Lansing Christian at Webberville – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 10, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

Well, it’s way too cold outside tonight, but your Bleacher Denizen will rev up the BleacherDenizenMobile and head off to the game anyway. Mercifully, while your Bleacher Denizen feared he would be dodging walruses and polar bears as he got out of his car; none of these things happened. There was a small patch of ice he had to step around to avoid doing a Laurel and Hardy style pratfall. (Hopefully at least a few of those younger than the aging Bleacher Denizen will get that reference). I made it into the gym and took my seat to watch the game.

At the gym, I learned that Webberville Coach Nate Lott had 99 wins at the start of the game. While I generally try not to root for one team or one coach over the other, tonight, I’d like to send Coach Lott some Good Vibrations from my “Chuck Krafft” You Tube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3482fQh0Rdo

The Webberville Spartans are 4-2 this season. They are led by Nate Lott (the coach’s son) who is an extremely good player in his fourth year on the Webberville varsity. He has run the point all four years. He combines a forward’s size and strength with a guard’s quickness and floor vision; his basketball IQ is off the charts. He is an extremely good defender anywhere on the floor and with his fine ball handling, he seems to get into the lane to score or dish off to teammates at will.

Kolson Lycos is in his first game back from knee surgery. He is a fine, athletic, tireless defender and scorer from his forward position. He is extremely aggressive attacking the basket and also has a nice three point shot. Riley Kingsley gives the excellent scoring and defense from the center position, but he is out with an injury for the short term. Caleb Howard slashes to the basket well and is a strong perimeter defender. Max Mills and Tate Mills provide scrappy perimeter defense as well. Chase Abner is a tall, athletic player who defends well all over the floor. He can get to the basket and has a good three point shot as well.

The Pilgrims from Lansing Christian are 0-3 thus far, but two of the losses have been to Division 2 teams. (Webberville and Lansing Christian are both in Division 4.) Coach Chris Mustaine gave me the following information about this year’s Pilgrims.

Elijah Ellis, the Pilgrim Point Guard is a good ball handler and distributor on offense; he also defends well on the perimeter. Caden Kinnas and Benjamin Sullivan are both fine three point shooters. Timothy Sullivan is a strong rebounder who slashes well to the basket. He defends with toughness and is willing to take a charging foul. Baylor Brogan is a fine post defender who rebounds and runs the floor well.

Judah Schafer slashes to the basket well. Samuel Israel is an athletic post player who defends well and can drive to the basket. Noah Link is provides solid depth at the point guard position. Dylan Kinnas is a fine athlete who gives the Pilgrims another accurate three point shooter. August Granger plays well in the post and is a fine scorer near the basket.

I was able to see most of the JV game. Christian got off to a 14-8 first quarter lead. Webberville gradually made up ground; with 51 seconds left in the half, Shad Pressel hit a three point basket to tie the game. As he was hitting the shot, John Wyatt Coe was fouled and hit a free throw to give the lead to the Spartans. After Christian scored a basket to retake the lead, John Wyatt Coe was fouled and hit two more free throws to send his Spartans into halftime with a 19-18 lead.

Webberville outscored Christian 24-17 in the third quarter to extend their lead and finally won the game by a 59-49 score.

David Hall led the Pilgrim JVs with 13 points. Owen Resch and Ethan Damesworth each had 12 points. Payton Allaire scored 6 points. William Stone put in 4 points and Brayden Moore tallied 2 points.

John Wyatt Coe led the victorious Spartan JVs with 22 points. Kevin Farmer joined his teammate in double figures with 11 points. Shad Pressel tossed in 8 points. Austin Johnson added 6 points. Bradley Davis and Samuel Crost each added 5 points and Wesley Dusa scored 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of the varsity game through the steamed glasses of a masked and aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league in the days of yore when he attempted to play basketball. To be fair, while the Bleacher Denizen’s court vision was frequently criticized, many players lacked peripheral vision and made bad passes in the helmets that we had to wear with our chain mail uniforms back in the medieval times when the Bleacher Denizen played.

Webberville wins the opening tap. Nathan Lott passes to Kolson Lycos, who hits a layup to give the Spartans the first points of the game. Christian misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Webberville misses a threeball from the wing. Max Mills gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Kolson Lycos hits a layup for Webberville. Christian misses an eight foot runner in the lane. Webberville misses a fast break layup. Caden Kinnas throws in a threeball from the wing to trim the Spartan lead to 4-3.

Webberville misses a three pointer from the wing. Benjamin Sullivan is fouled on a driving, scooping layup. He hits one of his two free throws to tie the game at 4-4 with 6:06 left in the first quarter.

Caden Kinnas nearly steals the ball for the Pilgrims; the ball goes out of bounds and Webberville retains possession. Caleb Howard puts a missed Spartan triple try back through the hoop for Webberville. Caleb Howard steals the ball and passes to Nate Lott for a Webberville fast break layup. Christian loses a pass out of bounds. Nate Lott passes to Kolson Lycos, who hits a layup to give Webberville a 10-4 lead.

Max Mills steals the ball for the Spartans. Christian steals the ball back, but loses the ball out of bounds. Benjamin Sullivan knocks a Spartan pass out of bounds; Webberville keeps the ball. Webberville misses a layup. Benjamin Sullivan hits a three point shot from the wing for the Pilgrims. Webberville misses a three point shot from the side. Timothy Sullivan is fouled on a driving runner and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Webberville lead to 10-8 with 4:11 remaining in the first quarter.

Webberville passes a ball into the lane and it sails out of bounds. Kolson Lycos steals the ball for the Spartans and prevents a Christian fast break layup. Webberville throws a pass out of bounds. Chase Abner blocks a Christian layup. Webberville misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Chase Abner snags the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a three point shot from the side. Tate Mills blocks a Christian shot; August Granger grabs the loose ball and hits a layup for Christian to tie the game at 10-10.

Webberville misses a jumper, but Nate Lott gets the offensive rebound and passes to Kolson Lycos, who hits a layup, is fouled and hits his free throw to give Webberville a 13-10 lead with 2:59 left on the first quarter clock.

Garrett Goodwin plays tough defense and causes a Christian traveling violation. Nate Lott makes a tight spin and cruises through the lane to hit a layup for the Spartans. Kolson Lycos steals the ball for Webberville. Webberville misses a fast break layup. Caleb Howard pulls down the offensive rebound for the Spartans and passes to Nate Lott, who hits a layup. Christian misses a fifteen footer from the side. Garrett Goodwin drives and hits a layup to give Webberville a 19-10 lead.

Caleb Howard and Nate Lott team up to knock the ball out of bounds; Christian retains possession. Elijah Ellis is fouled on a layup and hits a free throw to shave the Spartan lead to 19-11 with 1:32 to play in the quarter.

Webberville misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Caden Kinnas throws in a threeball from the wing for Christian. Webberville misses a sixteen foot shot from the baseline. Christian misses a threeball from the wing; the rebound goes out of bounds and Webberville gets the ball. Garrett Goodwin inbounds the ball to Nate Lott, who is fouled as he shoots a layup at the buzzer. Nate Lott hits one of his two free throws.

After one quarter, Webberville holds a 20-14 lead.

Christian inbounds the ball to start off the second quarter. Nate Lott steals the ball for Webberville. The Spartans miss a fast break layup. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Benjamin Sullivan hits a three point shot from the side to trim the Spartan lead to one point. Webberville misses a driving layup. Christian misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Webberville misses a three point shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Max Mills knocks the ball out of bounds; Christian gets the ball back. Noah Link passes to Judah Schafer, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to cut the Webberville lead to 20-19 with 6:15 remaining in the first half.

Nate Lott drives and hits a layup for the Spartans. Kolson Lycos steals a Pilgrim pass. Nate Lott is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws for Webberville. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pilgrims get another opportunity. Christian bounces a pass into the lane and out of bounds. Webberville misses a jumper from the free throw elbow. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball. The Pilgrims miss a three point shot from the corner. Chase Abner hits a fast break layup to push the Spartan lead to 26-19.

Christian misses a three point shot from the corner. Benjamin Sullivan steals the Spartan outlet pass. Nate Lott draws a charging foul from Christian. Nate Lott passes to Chase Abner for a Spartan layup. Christian misses a layup. Timothy Sullivan knocks the ball away from Webberville and Dylan Kinnas picks it up for Christian. Benjamin Sullivan hits a three point shot from the side for Christian. Nate Lott gets into the lane and hits a twelve foot runner for the Spartans. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 3:49 to play in the half, Webberville has a 30-22 lead.

Benjamin Sullivan is fouled on the rebound and hits both ends of a one and one free throw opportunity for the Pilgrims. Webberville misses a three point shot from the side. Timothy Sullivan is fouled on the rebound and makes two free throws to cut the Webberville lead to 30-26 with 3:34 to go in the first half.

Webberville is fouled on a banked shot, but misses both free throws. Nate Lott knocks the ball away from the Pilgrims and Chase Abner picks it up for the Spartans. Webberville misses a three point shot from the side. Garrett Goodwin nearly steals the ball for Webberville, but Christian is able to recover. Christian misses a three pointer from the side. Baylor Brogan knocks the ball away from Webberville and Elijah Ellis picks it up for Christian. Christian misses a layup. Chase Abner tosses in a threeball from the baseline to boost the Spartans to a 33-26 lead.

Christian misses a three point shot from the corner. Webberville misses a layup. Kolson Lycos grabs the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Spartans get another opportunity. Garrett Goodwin inbounds the ball to Nate Lott, who hits a layup for Webberville. Samuel Israel hits a driving layup for Christian. Webberville misses a driving layup; Tate Mills hits a putback to give the Spartans a 37-28 lead.

Garrett Goodwin steals the ball for the Spartans. Caden Kinnas blocks a Spartan fast break layup. Kolson Lycos steals the ball and hits a fast break reverse layup for Webberville. Christian loses the ball out of bounds on the sideline. Webberville misses a three point shot from the corner. Christian misses a three pointer from the corner at the buzzer.

Webberville has a 37-28 lead at halftime.

Benjamin Sullivan has 12 points for Christian and Caden Kinnas has scored 6 points.

Kolson Lycos leads the Webberville scoring at halftime with 13 points and Nate Lott has 12 points. Chase Abner has 7 points.

Webberville inbounds the ball to open the third quarter. Nate Lott passes to Kolson Lycos, who throws in a threeball from the side for the Spartans. Max Mills steals the ball for Webberville. The Spartans miss a layup. Nate Lott gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a three point shot from the wing. Kolson Lycos steals the ball for Webberville. Webberville misses a fifteen footer from the side. Kolson Lycos grabs the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a ten foot shot from the side. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. CAleb Howard hits a fast break layup to give the Spartans a 44-30 lead.

Benjamin Sullivan drives and hits a fast break layup for Christian. Benjamin Sullivan knocks a pass out of bounds to prevent a Spartan layup. Webberville misses a layup. Caleb Howard gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Chase Abner inbounds the ball to Nate Lott, who hits a layup for Webberville. Max Mills knocks the ball away from Christian. Nate Lott picks it up and hits a fast break layup for Webberville. Kolson Lycos steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Spartans. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throw to give Webberville a 51-30 lead with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter.

In just 2 minutes and 21 seconds, Webberville has outscored Christian 12-2 in the third quarter.

Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Kolson Lycos throws in a threeball from the side for the Spartans. Dylan Kinnas passes to Samuel Israel, who hits a layup for Christian; he is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. Benjamin Sullivan gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Benjamin Sullivan hits a three point shot for Christian to trim the Webberville lead to 54-35.

Kolson Lycos passes to Chase Abner, who hits a layup for Webberville. Christian misses a layup. Elijah Ellis draws a charging foul from Webberville. Christian loses a pass out of bounds. Elijah Ellis steals the ball for Christian. Christian misses a fast break layup. Kolson Lycos hits a fast break layup for Webberville. Kolson Lycos steals the ball and passes to Nate Lott for a Webberville layup. Christian throws the ball out of bounds against the Webberville press. Kolson Lycos spies Chase Abner open on the other side of the floor and zips a cross court pass to him. Chase Abner hits a three point shot from the side to give Webberville a 63-35 lead.

Caden Kinnas hits a three point shot from the wing for Christian. Kolson Lycos responds with a three point shot from the side for Webberville. Elijah Ellis hits a three pointer from the side for Christian. Garrett Goodwin inbounds the ball to Kolson Lycos, who hits a layup to give Webberville a 68-41 lead.

Garrett Goodwin steals the ball for Webberville. August Granger knocks a Spartan pass out of bounds; Webberville retains possession. Webberville travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. I wonder how newsworthy traveling without the ball would be.) Kolson Lycos blocks a Christian shot. Webberville misses a three point shot from the side. Garrett Goodwin steals the ball and passes to Chase Abner for a fast break layup that boosts the Spartans to a 70-41 lead.

Christian misses a driving layup. Webberville misses a layup. Nate Lott gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a layup. Garrett Goodwin steals the ball for the Spartans. Baylor Brogan steals the ball for Christian. Benjamin Sullivan passes to Caden Kinnas, who strokes a three for the Pilgrims. Nate Lott drives the lane and hits a layup where he is looking away from the basket, but is able to bank the ball in to give Webberville a 72-44 lead.

Christian misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Nate Lott passes to Caleb Howard, who hits a layup for Webberville. Christian misses a long heave at the buzzer.

After three quarters, Webberville has a 74-44 lead. In an amusing moment, the Webberville announcer celebrates Coach Lott’s hundredth win a quarter too early. (To be fair, I’m not sure how likely it is for Webberville to collapse and lose a thirty point lead in just a quarter. Even your ditsy Bleacher Denizen would probably avoid taking that bet.)

Enough about your Bleacher Denizen’s generally questionable gambling analysis.

Christian inbounds the ball to start off the fourth quarter. Caleb Howard steals the ball for the Spartans. Judah Schafer steals the ball and hits a layup for Christian. Webberville misses a three point shot from the wing. Chase Abner gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Chase Abner drives and dishes the ball to Nate Lott, who hits a layup for the Spartans. Benjamin Sullivan is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Christian. With 7:08 remaining in the game, Webberville has a 76-48 lead.

Webberville misses a layup. Samuel Israel drives and hits a layup for Christian. Kolson Lycos responds by driving and hitting a layup for Webberville. Caleb Howard blocks a Christian shot; the ball goes out of bounds and Christian gets another possession. Baylor Brogan is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Christian.

(Note to both scorers; this is the point where the scoreboard score started disagreeing with the scorebooks. Two points were put on the scoreboard even though Christian scored only one point. To be fair, this discrepancy had nothing to do with the final result. I will use the correct score for the remainder of this article.)

Kolson Lycos throws in a threeball from the side for Webberville. Noah Link hits a sixteen footer off the dribble for the Pilgrims. Webberville commits an offensive foul. Christian is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Webberville misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Christian reciprocates and misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Noah Link gets the offensive rebound and passes to Timothy Sullivan, who hits a layup to trim the Webberville lead to 81-55.

Webberville misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Christian is fouled on the rebound, but misses the first shot of a one and one opportunity. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball. Samuel Israel drives and hits a layup for Christian. Baylor Brogan steals the ball for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Tate Mills hits a ten foot shot in the lane for Webberville. Baylor Brogan is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Christian. With 3:39 left on the clock, Webberville has an 83-58 lead.

Webberville turns the ball over. Christian is assessed with a traveling violation. Webberville misses an eight foot runner in the lane; the rebound goes out of bounds and Christian takes the ball. Phillip Curry passes to Noah Link, who hits a layup for Christian. Phillip Curry ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow consults an array of experts and determines that Christian should get the ball. Baylor Brogan is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws for Christian. Webberville’s lead is at 83-61 with 2:15 remaining.

Garrett Goodwin is fouled on a six footer from the side and hits two free throws for Webberville. Garrett Goodwin steals the ball for the Spartans. Webberville commits a traveling violation. Cameron Damesworth is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Christian. Cameron Damesworth draws a charging foul from Webberville. Christian misses a layup. Baylor Brogan pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a layup. Phillip Curry steals the ball for Christian. Dylan Kinnas hits a three point shot for the final points of the game to trim the Webberville lead to 85-65.

Baylor Brogan steals the ball for Christian. Max Mills gets back quickly to stop Christian’s layup attempt. The ball goes out of bounds and Christian gets it back. Max Mills steals the ball for Webberville. The Spartans misfire on a triple try from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian takes possession. Christian misses a driving layup. Webberville misses a three point shot from the wing. Max Mills gets the offensive rebound for Webberville as the final buzzer sounds.

Webberville wins this game by an 85-65 score.

Benjamin Sullivan had 19 points to lead the Christian scoring. Caden Kinnas supported him with 12 points. Samuel Israel contributed 8 points. Timothy Sullivan scored 5 points. Elijah Ellis, Judah Schafer and Noah Link each scored 4 points. Dylan Kinnas and Baylor Brogan each added 3 points. August Granger scored 2 points. Cameron Damesworth tallied 1 point.

Kolson Lycos erupted for 34 points in his first game back from an injury to lead Webberville. Nate Lott supported his teammate with 23 points to go along with some great ball handling, passing and defense. Chase Abner joined his teammates in double figures with 14 points. Caleb Howard added 6 points. Garrett Goodwin and Tate Mills each had 4 points.