St. Ignace vs. Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian – – MHSAA Boys Division 4 State Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 14, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Saints from St. Ignace are going to play the Defenders from Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian in the State Semifinal. I stopped by Jersey Giant and had THE Jersey Giant sub on my way here. They use some of the greatest bread around and make a fantastic sub. It was great!!!

While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this vintage blues tune sung and played in a vintage style from my You Tube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TtsKUnqw7g

The Michigan High School Athletic Association has provided background information about the teams.

Unity Christian enters the game with a 22-5 record and are rated Number 7 in Division 4. All of their losses have been to Division 1, Division 2 or Division 3 teams. Here are some of their top players. Jordan VanKlompenberg is a guard who averages 12.8 points per game to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He has scored 55 three point baskets so far this year. Keaton Blanker averages 7.8 points and 4.6 assists. Wesley Kaman averages 10.5 points.

Tri-Unity Christian is a balanced team with five players averaging at least 5.0 points a game. Joey Mellon averages 7.0 points off the bench.

St. Ignace enters this game with a 21-6 record and is rated Number 6 in Division 4. Jonny Ingalls is an athletic player who knows the game well. He averages 30 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 4.0 steals and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Nick Halberg is a post player who averages 10.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Ethan McLean plays inside or outside and averages 11.6 points to go along with 5.0 rebounds. Kordell KillsCrow averages 8.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally clear lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore. Alas, he was never able to learn that it is best to pass to other players only when they are wearing the same color uniform as you. While the Bleacher Denizen thought he was being creative and inclusive, his coach had other ideas and severely cut his playing time.

Tri-Unity wins the opening tap. The Defenders miss a threeball from the corner. St. Ignace misses a twelve footer from the baseline. Nick Halberg gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. Jonny Ingalls passes to Ethan McLean, who hits a layup to give the Saints the first two points of the game.

Tri-Unity misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. St. Ignace misses a driving layup. Tri-Unity reciprocates and misses a driving layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Ignace takes possession. St. Ignace misses a driving layup. Tri-Unity misses a fast break reverse layup. Akais Giploye passes to Jordan VanKlompenberg, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give the Defenders a 3-2 lead.

Wesley Kaman knocks the ball out of bounds and Tri-Unity takes the ball. Jordan VanKlompenberg passes to Wesley Kaman, who throws in a threeball from the side for Tri-Unity. Nick Halberg bounces the Jonny Ingalls, who hits a layup for St. Ignace to trim the Defender lead to 6-4.

Owen Rosendall hits a three point shot from the wing for Tri-Unity to give the lead to the Defenders. St. Ignace misfires on a threeball from the corner. Tri-Unity loses the ball out of bounds. Jonny Ingalls hits a three point shot off the dribble from the wing to trim the Defender lead to 9-7.

Tri-Unity misses a three pointer near the top of the key. St. Ignace misses a fourteen footer off the dribble in the lane. Tri-Unity misses a threeball from the side. St. Ignace misses a threeball from the corner. Jonny Ingalls steals the ball for the Saints. Jordan VanKlompenberg steals the ball for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misses a fast break layup. Jonny Ingalls hits a three point shot off the dribble from the wing to give the Saints a 10-9 lead.

Tri-Unity misses a three pointer from the wing. Wesley Kaman blocks a Saint reverse layup. Akais Giplaye hits a fast break layup to give Tri-Unity a one point lead. Trevor Visnaw passes to Jonny Ingalls, who banks in a threeball from the side to give St. Ignace a 13-11 lead.

Tri-Unity misses on a three pointer near the top of the key. Trey Rillema gets the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misfires on a triple try from the side. Jonny Ingalls hits a three point shot off the dribble from the wing for St. Ignace. Lincoln Eerdmans drives and hits an eight foot shot in the lane for the Defenders as the first quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After one quarter, St. Ignace has a 16-11 lead.

St. Ignace inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Lincoln Eerdmans knocks the ball away from St. Ignace and passes to Wesley Kaman, who hits a layup for the Defenders. Nick Halberg passes to Kordell KillsCrow, who hits a twelve foot shot from the baseline for St. Ignace. Joey Mellon hits a layup to give Tri-Unity a 19-18 lead.

St. Ignace misses a three pointer from the corner. Tri-Unity misses a driving layup. ST. Ignace misses a three point shot from the corner. Tri-Unity misses a three pointer from the wing. Wesley Kaman pulls down the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Keaton Blanker passes to Trey Rillema, who hits a layup to give Tri-Unity a 21-18 lead.

Keaton Blanker knocks the ball away from St. Ignace, but Trevor Visnaw recovers the ball for the Saints. St. Ignace throws a pass out of bounds. Tri-Unity fumbles a pass out of bounds. Jonny Ingalls stops suddenly, does some great footwork, spins and hits a layup for the Saints. Keaton Blanker is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give Tri-Unity a 23-20 lead with 3:52 remaining in the first half.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Tri-Unity misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Saints take possession. Jonny Ingalls passes to Nick Halberg, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Defender lead to 23-21 with 3:16 to play in the first half.

Tri-Unity misses a three pointer near the top of the key. St. Ignace misses a twelve footer off the dribble in the lane. Tri-Unity misses a fifteen foot shot from the side of the lane. Akais Giploye hits a putback for the Defenders and is fouled. He misses his free throw. With 2:34 to play in the first half, the Defender lead is at 25-21.

Jordan VanKlompenberg pulls down the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Kordell KillsCrow draws and offensive foul from the Defenders. Jonny Ingalls passes to Nick Halberg, who hits a layup to trim the Defender lead to 25-23.

Trevor Visnaw knocks the ball away from Tri-Unity, but the Defenders recover. Kordell KillsCrow causes a Defender traveling violation. Ethan McLean passes to Nick Halberg, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Defender lead to 25-24 with 1:03 left in the half.

Kordell KillsCrow steals the ball for St. Ignace. Jordan VanKlompenberg steals the ball for Tri-Unity. Kordell KillsCrow draws a charging foul from the Defenders. Jonny Ingalls is fouled and hits two free throws with just 10.6 seconds left in the quarter to give the lead to the Saints. Tri-Unity misses a threeball from the side as the halftime buzzer announces its presence.

At halftime, St. Ignace has a 26-25 lead.

Wesley Kaman has 5 points to lead the Tri-Unity Christian scoring at halftime.

Jonny Ingalls has 18 points for St. Ignace.

As many of you are not able to see the halftime events, here are a couple tunes from my You Tube Channel I hope you will enjoy.

Here is a piano solo of “Feed the Birds” from “Mary Poppins!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2KWzZEUZA

This is an original tune, “A Man Like Me”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

Tri-Unity inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Defenders misfire on a triple try from the wing. St. Ignace travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting; traveling without the ball would most certainly not be terribly newsworthy.) Wesley Kaman ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s semantic musings and hits a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line to give the Defenders a 27-26 lead.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Jordan VanKlompenberg passes to Wesley Kaman, who hits a layup for the Defenders. Jonny Ingalls passes to Kordell KillsCrow, who throws in a threeball from the corner for St. Ignace to tie the game at 29-29.

Tri-Unity misses a layup. St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Tri-Unity misses a layup. Akais Giploye gets the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Keaton Blanker is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Tri-Unity a 31-29 lead with 4:59 remaining in the third quarter.

St. Ignace misses a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the side. Tri-Unity misses a driving layup. Wesley Kaman gets the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and St. Ignace takes possession. Ethan McLean passes to Jonny Ingalls, who jumps, catches the ball in midair and hits a layup for the Saints to tie the game at 31-31.

Owen Rosendall drives and hits a six foot shot in the lane for the Defenders. Ethan McLean is fouled on a five foot floater and hits two free throws for the Saints to tie the game at 33-33 with 3:32 to play in quarter number three.

Tri-Unity misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Lincoln Eerdmanns dives and knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Ignace retains possession. The Saints miss a threeball from the corner. Ethan McLean knocks the ball away from the Defenders and Jonny Ingalls picks it up for the Saints. Jonny Ingalls passes to Shawn Kingsbury, who hits a fast break layup to give the Saints a 35-33 lead.

Trevor Visnaw steals the ball for the Saints. Tri-Unity is quickly charged with two fouls and then a technical foul. Jonny Ingalls hits one of his two free throws to give St. Ignace a 36-33 lead with 1:39 remaining in the third period.

St. Ignace inbounds the ball after the technical foul. Jonny Ingalls is fouled and hits two free throws for St. Ignace. Keaton Blanker passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both his free throws. Trey Rillema pulls down the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misses a driving six foot shot in the lane. Trey Rillema gets the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Tri-Unity turns the ball over. Ethan McLean is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give St. Ignace a 40-33 lead with 47.0 seconds to play in the quarter.

Tri-Unity misses a three point shot from the side. Trey Rillema gets the offensive rebound for the Defenders and passes to Keaton Blanker, who hits a three point shot from the wing. St. Ignace misfires on a threeball from the corner as the third quarter buzzer blasts.

After three quarters, St. Ignace holds a 40-36 lead.

St. Ignace inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Saints miss a jump shot. Kordell KillsCrow gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. The Saints miss a layup. Tri-Unity misses a layup. Keaton Blanker gets the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Kordell KillsCrow steals the ball for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a layup. Nick Halberg grabs the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a layup. Wesley Kaman hits a fast break layup for Tri-Unity to trim the Saint lead to 40-38.

St. Ignace misses a reverse layup. Trevor Visnaw draws and offensive foul from the Defenders. St. Ignace is assessed with a double dribble violation. Akais Giplaye passes to Wesley Kaman, who throws in a threeball from the wing to give Tri-Unity a one point lead. Nick Halberg passes to Jonny Ingalls, who jumps, catches the ball and lays it in the basket all in one motion to give the Saints a 42-41 lead.

Tri-Unity misses a threeball from the wing. Trevor Visnaw drives and dishes the ball to Kordell KillsCrow, who hits a threeball from the corner for the Saints. Tri-Unity is fouled, but misses two free throws. Jonny Ingalls is fouled and hits two free throws to boost the Saint lead to 47-41 with 4:46 left on the clock.

Jonny Ingalls blocks a Defender layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Tri-Unity gets another possession. Jordan VanKlompenberg passes to Lincoln Eerdmans, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Defenders. Keaton Blanker steals the ball for the Defenders. He passes to Lincoln Eerdmans, who is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the St. Ignace lead down to 47-45 with 4:04 remaining in the game.

St. Ignace misses a layup. Tri-Unity turns the ball over while they are bringing it up the court. Lincoln Eerdmans and Joey Mellon team up to force a Saint traveling violation. Kean Blanker hits a driving layup, is fouled and sinks his free throw to give Tri-Unity a 48-47 lead with 3:15 remaining in the game.

Keaton Blanker and Joey Mellon team up and nearly steal the ball for the Defenders. The ball is knocked out of bounds and St. Ignace gets another opportunity. Wesley Kaman blocks a Saint layup. Tri-Unity misses a layup. Wesley Kaman gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. Wesley Kaman passes to Lincoln Eerdmans, who hits a threeball from the side for the Defenders. Jonny Ingalls is fouled on a threeball and hits one of his free throws to trim the Defender lead to 51-48 with 2:15 left on the clock.

Keaton Blanker drives and hits a layup for Tri-Unity. St. Ignace misses a three pointer from the side. Tri-Unity fouls on the rebound. St. Ignace misses two free throws. Kordell KillsCrow grabs the offensive rebound for the Saints. Jonny Ingalls is fouled on a threeball from the side and hits one of his free throws to trim the Tri-Unity lead to 53-49 with 1:34 to play.

Keaton Blanker is fouled and makes two free throws for Tri-Unity. Jonny Ingalls drives and hits a layup for the Saints. Jordan VanKlompenberg is fouled and hits two free throws to give Tri-Unity a 57-51 lead with 34.2 seconds remaining in the game.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Keaton Blanker is fouled and hits two free throws for Tri-Unity. St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Keaton Blanker is fouled and hits one of his two free throws. With 15 seconds to play, the Tri-Unity lead is at 60-51.

Nick Halberg passes to Shawn Kingsbury, who drives and hits a reverse layup for St. Ignace. Tri-Unity runs out the last 6.7 seconds left on the clock.

Tri-Unity wins the game by the final score of 61-53. They will play Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart in Saturday morning’s state final.

Jonny Ingalls had a great game and led St. Ignace with 31 points. Kordell KillsCrow supported his teammate with 8 points. Ethan McLean scored 6 points. Shawn Kingsbury and Nick Halberg each added 4 points.

Keaton Blanker led the Tri-Unity scoring with 19 points. Wesley Kaman joined his teammate in double figures with 14 points. Lincoln Eerdmans contributed 9 points. Jordan VanKlompenberg and Owen Rosendall each added 5 points. Akais Giplaye had 4 points. Trey Rillemma and Joey Mellon each tallied 2 points.

Mt. Pleasant played Allen Park Inter-City Baptist in the night’s other semifinal. Here is the play by play of that game. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/03/15/allen-park-inter-city-baptist-vs-mt-pleasant-sacred-heart-mhsaa-boys-basketball-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-14-2014-by-chuck-krafft/