Meijer Holiday Hoops Invitational recaps

Redford shines in best and most lopsided game of the day

Venue: Jack Breslin Center, East Lansing

Game four: Carson City-Crystal versus Port Huron Northern

Final score: 54-46 (OT)

CCC                   9        21        7        5        4        -        46       

PH Northern    15        8        4        15        8        -        54

By far the worst-played game of the day pitted two of the state's tallest and perhaps slightest post players, CCC's Sean Jones and Port Huron Northern's Jay Thames.

Jones (signed with Drake) and Thames (signed with Oakland) struggled offensively and defensively all game long, effectively canceling each other out.

The coup de gras for fans expecting to see a well-played game between two division one players came in the third quarter after Thames' sixth airball of the game. This was the same quarter in which the two teams combined for a whopping 11 points.

A 3-pointer from senior guard Cory Schneider put the CCC up 10 at the end of the third quarter, but the Eagles could not carry their momentum in the final quarter. 

Port Huron Northern came out firing in the fourth on the strength of junior Alexander Hawkins and senior Spencer Thomas. A Hawkins' 3-pointer with less than 90 seconds finally tied the game at 42-42. Hawkins scored all nine of his points in the final frame.

After a missed front end of a one-and-one, PHN held the ball for 45 seconds before calling a timeout with 28.4 seconds left. A mishandled pass to Thames in the post was deflected out of bounds, giving the Huskies possession with 3.6 seconds remaining. 

Thames got another chance at the buzzer, but misfired from point blank range to send the game into overtime.                 

In the overtime period, CCC failed to score a basket in the first three and a half minutes before a rebound put-back by Jones cut PHN's lead to three, 47-44.

PHN finished the Eagles off on the foul line, winning 54-46.

The Eagles scored nine points in the final 13 minutes of the contest.

Notes

--Tyler Williams of CCC scored 13 points and earned MVP honors along with Thames, who scored 15 points on 7 of 19 shooting. Williams actually deserved the distinction.

--Sean Jones finished with 12 points and nine rebounds on 5 of 19 shooting. He is more fundamentally sound than Thames, but not as strong (relatively speaking) or athletic. Lansing-area basketball fans would recognize Thames as Dennis Means wearing platform shoes.

--The Holiday Hoops selection committee (if there is such a thing) needs to put their heads together to get some better teams in the tournament next year.

Venue: Jack Breslin Center, East Lansing

Game three: Frankenmuth versus Leslie

Final score: Frankenmuth 66-48

Frankenmuth        18        10        26        12        -    66

Leslie                    8            4        9           27        -    48

The showcase game of any exhibition usually comes last, but on Thursday at the Breslin Center the showcase player hit the floor in game number three.

Brad Redford (right), arguably the state's best player, ran roughshod over Leslie, scoring 37 points with six steals, two assists and one turnover.

Frankenmuth was better in every aspect of the game, as Leslie's bigger and stronger post failed to challenge the gnomish frontline of the Eagles.

Leslie managed only 12 points in the first two quarters, and only a 27-point fourth quarter against Frankenmuth's reserves prevented the Blackhawks from a thoroughly embarrassing beatdown.

After another Redford trifecta, the Eagles went up 31 points in the third quarter and sleepwalked to an easy win.

Even the slightest twitch of Redford's eyes sent Leslie's defense into a spasm. At least Leslie junior Nathaniel Jansen can say he held Redford to less than 40 points. I could give you a couple names of guys who haven't.

Notes

--The two bright spots for the Blackhawks were senior Charlie Snow (left) and junior Trent Page (right) who scored 15 and 12 points, respectively. Page is strong and athletic while Snow is bigger, stronger and less athletic.

--Redford is silly good. He left the game with four minutes remaining, otherwise Leon Freeman's Breslin Center record of 39 points would have went down. The Xavier-bound guard is deceptively quick, poised with the ball and deadly from anywhere beyond halfcourt. Redford chose Xavier over bigger schools like Indiana, Syracuse and Wake Forest at least in part because the X-men recruited him from the very start. Additionally, he is confident that he will be able to challenge for the starting point guard spot as a freshman.

--The only Eagle besides Redford to score in double figures was senior Jeremy Warnemuende who scored 10, including two 3-pointers.

--Look for Frankenmuth to make some noise in the playoffs. They are deep despite their lack of size, and boast one of the top coaches in Michigan. As Nick Shelton grows into the role of the Eagles' second option, the Eagles are only going to get better. 

--The poor young lady who had to sing the National Anthem before EVERY game is a perfect case study of the law of diminishing returns.

Venue: Jack Breslin Center, East Lansing

Game two: Reese versus Lansing Catholic Central

Final score: 60-54 Reese

Reese        9        12        13        26    -    60   

LCC          13       14        7          20    -    54        

Lansing Catholic, opened up their biggest lead of the first half on a basket in the lane from senior forward Jacob Clark. The Cougars led by eight on the strength of five first half 3-pointers including a pair from junior guard Austin Nichols.

Nichols ran 40 seconds off the clock at the end of the half, drove left, and hit a hanging 10-footer in the lane to put LCC up six at the break.

The Rockets behind the inspired play of senior guard Isaac Zimmer outscored LCC 39-27 in the second half half and cruised to a six-point upset victory.

Zimmer finished with a game-high 24 points and turned a lot of heads. The 6-1 off-guard blew by LCC's top guard, junior Austin Nichols, for at least three baskets in the second half.

Michael Murray led LCC with 19 points and Nichols added 16.

Notes

--Max Gover did not start, but entered LCC's lineup late in the first quarter. Michael Murray, a sharpshooting senior guard, made up for Gover's lack of production.

--Austin Nichols is bigger, quicker and more skilled now than he was last year. He obviously needs to work on moving his feet on defense, but the improvement is obvious.

--Reese's Ty Graham was bottled up for most of the first half by Steffan Boettcher, but still managed six points, seven assists, six rebounds, three steals and a block. Graham is an intriguing lead guard prospect because of his size and understanding of the game. The 6-3 Graham could have easily had 11 or 12 assists. With some polish to his ballhandling, he could be an impact player in college.

Venue: Jack Breslin Center, East Lansing

Game one: DeWitt versus Fowlerville

Final score: DeWitt 64-53

DeWitt            6          12        20      26    -    64 

Fowlerville      17        15        6        15    -    53       

After going down 6-0 in the first quarter, Sean Romsek led the Gladiators on a 20-0 run. The UMass-Lowell signee connected on two uncontested 3-pointers in the first quarter, prompting the Panthers to do what they should have been doing from the start—putting a hand in his face.

Senior guard Jason Fleet got going early in the second quarter, to pull the Panthers back within striking distance, if only for a moment. Fowlerville finished out the quarter strong, leading 32-18 at the break.

The Panthers chipped away at Fowlerville’s lead before DeWitt’s top post player, senior Sam Celentino, finally entered the scoring column with one minute left in the third quarter. The 6-5 forward slashed to the basket in transition for two, to cut the Gladiators lead to three, 38-35.

Two possessions and two Dan VanDreumel steals later, the game was tied at 38-38 at the end of the third.

A basket in transition from junior guard Jason Fleet gave DeWitt their first lead of the second half. Senior Brandon Binkley, another guard, scored five points in less than a minute to put DeWitt up seven with six minutes left.

A Ryan Ross 3-pointer with 90 seconds left cut DeWitt’s lead to four, prompting a Panthers’ timeout.  

From there, the Panthers won the game on the foul line.

Brandon Binkley led all scorers with 21 and received MVP honors along with Joe Lane who scored 14 points with 12 rebounds and five blocks.

Jason Fleet had 20 points for DeWitt and Romsek added 14 for Fowlerville.

Notes

--DeWitt's Sam Celentino struggled mightily on offense. The senior forward played most of the game, and finished with only two points and one missed free throw.

--Joe Lane was the best post player on the floor. He is big, fairly mobile and smart. He played tough defense in the post for the Gladiators and is a quality big man at the high school level.

--A healthy Garrett St. Charles may have been the difference for Fowlerville in this one.

--After watching these two teams, I am further convinced that Haslett is, indeed, the best team in the CAAC-3.