Saginaw Nouvel at Fowler – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 25, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

In my You Tube video of “Red River Valley” I inform the audience that you never know where the Red River Valley will lead you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8
One place it does not lead to is Fowler High School, but fortunately for your Bleacher Denizen, Fowler basketball fans and Nouvel basketball fans, M-21 DOES lead here. After a somewhat snowy, slip-slidy drive, your Bleacher Denizen was able to make it to St. Johns from Lansing to perform music for some seniors and then to Fowler for the game.

In tonight’s game, the Fowler Eagles will host the Panthers from Saginaw Nouvel. Fowler comes into the game with a 7-2 record and Nouvel is at 9-3.

Nouvel has two of the quickest and finest guards in the state. M.J. Yeager and Donny Yeager are twins who are too quick for most opponents to defend effectively. They both have range out to roughly thirty feet and both of them handle the ball and seem to go wherever they want to at will. They both have a lot of crafty moves to get inside for layups. If there is a difference in their games, M.J. is a bit more of a point guard and Donny is more of a shooter. However, either of them handles either role really well.

Preston Otter is an athletic inside player who is a fine rebounder, defender and shot blocker. He scores well in the lane and can hit from the three point line as well. Max Hammis has improved a great deal from last year. He is a fine defender, defender and shot blocker in the post who can score inside or from the three point line.

Thanks to Nouvel Coach Mike Kessler for his help with this information. (I do also remember seeing Nouvel playing in last years’ regional final against Fulton. The Yeager twins were a major factor for that team as well.)

Fowler Coach Kam Riley provided me with this information earlier in the season. Jacob Halfmann is a sophomore point guard in his second year of starting on the varsity. He is also the football team’s quarterback. He is a fine athlete who is big enough to defend and score in the post and quick enough to defend on the perimeter. He is a fine ball handler and passer who can either get to the basket to score or hit from the three point line. He is also one of the most composed athletes I have ever seen. You never see him even think about panicking!

Alex Halfmann plays in the post where he is a sophomore in his second year of starting on the varsity. He is an excellent defender in the post and rebounder. On offense, he gets a lot of putbacks and is becoming more assertive about scoring. Nolan Stump is a junior in his third year on Fowler’s varsity. He has an excellent three point shot and can also get into the lane to score. Aaron Simon has excellent range on his three point shot.

Zach Halfmann is a tall athletic player who can defend players all over the court. He is a good three point shooter, too. Asher Koenigsknecht is a sophomore who is extremely energetic on the defensive end.

I got to the gym in time to watch the JV game. Fowler got off to a 14-3 first quarter lead. The teams each scored twelve points in the second quarter and the Eagles had a 26-15 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Nouvel came back and even took a 34-33 lead late in the third quarter, but Fowler’s Ben Kohagen hit a layup to give the lead back to the Eagles.

At the end of three quarters, the Fowler JV held a 36-33 lead.

Nouvel scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to cut Fowler’s lead back to one point. Fowler responded with three point baskets by Jonah Thelen and Dylan Pline to retake the lead. Nouvel never came closer than four points after that and the Fowler JV won by a final score of 53-46.

Drew Carlson led the Nouvel JV with 18 points. Sean Foley contributed 12 points and Jack Wilson chipped in with 10 points. John Carlson had 5 points and Brady Vance tallied 1 point.

Brady Feldpausch and Dylan Pline each had 12 points to lead the victorious Fowler JVs. Jonah Thelen and Ben Kohagen each added 6 points. Augustine Spitzley scored 5 points. Nate Spicer, Ford Phillips and Connor Katich each put in 4 points.

It is now time to review the events of the varsity game through the occasionally open eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league in the days of yore when many people actually considered him to be “young.” While the Bleacher Denizen showed some early promise as a dunker, everything was ruined when the basketball powers that be capriciously decided to raise the rim from five feet to ten feet.

Nouvel wins the opening tap. The Panthers miss a three point attempt from the side. Ryan Schwartzly gets the offensive rebound for the Panthers. Jacob Halfmann and Alex Halfmann both leap and a Nouvel layup is blocked. (Alas, your aging Bleacher Denizen did not see which of the Halfmanns actually blocked the shot; maybe they both got it.) The loose ball goes out of bounds and the Panthers get another opportunity.

Zach Halfmann wastes no energy worrying about the Bleacher Denizen’s confusion and steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Donny Yeager drives and hits a reverse layup for the Panthers. Aaron Simon throws in a threeball from the from the wing for Fowler. Nouvel misses a layup. Aaron Simon passes to Nolan Stump, who hits a three pointer from the side to give Fowler a 6-2 lead.

Nolan Stump steals a Panther pass. Zach Halfmann drives and hits a layup to give Fowler an 8-2 lead.

M.J. Yeager passes to Preston Otter, who hits a layup for Nouvel. On the other end, Preston Otter blocks a Fowler layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Nouvel takes possession. Ryan Schwartzly passes the ball to Preston Otter, who hits a layup for Nouvel. Fowler throws a pass out of bounds. M.J. Yeager drives and hits a layup for Nouvel to tie the game at 8-8.

Jacob Halfmann hits a three point shot off the dribble from the wing to give the lead back to Fowler. Donny Yeager drives and hits a layup for Nouvel. Fowler misfires on a triple try from the side. Donny Yeager hits a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline to give Nouvel a 12-11 lead.

Fowler misses an eight banked shot from the side. Nouvel misses a threeball from the wing. M.J. Yeager gets the offensive rebound and passes to Preston Otter for a Panther layup. Fowler misses a three point attempt from the corner. Donny Yeager drives and hits a layup to give Nouvel a 16-11 lead.

Donny Yeager gets his hand on the ball and chaos results; eventually Fowler loses the ball because of an over and back violation. Cam Kaul passes to Max Hammis, who hits a layup for Nouvel. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Cam Kaul passes to Max Hammis for a layup that boosts the Nouvel lead to 20-11.

Alex Halfmann hits a two point shot near the top of the key for Fowler. Matthew Hartwell inbounds the ball to Max Hammis, who hits a layup for Nouvel. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Nouvel has no time to shoot before the first quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After one quarter, Nouvel has a 22-13 lead.

Fowler has the ball to begin quarter number two. Jacob Halfmann passes to Aaron Simon for an Eagle layup. Nouvel misses a driving layup. Matthew Hartwell steals the ball for the Panthers. Nouvel misses a layup. Cam Kaul hauls down the offensive rebound for the Panthers. Nouvel misfires on a threeball from the wing. Preston Otter hits a putback to push the Panther lead to 24-15.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Asher Koenigsknecht is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws for Fowler. Alex Halfmann blocks a Nouvel layup. Asher Koenigsknecht drives and dishes the ball to Alex Halfmann, who hits a layup for Fowler; he is fouled on the play and makes his free throw to trim the Panther lead to 24-20 with 6:09 to play in the second quarter.

Aaron Simon steals the ball for the Eagles. Asher Koenigsknecht tosses in a threeball from the corner to chop the Panther lead to one point at 24-23.

Donny Yeager responds by throwing in a threeball from the top of the key for Nouvel. Preston Otter blocks a Fowler threeball. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Fowler gets another opportunity. Alex Hamilton spins and drives for a Fowler layup. Donny Yeager passes to Preston Otter for Nouvel layup. Jacob Halfmann is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Panther lead to 29-26 with 4:34 remaining in the first half.

Alex Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles. Preston Otter blocks a Fowler driving layup. Nouvel misses a three point shot from the wing. Tristen Elizalde gets the offensive rebound for the Panthers. The Yeager Twin Connection comes through as Donny passes to M.J. for a successful three pointer from the wing. Fowler turns the ball over. This time, the Yeager Twin Connection comes through in reverse as M.J. passes to Donny, who throws in a threeball from the top of the key to boost the Panther lead to 35-26.

Preston Otter shows off some soccer skills as he kicks the ball out of bounds. Fowler gets the ball back, but commits a traveling violation. Asher Koenigsknecht knocks the ball away from the Panthers, but they are able to recover. Nouvel misses a layup. Fowler misses a ten foot shot from the side. Zach Halfmann gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Asher Koenigsknecht passes to Jacob Halfmann, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Fowler to trim the Nouvel lead to 35-29.

Nouvel misfires on a three pointer from the top of the key. Alex Halfmann goes into the lane and hits a six foot shot for Fowler. Zach Halfmann knocks the ball out of bounds; Nouvel retains possession. Cam Kaul saves a loose ball to prevent a Panther turnover and passes to Preston Otter, who hits a layup for Nouvel. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Nouvel misses a three point shot from the wing just before the second quarter buzzer blares.

Nouvel has a 37-31 lead at halftime.

Alex Halfmann leads Fowler at halftime with 9 points and Jacob Halfmann has 7 points.

Donny Yeager has 14 points for Nouvel and Preston Otter has 12 points.

While we wait for halftime to expire, why don’t we listen to this cover of the Lonely Bull from the Tijuana Brass that features Saginaw/Bay City area trumpeter extraordinaire, John Rickert!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmJmDiyf3ps

Nouvel inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. Donny Yeager drives and dishes the ball to Preston Otter, who hits a layup for the Panthers. Preston Otter steals the ball for Nouvel; he is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to give the Panthers a 40-31 lead with 7:28 to play in the third quarter.

Preston Otter’s active defense causes Fowler to step on the baseline. Donny Yeager drives from the side and hits a layup for Nouvel. Nolan Stump drives and hits a layup off the high glass for Fowler. Nouvel misses a layup. Preston Otter gets the offensive rebound for the Panthers. Nouvel misses a layup. Fowler is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Nouvel misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Max Hammis is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to boost the Nouvel lead to 44-33 with 5:54 remaining in quarter number three.

Fowler misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Zach Halfmann snares the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Alex Halfmann pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Preston Otter blocks a Fowler layup. Nouvel misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Jacob Halfmann passes to Alex Halfmann, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Nouvel lead to 44-34 with 5:00 to go in the quarter.

Nouvel misses a layup. Jacob Halfmann drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Preston Otter hits a layup for Nouvel. Donny Yeager knocks the ball away from Fowler and Matthew Hartwell picks it up for Nouvel. Donny Yeager is fouled on a driving layup and sinks two free throws to give the Panthers a 48-36 lead with 3:48 to play in the quarter.

Preston Otter steals the ball for Nouvel, dashes to the other end and emphatically slams the ball through the hoop for Nouvel. Fowler misses a three point shot from the quarter. Preston Otter hits a fast break layup for Nouvel, is fouled on the play and hits his free throw. Preston Otter steals the ball and slams the ball through the hoop for Nouvel again!

A technical foul is assessed to Nouvel (OK per the rules, but there was no intentional bad sportsmanship here). Aaron Simon hits two free throws for Fowler. Fowler inbounds the ball after the technical free throws, but misses a three point shot from the wing. M.J. Yeager hits a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline for Nouvel and the Panthers lead 57-38.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Nouvel misses a layup. Jack Wilson gets the offensive rebound for the Panthers. Nouvel misses a layup. Fowler misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Donny Yeager is fouled and sinks both free throws in a one and one opportunity for the Panthers. With 1:48 to play in the third quarter, Nouvel has a 59-38 lead.

Tristan Elizalde knocks the ball away from Fowler and M.J. Yeager hits the floor to grab the ball for Nouvel. The Panthers lose a pass out of bounds. Asher Koenigsknecht drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Nouvel misfires on a triple try from the corner. Nouvel holds the ball for the last shot of the quarter, but loses a pass out of bounds. Cam Kaul knocks a Fowler pass out of bounds with just 3.1 seconds left; Fowler gets the ball back. Matthew Hartwell steals Fowler’s inbound pass. Nouvel misses a three quarter court heave at the buzzer.

After three quarters, Nouvel leads 59-40.

Fowler has the ball to start out the fourth quarter. Jacob Halfmann inbounds the ball to Nolan Stump, who hits a layup for the Eagles. Max Hammis passes to M.J. Yeager who throws in a long three point shot from the wing for Nouvel. Fowler misses a layup. Nouvel misses a three point shot from the wing. M.J. Yeager steals the ball for Nouvel. He passes to Cam Kaul, who hits a layup for Nouvel, is fouled and makes his free throw. With 6:53 left on the clock, the Panthers have a 65-42 lead.

Alex Halfmann passes to Aaron Simon, who makes a short drive and banks in a six footer for the Eagles. Alex Halfmann steals the ball for Fowler. Donny Yeager steals the ball for Nouvel. Nolan Stump steals the ball for Fowler. (With all the theft going on, your Bleacher Denizen reassures himself that his wallet is still in his pocket.) Zach Halfmann ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s anxiety and hits a two point basket for Fowler to trim the Nouvel lead to 65-46.

Aaron Simon draws a charging foul from the Panthers. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Nouvel reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the wing. Tristen Elizalde blocks a Fowler fast break layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Fowler gets another opportunity. Jacob Halfmann inbounds the ball to Alex Halfmann, who hits a layup for Fowler. Donny Yeager hits a fifteen footer off the dribble from the baseline to boost the Panthers to a 67-48 lead.

Fowler misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Zach Halfmann pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles and hits a layup. The Yeager connection comes through again as M.J. passes to Donny, who throws in a threeball from the corner for the Panthers. Preston Otter blocks an Eagle shot. Donny Yeager hits a fast break layup for the Panthers to give his team a 72-50 lead.

Fowler misses a three point attempt from the wing. Nouvel loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses an eight foot hook shot in the lane. Nouvel misses a layup. Jacob Hamilton saves the ball to prevent a Fowler turnover. Fowler misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. M.J. Yeager drives from the side and hits a layup to give Nouvel a 74-50 lead.

Zach Hamilton goes into the lane and hits a five foot shot for Fowler. Nathan Hamilton gets his hand on the ball and Nouvel loses it out of bounds. Fowler misfires on a three pointer near the top of the key. Nouvel misfires on a three pointer from the side. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Donny Yeager zips into the lane and scoops in a six foot shot for the Panthers. The Nouvel lead is at 76-52.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Max Novak alertly saves the ball to prevent a Panther over and back violation. Nouvel misses a three point shot from the corner. Zach Halfmann hits a three point shot from the side for Fowler. Nouvel runs the last few seconds off the clock.

Saginaw Nouvel wins this game by a 76-52 score.

Alex Halfmann had 12 points to lead the Fowler scoring. Zach Halfmann joined his teammate in double figures with 11 points. Jacob Halfmann and Aaron Simon each contributed 9 points. Nolan Stump and Asher Koenigsknecht each scored 7 points.

Donny Yeager scored 29 points to lead Nouvel. Preston Otter had a great all-around game and scored 24 points to go along with 2 dunks and many fine defensive plays. M.J. Yeager chipped in with 12 points. Max Hammis scored 8 points and Cam Kaul added 3 points.