Potterville at Perry – – CMAC Boys’ Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 13, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen is braving the ice and snow to head to Perry, where the hometown Ramblers will host the Vikings from Potterville. Perry enters this game at 8-8 in the CMAC and the Ramblers are 10-10 overall. Potterville is 4-12 in the CMAC and 5-15 overall.

Today, it was a snowy morning as everyone in the area dealt with last night’s snowfall that caused most of the Wednesday games this week to be canceled. Your Bleacher Denizen had a busy day entertaining some seniors at a home in Bath followed by a trip to the dentist. Once the dentist gave your Bleacher Denizen a clean bill of health followed by the mandatory lecture about flossing more often, it was time to head on the surprisingly clear road to Perry.

I had time to make my first trip ever to Perry’s Bear restaurant. I tried the meatloaf (which shows the amount of confidence I had in the Perry Coach who recommended it) and it was great. With my body properly refueled, it was time to come to the Perry gym to watch the Ramblers host Potterville.

For the Ramblers, D.J. Jenks is a top notch athlete who defends the perimeter well and is an excellent, versatile scorer who can get to the basket or hit shots from the three point line. He is also an excellent decision maker. Trey Selbig runs the point for the Ramblers. he is a solid perimeter defender who is tall enough to help in the post. He is a solid ball handler and can shoot well with range out to the three point line. Alex McEwan is a tough post presence where he defends, rebounds and scores well.

Anthony Cochrane can score on slashes to the basket or from the three point line. Aydin Sloan defends the perimeter well and is a threat from the three point line.

For Potterville Jacob Bishop is a tough defender and rebounder in the post. He is a dangerous scorer who can score on post moves or hit shots from the three point line. Isaiah Woloszyn is an active perimeter defender who excels at offensive rebounding. He is not afraid to drive to the basket in traffic and can also hit the outside shot.

Ezzy Taylor is an athletic terror in Potterville’s perimeter defense. He is quick and intense; he will never stop defending. He is also a strong ball handler and passer. He gets a lot of points off steals and turnovers. Drew Morales is a big point guard who handles the ball well and avoids turnovers. He can score on slashes to the basket and has a solid three point shot.

Andrew Wright is a tough defender and rebounder in the Potterville post. Reid Jackson and Elijah Pung are scorers who can get hot from the three point line.

I got to Perry’s gym in time to see the last couple minutes of the first half. Using the scorebook as a personal “Way Back” machine, (Thanks to Rocky and Bullwinkle for that reference!) I was able to learn the Perry took a 16-9 lead after one quarter. Potterville outscored Perry 13-2 in the second quarter and had a 22-18 lead at halftime.

Perry outscored Potterville 17-15 in the third quarter to trim the Viking lead to 37-35 entering the final period. Perry scored the first seven points of the final quarter to take the lead. Isaiah O’Neil scored a layup with about 4:30 left to break Perry’s scoring run and trim the Rambler lead to 44-39, but that was the last point Potterville’s JVs scored as Perry shut them out for the rest of the game.

Perry made a lot of free throws in the final minute and a half as Potterville fouled them to force the clock to stop. Zach Miller made six of eight free throws for Perry during this time. Perry won the JV game by the final score of 55-39.

Caden Warren had 10 points to lead the Potterville JV scoring. Greg Croze and Isaiah O’Neil each contributed 9 points. Julian White scored 8 points and Ethan Woloszyn added 3 points.

Zach Miller led the victorious Perry JVs with 22 points. Brady Doerner supported him with 17 points. Eli Burns contributed 8 points. Logan France scored 6 points and Dylan King tallied 2 points.

It was senior night in Perry’s gym. The announcer saluted Potterville’s seniors and then congratulated Perry Seniors D.J. Jenks and Hunter Steiss, who were to play their final home game in a Perry uniform this night.

It is good that there was enough time to melt the frost off the Bleacher Denizen’s glasses as it is now time to report the events of this game through the now clear lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. It seems that your Bleacher Denizen never completely understood that unlike in horseshoes where leaners can give you a point, in basketball, the ball has to actually go through the hoop to count.

All the time the Bleacher Denizen spent throwing his layups off the front of the rim in search of the “leaner point” was in vain. Your Bleacher Denizen’s playing time was cut drastically and never really recovered.

The opening tap got knocked out of bounds and ended up four rows up in the Bleacher Denizen’s hands. When I asked the referee if I would get an assist if I made a good pass, he did not answer, so I suppose I lost my only chance to get a statistic for myself in tonight’s game. The ball was awarded to Perry, whose players did not let the Bleacher Denizen’s lack of recognition disturb their game.

Anthony Cochrane throws in a threeball from the wing for Perry to finish off the game’s first possession. Drew Morales alertly saved a pass to prevent a Potterville turnover. Ezzy Taylor passes to Jacob Bishop, who hits a layup for Potterville. Ezzy Taylor knocks the ball away from Perry and Drew Morales picks it up for Potterville. The Vikings travel on a too fast break. Trey Selbig passes to Anthony Cochrane, who hits another threeball from the wing and the score is Anthony Cochrane 6 Jacob Bishop 2.

Isaiah Woloszyn drives and hits a reverse layup for Potterville. He is fouled on the play and sinks his free throw. At this point, the score is Anthony Cochrane 6 Potterville 5 with 6:21 remaining in the opening quarter.

Anthony Cochrane tosses a pass to D.J. Jenks, who hits a fast break layup for the Ramblers. Potterville misfires on a triple try from the side. Reid Jackson shows great hustle trying to grab the long offensive rebound for his Vikings, but the ball goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. A Rambler dribbler steps on the baseline. Potterville misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Ezzy Jackson hits a putback to slice the Perry lead to 8-7.

Perry misses a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line. Potterville misses a reverse layup. Perry misses a threeball from the corner. D.J. Jenks grabs the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Ezzy Jackson blocks a Perry layup. The loose ball rolls into the backcourt and out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Perry misses a threeball from the wing. D.J. Jenks gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Anthony Cochrane is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Perry an 10-7 lead with 3:09 remaining in the first quarter.

Potterville gets into the lane and misses a six foot shot. Andrew Wright pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. The Possession Arrow looks up from its Mah Jongg game and decides to award the ball to the Vikings. Reid Jackson passes to Jacob Bishop, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Potterville to tie the game at 10-10.

Perry misses a three pointer from the side. Isaiah Woloszyn is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws for Potterville. Hunter Steiss passes to Anthony Cochrane, who hits a layup for Perry to tie the game. (Anthony Cochrane has scored 10 of Perry’s first 12 points!) Potterville misses a ten foot jump shot. Ezzy Jackson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Reid Jackson hits a ten foot shot from the side to give Potterville a 14-12 lead.

Perry misses an eight foot shot from the side. Ezzy Jackson passes to Reid Jackson, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Potterville. Perry misses a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville takes possession. The Vikings misfire on a triple try from the wing. The Ramblers reciprocate and misfire on a triple try from the wing. Perry fouls on the rebound. Reid Jackson hits a fourteen foot shot off the dribble in the lane for Potterville. Perry does not have time to shoot before the first quarter buzzer decides to end the period.

After one quarter, Potterville has a 19-12 lead.

Perry has the ball to begin the second quarter. Anthony Cochrane passes to D.J. Jenks, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Ramblers. Potterville misses a threeball from the corner. Trey Selbig passes to D.J. Jenks, who hits a three point shot from the corner to cut the Potterville lead to one point. Potterville misses a threeball from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Perry misses a threeball from the side. Anthony Cochrane steals the ball for the Ramblers and passes to D.J. Jenks (who else?) who hits his third threeball since the start of the quarter to give Perry a 21-19 lead.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. Perry misses a driving six foot shot from the baseline. Ezzy Jackson drives from the side and hits a layup to give Potterville its first points of the second quarter; this ties the game. A technical foul is called on Potterville. D.J. Jenks steps up to the line and hits two free throws to give his Ramblers a 23-21 lead with 5:06 left in the second quarter.

Perry inbounds the ball after the technical free throws. Luke Ward knocks the ball away from Perry and Keegan Bennett picks it up for Potterville. The Vikings miss a fifteen footer off the dribble from the wing. Perry misses a threeball from the side. Potterville misses a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line. Luke Ward blocks a Perry ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Perry gets the ball back.

The Ramblers miss a threeball from the side. Trey Selbig gets a hand on the ball for Perry; Elijah Pung preserves Potterville’s possession by throwing the ball off a Perry player and out of bounds. Elijah Pung throws in a threeball from the corner and is fouled. He sinks his free throw to boost Potterville to a 25-23 lead with 3:00 remaining in the quarter.

Trey Selbig drives and hits a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane for Perry to tie the game. Potterville misses a threeball from the corner. Reid Jackson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a three pointer from the side. Drew Morales pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a driving layup. Perry loses a pass out of bounds. Drew Morales passes to Elijah Pung, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Potterville a 28-25 lead.

Drew Morales steals the ball for the Vikings. Elijah Pung hits a fast break layup for Potterville. Perry misses a fast break layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets the ball. Potterville misses a layup. Keegan Bennett gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings and is fouled on a putback. Keegan Bennett hits two free throws to push the Vikings to a 32-25 lead with 32.0 seconds left in the half.

Perry drives the lane and is fouled on a ten foot shot. The Ramblers miss two free throws. Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing. Andrew Wright gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry gets the ball. As the buzzer sounds, Trey Selbig is fouled as he tries to launch a seventy foot heave. Trey Selbig hits two of his free throws to trim the Potterville lead to 32-27.

D.J. Jenks has 13 points at halftime to lead Perry and Anthony Cochrane has 10 points.

Elijah Pung has 9 points for Potterville and Reid Jackson has 7 points.

Potterville inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Vikings miss a three pointer from the wing and foul on the rebound. Perry misses a three point shot from the side. Hunter Steiss’ putback is goaltended by Ezzy Taylor, so Perry gets two points to trim Potterville’s lead to 32-29.

(I have to say that your Bleacher Denizen respected the game far too much to violate its rules by committing goaltending. Those of you who point out that the Bleacher Denizen is only 5’8″ and has always struggled to jump over a pencil are just being cynical!!)

Alex McEwan blocks a Potterville driving layup. (See the kinds of things people who really jump can do?? Your Bleacher Denizen’s coach was never shy about reminding your Bleacher Denizen about that.) D.J. Jenks ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s wistful reminisces of ancient times; he drives the baseline and hits a jump shot to pull Perry to within one point at 32-31.

Potterville misses an eight foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Perry misses a three point shot from the side. Potterville misses a driving layup. Drew Morales gets a hand on the ball. It rolls all the way down the gym floor and out of bounds. After some discussion among the referees, the ball is awarded to Potterville. (I’m not sure whether or not the Possession Arrow was consulted.) Andrew Wright ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s confusion and passes to Reid Jackson, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Potterville a 35-31 lead.

Anthony Cochrane drives and hits a reverse layup for Perry. Reid Jackson passes to Ezzy Taylor, who throws in a threeball from the top of the key for Potterville. Anthony Cochrane passes to Trey Selbig, who hits a three point shot near the top of the key for Perry to pull his Ramblers within two points. Potterville misfires on a threeball from the corner. Perry misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Luke Ward hits a layup to boost his Vikings to a 40-36 lead.

Luke Ward gets his hand on the ball, but Perry is able to recover. D.J. Jenks hits a threeball from the side to shave the Potterville lead to one point. The Vikings miss a driving layup. Ezzy Jackson knocks the ball out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Perry misses a driving layup. Potterville misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane.

Perry misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville takes possession. Anthony Cochrane steals a Potterville pass. Ezzy Jackson emphatically blocks a Perry fast break layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Perry gets another opportunity. D.J. Jenks drives and hits a ten foot shot in the lane to give Perry a 41-40 lead.

Ezzy Jackson passes to Elijah Pung, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give the lead back to Potterville. D.J. Jenks drives and hits an eight foot banked shot from the side. He is fouled on the play and makes his free throw to give Perry a 44-43 lead with 1:02 remaining in quarter number three.

Potterville misses a threeball from the corner. Anthony Cochrane alertly saves the ball to prevent a Perry over and back violation. D.J. Jenks passes to Trey Selbig, who is fouled on a three point shot from the side for Perry. Trey Selbig hits one, two, three free throws to push Perry to a 47-43 lead with 26.5 seconds to play in quarter number three.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Perry rebounds the ball as the third quarter buzzer announces its presence.

After three quarters, Perry has a 47-43 lead.

Potterville inbounds the ball to start the fourth quarter. The Vikings miss a three point shot from the top of the key. Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Alex McEwan pulls down the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Isaiah Woloszyn dives and ties up the ball for the Vikings. The Possession Arrow has been playing Mumbly Peg and misses the play; the ball is awarded back to Perry. Andrew Wright blocks a Perry layup. Perry recovers the loose ball. Trey Selbig is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to give Perry a 48-43 lead with 6:31 left on the clock.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing. Keegan Bennett hits a putback for the Vikings. Perry watches as a threeball from the wing goes in and out of the basket. Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Ezzy Jackson plays fierce defense to force Perry to call timeout to prevent a turnover.

Perry misses an eight foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Ramblers get another opportunity. A Perry dribbler slips in the lane and loses the ball out of bounds. Potterville misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Perry is fouled, but misses two free throws. With 3:06 left in the game, Perry’s lead remains at 48-45.

Ezzy Jackson passes to Drew Morales, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Potterville to tie the game. Perry misses a driving layup. Alex McEwan hits a putback to give Perry a two point lead. Potterville throws a pass out of bounds. Anthony Cochrane is fouled and hits two free throws with 1:48 to go to give Perry a 52-48 lead.

Reid Jackson fires the ball to Elijah Pung, who hits a three point shot from the wing to chop the Perry lead to one point. Ezzy Taylor blocks a Perry layup; Potterville gets the loose ball. The Vikings miss a three pointer from the side. Elijah Pung throws the rebound off a Perry player to earn another possession for Potterville. Anthony Cochrane steals the ball for Perry.

Reid Jackson and Ezzy Taylor apply a ferocious double team that forces Perry to call time out to avoid turning the ball over. Anthony Cochrane is fouled and hits two free throws for Perry to give the Ramblers a 54-51 lead with 17.1 seconds to play.

Perry’s defense prevents Potterville from getting a good shot and the Vikings call two timeouts to try to organize a play. Trey Selbig gets his hand on the ball as Potterville is trying to beat the buzzer for three points from the wing. The buzzer sounds and the game is over.

Perry wins this exciting tug of war by the final score of 54-51.

Elijah Pung led the Potterville scoring with 15 points. Reid Jackson joined his teammate in double figures with 10 points. Ezzy Taylor chipped in with 7 points. Isaiah Woloszyn and Jacob Bishop each contributed 5 points. Keegan Bennett scored 4 points. Drew Morales added 3 points. Luke Ward tallied 2 points.

D.J. Jenks led Perry with 23 points. Anthony Cochrane supported his teammate with 16 points. Trey Selbig contributed 11 points. Hunter Steiss and Alex McEwan each totaled 2 points.