Laingsburg at Pewamo-Westphalia – – Boys Basketball – – CMAC Boys Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 6, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft
It’s early in the season, but not too early for the Bleacher Denizen to do his first CMAC Boys Game of the Week. In this game, two of the top teams in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference will compete as the Pirates from Pewamo-Westphalia will host the Wolfpack from Laingsburg.
As we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this video of “Snoopy’s Christmas” (a 1960s novelty song) from my You Tube Channel!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1pZCnDBHL0
Laingsburg has only played one game this season; they won over Haslett, a big Division 2 team that is usually pretty strong, by 21 points. Coach Tim Beebe gave me some information about his Wolfpack players.
Zander Woodruff is a returning senior who led last year’s Wolfpack Quarterfinalists in scoring. He has a beautiful three point shot and he frequently goes into really hot streaks where he just can’t miss. He is also a fine ball handler and midrange scorer and also plays the tough perimeter defense that is characteristic of the Wolfpack every year.
Cam Ballard is a fine ball handler and aggressive perimeter defender with a strong basketball IQ. He is another three point threat. Vance Klont is a strong three point shooter as well. Jackson Audretsch provides post defense and strong rebounding. Last year he came off the bench to play a key role in the third quarter of the Wolfpack’s Regional Final win.
Pewamo-Westphalia (hereafter to mostly be known as P-W to save wear and tear on your Bleacher Denizen’s aging fingers) Coach Dominic Schneider provided this information about his Pirate players.
Grady Eklund is a tall point guard who is an absolute offensive machine. He uses his quickness and creativity to attack the basket in various ways; combined with his height, he is almost unblockable in the lane and draws a lot of fouls when opponents try to stop him. He combines this with the ability to use dribble moves to free himself for his accurate three point shot. He handles the ball well and is a good passer; on defense, his length makes him effective anywhere on the court.
Kash Pohl and Reese Thelen are good three point shooters who defend well on the perimeter. Lane Trierweiler is a good post defender and scorer who can also hit the three point shot. Trevor Spitzley is a strong defender and rebounder in the post.
Whenever I cover a game at P-W, I always try to stop at Ox’s Market for some smoked chicken and chicken jerky. I was in luck as they had both today. (The smoked chicken is really popular and frequently sells out.) I will be eating well this weekend!!
It is now time to review the events of this contest through the hopefully observant eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore. Many people criticized the Bleacher Denizen’s jumping ability, but in fairness to me, I’ll point out that there were not many skywalkers back in the days when we played in uniforms made of chain mail armor.
Laingsburg wins the opening tap. The Wolfpack misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. P-W misses a layup. Grady Ekland is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give P-W a 2-0 lead 41 seconds into the game.
Laingsburg misses a three point attempt from the corner. Vance Klont pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the wing. Grady Eklund drives and hits a layup for P-W. Cam Ballard drives and dishes the ball to Aiden Maddaloni, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for the Wolfpack. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Zander Woodruff drives and hits an eight foot shot from the baseline for the Wolfpack to tie the game at 4-4.
Kash Pohl drives and dishes the ball to Reece Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the corner for P-W to retake the lead. Trevor Spitzley steals the ball for the Pirates. Laingsburg misses a twelve footer from the baseline. P-W misses a layup; Trevor Spitzley grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Reece Thelen draws a charging foul from the Wolfpack. P-W misses a ten footer from the baseline. Reece Thelen grabs the offensive rebound and passes to Grady Eklund, who hits a three point shot from the wing to boost P-W to a 10-4 lead.
Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Cam Ballard pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a fifteen footer from the side. Cam Ballard grabs another offensive rebound for Laingsburg. The Wolfpack misses a layup. Grady Eklund hits a three point shot from the top of the key to give P-W a 13-4 lead.
Zander Woodruff passes to Aiden Maddaloni, who is fouled as he shoots a layup. He hits one of his two free throws to shave the P-W lead to 13-5 with 2:04 to play in the quarter.
P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Trevor Spitzley gets the offensive rebound for P-W. The Pirates are fouled on a layup, but miss two free throws. Laingsburg misses a twelve foot shot from the side. P-W travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting; I’m not sure that traveling without the ball would be terribly newsworthy.) Laingsburg misses an eight foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Grady Eklund hits a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the side to boost P-W to a 15-5 lead.
Trevor Smith steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Laingsburg gets the defensive rebound, but there is no time to shoot before the buzzer blares.
After one quarter, Pewamo-Westphalia holds a 15-5 lead.
P-W has the ball to start out the second quarter. The Pirates miss a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Laingsburg takes possession. Zander Woodruff passes to Dom Garcia, who hits a three point shot form the wing for the Wolfpack. P-W misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Zander Woodruff hits a threee point shot from the wing for Laingsburg to chop the Pirate lead to 15-11.
P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Dominic Weber grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Pirates get another opportunity. P-W misses a layup; Trevor Spitzley hits a putback to give P-W a 17-11 lead.
Laingsburg drives the baseline, but misses a layup. Jackson Audretsch gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a driving layup. Cam Ballard steals the ball and passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a fast break layup for the Wolfpack to trim the Pirate lead to 17-13.
Cam Ballard knocks the ball away from P-W and Zander Woodruff picks it up for Laingsburg. Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the side. Logan Holm snags the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Grady Eklund taps the ball and Laingsburg fouls trying to recover it. P-W commits an offensive foul. Reece Thelen draws a charging foul from Laingsburg. Grady Eklund launches and hits a long threeball from the wing to boost his Pirates to a 20-13 lead.
Laingsburg misses a driving layup. Vance Klont knocks a pass out of bounds to prevent a Pirate layup. Grady Eklund is fouled on an eight foot shot from the side; he hits two free throws to give P-W a 22-13 lead with 3:13 remaining in the first half.
Logan Holm passes to Jackson Audretsch, who hits a layup for Laingsburg. A P-W traveling violation negates a layup. Laingsburg is fouled on a runner in the lane, but misses two free throws. Cam Ballard gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingburg misses a llayup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Wolfpack gets another opportunity. Laingsburg misses a sixteen foot shot from the side. Zander Woodruff gets a hand on the ball and P-W loses it out of bounds. Zander Woodruff is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to reduce the Pirate lead to 22-17 with 1:51 left in the half.
P-W misses an eight foot shot from the baseline. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow watches the video from forty-one different angles before decreeing that Laingsburg shall have the ball. Grady Eklund blocks a Wolfpack three point shot from the corner. A P-W dribbler steps on the sideline and turns the ball over. Cam Ballard passes to Zander Woodruff, who lets go of a threeball as he is falling back and hits the shot to cut the P-W lead to 22-20. I believe that this is Zander Woodruff’s 1000th point for the Wolfpack!
Cam Ballard steals the ball for the Wolfpack and passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a fast break layup, is fouled and sinks his free throw to push the Wolfpack to a 23-22 lead with 45.1 seconds remaining in the half.
P-W holds the ball for the last shot. The Pirates shoot a layup, but Cam Ballard blocks it and ties the ball up in the process. The Possession Arrow glances at the replay footage for a second and awards the ball to P-W with just 1.2 seconds to play in the half. P-W misses a six foot shot in the lane as the halftime buzzer makes its presence known.
Laingsburg has a 23-22
Grady Eklund has 17 points for Pewamo-Westphalia.
Zander Woodruff has 15 points for Laingsburg.
As we there is no halftime entertainment today, I hope you will enjoy one (or ideally all LOL) of these You Tube videos from my channel.
This one is an aggressive original rocker!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_qnhfMT2k
This one is a mellow, beautiful Canadian love ballad from the 1860s!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUhc4KROlnw
And here’s the latest one from the channel; it’s an original tune where I do my best Walter Mitty imitation!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc
Now that we have listened to the videos (and hopefully liked and subscribed to the channel), it’s time for Quarter Number 3!! (And thank you for enduring the shameless self-promotion.)
Laingsburg inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. The Wolfpack misses a fifteen foot shot from the wing, but gets the offensive rebound. Laingsburg misses a twelve foot shot from the wing. A foul before the shot negates a P-W layup. P-W inbounds the ball, but misses a three point shot from the wing. Zander Woodruff hits a three point shot off the dribble to give Laingsburg a 26-22 lead.
Zander Woodruff knocks a pass out of bounds; P-W retains possession. Trevor Spitzley passes to Grady Eklund, who drains a threeball from the wing for P-W. Zander Woodruff gets into the lane and hits a five foot floater to give Laingsburg a 28-25 lead.
Zander Woodruff and Jackson Audretsch play tough defense and force P-W to call timeout to avoid a turnover. Dom Garcia steals the ball and passes to Zander Woodruff, who hits a fast break layup for Laingsburg. Kash Pohl passes to Grady Eklund, who hits a three point shot from the wing to cut the Laingsburg lead to 30-28.
Laingsburg is assessed with a traveling violation. P_W misses a three point shot near the top of the key. Kash Pohl partially blocks a Laingsburg threeball near the top of the key. A wild P-W outlet pass goes out of bounds and the Pirate fast break is foiled. Zander Woodruff hits a fifteen footer off the dribble from the wing for Laingsburg. Grady Eklund drives and hits a layup for the Pirates; he is fouled on the play and hits his free throw to pull P-W within one point at 32-31 with 3:13 left on the third quarter clock.
Zander Woodruff passes to Dom Garcia, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Laingsburg. P-W misses a driving layup and fouls on the rebound. Trevor Spitzley steals the ball for the Pirates. Dom Garcia steals the ball for the Wolfpack. Grady Eklund gets a hand on the ball and it goes out of bounds; Laingsburg retains possession. Laingsburg misses a three pointer from the wing. Cam Ballard gets the long offensive rebound; he fires up and hits a threee pointer from the wing to give the Wolfpack a 38-31 lead.
Zander Woodruff steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Wolfpack. Grady Eklund drives and dishes the ball to Lane Trierweiler, who hits a reverse layup for the Pirates. Laingsburg throws a pass out of bounds. P-W misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Laingsburg misses a heave at the buzzer. (Again, basketball cliches can be interesting; I’m sure the shooter was throwing the ball at the Laingsburg basket, not the buzzer.)
In any case, Laingsburg has a 40-33 lead after three quarters.
P-W inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter started. Reece Thelen passes to Grady Eklund, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws. Kash Pohl steals the ball for the Pirates. Grady Eklund passes to Kash Pohl, who hits a three point shot from the corner as the Pirates quickly cut the Wolfpack lead to 40-37.
Laingsburg misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line and fouls on the rebound. Zander Woodruff knocks the ball away from P-W and Aiden Maddaloni picks it up for Laingsburg. The Wolfpack misfire on a triple try from the wing. The Pirates misfire on a triple try from the baseline. Grady Eklund drives and hits an eight foot shot from the side of the lane to chop the Laingsburg lead to 40-39.
Lane Trierweiler steals the ball for the Pirates. Grady Eklund hits a layup, is fouled and makes his free throw to give P-W a 42-40 lead with 5:48 left on the game clock.
Trevor Smith gets his hand on the ball, but the Wolfpack save their possession. Zander Woodruff drives and hits a layup for the Wolfpack to tie the game. P-W misses a layup. Trevor Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W commits a traveling violation. Laingsburg misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane and fouls on the rebound. P-W commits a moving screen foul. Trevor Smith knocks the ball away from Laingsburg, but Zander Woodruff recovers it for the Wolfpack.
Laingsburg misses a long threeball past the top of the key. P-W misses a layup. Grady Eklund snares the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup. Cam Ballard drives and dishes the ball to Logan Holm who launches and hits a three point shot from the corner to give Laingsburg a 45-42 lead.
P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the corner. Vance Klont knocks the ball out of bounds; the Pirates retain possession. Reece Thelen inbounds the ball to Grady Eklund, who does a phenomenal job protecting the ball and manages to hit a layup as he is fouled. He misses his free throw, but Trevor Spitzley is fouled on the rebound and hits two free throws to give P-W a 46-45 lead with 2:36 left in the game.
Laingsburg misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Kash Pohl passes to Trevor Smith, who hits a layup and is fouled, but misses his free throw. With 1:42 to play, the P-W lead is at 48-45.
The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and Laingsburg takes possession. The Wolfpack misses a threeball from the side. There is a scrum on the floor for the rebound and the ball iw tied up. The Possession Arrow awards the ball to Laingsburg. Cam Ballard passes the ball to Zander Woodruff, who is fouled as he launches a three pointer from the wing. Zander Woodruff hits one, two and three free throws for Laingsburg to tie the game at 48-48 with 1:16 remaining.
P-W misses a driving layup. Trevor Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. As P-W attempts a potential game-winning driving layup, Vance Klont stands in and takes a charging foul. Laingsburg misses a three point shot at the buzzer.
The game is tied at 48-48 and we will have overtime between what are probably the two best teams in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference!
Laingsburg wins the opening tap in overtime. Six seconds into the extra period, Zander Woodruff is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Laingsburg the lead. P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Zander Woodruff drives and hits a six foot shot from the side of the lane to give Laingsburg a four point lead. Reece Thelen is fouled and hits one of his two free throws. With 2:07 left in overtime, Laingsburg has a 52-49 lead.
Kash Pohl knocks a Wolfpack pass out of bounds, but Laingsburg retains possession. Lane Trierweiler steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W travels and turns the ball over. Cam Ballard is fouled and hits two free throws for Laingsburg. Kash Pohl passes to Reece Thelen, who hits a three point shot for Laingsburg. Cam Ballard is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Laingsburg. With1:00 left in overtime, Laingsburg has a 55-52 lead.
Lane Trierweiler is fouled on the rebound and hits one of his two free throws for P-W. Zander Woodruff is fouled and hits two free throws to give Laingsburg a 57-53 lead with 42.1 seconds to go.
Grady Eklund drives and hits an eight foot shot in the lane for P-W. Zander Woodruff is fouled and hits two more free throws to give the Wolfpack a 59-55 lead with 20.3 seconds to play.
Cam Ballard knocks the ball away from P-W and Vance Klont picks it up for Laingsburg. Reece Thelen steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Laingsburg inbounds the ball and dribbles out the last three or four seconds of the game.
Laingsburg wins this overtime struggle by a 59-55 score.
Grady Eklund had 36 points to lead the Pewamo-Westphalia scoring. Reece Thelen supported his teammate with 7 points. Trevor Spitzley put in 4 points. Lane Trierweiler and Kash Pohl each scored 3 points. Trevor Smith tallied 2 points.
Zander Woodruff had 39 points to lead Laingsburg. Cameron Ballard and Dom Garcia each contributed 6 points. Logan Holm and Aiden Maddaloni each added 3 points. Jackson Audretsch tallied 2 points.