Williamston at Lansing Catholic – – Boys Basketball — The Bleacher Denizen – – December 14, 2021 – – by Chuck Krafft

The Bleacher Denizen came to Lansing Catholic to watch the Cougars host the Williamston Hornet girls’ and boys’ basketball teams. The girls game was really close and competitive. Here is a link to the play by play!

https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2021/12/15/williamston-at-lansing-catholic-girls-basketball-the-bleacher-denizen-december-14-2021-by-chuck-krafft/

Now it’s time for the boys’ game. Williamston Coach Tom Lewis gave me this information about the Hornet boys. Mason Docks is so quick and his ball handling is so good that most high school players struggle to guard him. He has an excellent three point shot and a wide variety of shots in the lane that are difficult for others to block as well. He is a quick, fiercely competitive defender as well.

Jacob Wallace is 6’4″ and while he can handle defensive responsibilities in the lane, he has all the skills a coach would want from a guard. He defends aggressively, shoots well from distance, handles the ball well, can get to the basket and is a willing passer. Spencer Feig gives Williamston the luxury of having a quality point guard in addition to Mason Docks. He is one of the most competitive players in the area and a relentless defender. He is a strong passer and dependable ball handler who can hit the open three point shot or drive to the basket.

Max Burton is 6’10” and does all the standard rebounding, shot blocking and post defense you would expect from a guy his size. He scores well in the lane and can step out to hit the three point shot as well. The fifth starter is Isaac Hahnenberg, who is 6’6″ and a tough defender and rebounder in the post. He is also able to hit midrange and three point shots.

For Catholic, Coach Brian Dartt helped me with this information. Alex Watters is an athletic player who was all-state in football. He is quicker and faster than most high school players; he uses this to relentlessly attack the rim on offense and to stick to defensive assignments like glue. Brody Kirkpatrick and Luc Guerrazzi are big guys who defend and rebound in the middle. On offense, both of them are capable midrange and three point shooters. Joey Baker is a fine perimeter defender.

Let’s take a look at the events of this game through the occasionally observant perspective of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore. He simply never learned that most coaches do not regard “matador defense” highly until it was too late. Many coaches thought it was especially egregious when the Bleacher Denizen waved his hand with flair and shouted, “OLE!!” as his defensive assignment sprinted by him with the ball.

Williamston wins the opening tap and promptly bounces a pass out of bounds. Jay Wallace steals the ball for the Hornets. Williamston misses a fast break layup. Spencer Feig grabs the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Williamston misses a layup; the ball goes out of bounds and Catholic takes possession. Jack Jacobs drives in and hits a six foot hook shot in the lane to give Catholic a 2-0 lead.

Mason Docks bursts into the lane and hits a reverse layup for Williamston to tie the game. Catholic misses a layup. Brody Kirkpatrick ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow is enamored of his aggressive hustle and decides to award the ball to Catholic. Catholic misfires on a triple try from the wing. Mason Docks streaks to the basket, hits a layup, is fouled and makes his free throw to give Williamston a 5-2 lead with 6:08 to play in the first quarter.

Catholic misses a jump shot from the baseline. Spencer Feig drives and hits a six foot banked shot from the side of the lane for Williamston. Spencer Feig knocks the ball away from the Cougars and Mason Docks picks it up for the Hornets. Williamston is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Williamston has a 7-2 lead with 5:22 to go in the first quarter.

Spencer Feig steals the ball for the Hornets. Williamston misses a fast break layup; Catholic fouls on the rebound. Williamston misses a layup. Max Burton blocks a Catholic layup. Spencer Feig is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Williamston. Spencer Feig steals the ball for the Hornets. Williamston misses a threeball from the corner. Catholic misses a fast break layup. Jacob Wallace passes to Max Burton, who slams the ball through the hoop with authority to give the Hornets a 10-2 lead.

Spencer Feig knocks a Catholic pass out of bounds; the Cougars retain possession. Catholic misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Williamston misses a layup. Catholic misses a layup. Mason Docks drives in and scoops a layup home for Williamston. Spencer Feig steals the ball for Williamston. The Hornets miss a three point shot from the wing. Isaac Hahnenberg gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Spencer Feig drives in and hits a layup to push the Hornet lead to 14-2.

Spencer Feig knocks the ball away from Catholic and Jacob Hammond picks it up for Williamston. Spencer Feig throws in a threeball from the side for Williamston. Max Burton steals the ball and goes coast to coast for a Williamston layup. (Remember, he’s 6′ 10″ and was able to do this!) Luc Guerazzi hits a ten foot shot from the baseline to stop a nineteen point Hornet run. Mason Docks drives and hits a layup to give Williamston a 21-4 lead.

Spencer Feig knocks the ball out of bounds; Williamston takes possession. Mason Docks passes to Jacob Wallace, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Williamston. Catholic misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Williamston tries a dunk, but misses. Jack Jacobs hits a three point shot from the side for Catholic. Mason Docks passes to Max Burton, who dunks the ball home to give the Hornets a 26-7 lead.

Catholic misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Williamston is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Catholic misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Williamston misses a layup and a putback. Jacob Hammond gets the offensive rebound, but the first quarter sounds before he can try to shoot.

After one quarter, Williamston has a 26-7 lead.

Williamston inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Luc Guerrazi blocks a Hornet shot. Spencer Feig steals the ball for Williamston. Alex Watters gets back quickly and is able to give a foul to stop a Williamston fast break layup. Spencer Feig hits two free throws for the Hornets. Catholic misses a driving layup. Williamston misses a six foot shot from the side on the break. Dean Jacobs hits a three point shot from the side for Catholic. Williamston has a 28-10 lead.

There is a double technical foul assessed. Williamston gets the ball. Williamston misses a shot, but Mason Docks gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Williamston misses a layup. Jacob Wallace gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. He drives the baseline and hits a layup for Williamston. Catholic misses a threeball from the side. Andrew Palmer passes to Mason Docks, who drills a threeball from the wing for the Hornets. Mason Docks steals the ball and hits a five footer in the lane to give Williamston a 35-10 lead.

Mason Docks steals the ball for the Hornets. Williamston misses a three point attempt from the corner. Jack Jacobs bounces the ball to Dean Jacobs, who hits an eight foot banked hook for Catholic. Williamston misses a driving layup. Jager Hillyer passes the ball to Brody Kirkpatrick, who hits an eight foot shot in the lane for Catholic. Williamston misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Jacob Wallace gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Isaac Hahnenberg is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give the Hornets a 37-14 lead with 4:20 to go in the first half.

Alex Watters reacts alertly to prevent an over and back violation for the Cougars. Catholic is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Williamston misses a three point shot from the corner. Mason Docks gets the offensive rebound and hits a ten foot shot in the lane for Williamston. Mason Docks steals the ball and passes to Jacob Hammond, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Williamston. Alex Watters is fouled on a reverse layup and hits two free throws for Catholic. With 2:50 left in the half, Williamston has a 40-16 lead.

Williamston misses a threeball from the top of the key. Catholic shoots a three pointer from the corner; it his the top of the backboard and bounces through the basket. It is ruled that the ball was out of bounds and the shot doesn’t count. Williamston is assessed with a travelling violation. Alex Watters is fouled and hits two free throws for Catholic. Alex Watters blocks a Hornet layup; the ball goes out of bounds and Williamston gets another opportunity. Williamston misses a three point shot from the corner. Brooks Cline gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Isaac Hahnenberg hits a layup to give Williamston a 42-18 lead.

Catholic misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Spencer Feig passes to Mason Docks, who hits a three pointer from the wing for Williamston. Jager Hillyer is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Catholic. Williamston misses a threeball from the corner. The Hornets are fouled on the rebound, but miss two free throws. Brooks Cline gets the offensive rebound for Williamston. Jacob Hammond hits a three point shot from the side to give Williamston a 48-19 lead.

Jager Hillyer is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Catholic. Williamston misses a driving layup. Dean Jacobs is fouled and hits two free throws for Catholic with just 2.7 seconds left on the first half clock. Williamston misses a thirty footer at the halftime buzzer.

Williamston has a 48-22 halftime lead.

For Catholic, Dean Jacobs has 7 points and Jack Jacobs has 5 points to lead the scoring at halftime.

Mason Docks has 17 points to lead Williamston. Spencer Feig has 10 points, Jacob Wallace has 7 points and Max Burton has 6 points.

Catholic inbounds the ball to start up the third quarter. The Cougars miss a twelve foot shot from the baseline. The Hornets miss a dunk. Jacob Wallace gets the offensive rebound for Williamston and drives the baseline for a layup. Mason Docks steals the ball and hits another layup for Williamston. Catholic misses a three point shot from the side. Max Burton rebounds the ball and takes it coast to coast for a Hornet layup. Mason Docks steals the ball; he passes to Jacob Wallace, who hits a layup for Williamston. Mason Docks steals the Catholic outlet pass and passes to Jacob Wallace, who hits a fast break dunk to give Williamston a 58-22 lead.

Max Burton steals the ball for Williamston. Luc Guerrazzi steals the ball for Catholic. Catholic missses a three point shot from the side. Spencer Feig passes to Max Burton, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Hornets. Spencer Feig steals the ball and hits a layup for Williamston. Catholic misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Joey Baker steals the ball for the Cougars. Alex Watters is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Catholic. With about 4:25 left in the third quarter, Williamston has a 63-23 lead.

Mason Docks passes the ball to Jacob Wallace, who leaps and slams the ball through the hoop for Williamston. Dean Jacobs passes to a teammate, who is fouled on a layup, but misses his free throws. Williamston misses a threeball from the corner. Alex Watters hits a fast break layup for Catholic; he is fouled, but misses his free throw. Williamston misses a three point shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound.

Catholic misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Brody Kirkpatrick gets the offensive rebound for the Cougars. Catholic misses a layup. Williamston misses a layup. Catholic misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Mason Docks hits a layup for Williamston. Catholic misses a long heave at the buzzer.

With three quarters in the books, Williamston has a 67-25 lead.

Williamston has the ball to start the fourth quarter. The Hornets throw a pass out of bounds. Catholic misses a three point shot from the corner. Williamston misses a dunk. Jackson Newman steals the ball for Williamston. Williamston misses a shot. Brooks Cline gets the offensive rebound. Brooks Cline is fouled and hits two free throws to give Williamston a 69-25 lead.

Catholic is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. Williamston misses a three point shot from the wing. Williamston steps out of bounds. Catholic misses a three point shot from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Cougars get another opportunity. Andrew Palmer and Brooks Cline knock the ball off Catholic and out of bounds. Williamston gets the ball. Andrew Palmer passes to Jackson Newman, who hits a layup that boosts Williamston to a 71-25 lead.

Tristan Taylor hits a three point shot from the wing for Catholic. Williamston loses the ball out of bounds. Brooks Cline steals the ball for the Hornets. Williamston misses a dunk. Samuel Havey gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Andrew Palmer hits a three point shot from the wing for Williamston. Brooks Cline steals the ball for the Hornets and is fouled on a layup. He hits one of his two free throws to give Williamston a 75-28 lead.

Mojo Othow passes to Shaymus Kelley, who hits a layup for Catholic. Williamston misses a driving layup. Mojo Othow is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws for Catholic. Williamston misses a threeball from the side. Anthony Schellie gets the offensive rebound for Williamston. Williamston misses a jump shot. CAtholic is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Williamston dribbles out the clock.

Williamston wins the game 75-32.

Dean Jacobs and Alex Watters led the Catholic scoring with 7 points each. Jack Jacobs scored 5 points. Tristan Taylor added 3 points. Brody Kirkpatrick, Mojo Othow, Shaymus Kelley, Luc Guerazzi and Jager Hillyer each had 2 points.

Mason Docks led the victorious Hornets with 21 points. Jacob Wallace supported his teammate with 15 points. Spencer Feig and Max Burton were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively. Jacob Hammond and Isaac Hahnenberg each added 4 points. Brooks Cline and Andrew Palmer each scored 3 points. Jackson Newman had 2 points.