Fulton vs. Fowler – – MHSAA Boys District Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 25, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the BleacherDenizenMobile is pointed at Fowler High School, where your Bleacher Denizen will be covering two boys’ district semifinal matchups. In tonight’s first game, the Eagles from Fowler will compete with the Pirates from Fulton to see who will play in Saturday’s final game.

I also covered the second game of the night when Vestaburg played Portland St. Patrick to determine who will be the other District Finalist on Saturday. Here is a link to that exciting game which was not decided until the final buzzer sounded! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2026/02/26/vestaburg-vs-portland-st-patrick-mhsaa-boys-district-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-february-25-2026-by-chuck-krafft/

Fowler enters this game with a 20-2 record while Fulton is 13-10. The Pirates earned their spot in today’s game by winning over Ashley on Monday.

I have seen the Eagles a few times this season and Coach Kam Riley gave me this information about his Eagle players.

Joe Epkey, the big man in the middle for the Eagles, is the only returning starter from last year’s State Finalists. He is a tough scorer, rebounder and defender in the post. When he’s in there on defense, the opponent has to earn any basket scored inside. He is also good at feeding teammates for open shots when he is double-teamed.

Dylan Pline also got a lot of time last year as the first guard off the bench. He is a persistent and quick perimeter defender. He is a also a strong ball handler who can score on slashes to the basket or hit the three point shot. Jonah Thelen played a lot for last year’s team. He is a versatile forward who can defend anywhere on the floor. He is a skilled ball handler and passer and a versatile scorer who can shoot the three point shot or drive to the basket.

Isaac Thelen had a large role on last year’s team. He is a versatile forward who can defend the post or the perimeter. He is a tough, physical player. When it is time to score, he can either drive to the basket or hit the three point shot.

Aidan Riley is a guard who defends the perimeter well and is tall and strong enough to help in the post when needed. He is good at slashing to the basket to score. Garrett Klein defends the perimeter well and shoots the three point shot accurately. Drew Weber is a good perimeter defender. Hudson Fedewa gives Fowler depth in the post.

I’ve also seen Fulton earlier this year and gotten this information from Coach Tyler Walden.

Bryson Sattler is a tough, competitive guard who defends the perimeter well. He also handles the ball well and is tough to stop on slashes to the basket. Parker Billings handles the middle for the Pirates. He is a tough defender, rebounder and scorer in the post. Connor Cunningham defends the perimeter well and can get hot from the three point line. Carter Brown is a good rebounder who can slash to the basket.

Cameron Diana is a quick and motivated defender on the perimeter. Levi Palacios is another strong perimeter defender who brings an accurate three point shot to the Pirates. Zach Litwiller is an excellent athlete who quarterbacked Fulton’s football team this season. He missed the early part of the season with an injury. He is a tall, athletic defender who can cover people on the perimeter or in the post. He handles the ball well and can slash to the basket to score or hit shots from the three point line.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the somewhat clear lenses of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore when some folks considered him to be “young.” He was showing some promise as a high-flying dunker and shot blocker until the basketball powers that be ruled he was no longer allowed to use a Pogo stick to help him leap. Alas, as the dunks and blocked shots disappeared, so did the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time.

The announcer tells the ref it is time to “toss the pumpkin” and Fowler wins the opening tap. Parker Billings gets a hand on the ball for Fulton and knocks it out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Jonah Thelen drives the baseline and hits a layup to give Fowler the first two points of the game. Zach Litwiller hits a ten foot shot in the lane for Fulton to tie the game at 2-2.

Connor Cunningham dives and knocks the ball out of bounds for Fulton. Fowler retains possession. The Eagles miss a threeball from the side. Aidan Riley steals the ball for the Eagles. Jonah Thelen is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 4-2 lead with 6:31 remaining in the opening quarter.

Aidan Riley gets his hand on the ball, but the Pirates recover. Aidan Riley steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a fast break reverse layup. Connor Cunningham passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both his free throws. Bryson Sattler gets his hand on an Eagle pass and knocks it out of bounds. Fowler retains possession. Dylan Pline drives and hits a layup to give Fowler a 6-2 lead.

Isaac Thelen steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Dylan Pline grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a jump shot and fouls on the rebound. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Fowler misers a threeball from the side. Aidan Riley knocks the offensive rebound to Jonah Thelen, who hits a ten foot shot from the side of the lane to boost the Eagle lead to 8-2.

Fulton misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Aidan Riley steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Fowler. Parker Billings passes to Bryson Sattler, who hits a layup to trim the Fowler lead to 10-4.

Fowler misses a three pointer from the corner. Garrett Klein pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler drives the baseline and misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton gets the ball. Parker Billings passes to Carter Brown, who hits a layup for the Pirates. Joe Epkey passes to Garrett Klein, who hits a layup to give the Eagles a 12-6 lead.

Fulton misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Isaac Thelen hits a fast break layup for Fowler. Fulton misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a seventeen foot shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Fulton drives and dishes the ball out of bounds. Dylan Pline is fouled on a threeball from the top of the key and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 16-6 lead with just 2.4 seconds left in the quarter. Fulton misses a long heave just as the first quarter buzzer decides it is time for a break.

After one quarter, Fowler has a 16-6 lead.

Fulton inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Pirates miss a three pointer from the side. Carter Brown pulls down the offensive rebound for Fulton. The Pirates miss a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Fowler drives the baseline, but misses a layup. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Dylan Pline drives and protects the ball well as he is flying to the basket; he hits a layup to boost the Fowler lead to 18-6.

Fulton misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a layup. Joe Epkey grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Aiden Riley nearly steals the ball for the Eagles and knocks it out of bounds; Fulton retains possession. Fulton misses a driving layup. Carter Brown gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Parker Billings drives, spins and hits a layup for Fulton. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 5:12 remaining in the second quarter, Fulton has an 18-8 lead.

Garrett Klein passes to Joe Epkey, who hits a layup for the Eagles. Jonah Thelen knocks the ball away from Fulton and Garrett Klein picks it up for Fowler. Garrett Klein hits a layup for the Eagles. Bryson Sattler drives and hits a layup for the Pirates. Fowler is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 3:55 remaining in the half, Fowler has a 22-10 lead.

Fulton misses a layup. Jonah Thelen passes to Garrett Klein, who drives and hits a layup for the Eagles. Isaac Thelen blocks a Fulton layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and the Pirates get it back. Dylan Pline gets his hand on the Pirate inbound pass and Fulton loses the ball out of bounds. Parker Billings blocks an Eagle layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Fowler gets another opportunity.

Carter Brown plays tough defense and forces a Fowler ball handler to step on the baseline. Fulton misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Parker Billings blocks a Fowler fast break layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball back. An Eagle bad pass leads to an over and back violation. Fulton misses a three point shot from the side. Isaac Thelen drives and hits a fast break layup to give Fowler a 26-10 lead.

Fulton misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing as the buzzer blares to end the half.

Fowler has a 26-10 lead at halftime.

Bryson Sattler has 4 points to lead Fulton’s scoring at halftime.

Jonah Thelen, Dylan Pline and Garrett Klein each have 6 points for Fowler.

Fowler inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Eagles miss a threeball from the side. Joe Epkey pulls down the offensive rebound for Fowler. Connor Cunningham steals the ball for the Pirates. Joe Epkey knocks the ball away from Fulton. Dylan Pline picks the ball up and hits a fast break layup for Fowler. Bryson Sattler drives and hits a layup for Fulton. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 7:07 to play in quarter number three, Fowler has a 28-12 lead.

Jonah Thelen drives the baseline and hits a layup for Fowler. Zach Litwiller drives and hits layup for Fulton. Jonah Thelen throws in a threeball from the wing for Fowler. Jonah Thelen gets his hand on the ball, but Fulton recovers. The Pirates miss a driving layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton gets another opportunity. The Pirates commit an offensive foul.

Parker Billings blocks a short Fowler hook shot. Joe Epkey blocks a Fulton driving layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Fulton gets it back. Aidan Riley blocks a Fulton layup. Dylan Pline passes to Isaac Thelen, who hits a fast break layup for the Eagles. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throw to give the Eagles a 36-14 lead with 4:40 to go in quarter number three.

Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Fowler reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Bryson Sattler drives and dishes the ball to Connor Cunningham, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fulton. Fowler misfires on a triple try from the corner. Aidan Riley knocks the ball away from Fulton. Isaac Thelen picks it up for Fowler and hits a fast break layup to give his Eagles a 38-17 lead.

Zach Litwiller hits a ten foot shot off the dribble for Fulton. Garrett Klein throws in a threeball from the corner for Fowler. Isaac Thelen steals a Pirate pass. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Dylan Pline steals the ball for the Eagles and hits a fast break six foot banked shot from the side to give Fowler a 43-19 lead.

Fulton misses a three point shot from the side. Anthony Epkey drives and hits a layup for Fowler with just 7.2 seconds remaining in quarter number three. He misses his free throw. Isaac Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Jonah Thelen hits a putback for the Eagles just as the buzzer announces the end of quarter number three.

With three quarters in the books, Fowler has a 47-19 lead.

Fulton has the ball to start the final quarter. Parker Billings passes to Connor Cunningham, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Pirates. Connor Cunningham steals a Fowler pass into the lane. Bryson Sattler drives and hits a layup for Fulton. He is fouled on the play and sinks his free throw to shave the Fowler lead to 47-25 with 7:21 left in the game.

Isaac Thelen drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Fulton misses a three point shot from the wing. Parker Billings steals the ball for the Pirates. Isaac Thelen steals the ball for the Eagles. Parker Billings blocks a Fowler layup. The Eagles recover the loose ball and Isaac hits a three point shot from the corner to give the Eagles a 52-25 lead.

Parker Billings passes to Jacob Alexander, who hits a layup for the Pirates. Jacob Alexander steals the ball for the Pirates. Aidan Riley steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the corner. Bryson Sattler is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to cut the Fowler lead to 52-29 with 5:39 remaining in the game.

Bryson Sattler knocks the ball away from Fowler and Connor Cunningham picks it up for Fulton. Connor Cunningham passes to Bryson Sattler, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fulton. Isaac Thelen passes to Joe Epkey, who spins and hits a layup for Fowler. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throw to give Fowler a 55-32 lead with 4:39 left on the clock.

Isaac Thelen gets his hand on the ball and a Fulton dribbler loses it out of bounds. Fowler misses a driving layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton takes possession. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Dylan Pline drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Connor Cunningham passes to Parker Billings, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Fulton. Joe Epkey is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to give Fowler a 58-35 lead with 2:51 to play.

Carter Thelen knocks the ball away from Fulton, but the Pirates recover as Eli Coblentz dashes into the backcourt to pick up the loose ball. Fulton misses a driving layup. Fowler passes the ball out of bounds. Camden Rhynard steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. A Fulton dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler runs out the last few seconds left on the clock.

Fowler wins this game and will play Portland St. Patrick in the district final Saturday night.

Bryson Sattler led the Fulton scoring with 14 points. Zach Litwiller and Connor Cunningham each contributed 6 points. Parker Billings scored 5 points. Carter Brown and Jacob Alexander each tallied 2 points.

Isaac Thelen led the Fowler scoring with 14 points. Jonah Thelen contributed 13 points. Dylan Pline joined his teammates in double figures with 12 points. Garrett Klein pitched in with 9 points. Joe Epkey added 6 points. Anthony Epkey and Aidan Riley each scored 2 points.