Ubly at Kingston – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 27, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen has gotten away from the Lansing Area and is in the Thumb covering boys basketball between the Ubly Bearcats and the Kingston Cardinals. Ubly is in second place in the Big Thumb Black with a 4-1 league record. The Bearcats are 7-5 overall. Kingston is in first place in the Big Thumb Blue with a 6-0 league record. The Cardinals are 9-3 overall.

While we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this cover of “Down South in New Orleans” from my You Tube Channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QUZ5FrpeFA

Ubly Coach Branden Sorenson was helpful and provided this background information about his Bearcat players.

Daniel Zdrojewski is the big guy in the middle for the Bearcats. He is a tough defender and rebounder. Collin Franzel runs the point for Ubly. He is a tough perimeter defender who can score either on pullup jumpers or on slashes to the basket. Collin Osantowski is an excellent perimeter defender who can score on slashes to the basket. Brayden Franzel is a fine perimeter defender who has a dangerous pullup jumper.

Skyler Smith is what they used to call a glue guy. He is able to be an effective perimeter defender either in the post or on the perimeter. He has a nice three point shot and does a lot of the passing and screen setting that all good teams need. Devin Geiger helps a lot with the post defense and rebounding. Wyatt Schumacher is a tough perimeter defender who excels at on-ball defense. Logan Johnson is another guy who defends in the post or the perimeter. He is a strong rebounder and screener as well.

Kyle Widger is a good defender and rebounder in the post. Owen Chapin is an energetic player who never stops hustling on defense. Brody Hagen is injured and will not play tonight. He is a clever player who defends in or out and can score on slashes to the basket.

Cardinal Coach Derek Flikkie provided this information about the Kingston players.

Austin Deroseau is an excellent scorer, rebounder and defender in the post. Nicholas Cummings is a tough on-ball defender on the perimeter who is great slashing to the basket. Colin Corliss is a fine defender who can defend with great energy in the post or on the perimeter. Peyton Harrington runs the point for the Cardinals. He is tall enough to defend in the post when necessary and quick enough to contain opponents on the perimeter. He is a threat to slash to the basket or hit shots from the three point line.

Tanner James can defend in the post or on the perimeter. Michael Jenkins is an excellent leader who goes a lot of the unsung things like screen setting and ball movement that all good teams need. Nicholas Rayl is a good perimeter defender. Bronson Skinner is a hard worker, especially on defense.

I was able to see the entire JV game.

Kingston got off to a good start and held a 12-6 lead after one quarter. In the second quarter, Ubly came back and took a 16-15 lead with about 3:15 left in the second quarter when Ubly hit a layup. Hudson Groner quickly responded with a layup to retake the lead for Kingston, but Jordan Maurer hit a shot to give the lead back to Ubly. The Bearcat JVs controlled the rest of the quarter and went into halftime with an 26-21 lead.

Each team scored fifteen points in the third quarter, so Ubly entered the final quarter with a 41-36 lead.

Kingston pecked away in the fourth quarter and got within one point on a layup ty Thijs van Rijn with 3:38 left in the game. Ubly scored the next three baskets and led 49-42 with 1:47 to go when a timeout was called. Kingston roared back with a ten foot shot in the lane by Hudson Groner and three point basket by Thijs van Rijn assisted by Hudson Groner and got within two points at 49-47 with about a minute left.

Ubly scored the final four points in the last minute on free throws by Blake Soule and Jordan Maurer along with a fast break layup off a steal by Gavin Mellas. Ubly won the JV contest 53-47.

Hudson Groner led the Kingston JVs with 16 points. Thijs van Rijn joined his teammate in double figures with 12 points. Darrell Jenkins contributed 8 points. Austin Flores and Blake Bingaman each added 4 points and Brody Pohlod had 3 points.

Jordan Maurer led the victorious Ubly JVs with 21 points. Westonn Bambach contributed 12 points and Blake Soule joined his teammates in double figures with 11 points. Eli Maurer tossed in 4 points, Gavin Mellas added 3 points and Joel Rochefort tallied 2 points.

It is now time to review the varsity game through the occasionally clear lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop back in the ancient times when he was considered to be “young.” It seems there was a disagreement with his coach about passing the ball.

While his coach insisted that he pass the ball only to people wearing the same color uniform as his, your Bleacher Denizen felt this stunted his creativity. When he started expressing himself by refusing to discriminate who he passed to by uniform color, the coach expressed himself by condemning this thing called “turnovers” and refusing to allow the Bleacher Denizen to play much.

Kingston wins the opening tap, but throws a pass out of bounds soon after. Daniel Zdrojewski passes to Skyler Smith, who hits a layup to give the first two points of the game to the Bearcats. Kingston misfires on a triple try from the wing. Daniel Zdrojewski steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a fast break layup. Austin Deroseau is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to tie the game at 2-2 with 6:57 remaining in the opening quarter.

Ubly misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Skyler Smith knocks the ball out of bounds; Kingston retains possession. Tanner James throws in a threeball from the corner to give the lead to the Cardinals. Austin Deroseau blocks a Bearcat layup; the ball goes out of bounds; Ubly retains possession. The Bearcats misfire on a threeball from the side. Nicholas Cummings is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws to boost the Cardinals to a 7-2 lead with 5:48 to play in the quarter.

Ubly drives from the side and misses a layup. Devin Geiger pulls down the offensive rebound for the Bearcats. Ubly misses a layup. Devin Geiger hits a putback for the Bearcats and is fouled, but misses his free throw. Kingston misses a driving layup. Austin Deroseau hits a putback for the Cardinals. Brayden Franzel hits a seventeen foot shot near the top of the key for Ubly. Colin Corliss hits a layup to boost the Cardinals to an 11-6 lead.

Brayden Franzel passes to Skyler Smith, who hits a three pointer from the wing for Ubly. Kingston misses a sixteen foot shot from the side. Ubly misses a driving six foot banked shot. Kingston misses a driving layup. Colin Corlis gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Collin Osantowski hits a three point shot from the side to give Ubly a 12-11 lead.

Collin Franzel blocks a Kingston layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and the Cardinals get another opportunity. Collin Osantowski hits a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane for Ubly. Brayden Franzel steals the ball for the Bearcats. Ubly watches a fast break layup, roll around on the rim, roll around on the rim and roll around on the rim some more before it final drops out of the basket. The rebound goes out of bounds and Ubly gets the ball.

Austin Deroseau blocks an Ubly six footer in the lane. Kingston misses a threeball from the side. The rebounds goes out of bounds and Kingston gets the ball back. Peyton Harrington inbounds to Tanner James, who hits an eight foot shot from the side of the lane for Kingston. Ubly misfires on a triple try from the wing. Peyton Harrington passes to Colin Corliss, who hits a fast break layup and is fouled. He misses his free throw, but Kingston now leads 15-14 with 1:42 to play in the opening quarter.

Ubly misses a three point shot from the wing. Brayden Franzel chases down the long offensive rebound for the Bearcats. Ubly loses a pass out of bounds. Kingston misses a driving layup. Collin Franzel passes to Wyatt Schumacher, who hits a fast break layup for the Bearcats to retake the lead at 16-15.

Kingston misses a threeball from the top of the key. Austin Deroseau gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Ubly misses a threeball from the top of the key. Kingston is whistled for a traveling violation. Ubly misses a threeball from the corner. Just before the buzzer ends the first quarter, Devin Geiger hits a putback for Ubly.

After one quarter Ubly has an 18-15 lead.

Ubly inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Bearcats miss an eighteen foot shot near the top of the key. Brayden Franzel draws a charging foul from the Cardinals. Ubly misses a triple try from the wing. Kingston misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Wyatt Schumacher hits a fast break layup to give Ubly a 20-15 lead.

Nicholas Cummings passes to Tanner James, who hits a jump shot from the free throw elbow for Kingston. Austin Deroseau blocks an Ubly layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Ubly gets another possession. Ubly misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Devin Geiger gets the offensive rebound for the Bearcats. Ubly misses a layup. Kingston misses a fast break layup. Ubly misses a jump shot. Collin Franzel steals the ball for the Bearcats.

Austin Deroseau blocks a Bearcat layup. Kingston misfires on a threeball from the corner. Austin Deroseau steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a three pointer from the wing. Tanner James knocks a Bearcat pass out of bounds; Ubly retains possession. Ubly misses a ten foot jumper off the dribble from the baseline. Kyle Widger gets the offensive rebound for the Bearcats. Ubly misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Nicholas Cummings is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Ubly lead to 20-18 with 4:17 to play in the second quarter.

Austin Deroseau hits a putback of the missed free throw for Kingston to tie the game. Ubly misses a sixteen foot shot from the baseline. The rebound goes out of bounds and Kingston takes possession. Nicholas Cummings drives and dishes the ball to Austin Deroseau, who hits a layup to give his Cardinals a 22-20 lead.

Ubly watches a three pointer from the side go in and out of the basket. Kingston misses a triple try from the wing. Ubly misses a triple try from the corner. Kyle Widger knocks a Kingston pass out of bounds; the Cardinals retain possession. Kyle Widger steals the ball for Ubly. Austin Deroseau steals the ball for Kingston. The Cardinal miss a layup; Colin Corliss hits a putback to extend the Kingston lead to 24-20.

Ubly misses a three point shot from the corner. Owen Chapin gets the offensive rebound for the Bearcats. Ubly misses a layup.

Collin Osantowski knocks the ball away from Kingston, but the Cardinals are able to recover. Kingston misses a layup. Austin Deroseau gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. KIngston misses a layup. Ubly reciprocates and misses a layup. Skyler Smith grabs the offensive rebound for the Bearcats. Ubly misses a three pointer from the wing. Devin Geiger is fouled on a putback and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Kingston lead to 24-21 with 1:18 remaining in the half.

Nicholas Cummings is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws for Kingston. Ubly misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Skyler Smith blocks a Kingston fast break layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Kingston gets another opportunity. Kingston misses a three point shot from the corner. Michael Jenkins blocks an Ubly layup.

KIngston misses a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane. Payton Herrington grabs the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Nicholas Cummings drives and dishes the ball to Colin Corliss, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. Devin Geiger is fouled and hits one of his two free throws to shave the Kingston lead to 28-22 with 2.0 seconds to play in the first half.

Kingston misses a heave at the buzzer. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. I’m sure the player aimed the ball at the basket, but not at the buzzer. I’m just using the “at the buzzer” cliche that everyone else uses.) Kingston takes a 28-22 lead into the locker room at halftime and will probably start the third quarter with a 28-22 lead.

Your Bleacher Denizen nearly throws his shoulder out trying to pat himself on the back when he sees that Kingston is indeed starting the third quarter with a 28-22 lead.

Devin Geiger leads the Ubly scoring at halftime with 6 points. Skyler Smith and Collin Osantowski each have 5 points.

Colin Corliss and Austin Deroseau each have 8 points to lead Kingston ht halftime. Tanner James has 7 points and Nicholas Cummings has 5 points. No one else has scored for Kingston.

Kingston inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Daniel Zdrojewski knocks the ball out of bounds, but Kingston gets the ball back. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. Daniel Zdrojewski passes to Collin Franzel, who hits one of his two free throws to trim the Kingston lead to 28-23 with 7:32 to play in the third quarter.

Nicholas Cummings drives and hits a layup for Kingston; he is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. Nicholas Cummings pulls down the offensive rebound for Kingston. Kingston is fouled on a shot, but misses two free throws. Austin Deroseau steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston travels with the ball. (Here is another one of those interesting basketball cliches; somehow I doubt traveling without the ball would be terribly newsworthy.) Collin Franzel ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s angst; he drives and hits a layup for Ubly to trim Kingston’s lead to 30-25.

KIngston misses a layup. Collin Osantowski passes to Devin Geiger, who hits a layup for the Bearcats. Collin Osantowski steals the ball for Ubly. Collin Osantowski drives and hits layup for the Bearcats to trim the Cardinal lead to one point. NIcholas CummingsC drives and hits a layup for Kingston. Ubly misses a layup. Collin Franzel gets the offensive rebound for the Bearcats. Ubly misses a threeball from the side. Kingston misses a layup. Brayden Franzel drives and hits a layup for Ubly; he is fouled on the play and hits his free throw to tie the game at 32-32 with 4:22 remaining in quarter number three.

Nicholas Cummings is fouled and sinks two free throws for Kingston to retake the lead. Ubly misses a six foot turnaround jumper from the baseline. Devin Geiger forces a Cardinal dribbler to lose the ball out of bounds. Ubly misses a three point shot from the wing. Nicholas Cummings is fouled on a drive and hits two free throws to push his Cardinals to a 36-32 lead with 3:36 left on the third quarter clock.

Ubly misses a layup. Colin Corliss drives and hits a layup for Kingston. Collin Franzel is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws to shave the Kingston lead to 38-33 with 3:05 to play in the third quarter.

Collin Franzel steals the ball for Ubly. Nicholas Cummings steals the ball for Kingston. Collin Osantowski plays tough defense and forces a Kingston ball handler to lose the rock out of bounds. Collin Osantowski passes to Devin Geiger, who hits a layup to cut the Kingston lead to 38-35.

Devin Geiger blocks a Kingston layup; Kingston recovers the loose ball. Devin Geiger dives and causes a tie up. The Possession Arrow admires Mr. Geiger’s hustle and decides to award the ball to Ubly. The Bearcats miss a twelve foot shot in the lane.

Devin Geiger knocks a Cardinal pass out of bounds; Kingston retains possession. Kingston misses a layup. Austin Deroseau hits a putback for Kingston. Collin Franzel banks in a six foot shot from the side for Ubly. Kingston misses a long threeball from the wing. Ubly rebounds the ball as the third quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

With three quarters in the books, Kingston holds a 40-37 lead.

Kingston inbounds the ball to start out the fourth quarter. Colin Corliss passes to Austin Deroseau, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. Ubly misses a threeball from the top of the key. Kingston misses a layup. Austin Deroseau grabs the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Cardinals get another opportunity.

kingston misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Ubly misfires on a triple try from the side. Collin Osantowski picks up a loose ball for Ubly. Brayden Franzel hits a layup for Ubly. Colin Corliss hits a layup for Kingston; he is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 6:10 left on the clock, Kingston has a 44-39 lead.

Nicholas Cummings steals the ball for Kingston. Collin Osantowski quickly steals the ball back for Ubly. Brayden Franzel throws in a threeball from the corner to chop the Kingston lead to two points. Kingston commits an offensive foul. Tanner James knocks an Ubly pass out of bounds; the Bearcats retain possession. Ubly misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Collin Osantowski knocks the ball out of bounds to foil a Kingston fast break.

Kingston retains possession, but then loses the ball out of bounds. Ubly misses an eight foot shot in the lane. The Bearcats get the offensive rebound, but miss a layup. Logan Johnson knocks the ball away from Kingston and Danizel Zdrojewski picks it up for Ubly. Ubly misfires on a three pointer from the corner. Collin Franzel’s tight defense forces a Kingston traveling violation.

Ubly misses a fourteen footer off the dribble in the lane. Kingston misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Colin Corliss grabs the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston turns the ball over when they are whistled for a three second (in the lane) violation. Payton Herrington knocks the ball out of bounds; Ubly retains possession. The Bearcats miss a six foot turnaround shot in the lane. Kingston loses a pass out of bounds. Collin Franzel throws in a threeball from the corner to boost Ubly to a 45-44 lead.

Kingston misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Cardinals get the ball back. Austin Deroseau prevents a Kingston turnover by throwing a bad pass off an Ubly defender. KIngston misses a layup. Austin Deroseau gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Nicholas Cummings drives and hits a layup for Kingston. He is fouled on the play and sinks his free thtow to give Kingston a 47-45 lead with 1:55 to go.

Ubly misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Collin Franzel hits a putback for Ubly. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw, but Ubly has tied the game at 47-47 with 1:31 remaining in the contest.

Collin Franzel knocks the ball away from Kingston, but the Cardinals recover. Kingston misses a layup, but gets the offensive rebound. Nicholas Cummings is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to give Kingston a 48-47 lead with 1:04 left on the clock.

Colin Corliss pulls down the offensive rebound for Kingston. Logan Johnson gets his hand on a Cardinal pass and Kingston loses the ball out of bounds. Ubly misses a threeball from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and Ubly gets another opportunity. After an Ubly timeout, Kingston defends the inbound pass so well, that Ubly is unable to inbound the ball in the required five seconds and turns the ball over. With 19.4 seconds to go, Kingston has a one point lead and the ball.

Kingston is fouled, but misses two free throws with 14.8 seconds left. Ubly misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Kingston is fouled on the rebound, but misses two free throws with 6.0 seconds left. Kingston fouls with 4.0 seconds left; they have not committed five fouls in the quarter yet, so Ubly does not shoot free throws. Ubly misses a long three point shot from the wing as the buzzer ends the game.

Kingston wins this thrilling, hard-fought contest by the final score of 48-47.

Collin Franzel had 11 points to lead the Ubly scoring. Brayden Franzel and Devin Geiger each contributed 10 points. Collin Osantowski added 7 points. Skyler Smith scored 5 points and Wyat Schumacher had 4 points.

Kingston’s Nicholas Cummings led all scorers with 17 points. Colin Corliss and Austin Deroseau each contributed 12 points. Tanner James chipped in with 7 points.