Perry at Laingsburg – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 12, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen defiantly ignores the advice from Horace Greeley that young men are to go west. Laingsburg is east of Lansing, where your Bleacher Denizen lives and east is where your Bleacher Denizen is going today! (After all, even your somewhat egotistical Bleacher Denizen would have at least a few qualms about referring to himself as “young.”!)

The Wolfpack from Laingsburg will host the Ramblers from Perry. Perry enters the game with a 2-1 record; Laingsburg is at 1-0.

Your Bleacher Denizen arrived at the gym in time to see almost all of the JV game; he had plenty of time to get information from the Wolfpack and Rambler coaches.

Coach Scott Selbig provided this information about his Rambler players. D.J. Jenks is an able scorer who can either slash to the basket or shoot from the three point line. Joey McGraw-Allen is a fine perimeter defender and ball handler who runs the point for the Ramblers. Austin Poirier is a versatile defender who is comfortable either in the post or on the perimeter. He can score on slashes to the basket. Jylon Peek has a strong basketball IQ and is a good slasher who can also shoot the three.

Laingsburg Coach Daniel Morrill provided me with this background about his Wolfpack players. Zander Woodruff is one of the finest players in the Lansing Area. He is a great scorer who is quick and handles the ball really well. He is a solid perimeter defender; when it comes time to shoot, he’s quite effective on fast breaks, slashes to the basket and three point shots.

Eli Woodruff is coming back from an injury, but will play some tonight although he will not start. He’s a tough player inside who rebounds, defends and scores well in the post. Brayden Thomas runs the point. He is a fine perimeter defender who handles the ball well and makes a lot of fine decisions, especially on the fast break. He can slash to the basket and is a threat from the three point line as well.

Luke Snyder rebounds and defends well in the post. His excellent footwork also makes him a scoring threat down low. Cam Ballard is a fine ball handler with an excellent basketball IQ. Jacob Essenberg is a fine scorer and ball handler at the point guard possession. He gives Laingsburg another threat from the three point line as well. Ty Randall is a fine interior defender who is tough and willing to take charging fouls from the opposition. Unfortunately, an injury will keep him out of tonight’s game.

While we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this original, but cynical Christmas Parody of a cynical Christmas tune from 1979 from my You Tube Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp3FW5dhL3E

The Laingsburg JVs got off to a 21-2 lead after one quarter and rolled to a 64-5 win.

Brayden Connell had 3 points and Chandler Webb 2 points for the Perry JVs.

Colin Hart let the victorious Wolfpack JVs with 15 points. Jake Rivet supported his teammate with 13 points. Dominic Garcia contributed 8 points. Leandro Dolega-Caceres added 7 points. Mitchell George and Logan Holm each scored 6 points. Max Powers tossed in 3 points. Emilio Garcia, Dylan Hoard and Josiah Hawes each tallied 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of the varsity game through the lenses or an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape Church league in the ancient times when many were willing to refer to me as “young.” Alas, while I had some potential as a dunker, everything was ruined when the Basketball Powers-That-Be raised the rims from five feet to ten feet.

Laingsburg wins the opening tap. Zander Woodruff reacts quickly to prevent a Wolfpack turnover. Austin Poirier ties up the ball for Perry. The Possession Arrow is in awe of his hustle and defensive aggression; it decrees that the Ramblers shall have the ball. Perry is whistled for a traveling violation. Joey McGraw-Allen steals the ball for Perry. Jylon Peek hits a fast break layup to give Perry the first two points of the game. Zander Woodruff is fouled on a shot and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Perry lead to 2-1.

Laingsburg is fouled on the rebound and gets the ball. Tanner Selbig steals the Laingsburg inbound pass. Perry misses a layup. Ty Webb steals the ball for the Ramblers. Zander Woodruff knocks a Rambler pass out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Perry misses a sixteen foot shot from the wing. Jylon Peek blocks a Wolfpack fast break layup; the ball goes out of bounds and Laingsburg gets it back.

Zander Woodruff saves a bad pass to prevent a Wolfpack turnover. Laingsburg misfires on a triple try from the corner. Jylon Peek blocks a Wolfpack putback. (The Bleacher Denizen nearly injures himself patting himself on the back for the sentence.) Joey McGraw-Allen passes to Ty Webb, who hits a layup to boost the Ramblers to a 4-1 lead.

Zander Woodruff answers by hitting a twelve footer off the dribble in the lane for Laingsburg. Perry misses a driving layup. Laingsburg is fouled on a fast break layup, but misses two free throws. With 4:40 to play in the first quarter, Perry still has a 4-3 lead.

Connor Hulliberger knocks the Rambler inbound pass out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Perry misses a driving layup. Cam Ballard passes to Elliott Wilsey, who hits a layup for Laingsburg to give the lead to the Wolfpack.

Zander Woodruff steals the ball for the Wolfpack; Laingsburg misses a fast break layup. In a deja vu moment, Zander Woodruff against steals the ball for the Wolfpack and Laingsburg again misses a fast break layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. Eli Woodruff steals the ball for Laingsburg. The Wolfpack misses a six foot shot in the lane. Perry is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 3:09 to play in the first quarter, Laingsburg holds a 5-4 lead.

The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and Laingsburg takes possession. Zander Woodruff drives and hits a layup for Laingsburg. Perry misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Laingsburg is whistled for traveling with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. I’m not sure that traveling without the ball is terribly newsworthy. Brayden Thomas gets his hand on the ball and Perry loses it out of bounds. The Woodruff connection rises as Eli Woodruff passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the baseline to give Laingsburg a 9-4 lead.

Eli Woodruff blocks a Perry layup. Eli Woodruff hits a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line for Laingsburg. Zander Woodruff steals the ball for the Wolfpack and hits a fast break layup. Ty Webb dives to save a pass; he prevents a Rambler turnover and draws a foul on the play. Perry is called for an offensive foul. Laingsburg is called for traveling. Connor Hulliberger draws a charging foul from Perry. Zander Woodruff drives and hits a layup at the first quarter buzzer to push Laingsburg to a 15-4 lead.

Laingsburg inbounds the ball to get the second quarter underway. The Wolfpack throw a pass through the lane and out of bounds. Cam Ballard steals the ball for Laingsburg and hits a fast break layup. D.J. Jenks acts decisively to prevent a bad pass from becoming a Perry turnover. Perry misses a seventeen foot shot from the wing. Cam Ballard hits a fast break layup to boost his Wolfpack to a 19-4 lead.

Jacob Essenberg steals the ball for Laingsburg. The Wolfpack misfires on a threeball from the corner. Zander Woodruff knocks the ball away from Perry and Connor Hulliberger picks it up for Laingsburg. Laingsburg misses a jump shot. Luke Snyder gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misfires on a triple try from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Perry misses a fifteen footer from the baseline. Zander Woodruff passes to Connor Hulliberger, who hits a fast break layup to give Laingsburg a 21-4 lead.

Luke Snyder knocks the ball out of bounds, but Perry retains possession. Perry misses a three point shot from the side. Joey McGraw Allen is fouled on the rebound and makes one of two shots in a one and one free throw opportunity for Perry. Laingsburg is fouled on a fast break layup, but misses two free throws. Eli Woodruff is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to give the Wolfpack a 23-5 lead with 5:42 showing on the second quarter clock.

Brayden Thomas steals the ball for Laingsburg. Joey McGraw Adams blocks a Laingsburg layup; the Wolfpack recover the loose ball. Zander Woodruff drives and hits a layup for Laingsburg. A traveling violation causes a Perry layup to be disallowed. Laingsburg misses a six foot shot in the lane. Jylon Peek is fouled and hits one of two free throws in a one and one opportunity to trim the Wolfpack lead to 25-6 with 4:45 to play in the first half.

D.J. Jenks blocks a Laingsburg layup. Jacob Essenberg picks up a loose ball and drives in for a Laingsburg layup; he is fouled on the play, but misses he free throw. Elliott Wilsey gets his hand on the ball and Perry loses it out of bounds. A Laingsburg pass receiver shuffles his feet and is called for traveling. Joe McGraw Allen drives and dishes the ball to Noah Boske-Smitherman, who hits a layup for Perry. Zander Woodruff hits a three pointer from the top of the key to give Laingsburg a 30-8 lead.

Joey McGraw Allen passes to Jylon Peek, who hits a turnaround fifteen footer from the baseline for Perry. Laingsburg misses a layup; Luke Snyder hits a putback for the Wolfpack. Noah Boske-Smitherman is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Perry. With 3:04 remaining in the first half, the Laingsburg lead is at 32-11.

Laingsburg mislaunches a threeball near the top of the key. Jacob Essenberg knocks a Perry pass out of bounds; the Wolfpack takes possession. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the wing; Joey McGraw-Allen blocks a Wolfpack putback. Perry misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Elliott Wilsey is fouled on the rebound and hits two free throws to give Laingsburg a 34-11 lead with 2:46 to play in the first half.

Perry is whistled for an offensive foul. Brayden Thomas passes to Zander Woodruff, who is cutting to the basket, is fouled on a layup and makes two free throws for the Wolfpack. T.J. Jenks passes to Noah Boske-Smitherman, who hits a layup for Perry. Jylon Peek steals the ball for the Ramblers. Brayden Thomas steals the ball for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg is called for traveling. Brayden Thomas draws a charging foul from Perry. Joey McGraw Allen is fouled on the rebound and sinks two free throws for Perry. With 1:15 to play in the first half, Laingsburg has a 36-15 lead.

Zander Woodruff drives and dishes the ball to Elliott Wilsey, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Laingsburg. Joey McGraw Allen is fouled driving to the basket and hits two free throws. With 53.2 seconds left in the half, Laingsburg’s lead is at 38-17.

Laingsburg turns the ball over. Perry misses a three pointer from the corner. Laingsburg holds the ball for the last shot. The Wolfpack miss a three pointer from the corner. Elliott Wilsey gets the offensive rebound for Laingsburg. The Wolfpack miss a layup. Zander Woodruff gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a layup at the buzzer.

At halftime, Laingsburg holds a 38-17 lead.

Joey McGraw-Allen, Jylon Peek and Noah Boske-Smitherman each have 5 points to lead Perry’s scoring at halftime.

Zander Woodruff has 18 points for Laingsburg and Elliott Wilsey has 6.

As Laingsburg elementary players take the floor for halftime entertainment, those of us who are not at the gym to see them may enjoy this version of “Holly Jolly Christmas” from my You Tube Channel!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msk3US5xeZc

Perry inbounds the ball to get the third quarter started. The Ramblers miss a spinning, driving layup. Laingsburg misses a layup. Ty Webb blocks a putback by the Wolfpack. Perry misses a six foot shot from the baseline. Cam Ballard prevents a bad pass from becoming a Wolfpack turnover. Connor Hulliberger passes to Brayden Thomas, who hits a three point shot from the wing to push the Laingsburg lead to 41-17.

Perry turns the ball over. Laingsburg misses a jumper from the free throw line. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Wolfpack gets another opportunity. Laingsburg misfires on a triple try from the wing. Austin Poirier ties up the rebound; the Possession Arrow consults with its board of attorneys and ignores his hustle; the ball is awarded to Laingsburg.

The Wolfpack misses a three point shot from the side. Perry misses a layup. The Wolfpack turns the ball over. The Ramblers miss a three point shot from the side. Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the wing. Brayden Thomas steals the ball for Laingsburg; he is fouled on the play and hits his free throw to give Laingsburg a 46-17 lead with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter.

Zander Woodruff knocks the ball away from Perry; Brayden Thomas grabs it for Laingsburg and dashes to the other end, where he hits a layup. D.J. Jenks responds by hitting a three pointer from the corner for Perry. Laingsburg misses a layup. Elliott Wilsey gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack and passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a layup to boost the Wolfpack lead to 50-20.

D.J. Jenks hits a layup for Perry. Luke Snyder hits a layup for Laingsburg. Perry turns the ball over. Zander Woodruff hits a three point shot from the wing for Perry. Cam Ballard steals the ball for Perry and passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a layup for Laingsburg. Jylon Peek hits a two point basket for Perry. Laingsburg misfires on a triple try from the wing. Perry reciprocates and misfires on a triple try from the wing. Jacob Essenberg passes to Luke Snyder, who hits a layup to push Laingsburg to a 60-24 lead.

Cam Ballard gets his hand on the ball; Perry loses it out of bounds. Jacob Essenberg passes to Lucas Matthews, who hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Perry throws a pass out of bounds. Cam Ballard passes to Luke Snyder, who hits a six foot hook shot in the lane for Laingsburg. Austin Poirier drives and hits a layup for Perry. Luke Snyder hits a putback to give Laingsburg a 66-26 lead.

Lucas Matthews knocks the ball away from Perry and Brayden Thomas picks it up for Laingsburg. Jacob Essenberg hits a fast break layup for Laingsburg. Perry misses a three point shot from the corner. Jacob Essenberg hits another fast break layup for Laingsburg. Jacob Essenberg steals the ball and beats the third quarter buzzer for another layup.

After three quarters, Laingsburg has a 72-26 lead.

Perry has the ball to start out the fourth quarter. Jacob Essenberg steals the ball for Perry. Laingsburg is whistled for carrying the ball. Perry misses a layup. Michael Wood causes a Laingsburg traveling violation. Jacob Essenberg steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Laingsburg. Austin Poirier passes the ball to Noah Boske-Smitherman, who hits a layup for Perry. Brayden Thomas hits a six foot banked shot to give the Wolfpack a 76-28 lead.

Perry passes the ball out of bounds. Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the side. Perry misses a driving layup. Laingsburg misses a three pointer from the corner. Perry misses a driving layup. D.J. Jenks nearly steals the ball for Perry; the ball goes out of bounds and Laingsburg gets another possession. Adam Essenberg drives the baseline and hits a layup to give Laingsburg a 78-28 lead.

Jacob Essenberg knocks the ball out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Perry misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Laingsburg reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Jacob Essenberg pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack, who passes to Vance Klont, who hits a three point shot for Laingsburg. Jylon Peek hits a layup for Perry. The Essenberg connection goes full throttle as Adam Essenberg passes to Jacob Essenberg, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Laingsburg an 84-30 lead.

Jacob Essenberg steals the ball for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a fast break layup. Vance Klont steals the ball for Laingsburg. The Wolfpack hold the ball for the final roughly thirty seconds of the game.

Laingsburg wins the game 84-30.

Jylon Peek had 9 points to lead the Perry scoring. Noah Boske-Smitherman added 7 points. Joey McGraw-Allen and D.J. Jenks each had 5 points. Austin Poirier and Ty Webb each tallied 2 points.

Zander Woodruff had 28 points to lead the Wolfpack. Jacob Essenberg supported him with 13 points. Luke Snyder and Brayden Thomas each joined their teammates in double figures with 10 points each. Elliott Wilsey scored 6 points. Eli Woodruff and Cam Ballard each put in 4 points. Vance Klont scored 3 points. Connor Hulliberger, Adam Essenberg and Lucas Matthews each contributed 2 points.