Potterville at Saranac – – CMAC Boys Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 4, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

We have just watched the Potterville Viking Girls and the Saranac Red Hawk Boys play the girls’ game tonight. Here is a link to the blog for that game! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/01/05/potterville-at-saranac-cmac-girls-basketball-game-of-the-week-the-bleacher-denizen-january-4-2023-by-chuck-krafft/

Now, it is time for the Viking and Red Hawk Boys to play. I guess your Bleacher Denizen is having some confusion as to how to name the game because he will be covering Laingsburg’s boys vs. Pewamo-Westphalia tomorrow. Can we logically have two “Game(s) of the Week? The mind boggles, although I guess I will see if the blog naming powers that be call me on trying to have two games of the week. (Sometimes a Bleacher Denizen just gets greedy!!)

While we wait for the game to start, let’s listen to this cover of “The Lonely Bull” from my You Tube Channel featuring great work from Trumpeter John Rickert!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmJmDiyf3ps

Potterville’s Vikings enter this game with a 3-2 record while the Saranac Red Hawks are at 1-3.

Sam Sterzick is a guard with a nice touch who can drive to the basket to score or snipe away from the three point line. Cam Cook helps with the ball handling and provides the Red Hawks with an accurate three point shot. Evan Johnson plays strong defense on the perimeter. Max Olsen is a fine perimeter defender who can also run the point.

Jadeyn Trahan is a strong defensive forward who is a force on the boards. Levi Speice defends well from his forward position and slashes to the basket effectively. Hunter Helminski gives the Red Hawks another good defender at the guard position. Lucas Hetherington uses his 6′ 6″ size to defend well in the post. Isaiah Morgan shoots well and is also a threat to drive to the basket.

Potterville Coach Jacob Briney was also helpful with information about his Viking players.

DaMarion Hicks, who has recovered from a heart problem suffered this summer, is an athletic marvel who is quick, strong and leaps really well. He is a demon on defense and frequently is able to convert steals and offensive rebounds into easy buckets. Chris Hicks is also incredibly quick and strong. He handles the ball well on the perimeter and also uses his athletic gifts to get a lot of easy points.

Bene Vasquez is a versatile player who defends well in the post or on the perimeter; he is also a fine shooter. Diego Vasquez is a tough perimeter defender. Jonah Bovee mans the middle on defense and shoots threeballs pretty well on offense. Jacob Bishop is a versatile player who can score or defend on the perimeter or in the post.

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the cloudy lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore. People criticized his ball handling, but in my defense, few people really controlled the stone rocks we had to use for basketballs in ancient times very well.

Potterville wins the opening tap. Bene Vasquez drives and hits a layup to give the Vikings the first two points of the game. Chris Hicks flies at a Red Hawk shooter and forces a Saranac traveling violation. Chris Hicks passes to Diego Vasquez, who hits a layup to give Potterville a 4-0 lead.

DaMarion Hicks knocks the ball out of bounds; Saranac retains possession. Evan Johnston passes to Isaiah Morgan, who hits a three point shot from the corner to trim the Viking lead to 4-3.

Potterville loses a pass out of bounds; Jacob Bishop nearly saves the ball for the Vikings. Chris Hicks blocks a Saranac layup. Jacob Bishop drives and hits a six foot bank shot for Potterville. Jacob Bishop steals the ball for the Vikings. Isaiah Morgan draws a charging foul from the Vikings. Jadeyn Trahan passes to Evan Johnston, who hits a layup to trim the Potterville lead to 6-5.

Evan Johnston gets his hand on the ball and a Potterville dribbler loses it out of bounds. Sam Sterzick makes a long pass to Levi Speice, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Saranac to tie the game at 6-6 with 5:06 remaining in quarter number one.

Potterville misses a driving layup. Saranac misfires on a threeball from the wing. Jadeyn Trahan gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three pointer from the wing. Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Saranac misses a three pointer from the side. Jadeyn Trahan gets the offensive rebound for Saranac, but the Red Hawks miss a layup. The Bleacher Denizen misses seeing the ball go through the hoop!

Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Bene Vasquez steals the ball for the Vikings. Hunter Helminski challenges a Viking shooter and causes him to shuffle his feet. Isaiah Morgan drives and hits a layup to give Saranac the lead. Potterville misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Braden Mireles steals the ball for Potterville. The Vikings miss a layup. Cam Cook passes to Lucas Hetherington, who hits a layup to give the Red Hawks a 10-6 lead.

Bene Vasquez passes to Chris Hicks, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Potterville. Bene Vasquez steals the ball for the Vikings. Chris Hicks drives the baseline and hits a layup for Potterville to trim the Saranac lead to one point. Sam Sterzick passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both his free throws. With 45.5 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Saranac has a 10-9 lead.

Braden Mireles passes to Chris Hicks, who hits a layup for Potterville to give the Vikings the lead. Saranac misses a layup. Potterville misses a ten foot shot from the side. Bene Vasquez gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a threeball from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Saranac misses a half court heave as the first quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After one quarter, Potterville holds an 11-10 lead.

Saranac has the ball to open the second quarter. The Red Hawks lose a pass out of bounds. Bene Vasquez passes to Diego Vasquez for a Viking layup. Saranac misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville takes possession. Potterville misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Isaiah Morgan drives and hits a reverse layup to trim the Viking lead to 13-12.

Potterville misses a threeball from the wing. Chris Hicks steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville is fouled on a fast break layup, but misses two free throws. Jacob Bishop snares the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Jonah Bovee hits a short hook shot to give Potterville a 15-12 lead.

DaMarion Hicks steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville runs a too fast break and loses the ball out of bounds. DaMarion Hicks dives and knocks the ball out of bounds; Saranac retains possession. Jonah Bovee blocks a Red Hawk layup. Potterville misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Jonah Bovee steals a Saranac pass into the lane. Jonah Bovee passes to DaMarion Hicks, who spins and hits a six foot bank shot to give Potterville a 17-12 lead.

Chris Hicks blocks a Red Hawk layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Saranac gets another possession. Saranac misses a layup. Bene Vasquez passes to Jonah Bovee, who strokes a successful threeball from the wing for Potterville. Saranac misses a driving six foot hook shot. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Saranac misses a jumper off the dribble from the three point line. Chris Hicks hits a fast break layup to push Potterville to a 22-12 lead.

Saranac misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Lucas Hetherington pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac turns the ball over. Sam Sterzick gets his hand on the ball to force a Potterville over and back violation. Saranac misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Jadeyn Trahan gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Even Johnston gets his hand on a Potterville pass into the lane and knocks it out. Potterville retains possession. Braden Mireles passes to Jonah Bovee, who throws in a threeball from the wing to give the Vikings a 25-12 lead.

Jacob Bishop steals the ball for the Vikings. Evan Johnston gets back really quickly for the Red Hawks to force a Potterville traveling violation. Saranac is fouled on a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the side, but misses two free throws with 10.4 seconds left in the half. Potterville misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane as time expires.

Potterville will take a 25-12 lead into the locker room at halftime. I will be bold and venture a guess that Potterville will also have this lead when the third quarter starts.

Isaiah Morgan has 7 points to lead the Saranac scoring.

Jonah Bovee has 8 points and Chris Hicks has 7 points for Potterville.

As we wait for the second half to start, we can listen to this Ragtime Tune with a special twist near the end from my You Tube Channel!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUieaBvS38w

Potterville commences the second half by throwing the ball in bounds. (OK, so “commences” may be high-falutin’, but it’s MY blog, so I can be pretentious if I want!!) Your Bleacher Denizen glances at the scoreboard and notices that Potterville’s 25-12 halftime lead is still up there!

DaMarion Hicks totally ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s pretentiousness and hits a layup for Potterville. Isaiah Morgan is fouled on a fourteen foot shot off the dribble and hits one of his two free throws for Saranac. DaMarion Hicks passes to Ben Vasquez, who hits a three point shot from the side to push Potterville to a 30-13 lead.

Diego Vasquez blocks a Saranac layup; the ball goes out of bounds and the Red Hawks get another opportunity. Evan Johnston inbounds the ball to Sam Sterzick, who hits a layup for Saranac. Potterville misses a three pointer from the side. Saranac misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Evan Johnston gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup. DaMarion Hicks drives and hits a layup to give Potterville a 32-15 lead.

Saranac misfires on a threeball from the side. Levi Speice blocks a Viking shot; the ball goes out of bounds and Potterville gets it back. Potterville misses a three point attempt from the side. Chris Hicks knocks the ball away from the Red Hawks and Jacob Bishop picks up the ball for the Vikings. Potterville is fouled on a fast break layup, but misses two free throws. Jacob Bishop rebounds the missed free throw and hits a layup to boost the Vikings to a 34-15 lead.

Saranac misses a layup. Lucas Hetherington pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Jacob Bishop blocks a Saranac shot. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Braden Mireles is fouled on a driving eight foot shot in the lane and hits two free throws to push Potterville to a 36-15 lead with 3:14 to play in the third quarter.

Jacob Bishop steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Potterville. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Sam Sterzick pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Bene Vasquez steals the ball for the Vikings. Lucas Hetherington stands tall in the lane and forces a Potterville shooter into a traveling violation. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Chris Hicks hits a fast break layup to give his Vikings a 40-15 lead.

Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Jadeyn Trahan snags the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Jacob Bishop steals a Saranac pass into the lane. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Chris Hicks hits a putback for the Vikings. Saranac misses a threeball from the wing. Braden Mireles passes to Jacob Bishop, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give Potterville a 44-15 lead with 21.9 seconds to play in the third quarter.

Jordon Caudill knocks the ball away from Saranac, but the Red Hawks are able to recover. Saranac misses a three pointer from the side as the time expires in the third quarter.

Saranac inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter underway. The Red Hawks miss a three pointer from the corner. Potterville misses a three pointer from the side. Saranac misses a seven footer from the baseline and fouls on the rebound. Potterville misses a three pointer from the corner. Bene Vasquez steals the ball for Potterville. The Vikings miss a three point shot from the corner. Sam Sterzick hits a fast break layup to trim the Viking lead to 44-17.

Logan Cooper drives and hits a six foot shot from the side of the lane for Potterville. Dylan Ballone passes to Sam Sterzick, who hits a three pointer from the wing for Saranac. The Potterville lead is now at 46-20.

Max Olson steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Saranac misses a driving layup. Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing. Levi Speice is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Saranac. With 3:28 left on the clock, Potterville has a 46-22 lead.

Bene Vasquez passes to Logan Cooper for a Potterville layup. Saranac misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Braden Mireles drives and hits a layup for Potterville. Evan Johnston drives, fakes and is fouled on a layup. He hits two free throws with 1:48 left to cut the Potterville lead to 50-24.

Potterville loses a pass out of bounds. Saranac misses a layup. Potterville misses a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Quincy Anderson knocks the ball away from Saranac and Logan Cooper picks it up for Potterville. Brady Thomas steals the ball for Saranac. Sebastian Wood steals the ball for Potterville. The Vikings misfire on a threeball from the wing. Saranac misses a layup. Potterville is fouled on a layup with 1.2 seconds left, but misses two free throws.

The game ends before either team secures the ball.

Potterville wins this CMAC Boys game of the week by a 50-24 score.

Isaiah Morgan had 8 points to lead the Saranac scoring. Sam Sterzick supported his teammate with 7 points. Evan Johnston tossed in 4 points. Levi Speice added 3 points and Lucas Hetherington tallied 2 points.

Chris Hicks led the victorious Potterville team with 11 points. Jonah Bovee and Jacob Bishop each contributed 8 points. DaMarion Hicks scored 6 points. Bene Vasquez put in 5 points. Diego Vasquez, Braden Mireles and Logan Cooper each had 4 points.