C-S advanced to district championship game
with win over St. Phil
C-S’ Gage Champion (20) passes to Tyler Smith as he heads down the lane during district tournament semifinal action against Battle Creek St. Philip February 28 at C-S Jr./Sr. High School.
(Photo by Bruce Rolfe)
By Bruce Rolfe
The saying goes, beating a team a third time in a season is a charm, however the Climax-Scotts boys varsity basketball team refused to led that scenario play out against one of its biggest rivals in the district tournament semifinals February 28.
After dropping 64-40 and 48-45 decisions to Battle Creek St. Philip in the regular season, the Panthers kept their season alive and ended the Tigers’ campaign by posting an impressive 42-28 win over the Tigers in the district semifinals to move into the district championship game..
After both teams struggled offensively the first three quarters that kept the game close, the Panthers took charge in the fourth quarter.
St. Phil moved in front 25-23 with 7:50 left in the fourth quarter when Jackson Dzwik nailed a three-point basket. But the home team held the Tigers scoreless until Sawyer Weiss connected on a three-point basket with 1:05 left in the game.
In between C-S ripped off 13 straight points on five-for-seven shooting from the floor. St. Phil’s floor shooting went cold when the visitors needed to pick it up, as the Tigers made just 2-of-16 fourth quarter floor attempts.
St. Philip, which completes the season 14-8, moved in front 9-8 after one quarter, however the Panthers responded with a solid second quarter. C-S held the visitors to 2-of-13 shooting overall from the floor while making all three of its two-point attempts (C-S was 0-for-4 from the three-point stripe) in the second quarter to take a 19-14 lead at halftime.
Seven turnovers in the third quarter reduced the number of offensive opportunities for C-S in the third quarter and St. Phil bounced back to pull to within 23-22 after three quarters.
Miles Shannon led C-S in scoring with 18 points, including eight points in the fourth quarter. Shannon added 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Battle Creek St. Philip 9 5 8 6 - 28
Climax-Scotts 8 11 4 19 - 42
Chase VanMiddlesworth 5, Tyler Smith 6, Ivan Abad-Reyes 3, Luke Lawrence 4, Billy Felton 4, Gage Champion 2, Miles Shannon 18
Free throws: C-S 13-23/St. Phil 5-11
3-point baskets: C-S 1 (Ivan Abad-Reyes 1/St. Phil 3 (Jackson Dzwik 2, Sawyer Weiss 1)
C-S Stat Leaders
Rebounds: Miles Shannon 13, Billy Felton 5, Ivan Abad-Reyes 5, Chase VanMiddlesworth 5, Tyler Smith 4
Steals: Chase VanMiddlesworth 2
Assists: Ivan Abad-Reyes 4
Blocked shots: Miles Shannon 2
