Laingsburg vs. Michigan Center – – Boys Basketball – – Division 3 Regional Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 15, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Wolfpack from Laingsburg will face the Cardinals from Michigan Center in the Regional Final at Hanover-Horton High School.

The Cardinals from Michigan Center enter this game with an 18-7 record.

The Laingsburg Wolfpack are undefeated at 24-0.

While we wait for the game to start, we can listen to this Boogie Woogie tune from my You Tube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MxOus8t44

Zander Woodruff is a fine shooting guard for the Wolfpack. He led the Lansing Area in scoring this year and he has an impressive bag of skills to work with. He is tall and athletic with a lot of ball skills. He has a great three point shot and he is also adept at using the dribble to free himself for midrange shots and drives to the basket. Like all the Wolfpack players, he is a strong defensive player.

Zander’s brother, Eli Woodruff is a fine post defender and rebounder for the Wolfpack. He is also quick enough to guard players on the perimeter when necessary. He can score in the middle on post moves or shoot from the three point line when he is open. Jacob Essenberg is a shooting guard who also has the defensive, ball handling and passing skills to run the point. He is an aggressive perimeter defender who can either drive to the basket or launch an accurate three point shot.

Ty Randall is a tough player who is more than willing to draw charging fouls to help his team. He is a versatile athlete who can defend either in the post or on the perimeter. He has a solid three point shot and puts his toughness to work rebounding and hitting putbacks as well. Brayden Thomas is a pass first point guard who handles the ball really well, runs his team and is an excellent passer. He is also terrific at applying pressure when he plays perimeter defense and can hit the open three point shot if he needs to. Cam Ballard has a fine basketball IQ. He is a strong perimeter defender and ball handler who can also hit an open three point shot.

This is the first time I have seen the Michigan Center Cardinals this year. Coach Travis Gaddy was generous with his time and gave me some background information about his players. Hunter Clemons is a fine three point shooter who can also score by slashing to the basket and plays tough perimeter defense. Adrien Putnam is a clever slasher to the basket who creates ways to score as he goes. He is also a strong perimeter defender.

Freshman Travis Collins is an excellent athlete who is a highly skilled ball handler and tough perimeter defender. He is coming off an injury, but will play tonight. Jayden Watson is a tall freshman post player who defends, rebounds and scores well in the post.

It is now time to look at the results of this game through the glazed eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. He had some potential as a three point shooter, but his range really suffered when the basketball powers that be refused to allow him to use a catapult for his outside shots.

Laingsburg wins the opening tap. Jayden Watson blocks a Wolfpack layup. Brody Shannon drives the baseline and hits a layup to give Michigan Center the first two points of the game. Laingsburg misfires on a triple try from the corner. Adrien Putnam drives and hits a layup for Michigan Center. Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the side. Adrien Putnam is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give the Cardinals a 6-0 lead with 6:29 to play in the first quarter.

Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the side. Ty Randall blocks a Cardinal layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Michigan Center gets another opportunity. Ty Randall blocks another Cardinal layup. Brayden Thomas passes to Eli Woodruff, who hits a twelve foot shot from the baseline to give the Wolfpack their first two points. Michigan Center misses a threeball from the wing. Zander Woodruff hits a three point shot from the top of the key to cut the Michigan Center lead to 6-5.

Ty Randall gets his hand on a Cardinal inbound pass; the ball goes out of bounds and Michigan Center gets another opportunity. Jayden Watson drives and hits a layup for Michigan Center. Eli Woodruff is fouled on a ten foot shot in the lane. He hits one of his two free throws, but it is negated because of a lane violation. With 4:42 to play in the first quarter, Michigan Center has an 8-5 lead.

Ty Randall draws a charging foul from the Cardinals. Jayden Watson blocks a Laingsburg layup. Eli Woodruff gets his hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds. Michigan Center retains possession. Jayden Watson drives the baseline and hits a layup for Michigan Center to give the Cardinals a 10-5 lead.

Zander Woodruff drives and hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Travis Collins is fouled on a driving eight foot shot in the lane and hits one of his two free throws for the Cardinals. Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the side. Michigan Center misses a driving layup. Laingsburg misses a layup. Carter McCave passes to Hunter Clemons, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. He is fouled on the play and makes his free throw to give Michigan Center a 14-7 lead with 2:12 to go in the first quarter.

Brayden Thomas passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the side for Laingsburg. Travis Collins passes to Hunter Clemons, who throws in a threeball from the side to give Michigan Center a 17-9 lead.

Laingsburg misses a jump shot. Michigan Center throws a pass out of bounds. Ty Randall drives and hits a reverse layup for Laingsburg. Michigan Center misses a driving, scooping layup. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the side. Ty Randall gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misfires on a threeball near the top of the key. Brayden Thomas steals the ball for the Wolfpack and passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a fast break layup to trim the Michigan Center lead to 17-13.

The Cardinals miss a three pointer near the top of the key. Travis Collins gets the offensive rebound for Michigan Center. The Cardinals miss a rushed layup at the buzzer.

After one quarter, Michigan Center has a 17-13 lead.

Michigan Center inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Brayden Thomas steals a Cardinal pass. Ty Randall drives in and hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Michigan Center misses a three pointer from the wing. Laingsburg fouls on the rebound. Michigan Center misses a driving layup. Laingsburg misses a layup. Connor Hulliberger gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a layup. Zander Woodruff gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Brayden Thomas hits a jumper off the dribble from the free throw elbow for the Wolfpack to tie the game at 17-17.

Connor Hulliberger and Ty Randall team up to block a Cardinal layup. Jayden Watson grabs the loose ball and is fouled on a layup. He hits one of his two free throws to give Michigan Center an 18-17 lead with 6:14 to play in the first half.

Laingsburg misses a threeball from the wing. Ty Randall pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Zander Woodruff drives from the top of the key and hits a layup to give the Wolfpack a one point lead. Eli Woodruff gets his hand on a pass and Michigan Center loses the ball out of bounds. Laingsburg misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Connor Hulliberger gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a three pointer from the side. Adrien Putnam passes to Carter McCave, who hits a three point shot from the side to boost Michigan Center to a 21-19 lead.

Laingsburg misfires on a triple try from the wing. Ty Randall pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses an eight footer from the side of the lane. Ty Randall hits a putback for Laingsburg to tie the game. Michigan Center is assessed with an over and back violation. Brayden Thomas passes to Eli Woodruff, who hits a jumper from the free throw line for Laingsburg. Ty Randall steals the ball for the Wolfpack. Eli Woodruff hits a fast break layup to give Laingsburg a 25-21 lead.

Hunter Clemons passes to Adrien Putnam, who hits a three point shot from the wing to chop the Laingsburg lead to one point. Laingsburg travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. Somehow, I’m not terribly sure that traveling without the ball would be all that newsworthy.) Michigan Center misses a threeball from the wing. Jayden Watson gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. He passes to Adrien Putnam, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Michigan Center. With 2:20 to play in the second quarter, the game is tied at 25-25.

Jayden Watson gets the offensive rebound of the missed free throw for the Cardinals. Brayden Thomas steals the ball for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the corner. Michigan Center is fouled on the rebound, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Zander Woodruff passes to Brayden Thomas, who throws in a threeball from the side to give the Wolfpack a 28-25 lead.

Zander Woodruff steals the ball for Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Brody Shannon passes to Kyran Lane, who hits a layup for Michigan Center to pull the Cardinals within one point. Laingsburg throws a pass through the lane and out of bounds. Michigan Center works the ball for awhile; they are probably trying to shoot the last shot of the half. Adrien Putnam passes to Carter McCave, who hits a three point shot from the side at the buzzer.

Michigan Center has a 30-28 lead at halftime.

Zander Woodruff leads Laingsburg’s scoring at halftime with 11 points. Ty Randall and Eli Woodruff each have 6 points. Brayden Thomas has 5 points.

Adrien Putnam has 8 points to lead the Michigan Center scoring at halftime. Hunter Clemons and Carter McCave each have 6 points. Jayden Watson has 5 points.

As there is no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy this original tune from my You Tube Channel as we wait for the second half to get under way! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol3R-ZL9568

Laingsburg inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. Zander Woodruff drives and hits a layup for the Wolfpack to tie the game. Jacob Essenberg nearly steals the ball for Laingsburg, but Michigan Center is able to recover. Brody Shannon is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to give the Cardinals a 31-30 lead with 7:10 to play in quarter number three.

Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the side. Michigan Center drives the baseline and misses an eight foot shot. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the wing. Michigan Center misses a threeball from the side. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the wing. Brayden Thomas knocks the offensive rebound to Eli Woodruff. Brayden Thomas passes to Zander Woodruff, who throws in a threeball from the side to give Laingsburg a one point lead. Brody Shannon passes to Adrien Putnam, who hits a three pointer from the wing to give Michigan Center a 34-33 lead.

Brayden Thomas passes to Eli Woodruff, who hits a threeball from the side to give Laingsburg a two point lead. Brody Shannon passes to Adrien Putnam, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give the Cardinals a 37-36 lead.

Laingsburg misses a three point shot. Zander Woodruff knocks the ball away from the Cardinals and Ty Randall picks it up for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a fifteen footer off the dribble from the side. Zander Woodruff steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give Laingsburg a 38-37 lead.

Michigan Center misfires on a threeball from the side. Laingsburg misses a layup. Ty Randall and Zander Woodruff each get their hand on the ball; Jacob Essenberg picks it up for the Wolfpack and hits a fast break layup. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 3:21 left in the third quarter, the Wolfpack has a 40-37 lead.

Jackson Audretsch get the rebound from the missed free throw for the Wolfpack. Zander Woodruff hits a three point shot from the side for the Wolfpack. Michigan Center misses an eight foot shot from the side. Adrien Putnam hits a putback for the Cardinals. Jacob Essenberg passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Wolfpack to push the Laingsburg lead to 46-39.

Jacob Essenberg knocks the ball away from the Cardinals and Zander Woodruff picks it up for the Wolfpack. Brayden Thomas throws a slick behind the back pass to Jackson Audretsch, who hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Michigan Center misses a three point attempt from the wing. Zander Woodruff is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Laingsburg a 50-39 lead with 1:06 remaining in quarter number three.

Adrien Putnam passes to Jayden Watson, who hits a layup for Michigan Center. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. Laingsburg holds the ball for the last shot, but the Wolfpack steps on the midcourt line for an over and back violation with 11.3 seconds left in the quarter. Zander Woodruff steals the ball for Laingsburg. Carter McCave gets his hand on a Wolfpack outlet pass and Laingsburg loses the ball out of bounds. Zander Woodruff steals the ball for Laingsburg and hits a layup at the buzzer.

With three quarters in the books, Laingsburg has a 52-41 lead.

Michigan Center inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Cardinal miss a three point shot from the wing. Laingsburg misses a layup. Ty Randall blocks a Michigan Center layup from behind. Zander Woodruff drives and hits a layup for Laingsburg. Ty Randall knocks the ball away from Michigan Center and Jackson Audretsch picks it up for Laingsburg. Brayden Thomas passes to Eli Woodruff, who fakes a three point shot, takes a hard dribble and hits a sixteen foot shot from the side to give the Wolfpack a 56-41 lead.

Michigan Center misses a three point shot from the corner. Laingsburg fouls on the rebound. Adrien Putnam inbounds the ball to Brody Shannon, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Laingsburg lead to 56-42 with 4:51 left on the clock.

Laingsburg misses a driving layup. Ty Randall snags the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a layup. Michigan Center misses an eight foot shot from the side; Laingsburg fouls on the rebound. Michigan Center misses a layup. Adrien Putnam gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Michigan Center misses a ten foot shot in the lane.

Laingsburg starts using some of the clock with about 4:00 left in the game. Brayden Thomas is fouled and hits one of two free throws in a one and one opportunity to push the Laingsburg lead to 57-42 with 3:33 left in the game.

Jacob Essenberg gets his hand on a Cardinal pass and Michigan Center loses the ball out of bounds. Laingsburg is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Laingsburg fouls on the rebound. Michigan Center misses a three pointer from the wing. Brayden Thomas reacts quickly to prevent a bad Wolfpack pass from turning into an over and back violation. Jacob Essenberg hits a layup to push the Laingsburg lead to 59-42.

Michigan Center misses a three point shot from the side. Laingsburg runs some more clock until Eli Woodruff drives in for a layup and is fouled. He hits two free throws to give the Wolfpack a 61-42 lead with 1:39 remaining in the contest.

Both teams bring in bench players to finish the game.

Adam Essenberg steals the ball for Laingsburg. He drives and hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Michigan Center misses a three point shot from the wing. Karter Hall and Haydn Hinkle team up to knock the ball away from Laingsburg and out of bounds. Laingsburg retains possession. Spencer Berkeypile steals the ball for the Cardinals. Michigan Center misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Laingsburg takes possession.

Laingsburg runs out the final 33 seconds left in the game.

Laingsburg wins 63-42 and will play Ecorse in the State Quarterfinal Tuesday night.

Adrien Putnam led the Michigan Center scoring with 16 points. Jayden Watson scored 7 points. Hunter Clemons and Carter McCave each threw in 6 points. Brody Shannon added 4 points. Kyran Lane had 2 points and Travis Collins tallied 1 point.

Zander Woodruff had 30 points to lead the Laingsburg scoring. Eli Woodruff joined his brother and teammate in double figures with 13 points. Brayden Thomas and Ty Randall each chipped in with 6 points. Jacob Essenberg contributed 4 points. Jackson Audretsch and Adam Essenberg each added 2 points.