Chuck Krafft | March 24, 2011
It has come down to Breslin time as the Class D Semifinals are on tonight. The Bleacher Denizen has gotten off work a few minutes early for the long drive from Jolly and Okemos Road to the Breslin Center (okay, it’s only about ten minutes, but an arduous trek will make my true love for basketball seem so much more outstanding!)
As I seldom go to the Breslin, I am my Bleacher Denizen self and have to circumnavigate the Breslin Center before I buy my ticket for tonight’s Class D double header as well as for the Class B games tomorrow night. (Can Sexton beat Country Day? Will Country Day hire a few of the Detroit Pistons and dress them up as high school kids for the game?) Oh well, those are tomorrow night’s questions.
I finally manage to get my tickets and I’m off to the game! I stop at the Turkey Man booth to pick up a pork chop sandwich for dinner. After a quick meal, I head into the Breslin to find my seat in the lower bowl, about ten rows from the top.
I read my program. (The MHSAA always has a pretty good program with a lot of interesting High School Basketball trivia in it.) It turns out that the usher for my area is a local realtor who knows of my company. (T.A. Forsberg, Inc. has been in the local Construction, Land Development and Real Estate markets for years.)
I then have a really pleasant surprise as Dirk and Scott Besko enter the game and sit just a few rows ahead of me. Regular readers may remember that Scott Besko had a 39 point game to help St. Johns win their first game of the District over Waverly a couple weeks ago. It was one of the finest individual performances I have seen since Brad Redford played. (Brad Redford was a Shooter Extra-Ordinaire from Frankenmuth, my home town, who was Mr. Basketball in 2008.) Dirk is his father, was a basketball coach and was a fine player when he played.
I have a short conversation with them and compliment Scott on his fantastic game. I had a chance to speak with Dirk for awhile the next time St. Johns played; I enjoyed my conversation with him tremendously and it was great to see him again.
I’ll confess I know little about either team, but I’m sure it will probably be a pretty good team. Not many bad teams make it this far in the tournament.
Now it’s time for the game to start. Superior Central wins the tap, but misses a three. Tri-Unity Christian turns the ball over on their first possession. Lukas Maki nails a long three and then the Superior Central press forces a turnover. After a Superior Central miss, Jordan Buffum hits the first points for Tri-Unity to make it 3-2 with 6:52 left.
Branson Richard throws a nice pass to Jordan Chartier for an easy basket. Joel Boersen gets a putback for Tri-Unity Christian. On the next possession, Jordan Chartier hits a three point shot from about 23 feet away. This Superior Central team is certainly not afraid to shoot the ball! Now a steal by Joey Blauwkamp leads to another layup by Joel Boersen. After Boersen fouls Branson Richard and he splits a pair of free throws, Superior Central leads 9-6 with 5 minutes left.
After Superior Central misses a three and a putback, Dylan Johnson commits a foul. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot and Superior Central gets it up court quickly where Jordan Chartier assists Lukas Maki for a layup to make it 11-6 with 4:06 left. Tri-Unity misses a layup, but Superior Central turns it over. Now Superior Central presses, but Tri-Unity breaks the press. After Superior Central commits a couple fouls, Jon Osantowski gets a putback basket to make it 11-8. Branson Richard responds with a putback for Superior Central, but Eric Zudweg hits a jumper six seconds later to make it 13-10.
After each team misses a shot, Superior Central comes down on a fast break and passes crisply and unselfishly. Trevor Maki passes up a good shot to give Branson Richard an even better shot, but is robbed of his assist when Richard is hammered. Richard gets the last points of the first quarter with 2:04 left. The rest of the quarter is a series of missed shots by both teams. Superior Central leads 15-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Superior Central misses its first shot of the second quarter and Jordan Buffum hits a 12 footer to bring Tri-Unity within 3 points at 15-12 with 7:01 left. After a couple scoreless possessions by both teams, Joey Blauwkamp gets a rebound and dashes down the court for a layup to make it 15-14. Doug Venema fouls Dylan Johnson who hits two free throws. Shortly after that, Mike Boon catches an inbounds pass and hits a ten foot bank shot to make it 17-16 with 4:34 left.
Joey Blauwkamp blocks a three point shot. Tri-Unity misses a shot and then a Tri-Unity steal leads to a Mike Boon layup. This gives Tri-Unity an 18-17 lead. After a Tri-Unity steal, Joey Blauwkamp gets a putback basket to put Tri-Unity up by three at 20-17. There is a definite momentum swing happening here. Superior Central has gone cold and Tri-Unity is taking advantage of that.
Trevor Maki hits a three for Superior Central to tie the game at 20-20 with 2:20 left. Durant Vega hits a shot for Tri-Unity and Johnson hits two free throws for Superior Central to tie the game again at 22 with 2:02 left. After Tri-Unity misses a long three point shot, Eric Zudweg fouls Jordan Chartier who hits two free throws to put Superior Central on top with 1:07 left, but thirteen seconds later, Zudwig hits a three to give Tri-Unity the half time lead at 25-24 as there is no more scoring in the half.
This has been a good game with a lot of action, but Superior is not hitting threes the way they did at the start of the game.
Joey Blauwkamp opens the third quarter with a layup and after a Superior Central turnover, Durant Vega hits a three point shot to give Tri-Unity a 30-24 lead with 7:22 left. After a Superior Central miss, Mike Boon hits a layup for Tri-Unity. Superior Central misses a shot, but Tri-Unity is not able to get a basket despite getting two offensive rebounds on their next trip up the floor. Superior Central misses again and Blauwkamp gets a putback basket to give Tri-Unity a 34-24 lead with 5:09 left.
After a timeout, Lukas Maki hits another long three to make it 34-27, but Joey Blauwkamp drives right down the middle of the Superior Central defense for a layup to put Tri-Unity up 36-27. Chartier assists Dylan Johnson on a layup. After Tri-Unity misses a three, Jordan Chartier hits one for Superior Central to make it 36-32.
Superior Central forces a turnover, but they miss the three pointer this time. Eric Zudweg gets a fast break layup. Jordan Chartier takes an odd looking 12 foot runner but hits it to make it 38-34. Jon Osantowski banks in a basket to give Tri-Unity a 40-34 lead.
After a Superior Central turnover, Daniel Cole hits a twelve footer. Jordan Chartier hits a 16 footer, but Jordan Buffum counters that with a three for Tri-Unity. It is now 45-36 with 1:08 left in the third quarter. Trevor Maki commits a foul. Tri-Unity misses their shot, but with 32 seconds, Dylan Johnson is injured and has to leave the game. There is no scoring for the remainder of the quarter, but Tri-Unity commits two fouls and Superior Central misses two shots as the quarter ends with Tri-Unity up 45-36.
Trevor Maki gets the first basket of the fourth quarter on a putback after he makes a clever move to get himself open. Joey Blauwkamp responds with a basket for Tri-Unity. Jordan Chartier gets a steal, but Superior Central is unable to convert a fast break layup. After a Tri-Unity miss, Lukas Maki gets another of his long threes to make it 47-41 with 6:25 left. Joey Blauwkamp gets another putback for Tri-Unity. After Superior Central misses their shot, Blauwkamp scores another layup with an assist from Durant Vega to give Tri-Unity a 51-41 lead with 5:42 left. If Superior Central wants to win, they need to stop the Blauwkamp Express!
Superior Central misses a shot, Tri-Unity misses two free throws and Superior Central turns it over. Blauwkamp hits two free throws with 4:39 left to restart the scoring and give Tri-Unity a 53-41 lead. Lukas Maki hits a three footer, but then commits his third foul. Durant Vega steps to the line and hits two free throws. Jordan Buffum fouls Trevor Maki as he banks in a twelve footer; Maki hits the free throw to make it 55-46 with 4:01 left.
Superior Central gets a steal, but misses a long three point shot. Branson Richard fouls Joey Blauwkamp who hits two more free throws. After a Mike Boon steal, Jordan Buffum hits a shot from the free throw line. After a Superior Central miss and a Tri-Unity Travel (truly) there is a time out. Tri-Unity leads 59-46 with just 2:25 left.
Superior Central misses a long three and then Lukas Maki commits his fourth foul. Durant Vega splits his free throws to make it 60-46. After a Tri-Unity blocked shot, Maki commits his fifth foul, but Tri-Unity misses the free throw. Jordan Chartier gets Superior Central’s last points of the night with another long three. Joey Blauwkamp and Jordan Buffum each hit one more free throw to make the final score and Wyoming Tri-Unity advances to the final game with a 62-49 win.
Jordan Chartier led Superior Central with 15 points and Lukas Maki added 13. Dylan Johnson had 8 before he had to leave the game with his injury.
Joey Blauwkamp had 21 points for Tri-Unity Christian and Jordan Buffum added 10.
Congratulations to both teams for their long tournament runs!!
It has come down to Breslin time as the Class D Semifinals are on tonight. The Bleacher Denizen has gotten off work a few minutes early for the long drive from Jolly and Okemos Road to the Breslin Center (okay, it’s only about ten minutes, but an arduous trek will make my true love for basketball seem so much more outstanding!)
As I seldom go to the Breslin, I am my Bleacher Denizen self and have to circumnavigate the Breslin Center before I buy my ticket for tonight’s Class D double header as well as for the Class B games tomorrow night. (Can Sexton beat Country Day? Will Country Day hire a few of the Detroit Pistons and dress them up as high school kids for the game?) Oh well, those are tomorrow night’s questions.
I finally manage to get my tickets and I’m off to the game! I stop at the Turkey Man booth to pick up a pork chop sandwich for dinner. After a quick meal, I head into the Breslin to find my seat in the lower bowl, about ten rows from the top.
I read my program. (The MHSAA always has a pretty good program with a lot of interesting High School Basketball trivia in it.) It turns out that the usher for my area is a local realtor who knows of my company. (T.A. Forsberg, Inc. has been in the local Construction, Land Development and Real Estate markets for years.)
I then have a really pleasant surprise as Dirk and Scott Besko enter the game and sit just a few rows ahead of me. Regular readers may remember that Scott Besko had a 39 point game to help St. Johns win their first game of the District over Waverly a couple weeks ago. It was one of the finest individual performances I have seen since Brad Redford played. (Brad Redford was a Shooter Extra-Ordinaire from Frankenmuth, my home town, who was Mr. Basketball in 2008.) Dirk is his father, was a basketball coach and was a fine player when he played.
I have a short conversation with them and compliment Scott on his fantastic game. I had a chance to speak with Dirk for awhile the next time St. Johns played; I enjoyed my conversation with him tremendously and it was great to see him again.
I’ll confess I know little about either team, but I’m sure it will probably be a pretty good team. Not many bad teams make it this far in the tournament.
Now it’s time for the game to start. Superior Central wins the tap, but misses a three. Tri-Unity Christian turns the ball over on their first possession. Lukas Maki nails a long three and then the Superior Central press forces a turnover. After a Superior Central miss, Jordan Buffum hits the first points for Tri-Unity to make it 3-2 with 6:52 left.
Branson Richard throws a nice pass to Jordan Chartier for an easy basket. Joel Boersen gets a putback for Tri-Unity Christian. On the next possession, Jordan Chartier hits a three point shot from about 23 feet away. This Superior Central team is certainly not afraid to shoot the ball! Now a steal by Joey Blauwkamp leads to another layup by Joel Boersen. After Boersen fouls Branson Richard and he splits a pair of free throws, Superior Central leads 9-6 with 5 minutes left.
After Superior Central misses a three and a putback, Dylan Johnson commits a foul. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot and Superior Central gets it up court quickly where Jordan Chartier assists Lukas Maki for a layup to make it 11-6 with 4:06 left. Tri-Unity misses a layup, but Superior Central turns it over. Now Superior Central presses, but Tri-Unity breaks the press. After Superior Central commits a couple fouls, Jon Osantowski gets a putback basket to make it 11-8. Branson Richard responds with a putback for Superior Central, but Eric Zudweg hits a jumper six seconds later to make it 13-10.
After each team misses a shot, Superior Central comes down on a fast break and passes crisply and unselfishly. Trevor Maki passes up a good shot to give Branson Richard an even better shot, but is robbed of his assist when Richard is hammered. Richard gets the last points of the first quarter with 2:04 left. The rest of the quarter is a series of missed shots by both teams. Superior Central leads 15-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Superior Central misses its first shot of the second quarter and Jordan Buffum hits a 12 footer to bring Tri-Unity within 3 points at 15-12 with 7:01 left. After a couple scoreless possessions by both teams, Joey Blauwkamp gets a rebound and dashes down the court for a layup to make it 15-14. Doug Venema fouls Dylan Johnson who hits two free throws. Shortly after that, Mike Boon catches an inbounds pass and hits a ten foot bank shot to make it 17-16 with 4:34 left.
Joey Blauwkamp blocks a three point shot. Tri-Unity misses a shot and then a Tri-Unity steal leads to a Mike Boon layup. This gives Tri-Unity an 18-17 lead. After a Tri-Unity steal, Joey Blauwkamp gets a putback basket to put Tri-Unity up by three at 20-17. There is a definite momentum swing happening here. Superior Central has gone cold and Tri-Unity is taking advantage of that.
Trevor Maki hits a three for Superior Central to tie the game at 20-20 with 2:20 left. Durant Vega hits a shot for Tri-Unity and Johnson hits two free throws for Superior Central to tie the game again at 22 with 2:02 left. After Tri-Unity misses a long three point shot, Eric Zudweg fouls Jordan Chartier who hits two free throws to put Superior Central on top with 1:07 left, but thirteen seconds later, Zudwig hits a three to give Tri-Unity the half time lead at 25-24 as there is no more scoring in the half.
This has been a good game with a lot of action, but Superior is not hitting threes the way they did at the start of the game.
Joey Blauwkamp opens the third quarter with a layup and after a Superior Central turnover, Durant Vega hits a three point shot to give Tri-Unity a 30-24 lead with 7:22 left. After a Superior Central miss, Mike Boon hits a layup for Tri-Unity. Superior Central misses a shot, but Tri-Unity is not able to get a basket despite getting two offensive rebounds on their next trip up the floor. Superior Central misses again and Blauwkamp gets a putback basket to give Tri-Unity a 34-24 lead with 5:09 left.
After a timeout, Lukas Maki hits another long three to make it 34-27, but Joey Blauwkamp drives right down the middle of the Superior Central defense for a layup to put Tri-Unity up 36-27. Chartier assists Dylan Johnson on a layup. After Tri-Unity misses a three, Jordan Chartier hits one for Superior Central to make it 36-32.
Superior Central forces a turnover, but they miss the three pointer this time. Eric Zudweg gets a fast break layup. Jordan Chartier takes an odd looking 12 foot runner but hits it to make it 38-34. Jon Osantowski banks in a basket to give Tri-Unity a 40-34 lead.
After a Superior Central turnover, Daniel Cole hits a twelve footer. Jordan Chartier hits a 16 footer, but Jordan Buffum counters that with a three for Tri-Unity. It is now 45-36 with 1:08 left in the third quarter. Trevor Maki commits a foul. Tri-Unity misses their shot, but with 32 seconds, Dylan Johnson is injured and has to leave the game. There is no scoring for the remainder of the quarter, but Tri-Unity commits two fouls and Superior Central misses two shots as the quarter ends with Tri-Unity up 45-36.
Trevor Maki gets the first basket of the fourth quarter on a putback after he makes a clever move to get himself open. Joey Blauwkamp responds with a basket for Tri-Unity. Jordan Chartier gets a steal, but Superior Central is unable to convert a fast break layup. After a Tri-Unity miss, Lukas Maki gets another of his long threes to make it 47-41 with 6:25 left. Joey Blauwkamp gets another putback for Tri-Unity. After Superior Central misses their shot, Blauwkamp scores another layup with an assist from Durant Vega to give Tri-Unity a 51-41 lead with 5:42 left. If Superior Central wants to win, they need to stop the Blauwkamp Express!
Superior Central misses a shot, Tri-Unity misses two free throws and Superior Central turns it over. Blauwkamp hits two free throws with 4:39 left to restart the scoring and give Tri-Unity a 53-41 lead. Lukas Maki hits a three footer, but then commits his third foul. Durant Vega steps to the line and hits two free throws. Jordan Buffum fouls Trevor Maki as he banks in a twelve footer; Maki hits the free throw to make it 55-46 with 4:01 left.
Superior Central gets a steal, but misses a long three point shot. Branson Richard fouls Joey Blauwkamp who hits two more free throws. After a Mike Boon steal, Jordan Buffum hits a shot from the free throw line. After a Superior Central miss and a Tri-Unity Travel (truly) there is a time out. Tri-Unity leads 59-46 with just 2:25 left.
Superior Central misses a long three and then Lukas Maki commits his fourth foul. Durant Vega splits his free throws to make it 60-46. After a Tri-Unity blocked shot, Maki commits his fifth foul, but Tri-Unity misses the free throw. Jordan Chartier gets Superior Central’s last points of the night with another long three. Joey Blauwkamp and Jordan Buffum each hit one more free throw to make the final score and Wyoming Tri-Unity advances to the final game with a 62-49 win.
Jordan Chartier led Superior Central with 15 points and Lukas Maki added 13. Dylan Johnson had 8 before he had to leave the game with his injury.
Joey Blauwkamp had 21 points for Tri-Unity Christian and Jordan Buffum added 10.
Congratulations to both teams for their long tournament runs!!