Lakeview at Saranac – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 8, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen is off to Saranac, where the Red Hawks will host the Wildcats from Lakeview in a non-conference basketball game. Lakeview comes into the game with a 2-7 record while Saranac is at 2-6.

While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this pioneering blues tune written by the Delmore Brothers, who also had the first hit with the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TtsKUnqw7g

One of my favorite things about visiting Saranac is getting a pasty from the Pasty Shop. I got there in time and enjoyed an excellent pasty before the game.

I got to the gym around halftime of the JV game. Saranac had a 33-12 halftime lead. Lakeview had a 12-10 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Saranac outscored Lakeview 12-5 in the final quarter and won the game by the final score of 55-29.

Dale Hansen led the Lakeview JVs with 15 points. Carter Bristol added 6 points. Cooper Tiffany and Kendric Perez each scored 4 points.

Landin Barker led the victorious Red Hawk JVs with 17 points. Eric Lake supported his teammate with 9 points. Tait Anible and Silas Mulnix each chipped in with 6 points. Kyle Jackson added 5 points. Rejz Conner scored 4 points. Theodore Van Kulken and Brady Klahn each tossed in 3 points. Gabriel Thomas tallied 2 points.

Lakeview Coach Ben Perez gave me this background information about his Wildcat players.

Boston Syrjala is a tough perimeter defender. Damen Reed runs the point where his top level Basketball IQ leads to a lot of fine scoring plays and top notch defense. Braden Salladay is a fine leader and versatile defender who is tough in the post or on the perimeter. Nicklas Perez is an excellent perimeter defender. Jarek Demorest is a team captain and a big threat from the three point line.

Jack Peasley is a good passer and perimeter defender who can run the point. Grant Wheaton is a fine post defender and rebounder; unfortunately, he is injured and will not play tonight. Brayden McLouth is another smart passer and perimeter defender who can play the point position. Elijah Johnson is a scrappy perimeter defender. Orion Essenburg is an excellent offensive and defensive rebounder. Ashton Snider is a tough scorer in the post.

Saranac Coach Dean Gage provided me with the following information about his Red Hawk players.

Sam Sterzick is an experienced guard who defends the perimeter and handles the ball well. He is a scoring threat either on shots from the three point line or on slashes to the basket. Cody Whipple is a tough perimeter defender who is a big threat from the three point line. Hunter Helminski is a versatile defender that causes problems for opposing offenses either in the post or on the perimeter.
Jordan Dodge is an excellent post defender and rebounder who can hit shots inside or outside. Lucas Hetherington is the big man who defends, scores and rebounds well in the post. Max Olsen is a dependable perimeter defender who can hit shots from the three point line or slash to the basket to score. Brody Stanton handles the ball and defends well from his guard positioin. Brayden Griffin is a good post defender who can rebound and hit outside shots. Elijah Lauer is a fine defensive rebounder and post defender who can score on slashes to the basket.

It is now time to review this game through the occasionally observant peepers of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. He never completely understood that it is important to stay between your man and the basket you are defending on defense. When your Bleacher Denizen time and again got between his man and the other basket, coaches time and time again invited him to have a seat on the bench for a discussion of standard defensive strategies.

Saranac wins the opening tap. The Red Hawks miss a three point attempt from the side. Braden Salladay drives the baseline and hits a layup for Lakeview. Sam Sterzick passes to Cody Whipple, who is cutting to the basket and hits a layup for Saranac to tie the game. Lakeview beats the Saranac press and Braden Salladay hits a layup to give the Wildcats a 4-2 lead.

Saranac throws a pass out of bounds. Cody Whipple and Jordan Dodge double team the Wildcats near the sideline and knock the ball out of bounds; Lakeview retains possession. The Wildcats miss a layup. Braden Salladay gets his hand on a Saranac pass into the lane, but the Red Hawks recover. Sam Sterzick passes to Cody Whipple, who throws in a threeball from the corner for Saranac. Braden Salladay drvies and hits a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline for the Wildcats. The score is now Braden Salladay 6 Cody Whipple 5.

Sam Sterzick drives and scores the first non-Whipple/Salladay points on a driving layup that gives Saaranac the lead. Sam Sterzick gets his hand on a Lakeview pass, but the Wildcats are able to recover. Hunter Helminski intercepts a Wildcat pass in the lane. Cody Whipple tosses in a long threeball from the wing to give the Red Hawks a 10-6 lead.

Boston Syrjala hits a fifteen footer off the dribble from the side for Lakeview. Sam Sterzick drives and dishes the ball to Cody Whipple, who whips another threeball from the side through the hoop for Saranac. Cody Whipple steals the ball and passes to Sam Sterzick, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give the Red Hawks a 16-8 lead.

Jordan Dodge knocks the ball away from a Wildcat dribbler and out of bounds; Lakeview retains possession. Lakeview misses a threeball from the wing; the rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Saranac misses a layup. Brody Stanton pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Jordan Dodge steals the ball for the Red Hawks and draws a foul. Saranac turns the ball over. Lakeview misses a driving layup. Sam Sterzick spins, drives and hits a layup for Saranac. Boston Syrjala passes to Nicklas Perez, who hits a layup for Lakeview to trim the Saranac lead to 18-10.

Brody Stanton passes to Elijah Lauer, who hits a layup for the Red Hawks. Jarek Demorest hits a layup for Lakeview. Elijah Lauer passes to Jordan Dodge, who hits a layup for Saranac. Jarek Demorest passes to Boston Syrjala, who hits a three point shot from the side for Lakeview to shave the Saranac lead to 23-15.

Boston Syrjala steals the ball for Lakeview. Sam Sterzick blocks a Lakeview fast break layup. Lakeview briefly recovers the ball, but Brady Stanton steals it for Saranac. The Red Hawks misfire on a triple try from the side. Jordan Dodge is fouled on the rebound and hits two free throws to give Saranac a 25-15 lead with 45.1 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Brady Stanton steals the ball for Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a layup. Sam Sterzick grabs the offensive reboung for Saranac. Saranac misses a layup. Elijah Lauer gets the offensive rebound for Saranac. Brody Stanton hits a three point shot from the wing for Saranac. Jarek Demorest passes to Nicklas Perez, who hits a layup for Lakeview. Saranac misses a long heave at the buzzer. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. The Red Hawks actually heaved the ball at the basket and not at the buzzer. Sometimes, the mind boggles.)
After one quarter, Saranac has a 28-17 lead.

Lakeview inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Brayden Griffin ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s angst about semantics at the end of the first quarter and steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a ten foot shot from the side. The Red Hawks get the offensive rebound. Jordan Dodge hits a three point shot from the wing to extend the Saranac lead to 31-17.

Nicklas Perez hits a ten foot shot from the side for Lakeview. Saranac misses a runner. Jordan Dodge gets the offensive rebound for Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a layup. Jarek Demorest hits a three point shot from the side for Lakeview to cut the Saranac lead to 31-22.

Saranac misses a runner in the lane. Jordan Dodge hits a putback for the Red Hawks. Jordan Dodge steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Lakeview misses a ten footer from the side. Jarek Demorest hits a putback for Lakeview. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 5:50 to play in the second quarter, Saranac’s lead is at 33-24.

Max Olsen passes to Sam Sterzick, who is cutting to the basket and hits a layup for the Red Hawks. Boston Syrjala hits a ten foot runner in the lane for the Wildcats. Brady Stanton passes to Sam Sterzick, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give Saranac a 38-26 lead.

Max Olsen knocks a Lakeview pass out of bounds; the Wildcats get the ball back. Lakeview misses a jump shot from the three point line. Nicklas Perez gets the offensive rebound for the Wildcats. Lakeview misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac gets the ball. Saranac misfires on a three pointer from the side. Sam Sterzick steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a fast break layup. Hunter Helminski draws a charging foul from the Red Hawks.

Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Sam Sterzick grabs the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup. Dale Hansen alertly saves a pass to prevent a Lakeview turnover. Lakeview misses a layup. Saranac reciprocates and misses a layup. Cody Whipple hits a putback to give Saranac a 40-26 lead.

Max Olsen and Lucas Hetherington team up to force Lakeview to throw the ball out of bounds. Saranac misse a layup. Jordan Dodge steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Lucas Hetherington hits a putback for Saranac. He is fouled on the play and sinks his free throw to give his Red Hawks a 45-26 lead with 1:26 left in the first half.

Brady Stanton steals the ball for Saranac. The Red Hawks misfires on a triple try from the wing. Dale Hansen hits a fast break layup for Lakeview. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throw to trim the Saranac lead to 43-29 with 1:03 to play in the half.

Saranac misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Cody Whipple steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Braden Salladay steals the ball for the Wildcats. Lakeview misses a threeball from the side. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow has been in a pie eating contest; it tries to look up, but misses the play with his meringue-coated eyes. He flips a coin and awards the ball to Saranac.

Boston Syrjala does not let the Possession Arrow’s antics disturb him and steals the ball for Lakeview. Nicklas Perez tosses the ball to Jarek Demorest, who hits a three pointer from the wing for Lakeview. Cody Whipple’s half court heave at the buzzer hits the front rim, but does not go through the basket.

Saranac has a 43-32 halftime lead. There is a great chance that they will still have this lead as the third quarter commences!

As there is no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy these two original tunes from my You Tube Channel
“A Man Like Me”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

“Won’t Be Alone Too Long”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_qnhfMT2k

Your Bleacher Denizen glances at the scoreboard at the onset of the third quarter and is proud to note that he has predicted the third quarter opening score accurately as Saranac continues to hold a 43-32 lead.

Jarek Demorest tosses the ball to Damen Reed, who hits a three point shot for Lakeview. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Cody Whipple hits a putback for the Red Hawks. Hunter Helminski steals the ball for Saranac. Hunter Helminski hits a three point shot from the side to give Saranac a 48-35 lead.

Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Elijah Lauer gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Jordan Dodge nearly steals the ball for Saranac, but is called for kicking the ball; Lakeview gets it back. Jordan Dodge knocks a Wildcat pass out of bounds; Lakeview retains possession. Hunter Helminski steals the ball for Saranac. Saranac misses a fast break layup. Lucas Hetherington gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Lakeview gets the ball. Braden Salladay passes to Boston Syrjala, who hits a threeball from the wing to cut the Saranac lead to 48-38.

Saranac misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Sam Sterzick steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a fast break layup. Lucas Hetherington gets the offensive rebound for Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a layup. Nicklas Perez hits a layup for the Wildcats. Saranac is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 4:35 to play in quarter number three, the Saranac lead is at 48-40.

Cody Whipple knocks a Wildcat pass out of bounds; Lakeview retains possession. Lakeview throws a pass out of bounds. Sam Sterzick passes to Jordan Dodge, who spins and banks in an eight foot shot for Saranac. He is fouled on the play and makes his free throw to boost Saranac to a 51-40 lead with 3:42 remaining in the quarter.

Elijah Lauer knocks the ball away from the Wildcats, but they recover. Lakeview misses a three point shot from the wing; the rebound goes out of bounds and Lakeview gets the ball back. Nicklas Perez alertly saves a bad pass to prevent a Wildcat over and back violation. Lakeview misses a three point shot from the side. Jarek Demorest is fouled on the offensive rebound and hits one of his two free throws to clip the Red Hawk lead down to 51-41 with 2:57 to play in the quarter.

Elijah Lauer passes to Sam Sterzick, who connects on a threeball from the wing for Saranac. Lakeview misses a three point shot from the wing. Saranac misses a fifteen foot runner from the side. Jarek Demorest is fouled catching a pass and hits one of his two free throws to shave the Saranac lead to 54-42 with 1:58 remaining in quarter number three.

Sam Sterzick drives and hits a layup for Saranac. Lakeview misses a fourteen foot shot in the lane. Sam Sterzick passes to Max Olsen, who hits a fast break layup for Saranac. Lakeview misfires on a threeball from the side. Damen Reed gets the offensive rebound for the Wildcats. Sam Sterzick steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac throws a cross court pass too high and out of bounds.

Max Olsen steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a fast break layup. Lucas Hetherington gets the offensive rebound for Saranac. Saranac misses a layup. Lakeview is fouled on the rebound, but misses two free throws with 11.7 seconds to play in the third quarter. Sam Sterzick hits a threeball near the top of the key for Saranac just before the third quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After three quarters, Saranac has a 61-42 lead.

Saranac inbounds the ball to get the final quarter underway. The Redskins miss a three point shot from the side. Sam Sterzick pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks and passes to Cody Whipple, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Saranac. Lakeview misses a three point shot from the side. Sam Sterzick is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to give Saranac a 65-42 lead with 7:17 remaining in the contest.

Brady Stanton steals the ball for Saranac. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Lucas Hetherington knocks the ball away from Lakeview; Cody Whipple picks it up for Saranac and passes to Sam Sterzick, who hits a fast break layup for the Red Hawks. Lakeview misses a layup. Sam Sterzick gets into the lane and uses a screen from Jordan Dodge to free himself for a successful eight foot shot that gives Saranac a 69-42 lead.

Jarek Demorest hits a three point shot for Lakeview. Saranac misses a jump shot. Jordan Dodge pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup. Lakeview is assessed with a traveling violation. Kendric Perez steals a Saranac pass. Lakeview misses a layup. Jordan Dodge hits a three point shot from the wing for Saranac. Boston Syrjala is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws. With 5:11 left on the clock, Saranac has a 72-46 lead.

Braden Salladay gets the offensive rebound for the Wildcats. Saranac knocks the ball out of bounds; the Red Hawks take possession when the Wildcats fail to inbound the ball in five seconds. Kendric Perez blocks a Saranac layup; the Red Hawks retrieve the loose ball. Saranac is fouled, but misses two free throws. With 4:29 left in the game, the Saranac lead stays at 72-46.

Max Olsen harasses Lakeview into an over and back violation. Elijah Johnson’s spirited on-ball defense forces Saranac to call time out to avoid turning the ball over. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Harrison VanKuiken hits a putback for Saranac. Lakeview turns the ball over. Saranac misses a threeball from the side. Lakeview reciprocates and misses a threeball from the side. Braden Salladay gets the offensive rebound for Lakeview.

The Wildcats miss a layup. Boston Syrjala gets the offensive rebound for Lakeview. The Wildcats misfire on a triple try from the corner. Saranac reciprocates and misfires on a triple try from the corner. Cody Whipple steals the ball and passes to Jordan Dodge, who hits a layup for Saranac to give the Red Hawks a 74-48 lead.

Lakeview turns the ball over. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Tait Anible gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Cooper Tiffany gets a hand on the ball and Saranac loses it out of bounds. Lakeview misses a three point shot from the wing. Braden Salladay knocks the ball away from Saranac and Kendric Perez picks it up for Lakeview.

Lakeview misses an eight footer from the side of the lane. Saranac misses a twelve footer in the lane. Lakeview throws a pass out of bounds. Haydin Kessler knocks the ball away from Saranac, but the Red Hawks recover. Elijah Lauer tosses in a threeball from the wing to boost the Red Hawk lead to 77-48.

Tait Anible steals the ball for Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a layup. Lakeview misses a three pointer from the wing as the final buzzer announces the end of the game.

Saranac wins this non-conference game by the score of 77-48.

Jarek Demorest had 17 points to lead the Lakeview scoring. Boston Syrjala joined his teammate in double figures with 11 points. Nicklas Perez scored 8 points and Braden Salladay added 6 points. Damen Reed and Dale Hansen each tallied 3 points.

Sam Sterzick led the Saranac scoring with 25 points. Cody Whipple supported his teammates with 18 points. Jordan Dodge chipped in with 13 points. Elijah Lauer put in 5 points. Brody Stanton, Hunter Helminski, Brayden Griffen and Lucas Hetherington each added 3 points. Max Olsen and Harrison VanKuiken each scored 2 points.