Fowler vs. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart – – Boys Basketball Regional Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 4, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, your Bleacher Denizen is taking a ride to Mt. Pleasant, where the Irish from Sacred Heart Academy will host the Eagles from Fowler. Fowler enters this game with a 21-3 record while Sacred Heart is 20-3.

I’ve covered Fowler a number of times this year. With a bit of help from Coach Kameron Riley, who gave me a lot of information the first time I covered the Eagles, here is some information about Fowler’s players.

Jacob Halfmann is an excellent athlete who was all-state in Football for the Fowler team that advanced to the final four. He is also a four year starter for the Eagle basketball team. In addition to his superb physical skills, he may have the perfect demeanor for basketball. He is intensely competitive, but has nerves of steel as no situation can cause him to panic or play out of control.

He is an excellent defender; he’s quick and determined enough to cover the perimeter and he is tall enough to be an effective defender in the post when the situation requires it. On offense, he is a fine ball handler, passer and shooter who seems to glide to the basket as he drives through defenders who can generally do little to stop him. He is also a solid three point shooter.

Alex Halfmann, Jacob’s cousin, is another four year starter for the Eagles. He is the big guy in the post; he is bigger and especially stronger than almost anyone he faces. He is a great rebounder and post defender who is hard to stop on putbacks. He also has good post moves to score and can step out and shoot three point shots with accuracy.

Asher Koenigsknecht is another excellent athlete who excels in the Eagle perimeter defense. He is extremely quick, determined and athletic; he generates a lot of turnovers for Fowler opponents. On offense, he is a versatile player who can handle the ball, drive to the basket, keep the ball moving and shoot accurately from the three point line.

Aaron Simon has a sweet three point shot. He was blisteringly hot in the Eagles’ district final win over St. Patrick and always a threat to hit three or four of these even in the most competitive games. He is another solid piece of the Fowler perimeter defense. Joe Epkey is another big post players who rebounds and defends the post well.

Isaac Thelen is a versatile defender who can cover any position on the floor and is a steady rebounder. Jacob Thelen is a scorer who is tough to stop whether he is driving to the basket or shooting from the three point line. Augustine Spitzley is tall as well as being really speedy. He can use his length and quickness to defend just about any opponent whether on the perimeter or in the post.

I’ve seen Sacred Heart play once this year as well. Coach Justin Sherlock was generous with this information about his Irish players, who played in the State Final against Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian last year.

Noah Zeien and Grady Pieratt are both well-rounded guards who made the All-State team last year. Both of them handle the ball well, defend the perimeter aggressively, drive to the basket, pass and shoot. Grady Pieratt is more likely to drive to the basket and Noah Zeien is more likely to shoot a three pointer, but both of them handle either of these jobs well. (They are all-state for a reason.)

Brody Cherry is a great three point shooter. Jason Boge brings toughness to the Irish interior defense and rebounding. Brady Davis is a quality perimeter defender who can slash to the basket or hit shots from the three point line. Joe McDonald defends, rebounds and scores in the post.

Nate Siler is a fine athlete who is a factor whether defending in the post or on the perimeter. Ryan Wiggins is a good defender and rebounder in the post. He is also a threat to hit the three point shot. Cody Dejong is a quality perimeter defender who can hit the three point shot.

As I was confused about the game time, I actually got to the Sacred Heart gym to see the first game of the night. Muskegon Heights overcame a small Pentwater lead and gradually extended their lead until they won the game by the score of 74-63 and will face the winner of the second game in Thursday’s regional final.

It is now time to review the results of this game from the perspective of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league in the ancient times when he was actually deemed to be “young.” Back in the days when we used to shoot at peach baskets, your Bleacher Denizen shot so many bricks that destroyed so many of the baskets, that your Bleacher Denizen had to be benched as it was too expensive to continually replace them.

Fowler wins the opening tap. The Eagles are assessed with a double dribble violation. Sacred Heart misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Fowler misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Joe Epkey hits a putback to give Fowler the first two points of the game.

Joe Epkey forces an Irish dribbler to step on the baseline. Fowler drives and misses a reverse layup. Joe Epkey pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles and passes to Asher Koenigsknecht, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Fowler a 5-0 lead.

Brody Cherry drives and hits an eight foot shot in the lane for the Irish. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Jacob Halfmann knocks the ball away from Sacred Heart and Asher Koenigsknecht picks it up for Fowler. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Jason Boge blocks an Eagle putback. Brady Davis passes to Grady Pieratt, who hits a three pointer from the top of the key for the Irish to tie the game at 5-5.

Alex Halfmann drives and hits a reverse layup for Fowler. Sacred Heart misfires on a threeball from the wing. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Sacred Heart takes possession. Noah Zeien drives from the side and hits a layup for Sacred Heart to tie the game. Aaron Simon hits a ten foot shot from the side of the lane for Fowler to give the Eagles a 9-7 lead.

Sacred Heart misses a three point shot from the corner. Nate Siler hits a putback for Sacred Heart to tie the game. Jacob Halfman is fouled on a twelve foot shot from the side. He hits two free throws to give the Eagles an 11-9 lead with 3:10 remaining in the opening quarter.

Brody Cherry gets into the lane and hits and eight foot shot for the Irish to tie the game. Grady Pieratt’s defense forces a Fowler turnover. Sacred Heart misses a three pointer from the corner. Dylan Pline banks in a three point shot from the top of the key to give Fowler a 14-11 lead.

Sacred Heart commits an offensive foul. Brody Cherry taps the ball away from Fowler and Jason Boge picks it up for Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart misses a driving layup. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Sacred Heart takes possession. Jacob Halfmann knocks an Irish pass out of bounds; Sacred Heart retains possession. Sacred Heart misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane.

Fowler is called for traveling on a drive to the basket. Sacred Heart misses a driving layup. Jacob Halfmann drives and hits a six foot shot in the lane for Fowler. Sacred Heart heaves the ball as the opening quarter buzzer sounds and misses.

After one quarter, Fowler has a 16-11 lead.

Sacred Heart inbounds the ball to begin the second quarter. Brody Cherry saves a loose ball to prevent an Irish turnover. Noah Zeien hits a fourteen foot shot from the wing for the Irish. Fowler misses a layup. Noah Zeien drives and hits a layup to trim the Fowler lead to one point. Fowler misses an eight foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Grady Pieratt drives and hits a ten foot shot in the lane to give Sacred Heart a 17-16 lead.

Fowler misses a six foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Brody Cherry is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws for the Irish. Jason Boge draws an offensive foul from Fowler. Grady Pieratt drives and hits a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane to give the Irish a 20-16 lead.

Asher Koenigsknecht drives and hits a layup for Fowler to stop an Irish nine point scoring run. Sacred Heart misses a layup. Jason Boge pulls down the offensive rebound for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses a layup. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Sacred Heart misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Fowler misses a driving layup. Sacred Heart misses a three pointer from the corner. Brody Cherry gets back on defense quickly, leaps and foils a Fowler fast break by tipin the ball out of bounds as he falls. Fowler retains possession.

The Eagles throw a pass out of bounds. Brody Cherry drives and hits a layup for Sacred Heart. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. Sacred Heart misses a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Brody Cherry is fouled on a twelve foot shot from the side and hits two free throws to boost the Irish to a 24-18 lead with 2:18 left in the first half.

Fowler misses a reverse layup. Asher Koenigsknecht gets his hand on the ball, but the Irish recover. Sacred Heart misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline and fouls on the rebound. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Isaac Thelen hits a putback for the Eagles. Jason Boge is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give the Irish a 26-20 lead with 1:17 to play in the half.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Joe Epkey grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a driving layup. Joe Epkey hits a putback to trim the Irish lead to four points. Sacred Heart misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Fowler misses a long heave as the buzzer ends the half.

Sacred Heart has a 26-22 lead at halftime.

Asher Keonigsknecht leads Fowler with 5 points at halftime. Joe Epkey and Jacob Halfmann each have 4 points.

Brody Cherry has 9 points to lead Sacred Heart. Grady Pieratt has 7 points and Noah Zeien has 6.

Fowler inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Alex Halfmann drives and banks in a six foot hook shot for the Eagles. Grady Pieratt drives and hits a layup for Sacred Heart. Fowler misses a jump shot. Alex Halfmann grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Sacred Heart gets the ball. Noah Zeien hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble in the lane to give Sacred Heart a 30-24 lead.

Alex Halfmann drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Grady Pieratt is fouled on a driving shot in the lane and hits two free throws to give Sacred Heart a 32-25 lead with 5:44 to play in quarter number three.

Alex Halfmann passes to Asher Koenigsknecht, who tosses in a threeball from the wing for Fowler. Brody Cherry drives and hits a seven foot banked shot in the lane for Sacred Heart. Fowler misses a driving layup. Jacob Halfmann pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misfires on a triple try from the corner. Sacred Heart misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw elbow. Noah Boge draws a charging foul from Fowler. A technical foul is assessed on Fowler. Noah Zeien hits two free throws for the Irish to give Sacred Heart a 36-29 lead with 4:09 remaining in quarter number three.

Brody Cherry sinks a threeball near the top of the key to give Sacred Heart a ten point lead. Fowler commits an offensive foul. Sacred Heart is whistled for a traveling violation. Alex Halfmann passes to Asher Koenigsknecht, who throws in a threeball near the top of the key for Fowler. Noah Zeien passes to Grady Pieratt, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Sacred Heart a 42-32 lead.

Fowler misses a driving layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Fowler misses a threeball near the top of the key. Sacred Heart fouls on the rebound. Jacob Halfmann passes to Alex Halfmann, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key to cut the Irish lead to 42-35.

Sacred Heart misses a layup. Jason Boge pulls down the offensive rebound for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses a threeball near the top of the key. Fowler misses a threeball near the side. Augustine Spitzley blocks an Irish layup. Jacob Halfmann is fouled on an eight foot shot from the baseline and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Irish lead to 42-36 with 53.9 seconds to go in quarter number three.

Isaac Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Aaron Simon tosses in a three pointer from the side for Fowler. Noah Zeien is fouled and hits two free throws for Sacred Heart. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. Joe Epkey snags the offensive rebound for the Irish. Grady Pieratt steals the ball for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses a long heave as the buzzer declares the end to quarter number three.

After three quarters, Sacred Heart has a 44-39 lead.

Sacred Heart inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Irish miss a threeball near the top of the key. Asher Koenigsknecht passes to Jacob Halfmann, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fowler. Aaron Simon taps the ball away from Sacred Heart, but the Irish recover. Sacred Heart misses a layup. Asher Koenigsknecht hits a fast break layup for Fowler and ties the game at 44-44.

Aaron Simon gets his hand on the ball and Sacred Heart loses it out of bounds. Alex Halfmann goes into the lane and banks a six foot hook shot home to give Fowler a two point lead. Sacred Heart drives and dishes a pass out of bounds. Fowler misses a driving layup. Joe Epkey hits a nifty reverse layup putback to give Fowler a 48-44 lead.

Sacred Heart misses a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw elbow. Alex Halfmann drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Sacred Heart misses a three point shot from the wing. A Fowler layup is negated by a traveling violation. Sacred Heart misses a driving six foot banked shot. Jacob Halfmann drives and hits a reverse layup to give his Eagles a 52-44 lead.

Sacred Heart misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Grady Pieratt grabs the offensive rebound for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball. Asher Koenigsknecht is fouled and hits two free throws for Fowler. Sacred Heart misses a threeball from the wing. Jacob Halfmann is fouled on the rebound and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 56-44 lead with 1:30 left on the clock.

(Fowler has kept Sacred Heart from scoring for the first six and a half minutes and has scored seventeen consecutive points.)

Jacob Halfmann steals an Irish pass. Noah Zeien steals the ball for the Irish. Nate Siler hits a three point shot from the wing for Sacred Heart. Aaron Simon is fouled and hits two free throws for Fowler. With 52.4 seconds to go, Fowler has a 58-47 lead.

Noah Zeien drives and banks in a six foot shot for Sacred Heart. Alex Halfmann is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Fowler. Jason Boge drives into the lane and hits a ten foot shot for Sacred Heart. Asher Koenigsknecht is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Fowler. With just 15.7 seconds to play, Fowler has a 60-51 lead.

Sacred Heart misses a three point shot from the wing. Grady Pieratt gets the offensive rebound for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses a three point shot. Brady Davis gets the offensive rebound and hits a twelve foot shot from the side for the Irish as time expires.

Fowler wins this game by the final score of 60-53 and will play Muskegon Heights in the regional final on Thursday.

Noah Zeien, Grady Pieratt and Jason Boge each scored 14 points to lead the Irish. Nate Siler added 5 points. Jason Boge scored 4 points. Brady Davis tallied 2 points.

Fowler’s Asher Koenigsknecht led all scorers with 16 points. Alex Halfmann contributed 14 points and Jacob Halfmann chipped in with 12 points. Aaron Simon scored 7 points. Joe Epkey added 6 points. Dylan Pline put in 3 points. Isaac Thelen had 2 points.