleyball games at State Line. The way it was designed, the back of the stand is open and allows workers to watch any game that is going on. But they’re usually too busy to watch.

“What opened it up (sales) is when they started allowing food in the gym,” Yglesias said. “We’ve tried all kinds of things. We tried burritos on a special night because the kids did burrito sales at school. We sold like 120 on the first night.”

He said the profits are divided between the sport and the school booster club.

“We just got this new cotton candy machine,” he pointed out. “I’ve been helping out for like four or five years. The Kurtzes do all the running.”

Pistons come from behind to beat 76ers

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 22:24:19 -0500

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUBURN HILLS (AP) — Andre Drummond had 25 points and 18 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons rallied to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 108-97 on Wednesday night.

Drummond, who came into the game having gone 1 for 14 from the line in the last two games, even hit seven of his 12 free throws. Reggie Jackson added 27 points, while rookie Stanley Johnson had 18 off the bench.

Jeremi Grant scored 21 points for the Sixers, while Nerlens Noel had 20.

The 76ers played without starters Jahlil Okafor and JaKarr Sampson, who both missed their second game in two nights with the flu.

Without them, the Sixers didn't have the legs to keep up with Detroit down the stretch. A victory would have given Philadelphia its first two-game winning streak of the season.