Breckenridge at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 18, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen is going north, not to Alaska like Johnny Horton in 1960, but to Mt. Pleasant where the Irish boys from Sacred Heart High School will host the Huskies from Breckenridge in a showdown between the top teams in the MSAC-East and the MSAC-West. On Friday, there will be the official matchup between these two teams at Breckenridge for the MSAC Basketball Championship.

Sacred Heart is 15-4 and undefeated in the MSAC entering this game. Breckenridge is 17-2 with one MSAC loss on its record.

While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of “House of the Rising Sun!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm7njm5177I

I have seen each of these teams play earlier this season.

Irish Coach Justin Sherlock provided me with this background information about his players.

Noah Zeien is a senior guard who has started since his freshman year and been All-State in his junior and senior years. He is quick and athletic and a great ball handler who can get just about anywhere he wants to on the floor. He has a great three point shot that he can launch in a split second off the dribble. He is strong driving and scoring at the basket and is a good passer. He is a tough perimeter defender as well.

Brady Davis is physically strong and a tough perimeter defender. He is a threat to score either from the three point line or on slashes to the basket. Nate Siler is a versatile defender who is tough in the post and athletic on the perimeter. He is a good scorer in the lane and can also hit the three point shot. Channing Sherlock is a freshman guard who runs the point where he handles the ball and passes well. He is a threat from the three point line and defends the perimeter well.

Leelynd O’Connor is a freshman who is already strong enough to hold his own in the post where he rebounds and scores well. Cody DeJong is an active perimeter defender who creates many turnovers for Sacred Heart opponents. Hank McDonald is a strong defender, rebounder and scorer in the post. Jaxon Moore defends the perimeter well and is a threat from the three point line.

Huskie Coach Jeff Ostrander provided this information about his Huskie players.

Noah Barr is a complete all-around guard who defends the perimeter well, can hit the three point shot and is a threat slashing to the basket. Gavin Corbat is a top athlete who is a great rebounder and can get out on the fast break. Carter Suhr runs the point for the Huskies. He is a fine perimeter defender who handles the ball and passes well. He is a threat to score either on slashes to the basket or on shots from the three point line.

Blaze Snyder has an excellent basketball IQ. He makes excellent cuts and moves well without the ball in general. Isaac Bush defends well in the post and can hit the three point shot. Keegan Suhr is a dependable perimeter defender.

I got to the gym during the middle of the second quarter of the JV game. Sacred Heart had an 8-2 lead after one quarter of the JV game, but Breckenridge outscored Sacred Heart 6-4 in the second quarter and trailed 14-10 at halftime. The teams played evenly in the third quarter and Sacred Heart had a 24-20 lead going into the final period. Each team scored five points in the last period; Sacred Heart won the JV game 29-25.

Ely Chapin led the Breckenridge JVs with 13 points. Truman Smith added 4 points. Clinton Delo and Kolton Breece each scored 3 points. Gus Barr added 2 points.

Daniel Birgy led the Sacred Heart JVs with 7 points. Calvin Andera supported his teammate with 6 points. Walter MacDonald added 4 points. Jack Morrow and Caden Hoeve each had 3 points. Brookston Theisen, Ethan Baidoo and Jonathan Egan each tallied 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally observant eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore when at least some considered him to be “young.”

It seems that the Bleacher Denizen and his coach had a philosophical difference. Your Bleacher Denizen preferred to be creative in his choice of baskets to shoot at and loved the applause he got from opponents’ fans when he scored at their basket. It was really nice how the defense seemed to slack off a bit so he could shoot more easily at that basket instead of his own.

The coach kept bringing up negativity about adding points to the opponent’s score. He finally got upset and allocated the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time to other players who approached scoring less creatively.

Breckenridge wins the opening tap. The Huskies miss a six foot shot from the baseline. Channing Sherlock passes to Noah Zeien, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Sacred Heart the first three points of the game. Noah Barr passes to Isaac Bush, who hits a layup for Breckenridge. Sacred Heart misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Noah Zeien steals the ball for the Irish. Channing Sherlock drives and hits a layup to give Sacred Heart a 5-2 lead.

Breckenridge misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Sacred Heart misses a threeball from the corner. Nate Siler is fouled on a putback and hits one of his two free throws to give the Irish a 6-2 lead with 5:13 to play in the opening quarter.

Brady Davis taps the ball away from Breckenridge and Leelyn O’Connor picks it up for Sacred Heart. Channing Sherlock passes to Noah Zeien, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Irish. Carter Suhr hits a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw elbow for Breckenridge. Sacred Heart misfires on a triple try from the corner. Leelynd O’Connor grabs the offensive rebound for the Irish. Noah Zeien fires in a threeball from the corner to give Sacred Heart a 12-4 lead.

Breckenridge misses a three point attempt from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Sacred Heart takes possession. The Irish miss a threeball from the wing. Breckenridge bounces a pass out of bounds. Channing Sherlock inbounds the ball to Nate Siler, who is fouled as he shoots a layup and hits one of his two free throws to give Sacred Heart a 13-4 lead with 2:20 to play in the quarter.

Breckenridge fumbles a pass out of bounds. Channing Sherlock passes to Nate Siler, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for Sacred Heart. The Huskies miss a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw elbow. Trey Most grabs the offensive rebound for Breckenridge. Breckenridge misses a three point attempt from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Sacred Heart takes possession. Noah Zeien passes to Nate Siler, who hits a three point shot from the side to give the Irish an 18-4 lead.

Breckenridge misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Sacred Heart throws a pass out of bounds with just 1.7 seconds remaining in the quarter. A half court shot by Isaac Bush goes in and out of the basket as the buzzer decides it is time to end the opening quarter.

After one quarter, Sacred Heart has an 18-4 lead.

Sacred Heart inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. Trey Most blocks an Irish six footer in the lane. Breckenridge misses a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line. Carter Suhr steals the ball for Breckenridge and passes to Isaac Bush, who hits an eight foot shot in the lane for the Huskies. Sacred Heart misses a three point shot from the wing. Noah Barr passes to Isaac Bush, who hits a layup to trim the Sacred Heart lead to 18-8.

Blaze Snyder steals an Irish pass. Breckenridge misfires on a triple try near the top of the key. Sacred Heart throws a pass out of bounds. Carter Surh drives and hits an eight foot shot from the side. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throw to cut the Sacred Heart lead to 18-11 with 4:40 remaining in the second period.

Sacred Heart misses a three point shot from the side. Breckenridge throws a pass out of bounds. Gavin Corbat steals the ball for the Huskies. Breckenridge steps on the baseline with the ball. Noah Zeien is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to give the Irish a 19-11 lead with 3:58 remaining in the half.

Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the side. Sacred Heart misses a three point shot from the wing. Channing Sherlock passes to Noah Zeien, who quickly relays the ball to Nate Siler, who hits a twelve foot shot from the side for Sacred Heart. Breckenridge misses a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Noah Zeien hits a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the baseline to boost the Irish lead to 23-11.

Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the wing. Blaze Snyder gets the offensive rebound for the Huskies. Breckenridge misses a layup. Isaac Bush pulls down the offensive rebound for the Huskies. Breckenridge misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Brady Davis passes to Jaxon Moore, who hits a three point shot from the side just before the halftime buzzer makes its presence known.

Sacred Heart has a 26-11 lead at halftime.

Isaac Bush leads the Breckenridge scoring with 6 points and Carter Suhr has 5 points.

Noah Zeien has 12 points for Sacred Heart at halftime and Nate Siler has 9 points.

As our readers can not hear what is happening in the gym at halftime, I hope you will enjoy these two videos from my You Tube Channel!

“Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” was a hit hit for the Royal Guardsmen in late 1966. We had a lot of fun putting this one together!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHucLvxuQx8

“A Man Like Me” is an original tune! I hope you will enjoy the humor! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

Breckenridge inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Noah Zeien gets his hand on the ball, but the Huskies recover. Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the side. Isaac Bush gets the offensive rebound for the Huskies. He is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Irish lead to 26-12 with 7:20 remaining in quarter number three.

Blaze Snyder steals the ball for the Huskies. Breckenridge misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Gavin Corbat hits a putback for the Huskies. Sacred Heart misses a threeball from the top of the key. Noah Zeien storms into the lane, grabs the offensive rebound and continues to the basket where he hits a layup to give the Irish a 28-14 lead.

Breckenridge misfires on a threeball from the side and fouls on the rebound. Sacred Heart misses a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the side. Hank MacDonald hits a putback for the Irish. He is fouled on the shot and hits his free throw. With 2:49 remaining in quarter number three, Sacred Heart has a 31-14 lead.

Channing Sherlock gets his hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds. Breckenridge retains possession. Blaze Snyder passes to Isaac Bush, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Breckenridge. The Irish miss a driving layup. Noah Zeien ties up the rebound for the Irish. The Possession Arrow admires Mr. Zeien’s gritty play and awards the ball to Sacred Heart. Noah Zeien passes to Nate Siler, who spins and hits a six foot hook shot to boost Sacred Heart to a 33-17 lead.

Blaze Snyder hits a layup for Breckenridge. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. Sacred Heart misses a three point shot from the side. Noah Barr hits a fourteen foot shot off the dribble in the lane for Breckenridge. Sacred Heart misses a layup. Hank MacDonald hits a putback to give the Irish a 35-21 lead.

Breckenridge misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Noah Barr grabs the offensive rebound for the Huskies. Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Huskies get another opportunity. Breckenridge misses a three pointer from the side and gets the offensive rebound. Isaac Bush passes to Noah Barr, who this a three pointer from the side to cut the Irish lead to 35-24.

Sacred Heart misses a seventeen foot shot from the baseline. The buzzer decides it is time to end quarter number three and makes sure everyone in the gym understands that.

After three quarters, Sacred Heart has a 35-24 lead.

Breckenridge has the ball to open the fourth quarter. Gavin Corbat passes to Blaze Snyder, who hits a threeball from the wing for Breckenridge. Sacred Heart misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the wing. Noah Zeien passes to Leelynd O’Connor, who hits a layup for the Irish. Blaze Snyder passes to Isaac Bush, who hits a three point shot from the side to chop the Irish lead down to 37-30.

Sacred heart misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Noah Zeien grabs the offensive rebound for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses a threeball from the side. Breckenridge misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Noah Zeien drives and dishes the ball to Leelynd O’Connor, who hits a layup for the Irish and is fouled. He sinks his free throw and the Irish have a 40-30 lead with 4:41 left on the clock.

Blaze Snyder passes to Trey Most, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for Breckenridge. Sacred Heart misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Brady Davis causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow mulls the pros and cons and decides to give Sacred Heart another possession. Noah Zeien drives and scoops in a layup to give Sacred Heart a 42-32 lead.

Blaze Snyder drives and hits a layup for Breckenridge. Sacred Heart misses a driving layup. Carter Suhr passes to Isaac Bush, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Breckenridge. Brady Davis is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Sacred Heart. Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the side. Noah Zeien is fouled and hits two free throws to give Sacred Heart a 45-37 lead with 1:07 remaining in the game.

Breckenridge misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Breckenridge gets another opportunity. Breckenridge misses a driving layup. Channing Sherlock hits one of his two free throws for Sacred Heart. (To be fair, he made both of them, but the second was negated on a lane violation.) With 54.2 seconds to go, the Sacred Heart lead is at 46-37.

Noah Barr throws in a threeball from the side to keep Breckenridge in the game. Noah Zeien is fouled and hits two free throws to give Sacred Heart a 48-40 lead with 26.3 seconds to play.

Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the side. Nate Siler is fouled on the rebound and hits one of his two free throws for Sacred Heart. Breckenridge misses a three point shot from the corner. Noah Zeien is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Sacred Heart to give the Irish a 50-40 lead with 8.5 seconds to play.

Noah Barr takes the ball up the court and hits a three point shot off the dribble from the side just before the final buzzer ends the game.

Sacred Heart wins this game 50-43.

Isaac Bush led the Breckenridge scoring with 16 points. Noah Barr joined his teammate in double figures with 11 points. Blaze Snyder chipped in with 7 points. Carter Suhr added 5 points. Trey Most and Gavin Corbat each had 2 points.

Sacred Heart’s Noah Zeien led all scorers with 21 points. (He only needs twelve more to become Sacred Heart’s all-time leading scorer.) Nate Siler supported his teammate with 12 points. Leelynd O’Connor and Hank MacDonald each pitched in with 5 points. Channing Sherlock and Jaxon Moore each scored 3 points. Brady Davis had 1 point.