Portland St. Patrick at Bath – – CMAC Boys Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 23, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, you Bleacher Denizen is making the challenging long distance trek to Bath to watch as the Fighting Bees host the Shamrocks from St. Patrick. St. Patrick enters the game with a 1-6 record while Bath is at 1-7. (This does not include a Shamrock win over a home school team that is not an MHSAA member.)

Your Bleacher Denizen is recovering from an interesting day. One of the computers in his car went temporarily berserk. Thus, after he had gotten dressed up for a You Tube video, he had to spend the day and nearly drove to his car dealer 90 miles away to get a loaner. Then, after I was a few miles on my way there, the computer decided to behave itself, so I came back, but it was too late to do the video work any more. Oh well, I may be the best-dressed guy in Bath tonight. Life is odd sometimes.

Bath is led by DeVondre Chandler is an excellent guard with amazing athletic abilities, who plays very well either on or off the ball. He is amazingly quick, strong and well-coordinated; he plays with a lot of confidence. He is an excellent passer, nearly impossible to stop going to the basket and a solid shooter from mid-range and the three point line. His biggest asset might be defense where his incredible strength and quickness really allows him to cover (if not smother) any opponent at any position. He gets a lot of steals, blocks and rebounds.

Jacob Kuhn is a sophomore post player who scores well in the post. Bradlee Uhlmann plays the point on offense and defends with energy and intensity. Max Parry keeps the ball moving, and makes few mistakes; he is also a solid rebounder and defender. Remington McCrimmon is a sophomore who is a solid shooter.

For St. Patrick, Brayden Simon is a sophomore who is an excellent all-around athlete. He defends and rebounds in the lane; he is also quick enough to defend guards when needed. He scores well either from the three point line or near the basket. Landon Simpson handles the ball well, defends well on the perimeter and can shoot from the three point line. Alex Fedewa is a fine three point shooter who can defend anyone at any position anywhere on the floor.

Devin Cook provides solid defense and rebounding in the post. Charlie Thelen has a fine basketball IQ and is a strong post defender. He also has an excellent three point shot. Brady Leonard is a fine on-ball defender who is a solid ball handler and can hit from the three point line. Jerryd Scheurer is an eighth-grader who has the heart and confidence of a lion. He is a quick perimeter defender who has an excellent three point shot. He handles the ball well and can be really creative as a passer when he wants to get the ball somewhere.

Nathan Fears defends well on the ball. Mason Simon defends well on the perimeter and can hit the three point shot. Davide Cannilla is an exchange student who works hard and gives his all when he gets on the court.

I got to the gym in time to see most of the JV game. The Bee JVs got off to a 14-7 lead after one quarter and stretched the lead to 33-17 at halftime. The second half was more of the same as the Bath JVs rolled to a 57-28 victory.

Brady Leonard led the Shamrock JVs with 6 points. Mason Simon, Tyler Thelen and T.J. Chamberlain each added 5 points. Jerryd Scheurer put in 4 points (in just one quarter) and Brody Beckhold added 3 points.

Aiden Wolf led the victorious Bee JVs with 12 points. Ethan Wicks supported his teammates with 9 points. Brayden Teachworth and Andy Wonch each pitched in with 6 points. Mitchell Hammond tossed in 4 points. Louis Simpson added 3 points. Thomas Vang, Aden Briggs and Calvin Smith each tallied 2 points.

It is now time to look at the results of this game through the somewhat observant eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to ball in the days of yore when many considered him to be “young.” His entire future as a promising dunker was ruined when the basketball powers that be ruled that his jet belt was unacceptable no matter how impressive his dunking (with the belt’s help) was.

Bath wins the opening tap. DeVondre Chandler passes to Bradlee Uhlmann, who tosses in a threeball from the corner to give the Bees the first three points of the game. Jacob Kuhn steals the ball for the Bees. Bath is assessed with a traveling violation. St. Patrick (one of the players, not the Saint himself) misses a three point shot from the wing. Bath throws a pass out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side.

Alex Fedewa and Charlie Thelen fiercely double team the Bee ball handler and force the ball loose. Devin Cook picks up the ball for the Shamrocks. The Shamrocks miss a threeball from the wing. Max Parry tosses a pass to DeVondre Chandler, who hits an eight foot shot in the lane for the Bees. Max Parry blocks a Shamrock layup. St. Patrick recovers the ball, but misses a three point attempt from the wing. Charlie Thelen steals the ball for the Shamrocks, but steps on the sideline. DeVondre Chandler drives and hits a layup to give the Bees a 7-0 lead.

Charlie Thelen passes to Alex Fedewa, who hits a threeball from the side to give the Shamrocks their first three points. Max Parry passes to a Bee teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both his free throws. With 3:38 to play in the first quarter, Bath has a 7-3 lead.

The rebound is knocked out of bounds and Bath retains possession. Brayden Simon knocks a Bath pass out of bounds, but Bath gets the ball back. Brayden Simon and Alex Fedewa double team the Bath ball handler and Alex Fedewa steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the wing. Bradlee Uhlmann is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws to give his Bees a 9-3 lead with 3:07 to go in the quarter.

St. Patrick misses a six foot shot from the baseline. Bath travels with the ball. St. Patrick reciprocates and travels with the ball. Bradley Uhlmann passes to Brayden Bennett, who hits a layup that pushes the Bath lead to 11-3.

DeVondre Chandler knocks the ball out of bounds on a Shamrock baseline drive; St. Patrick retains possession. Remington McCrimmon knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and DeVondre Chandler picks it up for Bath. Bath misses a threeball from the wing. Brayden Simon passes to Landon Simpson, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Shamrocks. Bath misses a three pointer from the side. Jerryd Scheurer passes to Brayden Simon, who tosses in a trey from the side to chop the Bath lead to 11-9.

Bath misses a three point shot from the wing. Sam Wonch grabs the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a jumper from the three point line. St. Patrick is fouled on a shot in the lane with 2.4 seconds left, but misses both its free throws. Bath has no time to get up a shot before the first quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After one quarter, Bath has an 11-9 lead.

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to start up quarter number two. The Shamrocks misfire on a threeball from the wing. Cole Chamberlain pulls down the defensive rebound and goes coast to coast for a layup that gives his Bees a 13-9 lead.

Jerryd Scheurer passes to Alex Fedewa, who tosses in a three point shot from the corner for St. Patrick to cut the Bath lead to one point. Bath misses a three point shot; Jacob Kuhn hits a putback for the Bees and is fouled, but misses his free throw. With 6:43 to play in the second quarter, Bath has a 15-12 lead.

Bradlee Uhlmann pulls down the offensive rebound for the Bees. Jerryd Scheurer knocks the ball away from Bath and Landon Simpson hits the floor to tie it up. The Possession Arrow is preoccupied on its couch watching Tik Tok videos as it chows down on bon bons. It fails to reward the tough Shamrock defense and awards the ball back to Bath. Brayden Simon knocks the ball away from Bath and Landon Simpson dives and secures the ball for St. Patrick.

The Shamrocks miss a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Bees take the ball. Bath misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Jacob Kuhn blocks a Shamrock shot. DeVondre Chandler passes to Jacob Kuhn, who spins and hits a layup to give the Bees a 17-12 lead.

The Shamrocks misfire on a triple try from the top of the key. Bath misses a layup. Jacob Kuhn gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Landon Simpson steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Brayden Simon whips a cross court pass to Jerryd Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Shamrocks. DeVondre Chandler passes to Jacob Kuhn, who hits a layup for Bath. The Bees lead 19-15.

Peyton Russman zips a pass to Landon Simpson, who hits a three pointer from the wing to trim the Bath lead to one point. Bath misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. St. Patrick misses a three point attempt from the side. Brayden Simon steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the wing. Peyton Russman taps the offensive rebound to Jerryd Scheurer. Jerryd Scheurer passes to Charlie Thelen, who throws in a threeball from the side to give the Shamrocks a 21-19 lead.

Bath throws a pass out of bounds. St. Patrick misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Charlie Thelen steals a pass to foil a Bee fast break. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Bath misses a layup. DeVondre Chandler snags the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup. DeVondre Chandler pulls down another offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses another layup. Charlie Thelen is fouled on a shot and hits one of his two free throws to boost the Shamrock lead to 22-19 with 34.9 seconds remaining in the half.

Bath misses a fast break layup. Charlie Thelen drives; he switches hands and hits a left-handed layup for St. Patrick. Bath misses a half court heave at the buzzer.

At halftime, St. Patrick has a 24-19 lead. The Shamrocks have hit seven three point shots so far.

Jacob Kuhn has 6 points at halftime and Bradlee Uhlmann has 5 to lead Bath.

Landon Simpson, Alex Fedewa and Charlie Thelen each have 6 points for St. Patrick. (In an interesting note that only us arithmetic geeks could love, St. Patrick has only scored 3 points not from the three point line and Charlie Thelen has all of them.)

As there is no halftime entertainment today, (It’s a Monday game.) maybe you will enjoy listening to this old Christian standard from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnetrJFi6o (Hopefully you won’t mind the minor wardrobe malfunction. It doesn’t compare with Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl. This is probably best for anyone with eyes who doesn’t think of 66 year old guys that way LOL!)

St. Patrick tosses the ball in to get the third quarter underway. The Shamrocks miss an eight footer from the baseline. DeVondre Chandler passes to Max Parry, who quickly relays the ball to Jacob Kuhn, who hits a layup for the Bees to trim the Shamrock lead to three points. Charlie Thelen spots Alex Fedewa cutting to the basket and passes him the ball for a Shamrock layup that gives St. Patrick a 26-21 lead.

Bath misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Bees get the ball back. Alex Fedewa knocks the ball away from the Bees to a Shamrock teammate. DeVondre Chandler streaks back and forces St. Patrick to travel on its fast break layup attempt. Bath misses a double pump layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets the ball.

The Shamrocks throw a pass out of bounds. Charlie Thelen knocks the ball away from Bath and Landon Simpson grabs it for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a threeball from the corner. Devin Cook gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Landon Simpson passes to Alex Fedewa, who hits a three point shot from the corner to boost the Shamrock lead to 29-21.

Bath misses a layup. One of the St. Patrick players steals the ball. (Your Bleacher Denizen apologizes to the Shamrock player that was so quick that the old guy could not see what happened!) DeVondre Chandler steals the ball for Bath and hits a layup to trim the Shamrock lead to 29-23.

Charlie Thelen responds by hitting a hook/layup for the Shamrocks. Bath misses a layup. Bradlee Uhlmann steals the ball for the Bees. Bath misses a fast break layup. DeVondre Chandler pulls down the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a three point shot from the wing. Bradlee Uhlmann gets the offensive rebound for Bath. The Bees miss a threeball from the corner. Devin Cook passes to Brayden Simon, who nails a three point shot from the side to boost the St. Patrick lead to 34-23.

Bath misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets the ball. The Shamrocks are whistled for a traveling violation. Bath misses a layup. St. Patrick misses a three point attempt from the corner and fouls on the rebound. Bradlee Uhlmann drives the lane and dishes the ball to Cole Chamberlain, who hits a layup to trim the St. Patrick lead to 34-25.

St. Patrick misses a driving layup and fouls on the rebound. Bath misses a three point shot from the corner. Remington McCrimmon gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup. Brayden Simon hits a fast break layup for St. Patrick. Bath turns the ball over. Jerryd Scheurer drives the baseline and scoops in a layup to boost the Shamrock lead to 38-25.

Bath misses a three point shot from the side. Remington McCrimmon hits a putback for the Bees. Brayden Bennett tips a Shamrock pass out of bounds to prevent a layup with 1.7 seconds left in the quarter. Brayden Bennett steals the ball for Bath. Bath misses a three quarter court heave as quarter number three comes to a close.

After three quarters, St. Patrick holds a 38-27 lead.

Bath has the ball to open quarter number four. Jerryd Scheurer gets his hand on the ball, but Bath is able to recover. Brayden Simon plays tough defense in the post to force a Bath traveling violation. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the corner. Bath travels on a fast break. DeVondre Chandler steals the ball for the Bees. Jerryd Scheurer gets back quickly and is able to foul to prevent DeVondre Chandler’s fast break layup. DeVondre Chandler hits one of his two free throws to trim the Shamrock lead to 38-28 with 6:52 remaining in the game.

Remington McCrimmon knocks a Shamrock pass out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. Jerryd Scheurer passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both his free throws. Charlie Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound from the missed free throw for the Shamrocks. DeVondre Chandler’s fierce defense forces St. Patrick to call time out to avoid losing the ball. DeVondre Chandler and Remington McCrimmon cause the ball to be tied up. The Possession Arrow was taking its nap and missed the play. The ball is awarded to the Shamrocks.

St. Patrick misses a layup. Charlie Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick loses the ball. Charlie Thelen steals a Bee pass into the lane. Landon Simpson passes to Alex Fedewa, who hits a three pointer from the corner for St. Patrick. Alex Fedewa steals a Bath pass. Sam Wonch knocks the ball away from the Shamrocks, but St. Patrick is able to recover. Bradlee Uhlmann steals the ball for the Bees. Bath is whistled for a traveling violation. Charlie Thelen drives and hits a layup for the Shamrocks. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throw. With 3:43 left on the clock, St. Patrick has a 44-28 lead.

Bath misses a three point attempt from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick takes possession. St. Patrick misses an eight foot shot from the side. Landon Simpson steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Bryce Proctor drives and dishes the ball to Colten Hinsman, who is fouled on a layup. He hits one of his two free throws to trim the Shamrock lead to 44-29 with 2:28 left in the contest.

Mason Simon gets the defensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Mason Simon knocks the ball away from Bath and Jerryd Scheurer picks it up for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick is cited for a traveling infraction. Sam Wonch passes to Grant Dunckel, who hits a hook/layup for the Bees. Jerryd Scheurer is fouled and hits both ends of a one and one free throw opportunity for St. Patrick with just one second left. Charlie Thelen steals the Bath inbound pass and the final buzzer goes off.

St. Patrick wins this CMAC Game of the Week by a 46-31 score.

Jacob Kuhn had 8 points to lead the Bath scoring. DeVondre Chandler added 7 points. Bradlee Uhlmann scored 5 points. Cole Chamberlain tossed in 4 points. Grant Dunckel, Brayden Bennett and Remington McCrimmon each had 2 points. Colten Hinsman tallied 1 point.

Alex Fedewa led the St. Patrick scoring with 14 points. Charlie Thelen contributed 11 points. Brayden Simon chipped in with 8 points. Jerryd Scheurer scored 7 points. Landon Simpson added 6 points.