Breckenridge at Fulton – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 6, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

This will be one of the more special games I blog tonight, because Fulton is honoring it’s long-time, now retired coach, Todd Walden. Since I have been doing the blog, between 2011 and 2023, when he retired, he won four regional championships, made three final fours at the Breslin and finished as the state runner-up in 2011. He was wonderful to work with as he was always willing to answer questions and help me write the blogs as much as he possibly could!

In fact, Coach Walden’s acceptance of me and this blog is probably the biggest reason I am still doing the blog today. I frequently joke in the articles about my lack of athletic ability growing up; I also was an accountant and a professional musician with no journalistic training. Coach Walden never talked down to me and frequently helped me to better understand basketball strategies, which I feel helped make me better at writing “The Bleacher Denizen.”

This game from 2011, where Fulton made a huge comeback to win the State semifinal actually reminded me of the movie “Hoosiers.” When the Fulton fans and especially Coach Walden sent me dozens of emails thanking for doing the blog, I realized that there might be a reason to keep doing this, so here I am today! And here is the blog of the game where the Fulton fans went out of their way to let me know that I could possibly belong in the athletic basketball world.

https://thebleacherdenizen.blogspot.com/2013/11/from-bleachers-by-chuck-krafft-detroit.html

Fulton enters this game with an 0-1 record, but the loss was to Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, who played in the State Basketball Final last year and returns two all-state guards. The final score of this game, which was played at the Sacred Heart gym was 63-53, so you know Fulton will be able to compete with strong teams this season.

Breckenridge is 2-0 with a home win against Midland Calvary Baptist and a road win against Ashley under its belt.

Breckenridge Coach Jeff Ostrander provided me with this information about this year’s Huskie team. Noah Barr is a versatile scorer who can slash to the basket or hit shots from the three point line. Maddax McCaw runs the point for the Huskies. He is a strong ball handler and perimeter defender. Zander Mapes is a fine scorer, rebounder and defender in the post. Trey Most is a solid post defender and rebounder who gets his share of putbacks.

Aimon Humm and Blaze Snyder are energetic and effective perimeter defenders. Isaac Bush is a solid post defender and rebounder.

Tyler Walden, Todd Walden’s son who was the leading scorer in Fulton’s semifinal game from 2011, is coaching Fulton now. He provided me with this information about his Pirates.

Ian Lamkin is a stellar three point shooter. Parker Billings is a big, athletic player who is a force in the middle but has shooting range out to the three point line. He is an excellent rebounder and post defender as well. Bryson Sattler can be unstoppable when he slashes to the basket. He handles the ball really well and is also a solid outside shooter and a quick, persistent perimeter defender. Peyton Reynolds is a tough post defender and rebounder who is not afraid to take a charging foul from the opposition.

Parker Duflo is a classic, complete point guard who runs the offense well. He can hit open three point shots and slash to the basket. On defense, he is one of the most focused, determined defenders in the area. (And he has the quickness and athletic ability to back it up!) Parker Hungerford is a fine perimeter defender who passes well. Tanner Villalobos starred as a running back on Fulton’s successful football team this fall. He is a quick, athletic, persistent perimeter defender who is a threat from the three point line.

Breckenridge got off to a 15-7 lead after one quarter of the JV game and moved out to a 30-17 halftime lead. They controlled the second half as well and won by the final score of 63-39.

Zach Litwiller led the Fulton JVs with 18 points. Cameron Diana joined his teammate in double figures with 10 points. Carter Brown added 6 points and Jaxson Grubaugh scored 5 points.

Carter Suhr led the Huskie JVs with 16 points. Isaac Bush supported his teammate with 15 points. Gavin Corbat (a freshman who was the starting varsity quarterback for the Huskie football team this fall) was also in double figures with 11 points.

Dylan Davenport contributed 6 points. Justin Toner scored 5 points. Mikel Wolgast and Chase Beard each threw in 4 points. Keegan Suhr tallied 2 points.

It is now time to review the results of this game through the results of this game through the tired eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league (much less play in a State Final basketball game) when he attempted to hoop in the ancient times when he was considered to be “young.” Alas, your Bleacher Denizen never realized that it was important to stay between your man and the basket on defense. His coach never appreciated the Bleacher Denizen’s approach which frequently resulted in his man scoring uncontested layups. Playing time grew scarce – – –

Fulton wins the opening tap. The Pirates miss a layup. Bryson Sattler hits a putback to give his Pirates the first two points of the game. Breckenridge is whistled for a traveling violation. Noah Barr knocks the ball away from Fulton, but the Pirates are able to maintain their possession. Bryson Sattler hits a layup for Fulton to give the Pirates a 4-0 lead.

Breckenridge loses the ball out of bounds. Aimon Humm knocks the ball out of bounds; Fulton retains possession. A Fulton inbounder steps on the sideline; Breckenridge takes possession. Peyton Reynolds pirates the ball for Fulton. Fulton misses a three ball from the side. Breckenridge misses a layup. Zander Mapes pulls down the offensive rebound for the Huskies. Breckenridge misses a layup. Parker Billings hits a fast break layup to give Fulton a 6-0 lead.

Ian Lamkin steals the ball for the Pirates. (I’m not completely sure, but I think he managed to avoid saying “AARGH Matey” as he did it.) Fulton misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Parker Billings pulls down the offensive rebound and passes to Ian Lamkin, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Pirates. Breckenridge is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 5:56 to play in the opening quarter, Fulton has a 9-0 lead.

Trey Most gets his hand on the ball, but Fulton is able to recover. Fulton misses six foot shot in the lane, but gets the offensive rebound. (Both teams are playing fast and furious basketball this quarter; I was not able to get the offensive rebounder’s name in my notes. I also missed a few assists. My apologies to the players who made the fine plays, but were not noted.) Ian Lamkin was not fazed by the Bleacher Denizen’s angst as he calmly collected a pass from the unknown assister and hit a threeball from the side to push the Pirates to a 12-0 lead.

Ian Lamkin knocks a Huskie pass out of bounds, but Breckenridge retains possession. The Huskies misfire on a threeball from the wing. Zander Mapes hits a putback to give Breckenridge its first two points of the game. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 4:07 left in the first quarter, Fulton’s lead is at 12-2.

Fulton misses a twelve footer in the lane. The rebound goes out of bounds and Breckenridge takes possession. Ian Lamkin knocks the ball out of bounds and Fulton takes possession. After the mystery assister flings the ball to Ian Lamkin, he swishes his third three pointer of the quarter from the wing for Fulton.

Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the wing. Maddax McCaw grabs the offensive rebound for the Huskies. Breckenridge misfires on a triple try from the side. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Breckenridge misses a sixteen foot shot from the wing. This time your Bleacher Denizen actually got Parker Duflo’s assist to Ian Lamkin in his notes. Ian Lamkin swishes his fourth threeball of the quarter from the corner to give Fulton an 18-2 lead.

Ian Lamkin shows he’s not just a shooter when he steals the ball for Fulton. The Pirates miss a layup, but Bryson Sattler hits a putback for the Pirates. Breckenridge loses the ball out of bounds. Coltin Kus tosses the ball to the corner where Ian Lamkin (who else?) hits his fifth threeball of the quarter to give Fulton a 23-2 lead.

Parker Hungerford ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow was busy mashing potatoes for its dinner and missed Mr. Hungerford’s fine defense. The ball is awarded to Breckenridge. Bryson Sattler knocks a Huskie pass out of bounds; Breckenridge retains possession. Breckenridge loses a pass out of bounds. Aimon Hamm steals the ball for the Huskies. Breckenridge misses a fast break layup. This time, the mystery assister chooses to pass the ball to Coltin Kus, who hits a three point shot from the side to boost the Pirate lead to 26-2.

Breckenridge misses a three pointer from the wing; the rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton gets the ball. Aimon Hamm gets his hand on a Pirate pass; the ball goes out of bounds, but Fulton gets it back. Trey Most blocks a Fulton layup. Breckridge misses a three point attempt from the wing. Noah Barr and Zander Mapes team up to steal the ball and foil a Fulton fast break. Breckenridge watches as a twelve footer from the baseline goes in and out of the basket. Fulton misses a rushed three pointer off the dribble from the wing at the buzzer.

After one quarter, Fulton has a 26-2 lead.

Fulton inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. The Pirates miss a driving layup. Parker Duflo knocks a Huskie pass out of bounds; Breckenridge retains possession. Parker Billings steals the ball for the Pirates. Fulton misses a three point shot from the side and fouls on the rebound. Noah Barr passes to Zander Mapes, who hits a layup to trim the Fulton lead to 26-4.

Fulton misses a driving layup. Peyton Reynolds takes a charging foul from the Huskies. Bryson Sattler hits a layup for Fulton. Tanner Villalobos steals the ball for Fulton. The horn malfunctions; Tanner Villalobos scores a fast break layup in the confusion, but it does not count. When play resumes, Noah Barr blocks a Fulton twelve foot shot from the side. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Fulton gets it back.

Fulton misfires on a threeball from the side. Bryson Sattler grabs the offensive rebound for Fulton. The Pirates miss a three pointer from the side. Peyton Reynolds pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a three point attempt from the side; this time the rebound goes out of bounds and Breckienridge takes possession. Coltin Kus knocks a Huskie pass out of bounds; Breckenridge retains possession. Maddax McCaw passes to Zander Mapes, who hits a layup, is fouled and makes his free throw. With 4:10 to go in the second quarter, Fulton leads 28-7.

Fulton commits an offensive foul. Breckenridge misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Zander Mapes grabs the offensive rebound. Breckenridge misses a layup. Parker Billings hits a layup for Fulton. Parker Duflo steals the ball for Fulton. Coltin Kus drives and dishes the ball to Parker Billings, who hits a layup for the Pirates. Breckenridge misses an eight foot runner in the lane. Parker Hungerford passes to Parker Billings, who hits a three point shot from the side to boost Fulton’s lead to 35-7.

Parker Billings knocks the ball away from Breckenridge and Coltin Kus picks it up for Fulton. Bryson Sattler is fouled on a fast break layup. A technical foul is called on Breckenridge. Bryson Sattler hits four free throws (two each for the original foul and the technical) for Fulton. Fulton inbounds the ball after the technical foul. Parker Hungerford passes to Parker Billings, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to give Fulton a 40-7 lead with 2:19 left on the first half clock.

Trey Most is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Breckenridge. Fulton misses a layup. Parker Billings grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a layup. Aimon Humm passes to Zander Mapes, who hits a layup for the Huskies. Fulton is whistled for a traveling violation. Parker Hungerford blocks a Huskie layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton gets the ball. Fulton misses a driving layup. Breckenridge misses a threeball from the wing. Fulton is fouled, but misses two free throws. With 20.7 seconds to play, Fulton has a 40-10 lead.

Parker Hungerford gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a three point attempt from the side. Aimon Humm passes to Maddax McCaw, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Breckenridge. Fulton misses a long heave as the halftime buzzer announces its presence.

Fulton has a 40-13 lead at halftime.

Zander Mapes has 9 points to lead the Breckenridge scoring at halftime.

Ian Lamkin has 15 points on five first quarter triples to lead Fulton’s halftime scoring. Parker Billings has 12 points and Bryson Sattler has 10 points.

At halftime, Coach Walden was saluted as they listed his basketball coaching accomplishments and gave him a personalized basketball. Coach Walden graciously accepted the compliments and the present. He credited and thanked all his assistant coaches and players as well.

(Coach Walden was one of those people who never sought out praise for his coaching accomplishments and always was willing to credit those around him for the success. However, I’ve had a few conversations with Coach Walden; I can assure you that most of the time, he was playing chess while others were playing checkers. He knew what he was doing! Frequently, he would come up with creative defensive schemes to greatly slow down opposing star players.)

Fulton has the ball to open the third quarter. Carter Suhr knocks the ball away from Fulton and Noah Barr picks it up for Breckenridge. The Huskies misfire on a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Breckenridge retains possession. Breckenridge misses an eighteen footer from the baseline. Bryson Sattler passes to Parker Billings, who spins and hits a layup to extend the Fulton lead to 42-13.

Bryson Sattler steals the ball for Fulton; he misses a fast break layup, but quickly puts the rebound back through the basket. Noah Barr drives and hits a layup for Breckenridge. Fulton misses a layup. Breckenridge misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Trey Most blocks a Fulton shot. Bryson Sattler gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Parker Billings hits a layup to give Fulton a 46-15 lead.

Parker Hungerford and Bryson Sattler team up to steal the ball for the Pirates. Parker Hungerford is fouled on a fast break layup; he hits one of his two free throws for Fulton. Breckenridge misses a shot. Fulton misses a layup. Ian Lamkin hits a putback for the Pirates. Ian Lamkin steals the ball and hits a three point shot from the top of the key to give his Pirates a 53-15 lead.

Carter Suhr hits a twelve footer off the dribble in the lane for Breckenridge. Bryson Sattler is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Fulton. With 4:25 to go in the quarter, Fulton’s lead is at 54-17.

Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the side. Fulton reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the side. Ian Lamkin steals the ball for Fulton. Fulton misses a three point shot near the top of the key. Parker Billings grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a layup. Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the wing. The Parker connection comes through as Parker Billings passes to Parker Duflo, who hits a three point shot to boost Fulton to a 57-17 lead.

(Fulton has four players with “Parker” for their first name! The others are Parker Hungerford and Parker Kosloski.)

Breckenridge misses a driving layup. Fulton misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Peyton Reynolds gets the offensive rebound for Fulton. The Pirates miss a three point shot from the side. Breckenridge misses a jump shot. Peyton Reynolds hits a two point jump shot to give Fulton a 59-17 lead.

Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Peyton Reynolds passes to Parker Billings, who hits a layup for Fulton. Breckenridge misses a driving layup. Maddax McCaw steals the ball for the Huskies. Breckenridge misses a layup. Isaac Bush pulls down the offensive rebound for the Huskies. Breckenridge misses a layup as the third quarter buzzer sounds off.

After three quarters, Fulton has a 61-17 lead.

Breckenridge inbounds the ball to get the final quarter underway. Korbin Marecek knocks the ball away from the Huskies, but Breckenridge recovers. Breckenridge throws a pass out of bounds. Fulton misses a layup. Bryson Sattler knocks the ball away from the Huskies and Peyton Reynolds grabs it for the Pirates. Peyton Reynolds hits Coltin Kus with a perfect pass and Coltin Kus hits a layup to give Fulton a 65-17 lead.

Zander Mapes responds by hitting a ten foot shot from the side of the lane for Breckenridge. Fulton misses a three point shot from the wing. Breckenridge misses a driving layup. Gavin Corbat pulls down the offensive rebound for Breckenridge. Breckenridge misses a layup. Coltin Kus passes to Tanner Villalobos, who hits a threeball from the side to boost Fulton to a 66-19 lead.

Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the wing. Fulton reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the wing. Carter Suhr passes to Gavin Cordat, who throws in a threeball from the side for Breckenridge. Fulton misses a three point shot from the wing. Breckenridge also misses a three point shot from the wing. Keegan Suhr gets the offensive rebound for the Huskies. Carter Suhr hits a three point shot from the wing. Fulton’s lead is now at 66-25.

Fulton misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Breckenridge misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton gets the ball. Parker Duflo passes to Korbin Maracek, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Fulton. Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the wing. Carter Suhr gets his hand on the ball, but Fulton is able to recover. Fulton is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 35.1 seconds to play, Fulton has a 69-25 lead.

Keegan Suhr drives and hits a layup for Breckenridge. Gavin Corbat blocks a Fulton layup as the buzzer ends the game.

Fulton wins this game by the final score of 69-27.

Zander Mapes had 11 points to lead the Breckenridge scoring. Carter Suhr scored 5 points. Maddax McCaw and Gavin Corbat each put in 3 points. Noah Barr and Keegan Suhr each tallied 2 points. Trey Most added 1 point.

Ian Lamkin hits six three point shots (five in the first quarter) on his way to a team-leading 20 points for Fulton. Parker Billings supported his teammate with 18 points. Bryson Sattler joined his teammates in double figures with 13 points. Coltin Kus contributed 5 points. Tanner Villalobos, Parker Duflo and Korbin Marecek each chipped in with 3 points. Parker Hungerford and Peyton Reynolds each scored 2 points.