Perry at Potterville – – CMAC Boys Basketball Co-Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 17, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen will brave the cold weather and overcome his fear of polar bears and walruses to watch the Perry Ramblers play the Vikings from Potterville in the CMAC Co-Game of the Week. As your Bleacher Denizen may be doing three CMAC Boys’ games this week, I guess this one is just the Co-Game. Some day, I need to get an official ruling so I know whether to call something “Game of the Week” or “Co-Game of the Week.” The mind boggles – – – .

While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this rendition of “Amazing Grace” from my You Tube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blOrsQkhhf0

Perry enters this game with a 3-2 record in the CMAC; the Ramblers are 6-2 overall.

D.J. Jenks is an excellent, versatile scorer who can hit the three point shot or slash to the basket. He is also a strong perimeter defender. Tristan Krupp can score inside or outside on jump shots (out to the three point line) and also slashes to the basket well. Joey McGraw-Allen runs the point; he has excellent court vision and passing skills. He also rebounds well (especially for a point guard) and is a good perimeter defender.

Austin Poirier is an athletic player who is an excellent rebounder or defender, both in the post or on the perimeter. Tanner Selbig is the team’s big man; he is a strong defender and rebounder in the post. Tim Hall is also a good perimeter defender. Keegan Brown is a strong perimeter defender who also has a nice three point shot and a high basketball IQ.

Potterville Assistant Coach Javon Walker was generous with his time and provided this information about his Potterville players. DaMarion Hicks is an athletic ball of energy who can leap with the best of them. Even though he plays almost the whole game and has recovered from a heart ailment, he never, never, ever stops competing and hustling. His defense results in all kinds of steals, blocked shots and turnovers for the opposition.

Kaleb Batterham is a fine point guard who handles the ball, defends the perimeter and slashses to the basket well. Jacob Bishop is a junior who has been on the varsity since his freshman year. He is a fine three point shooter and also an excellent post scorer. He defends and rebounds well in the post. Reid Jackson is a great three point shooter with better than average range on his shot. Isaiah Woloszyn is a strong perimeter defender who slashes to the basket well.

Andrew Wright is a tough post defender and rebounder who can score down los. Brayden Marenich is a good midrange shooter who rebounds and defends well in the post. Diego Vasquez is a fine perimeter defender who is unfortunately injured and not able to play tonight.

I got here in time to see the last half of the feeshman game. Perry’s freshmen got out to a 37-30 lead in the third quarter, but Potterville scored the last sixteen points of the game and won 46-37.

Austin Rodgers led the Rambler freshmen with 11 points. Zachary Miller and Eli Burns each put in 6 points. Alex Rockafellow added 5 points. Logan France scored 4 points. Dylan King had 3 points and Logan Coy tallied 2 points.

Greg Croze led the victorious Potterville freshmen with 17 points. Domenick Alagna and Isaiah O’Neil each chipped in with 9 points. Blake Pulda scored 6 points and Julian White added 5 points.

Potterville got off to a 10-6 lead after one quarter of the JV game and led 28-24 at halftime. Perry roared out to a 21-5 advantage in the third quarter and controlled the game the rest of the way as the Rambler JVs won by the score of 56-48.

Elijah Pung had 15 points to lead the Potterville JVs. Keegan Bennett joined his teammate in double figures with 10 points. Andrew Morales added 8 points and Tyler Langfeldt notched 7 points. Luke Ward scored 4 points. Greg Croze and Damon Boyd each tallied 2 points.

Jacob Adkins had 19 points to lead the victorious Perry JVs. Anthony Cochrane supported him with 17 points. Alex Torrez tossed in 10 points. Alex McEwan scored 8 points and Tyger Whitbeck had 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this contest through the semi-active eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the medieval days when he was considered “young.” Many people criticized the Bleacher Denizen’s jumping ability and defense, but the armored uniforms we wore in the middle ages made it so that few if any players could really leap back in the day.

Potterville wins the opening tap, but is quickly charged with a traveling violation. Perry misses a layup. Tanner Selbig pulls down the offensive rebound and passes to Tristan Krupp, who hits a layup to give Perry the first two points of the game. Potterville misfires on a threeball from the wing. DaMarion Hicks gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. Perry turns the ball over. Reid Jackson hits a long three point shot from the wing to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead.

DaMarian Hicks knocks the ball away from Perry, but the Ramblers recover. Austin Poirier passes to D.J. Jenks, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Perry the lead. Kaleb Batterham is fouled on an eight footer from the side of the lane and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Perry lead to 5-4 with 6:00 remaining in the opening quarter.

Kaleb Batterham steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville is fouled on a fast break layup, but misses two free throws. Joey McGraw-Allen drives and hits a layup for Perry. Austin Poirier knocks a Potterville pass into the lane out of bounds. Potterville retains possession. The Vikings miss a threeball from the side. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow contacts its secretarial pool; they vote to award the ball to the Ramblers. Perry misses a ten footer from the side.

Potterville misses a three pointer from the wing. Perry misses a layup. Potterville misses a three pointer from the wing. Perry misfires on a threeball from the top of the key. Joey McGraw-Allen steals the ball for Perry. Tim Hall passses to Austin Poirier, who hits a sweet double pump layup for Perry. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 3:40 to go in the first quarter, Perry has a 9-4 lead.

Tristan Krupp pulls down the offensive rebound from the missed free throw for Perry. Perry misses a threeball from the wing. Tristan Krupp hits a putback for the Ramblers to give them a seven point lead. Austin Poirier knocks the ball away from the Vikings, but Potterville is able to recover. The Vikings misfire on a three pointer from the top of the key. A Perry layup is negated because of a traveling violation. DaMarion Hicks passes to Andrew Wright, who hits a layup for Potterville to trim the Perry lead to 11-6.

DaMarion Hicks blocks a Perry shot. Austin Poirier grabs the loose ball and hits a layup for Perry. Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing. Jacob Bishop grabs the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Potterville commits an offensive foul. DaMarion Hicks blocks a Perry shot. Andrew Wright grabs the loose ball for Potterville. DaMarion Hicks hits a fast break layup for the Vikings. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 52.2 seconds remaining in the quarter, Perry has a 13-8 lead.

Perry misses a six footer off the dribble from the baseline. Potterville misses a three pointer from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. Brayden Marenich steals the ball for the Vikings. Joey McGraw-Allen draws a charging foul from the Vikings to foil a fast break. Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Potterville rebounds the ball as the first quarter buzzer announces its presence.

After one quarter, Perry has a 13-8 lead.

Potterville has the ball to open the second quarter. The Vikings miss a three pointer from the top of the key. Jacob Bishop hits a putback for the Vikings. Kaleb Batterham steals the ball for Potterville. The Vikings throw and outlet pass too far and out of bounds. Perry misses a three pointer from the wing. Potterville misses a threeball from the side. DaMarion Hills grabs the offensive reboung for the Vikings. Tanner Selbig blocks a Viking layup. Potterville recovers the ball and Jacob Bishop hits a three point shot from the side to tie the game at 13-13.

Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Potterville misses a three pointer from the side. DaMarion Hicks gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville commits an offensive foul. DaMarion Hicks knocks the ball away from Perry and Isaiah Woloszyn picks it up for Potterville. DaMarion Hicks passes to Jacob Bishop, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give Potterville a 16-13 lead.

Perry is assessed with a traveling violation. Potterville misses a three pointer from the top of the key and fouls on the rebound. Perry misses a threeball from the side. Potterville misses a driving layup. DaMarion Hicks knocks the ball out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Joey McGraw-Allen inbounds the ball to Tristan Krupp, who throws in a threeball from the corner for Perry to tie the game at 16-16.

Potterville is whistled for a traveling violation. Perry misses a layup. Tristan Krupp pulls down the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a layup. Potterville misses a threeball from the wing. Joey McGraw-Allen passes to Tristan Krupp, who hits a layup to give the Ramblers an 18-16 lead.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. Isaiah Woloszyn gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Tanner Selbig knocks the ball away from the Vikings and Joey McGraw-Allen picks it up for the Ramblers. Perry misses a three point shot from the corner. Potterville commits a three seconds in the lane violation. D.J. Jenks drives from the side and hits a layup to boost Perry to a 20-16 lead.

Potterville misses a fifteen footer off the dribble from the baseline. Joey McGraw-Allen is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to give Perry a 21-16 lead with 1:53 to play in the second quarter.

DaMarion Hicks makes a fine pass to Jacob Bishop, who is fouled before he can shoot a layup. (Perry has not committed its fifth foul of the quarter, so there are not free throws.) Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Isaiah Woloszyn gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Jacob Bishop drives and hits a layup for Potterville. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 1:21 remaining in the first half, Perry’s lead is at 21-18.

DaMarion Hicks pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Joey McGraw-Allen is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws for Perry. Kaleb Batterham fires a pass to Isaiah Woloszyn, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Potterville. D.J. Jenks responds by hitting a three pointer from the corner to give Perry a 26-21 lead.

Kaleb Batterham drives and dishes the ball to DaMarion Hicks, who hits a layup for Potterville. Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Joey McGraw-Allen draws a charging foul from Potterville. Perry misses a three point attempt from the wing as the second quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

Perry has a 36-23 lead at halftime.

Jacob Bishop leads the Potterville scoring with 10 points.

Tristan Krupp has 9 points for Perry and D.J. Jenks has 8 points.

As there is no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy these songs from my You Tube Channel.

“Blues Stay Away from Me” is a classic early blues song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TtsKUnqw7g

I also hope you will enjoy this original tune, “Won’t Be Alone Too Long”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_qnhfMT2k

Perry inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. DaMarion Hicks (I’m really typing his name a lot, on defense, he’s involved in almost every play!) knocks the ball out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Reid Jackson steals the ball for the Vikings. On the other end, Reid Jackson hits a three pointer from the wing for Potterville to tie the game. Joey McGraw Allen fires a pass to D.J. Jenks, who hits a three pointer from the side to give Perry a 29-26 lead.

Tristan Krupp knocks the ball away from Potterville and D.J. Jenks picks it up for the Ramblers. Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. DaMarion Hicks passes to Isaiah Woloszyn, who hits a three point shot from the side for Potterville to tie the game at 29-29.

Perry misses a three point shot from the side. Tristan Krupp gets the offensive rebound for Perry. Perry misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. DaMarion Hicks zips a pass to Reid Jackson, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give Potterville a 32-29 lead.

Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Tristan Krupp gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a layup. The Ramblers get the offensive rebound. Austin Poirier hits a layup for Perry. Potterville misses a three pointer from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Perry misses a layup. Tristan Krupp gets the offensive rebound, takes a couple dribbles and hits a layup to give Perry a 33-32 lead.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Kaleb Batterham steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give Potterville a one point lead. Joey McGraw-Allen passes to Tristan Krupp, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Perry a 36-34 lead.

Potterville is whistled for traveling. Perry misses a layup. Austin Poirier steals the ball for Perry. Ezariah Taylor blocks a Perry fast break layup. Potterville turns the ball over. Perry misfires on a threeball from the wing. Tristan Krupp steals the ball for the Ramblers. Kaleb Batterham steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville misses a threeball near the top of the key. Andrew Wright gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses an eight foot runner. Tristan Krupp is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of his two free throws to push Perry to a 37-34 lead with 1:11 to play in the third quarter.

Joey McGraw-Allen knocks a Potterville pass out of bounds; the Vikings retain possession. Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing. Joey McGraw-Allen passes to D.J. Jenks, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Perry a six point lead. D.J. Jenks knocks the ball away from Potterville and Tanner Selbig grabs it for Perry. Andrew Wright knocks the ball away from Perry and Kaleb Batterham picks it up for Potterville. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side as the buzzer sounds.

After three quarters, Perry holds a 40-34 lead.

Perry has the ball to open the final quarter. The Ramblers miss a three point shot from the wing. Tanner Selbig pulls down the offensive rebound for Perry. Kaleb Batterham steals the ball for Potterville. DaMarion Hicks finds Reid Jackson in the corner; Reid Jackson throws in a threeball to cut the Perry lead to 40-37.

DaMarion Hicks’ aggressive defense forces a Perry dribbler to step on the baseline. Joey McGraw Allen steals the ball from Potterville and draws a foul. Isaiah Woloszyn harasses a Perry ball handler into losing the ball out of bounds. Potterville misses a three pointer from the wing. DaMarion Hicks blocks a Potterville reverse layup. Potterville misses a driving layup. Isaiah Woloszyn steals the ball for the Vikings.

Joey McGraw-Allen’s tough defense causes Potterville to throw a pass out of bounds. Perry commits an over and back violation. Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. Kaleb Batterham knocks the ball away from a Perry dribbler and it goes out of bounds; the Ramblers retain possession. Perry drives and dishes the ball out of bounds. Potterville misses a driving layup. Joey McGraw-Allen drives and hits a double pump layup to give Perry a 42-37 lead.

Joey McGraw-Allen knocks the ball out of bounds; Potterville retains possession. A Potterville threeball goes in and out of the basket. Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Joey McGraw-Allen snags the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Tristan Krupp drives and hits a layup to give Perry a 44-37 lead.

Isaiah Woloszyn drives and hits a ten foot shot from the side for Potterville. Perry loses control of the ball and there is a scrum with bodies diving all over the floor. The ball finally goes out of bounds and Perry gets it back. Perry misses a driving layup. Tanner Selbig gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. A Perry layup is negated because of a traveling violation. DaMarion Hicks drives and dishes the ball to a Viking teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both his free throws. With 1:28 left on the clock, the Perry lead remains at 44-39.

Jacob Bishop steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Isaiah Woloszyn gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a threeball from the side. Potterville fouls three times so that the next foul will force Perry to shoot free throws. D.J. Jenks is fouled and hits two free throws to boost the Perry lead to 46-39 with 48.3 seconds to play.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Jacob Bishop gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound becomes a highly contested hot potato; it goes out of bounds and Potterville gets another opportunity. DaMarion Hicks passes to Jacob Bishop, who spins and hits a layup to trim the Perry lead to 46-41.

Joey McGraw Allen is fouled with just 22.1 seconds to play and hits one of his two free throws for Perry. Austin Poirier gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Joey McGraw-Allen is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Perry. Potterville misfires on a triple try from the wing. Kaleb Batterham grabs the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds with a few seconds left and Perry gets the ball. The Ramblers run out the clock.

Perry wins this CMAC contest by a 48-41 score.

Reid Jackson and Jacob Bishop each scored 12 points to lead Potterville’s scoring. Isaiah Woloszyn contributed 8 points. DaMarion Hicks scored 4 points but played amazing defense the entire game. Kaleb Batterham put in 3 points. Andrew Wright tallied 2 points.

Tristan Krupp had 17 points to lead Perry. D.J. Jenks joined his teammate in double figures with 16 points. Joey McGraw-Allen contributed 9 points. Austin Poirier scored 6 points. Tanner Selbig battled the talented Potterville players in the paint the entire game and kept his Ramblers from being dominated inside.