Lansing Christian at Potterville – – CMAC Boys Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 20, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the CMAC Boys’ Game of the Week takes us to Potterville, where the Vikings will host the Pilgrims from Lansing Christian. Potterville enters this game at 4-12 in the CMAC and 6-14 overall. Lansing Christian is 1-16 in the CMAC and 2-18 overall.

While we wait for the game to start, here is a beautiful song, “Feed the Birds” from the movie, “Mary Poppins” played as a piano solo on my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2KWzZEUZA

Kaleb Batterham runs the point for the Vikings. He handles the ball well and defends the perimeter with great energy. He is able to slash to the basket to score as well. Jacob Bishop is a versatile junior in his third year on the Viking varsity. He is a versatile scorer who is at home in the post or from the three point line. He is a solid post defender and rebounder as well.

Reid Jackson is a three point shooter with better range than most players. Isaiah Woloszyn is a fine perimeter defender who can slash to the basket and also score from the three point line. Andrew Morales is a freshman wing who will be starting tonight. He rebounds and slashes to the basket well; he is also a solid perimeter defender.

Ethan Damesworth is a talented three point shooter who also runs the point for the Pilgrims. He defends the perimeter well. David Hall is a scorer who can get points in the post, but also has a fine outside shot with range as far as the three point line. He is a fine defender and rebounder in the post as well. Collin Leavitt defends the perimeter aggressively. Isaac Ciuk is an energetic player who can defend in the post or on the perimeter.

Brennan Sendow is a solid shooter who defends the perimeter or the post pretty well. Sam Mustapha brings toughness to the Pilgrim perimeter defense. Quinn Jamieson handles the ball well.

I would also like to point out that Lansing Christian has endured many injuries this year and have played a couple games with only five varsity players. (JV players played some minutes in those games.)

I got to the Potterville gym in time to see the second half of the JV game. Potterville had a 35-26 lead at halftime and extended it to 49-36 after three quarters. Christian was able to close the gap to five points with about three minutes left at 54-49, but Potterville did all the scoring the rest of the way and went on to a 61-49 win.

Stephen Gollapalli and Sam Mustapha led the JV scoring for Lansing Christian with 12 points each. Charlie Baker contributed 8 points. Quinn Jamieson and Isaac Ciuk each chipped in with 5 points. Brennan Sendow added 4 points and Jack Crawford scored 3 points.

Elijah Pung led the victorious Potterville JVs with 28 points. Keegan Bennett and Isaiah O’Neil each contributed 9 points. Tyler Langfeldt and Kipton Hall each put in 4 points. Greg Croze scored 3 points. Damon Boyd and Luke Ward each tallied 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he tried to hoop in the days of yore. He found that he was able to greatly increase his three point accuracy by putting a large funnel over the hoop. His hopes for increased playing time were dashed when the custodial personnel teamed up with the basketball powers that be to have your Bleacher Denizen’s funnel outlawed! Your Bleacher Denizen was never able to shoot well after this.

Christian wins the opening tap. The Pilgrims misfires on a threeball from the wing. David Hall grabs the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a layup. David Hall gets another offensive rebound for Christian. The Pilgrims miss a three point shot from the corner. Potterville reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the corner. Christian misses a three pointer from the corner.

Collin Leavitt knocks the ball away from Potterville and Brennan Sendow picks it up for Christian. Brennan Sendow passes to Ethan Damesworth, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give the Pilgrims the first three points of the game. Potterville misfires on a triple try from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets another possession. Collin Leavitt knocks the ball away from Potterville, but the Vikings recover. The Vikings miss a three pointer from the corner.

Ezariah Taylor blocks a Christian three point attempt. Kaleb Batterham throws in a threeball from the top of the key for the Vikings to tie the game. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pilgrims get another possession. Collin Leavitt inbounds the ball to David Hall, who hits a six foot shot in the lane to give Christian a 5-3 lead.

Potterville misfires on a threeball from the side. Diego Vasquez seizes the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Isaiah Woloszyn drives the baseline and is fouled on a layup. He hits one of his two free throws for Potterville to trim the Christian lead to 5-4 with 4:38 remaining in the first quarter.

Diego Vasquez knocks a Christian entry pass into the lane out of bounds; Christian retains possession. Reid Jackson steals the ball for the Vikings. Ezariah Taylor passes to Kaleb Batterham, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Potterville a 7-5 lead.

Christian misses a fifteen foot shot from the wing. Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Ethan Damesworth pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Ezariah Taylor steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. David Hall hits a jump shot from the free throw line for Christian to tie the game at 7-7.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing. Kaleb Batterham steals a Pilgrim pass. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Christian misses a driving six foot shot in the lane. Ethan Damesworth grabs the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Brayden Marenich blocks a Christian layup; the Pilgrims recover the ball. Christian misses a jump shot.

Potterville misses a three pointer from the wing. Reid Jackson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Quinn Jamieson gets a hand on Potterville’s inbound pass, but the Vikings are able to recover. Potterville misses a spinning, driving layup. Aaron Crittenden steals the ball for Potterville. Kaleb Batterham is fouled on a driving eight foot shot from the side of the lane and hits two free throws to give Potterville a 9-7 lead with 49.9 seconds to play in the first quarter.

Christian misses a three point shot from the side. There is a scrum for the ball. The ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow takes time out from cleaning its gold coin collection and decides to give the ball to Potterville. The Vikings miss a three point shot from the top of the key. Ethan Damesworth passes to Brennan Sendow, who hits a three point shot from the side for Christian at the buzzer.

After one quarter, Lansing Christian has a 10-9 lead.

Christian has the ball to begin the second quarter. The Pilgrims miss a three point shot from the side. Sam Mustapha pulls down the offensive rebound for Christian (while being fouled.) Collin Leavitt inbounds the ball to Ethan Damesworth, who throws in a threeball from the corner to give Christian a 13-9 lead.

Potterville misses a threeball from the wing. Christian misses a three pointer from the side. Collin Leavitt gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a three pointer from the side. Potterville misses a six foot banked shot. Ezariah Taylor knocks the ball away from Christian and Kaleb Batterham picks it up for Potterville. Kaleb Batterham passes the ball to Reid Jackson, who hits a layup to trim the Christian lead to 13-11.

Christian misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville takes possession. Brenna Sendow knocks a Potterville pass out of bounds; the Vikings retain possession. Potterville watches a three pointer from the wing go in and out of the basket. Isaiah Woloszyn steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. He hits two free throws for the Vikings to tie the game at 13-13 with 5:17 to play in the second quarter.

Brayden Marenich alters a Christian layup and forces a miss. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets the ball. Kaleb Batterham drives and hits a twelve foot shot from the side. He is fouled on the play and makes his free throw to give Potterville a 16-13 lead with 4:28 remaining in the second quarter.

Collin Leavitt alertly makes a great save to avoid a Christian over and back violation. Kaleb Batterham steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Potterville. Collin Leavitt passes to Brennan Sendow, who hits a layup for Christian and is fouled on the play. He misses his free throw. With 3:40 remaining in the opening half, Potterville has an 18-15 lead.

The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and Christian gets another possession. Ezariah Taylor, tonight’s king of the hustle play, ties up the ball for Potterville. The Possession Arrow and its maid stop polishing the silver long enough to decide that Potterville shall have the ball as Mr. Taylor’s hustle was magnificent!! Reid Jackson passes to Kaleb Batterham, who hits a three point shot from the corner to boost the Vikings to a 21-15 lead.

Christian is assessed with a traveling violation. Isaac Ciuk knocks the ball away from Potterville and Brennan Sendow picks it up for Christian. Christian misfires on a triple try from the side. Potterville misses a six foot banked shot from the side of the lane. Brennan Sendow is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Christian to shave the Potterville leaded to 21-16 with 2:14 to play in the first half.

Potterville misses a driving layup. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Diego Vasquez drives and hits an eight foot shot in the lane for Potterville. David Hall throws in a threeball from the wing for Christian. Potterville is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 1:08 left on the first half clock, Potterville has a 23-19 lead.

Christian misses a three pointer from the corner. Isaac Ciuk steals the ball for Christian and is fouled on a fast break layup. He hits one of his two free throws. Potterville drives, but misses an eight footer from the side of the lane. Ethan Damesworth passes to David Hall, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Christian to tie the game at 23-23.

Potterville turns the ball over with 3.3 seconds left in the half. Collin Leavitt passes to Ethan Damesworth, who hits a three point shot from the side as the first half buzzer sounds off.

At halftime, Christian has a 26-23 lead.

Kaleb Batterham leads the Potterville first half scoring with 16 points.

David Hall leads Christian at halftime with 10 points. Ethan Damesworth has 9 points and Brennan Sendow has 6 points.

As there is no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy these songs from my You Tube Channel!
“Too Old to Cut the Mustard” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6GOgZAHqxI (Mark Wilcox is my duet partner in this song.)
“Glow Worm” (for those of you who did not get enough of this song in junior high band) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbyez-hYtDY

Christian inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Pilgrims miss a twelve foot shot from the side. Kaleb Batterham passes to Reid Jackson, who hits a three point shot from the side for Potterville to tie the game. Sam Mustapha passes to David Hall, who hits a threeball from the side to put Christian back on top by three at 29-26.

Potterville misses a three pointer from the corner. Ethan Damesworth drives, pivots and hits a layup for Christian. Isaiah Woloszyn is fouled on a driving eight foot shot from the side of the lane. He hits two free throws to trim the Christian lead to 31-28 with 6:25 left in the quarter.

Kaleb Batterham steals the ball and hits a layup for the Vikings despite the Pilgrims making a fine open field tackle. Unfortunately in basketball, that’s a foul. Kaleb Batterham hits his free throw to tie the game at 31-31 with 6:05 remaining in the third quarter.

Ezariah Taylor makes another one of his regal hustle plays as he blocks a Christian layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Potterville takes possession. The Vikings misfire on a threeball from the corner. Brennan Sendow passes to David Hall, who hits a twelve footer from the side to give Christian a two point lead. Isaiah Woloszyn is fouled on a driving layup. He hits one of his two free throws to cut the Christian lead to 33-32 with 5:14 to go in quarter number three.

Christian is assessed with a traveling violation. Kaleb Batterham passes to Reid Jackson, who hits a three point shot from the wing to boost Potterville to a two point lead. Christian loses the ball out of bounds. Potterville misses a three pointer from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian takes possession. The Pilgrims miss a three point shot from the side. Collin Leavitt gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Ezariah Taylor, the newly crowned king of defensive hustle blocks a Pilgrim layup.

Potterville misses a fast break layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Vikings get another opportunity. Potterville misses an eight foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Ethan Damesworth passes the ball to Brennan Sendow, who drives and hits a six foot shot from the side of the lane for Christian to tie the game. Isaiah Woloszyn is fouled (again) on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Potterville a 37-35 lead with 3:08 left in the quarter.

Christian fumbles a pass out of bounds. Potterville misses a threeball from the wing. Christian misses a threeball from the corner. Potterville misses a fast break layup. Ezariah Taylor (who else?) HUSTLES and grabs a long offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a three pointer from the side. The Vikings get the offensive rebound; it was difficult to see from my angle; I think it was Diego Vasquez who got it. Kaleb Batterham passes to Reid Jackson, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give his Vikings a 40-35 lead.

Christian misses a three point shot from the corner. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Christian misses a triple try from the top of the key. Collin Leavitt gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Potterville drives the baseline, but misses a layup.

Ezariah Taylor makes another HUSTLE play as he knocks the ball off a Christian player and out of bounds , but this time Christian retains possession. Brennan Sendow is fouled on a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Potterville lead to 40-36 with 32.2 seconds to play in the quarter.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Kaleb Batterham steals the ball and streaks to the basket to hit a fast break layup for Potterville just before the third quarter buzzer decides to sound off.

After three quarters, Potterville holds a 42-36 lead.

Potterville inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. Ezariah Taylor gets into the lane, spins and hits a ten foot jump shot for the Vikings. Kaleb Batterham steals the ball for Potterville. The Vikings miss a three point shot from the side. Brennan Sendow drives from the side and hits a ten foot banked shot to shave the Viking lead to 44-36.

Potterville misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Reid Jackson knocks the ball away from Christian and causes a scrum. Potterville fouls during the scramble and Christian gets the ball. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. David Hall grabs the long offensive rebound for the Pilgrims, but his momentum forces him into an over and back violation. Potterville misses a driving layup. Collin Leavitt is fouled on a twelve foot shot from the side. He hits one of his two free throws to trim the Viking lead to 44-39 with 5:30 left on the clock.

Collin Leavitt knocks a Viking pass out of bounds. Potterville retains possession. The Vikings miss a driving layup. Kaleb Batterham gets the offensive rebound for Potterville. The Vikings miss a three pointer from the wing. Kaleb Batterham gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Kaleb Batterham hits a three point shot from the wing for the Vikings. Ethan Damesworth sinks a threeball from the wing for Christian to pare the Potterville lead down to 47-42.

Potterville misses a driving layup. Christian misses a driving ten footer from the baseline. Kaleb Batterham pours in a threeball from the wing for Potterville. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Kaleb Batterham drives and hits a layup to give his Vikings a 52-42 lead.

Christian misses a twelve footer off the dribble from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets the ball. Potterville misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Reid Jackson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. Christian is fouled, but misses two free throws with 2:49 remaining. Kaleb Batterham passes to Diego Vasquez, who hits a layup to boost Potterville to a 54-42 lead.

Christian misses a driving layup. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Isaiah Woloszyn gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. David Hall drives and dishes the ball to Sam Mustapha, who is fouled as he shoots a layup. Sam Mustapha hits one of his two free throws to cut the Potterville lead to 54-43 with 1:56 to go.

Sam Mustapha gets the offensive rebound from the missed free throw for Christian. Ethan Damesworth drives and hits a layup for the Pilgrims. He is fouled on the play and also makes his free throw. With 1:49 left, Potterville’s lead is at 54-46.

Isaiah Woloszyn drives and hits a layup for Potterville. Christian misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Kaleb Batterham is fouled twice; the second of these is Christian’s fifth foul of the quarter, so he’ll shoot free throws. Kaleb Batterham hits two free throws and Potterville has a 58-46 lead with 1:21 to play.

Christian misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Potterville is fouled, but misses two free throws. Isaiah Woloszyn gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. He is fouled and hits two free throws for Potterville. Isaiah Woloszyn steals the ball for the Vikings and is fouled. He hits one of his two free throws to boost Potterville to a 61-46 lead with 40.3 seconds to go.

Collin Leavitt hits a reverse layup for Christian. Aaron Crittenden is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Potterville with just 6.3 seconds to go. Isaiah Wolszyn gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings and Potterville dribbles out the clock.

Potterville wins the CMAC Boys’ Game of the Week by the score of 62-48.

Ethan Damesworth led the Lansing Christian scoring with 17 points. David Hall supported his teammate with 15 points. Brennan Sendow chipped in with 11 points. Collin Leavitt scored 3 points. Sam Mustapha and Isaac Ciuk each tallied 1 point.

Kaleb Batterham had a magnificent game and led Potterville with 31 points. Isaiah Woloszyn added 13 points. (11 of them were on free throws.) Reid Jackson joined his teammates in double figures with 11 points. Diego Vasquez contributed 4 points. Ezariah Taylor had 2 points (and possibly a dozen major hustle plays.) Aaron Crittenden added 1 point.