Chuck Krafft | Class D Finals | March 26, 2011
The Bleacher Denizen is so excited after Sexton’s victory over Country Day that he is eager to get to Saturday’s final games in all four classes. He is so excited that he forgets to set his alarm. Our dedicated Bleacher Denizen arises at nine AM and realizes he has one hour to shower and get to the game. (Our Bleacher Denizen is fortunate that he only lives about ten to fifteen minutes from the Breslin Center.)
He forgets to bring his handy-dandy note pad and has to stop at Quality Dairy to buy one. This is okay because he also encounters a train on Harrison Street. (I swear that train operator has a sixth sense as to when people will be in a hurry and uses that sense to decide when to send trains. I swear it. I swear it!) However, God personally intervenes and somehow I am able to get to the gym with time to find my seat and talk to the people next to me for about five minutes before the game. Whew!
I’m glad I made it because a local Central Michigan Athletic Conference team, Fulton is in the Class D Semifinals. They are led by the coach’s son, Junior All-State Guard Tyler Walton and fellow 6’ 3” juniors Cody Johnson and Corey Hungerford. I have only seen Tri-Unity’s semi-final game. Sophomore Joey Blauwkamp had a great game with 21 points and Durant Vega played well at the point for them.
The game starts with Tri-Unity winning the tap. Fulton ties up the loose ball and the Possession Arrow decrees that Fulton now has possession. (One never wins an argument with the Omnipotent Possession Arrow!)
Corey Hungerford assists Cody Johnson for the first score of the game with 7:17 left. Eleven seconds later, Durant Vega ties the game for Tri-Unity Christian with a layup. Fulton travels, Tri-Unity turns the ball over and Fulton airballs a three point shot. Tri-Unity follows with an airball. (Maybe we could just play volleyball.) Maybe not. Joel Boersen catches the airball and gets a putback for Tri-Unity to make it 4-2 with 6:06 left.
Jordan Buffum commits a foul and Corey Hungerford ties the game with a jump shot with 5:56 left in the quarter. Tri-Unity travels and then Eric Litwiller assists Cody Johnson on a three point shot to give Fulton a 7-4 lead with 5:18 left. Tri-Unity tries to match the three point shot, but misses and Cody Johnson gets a layup with an assist from Corey Hungerford.
After another missed three point shot, Tyler Walden, one of the finest shooters in the state, hits a three point shot from the corner with an assist from Eric Litwiller to make it 12-4 Fulton. After another miss by Tri-Unity, Cody Johnson gets a fast break layup with another assist from Eric Litwiller. Fulton now leads 14-4 with 3:35 left in the quarter.
Joey Blauwkamp misses a shot for Tri-Unity, but gets his own rebound and hits a jump shot to stop the Fulton 12 point scoring streak. Daniel Cole steals the ball for Tri-Unity, but misses a layup. He steals the ball from the Fulton rebounder and is fouled. He splits his free throws to make it 14-7 with 2:37 left. After a Fulton turnover, Daniel Cole hits a runner to make it 14-9 with 1:54 left. There is no more scoring with in the quarter as the two teams basically take turns missing three point shots. (Each team throws in a missed two pointer.)
The score at the end of the first quarter is Fulton 14 Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian 9.
Cody Johnson steals the ball from Tri-Unity on the first possession of the second quarter. Joey Blauwkamp fouls Zach Baker who hits two free throws to give Fulton a 16-9 lead with 7:15 left in the quarter. Blauwkamp responds with an acrobatic layup and he’s fouled by Cody Johnson, but misses the free throw. After a missed shot by Fulton and a turnover by Tri-Unity, Corey Hungerford hits a layup with an assist from Zach Baker to give Fulton an 18-11 lead with 6:46 left. Hungerford fouls Mike Boon who hits two free throws for Tri-Unity.
Durant Vega follows that with a steal and a layup. After Fulton misses a jump shot, Vega gets another layup to close Fulton’s lead to 18-17 with 5:51 left in the half. After Fulton misses a three point shot, Doug Venema gets the rebound and Joey Blauwkamp hits a fast break layup to give Tri-Unity the lead. After a steal by Vega, Tri-Unity misses the layup and Fulton rebounds. Tyler Walden is fouled and hits two free throws to make it Fulton 20 Tri-Unity 19 with 4:47 left. After each team misses a shot, Joey Blauwkamp gets the ball to Eric Zudweg for a layup to give Tri-Unity the lead back at 21-20 with 3:49 left. Jon Osantowski fouls Garret Slavik who misses both free throws for Fulton.
Durant Vega hits a three point shot for Tri-Unity and after a Fulton turnover, Joey Blauwkamp hits a layup to give Tri-Unity a 26-20 lead with 2:39 left in the half. After a slow start, Tri-Unity has outscored Fulton 22-6. Fulton misses a three point shot, but Tri-Unity travels and negates a basket. Corey Hungerford hits a long shot, but for some reason is only awarded two points. Durant Vega hits a layup but has it negated by a charging foul. Now, suddenly, there is a conference and Hungerford is awarded a third point for his shot.
(Perhaps the referees’ mornings were as hectic as mine. This was a bizarre moment; I have never seen a point awarded two plays later before.) It is now 26-23 with 1:44 left. Jon Osantowski gets a putback for Tri-Unity to make it 28-23, but after an Eric Zudweg foul, Corey Hungerford hits two shots for Fulton. It is now 28-25 and there is no more scoring in the half as Tri-Unity misses a three point shot with 20 seconds left after holding the ball. Tri-Unity steals the ball back, but they miss two hurried three point shot as the half ends.
Tri-Unity leads Fulton 28-25 at half time. Our Bleacher Denizen heads out and has a Strawberry Smoothie during halftime. Yum!
Tri-Unity has the ball to open the third quarter, but this only lasts for 11 seconds before there is a traveling violation. Fulton misses a shot and then Zach Baker and Eric Litwiller pick up fouls about ten seconds apart. Each team then misses a shot and Baker picks up his second foul. Tri-Unity turns the ball back over and Joel Boersen fouls Cody Johnson as he hits a layup (assisted by Hungerford.) Johnson hits the free throw to complete the three point play and tie the game at 28 with 5:53 remaining.
There is a scramble for the ball on Tri-Unity’s next possession. Joey Blauwkamp wins the scramble, gets the ball, leans in and hits a layup as Zach Baker commits his third foul. Blauwkamp misses the layup and then Cody Johnson assists Tyler Walden on a three point shot to give Fulton a 31-30 lead with 3:13 left. After Tri-Unity misses a couple three pointers on its next possession, Joey Blauwkamp steals the ball and takes it in for a layup to give Tri-Unity the lead back at 32-31 with 4:32 left.
Blauwkamp gets another steal which leads to a three point basket by Mike Boon and Tri-Unity has a 35-31 lead. Fulton turns the ball back over to Tri-Unity and the TV Timeout occurs. At home, I always wonder what happens during the TV Timeout while I’m refilling my water or UM never mind. It turns out that the teams get a nice long timeout while everyone in the gym waits for the timeout to end. I suppose the advertisers like it.
When play resumes, Tyler Walden is fouled on a three point shot and hits three free throws to make it 35-34 with 2:58 left. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot, but gets an offensive rebound. Fulton makes a nice open court tackle, but no free throws are awarded as Tri-Unity is not in the bonus. (The Bleacher Denizen should probably clarify that this was the result of hustling defense not mean or deliberate.)
Durant Vega hits a two point jump shot and Fulton turns the ball over. Vega is fouled on a shot and splits a pair of free throws to make it 38-34 with 1:42 left. Fulton misses a layup and Tri-Unity commits a charging foul to negate a basket. Cody Johnson assists Tyler Walden on a sixteen foot shot from the corner. Mike Boon gets a putback for Tri-Unity to put them up by 40-36. Brandon Trefil assists Garrett Slavik on a layup to make it 40-38 with 38 seconds left. Tri-Unity holds the ball for the last shot, but travels with 3.4 seconds.
Brandon Trefil has to throw the ball off a Tri-Unity defender to avoid a turnover. Fulton calls a time-out to try to set up a lob pass to tie the game at the third quarter buzzer, but Tri-Unity knocks the pass away and the quarter ends with Tri-Unity leading Fulton 40-38.
Fulton gets the ball to start the fourth quarter but misses a layup. Cody Johnson knocks the outlet pass away to spoil a Tri-Unity fast break. Joey Blauwkamp makes a tremendous pass to Mike Boon for a layup to make it 42-38 with 7:10 left. Doug Venema fouls Eric Litwiller who splits a pair of free throws and it’s 42-39.
After Joey Blauwkamp hits a fast break layup for Tri-Unity, Corey Hungerford assists Tyler Walden, who nails a three point shot to make cut Tri-Unity’s lead to 44-42 with 6:27 left. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot, but Joey Blauwkamp steals the ball back for Tri-Unity. After Tri-Unity misses a three point shot, Joey Blauwkamp commits his third foul, but Brandon Trefil misses the front end of a one and one situation. It is still 44-42 with 5:29 left. Tri-Unity misses a shot, Fulton misses a three pointer and a Mike Boon three point shot makes it 47-42 with 5:05 left. After a missed three point shot by Fulton, Doug Venema hits a ten footer from the corner to make it 49-42 with 4:42 left.
Joey Blauwkamp commits a hard foul for his fourth. Tyler Walden shakes it off and hits two free throws to cut the lead to 49-44 with 4:22 left. Tri-Unity commits a turnover and Fulton misses a three point shot. Fulton’s Eric Litwiller gets the offensive rebound, but Joey Blauwkamp steals the ball and gets it to Mike Boon. Garret Slavik fouls Boon to prevent a layup. Boon hits two free throws to make it 51-44 with 3:53 left.
Fulton misses a layup, but after Tri-Unity misses a three pointer and gets an offensive rebound, Cody Johnson fouls Doug Venema. Venema hits both free throws to push the Tri-Unity lead to 53-44 with 3:15 left. Fulton turns the ball over when they over throw the ball to a player open under the basket.
Corey Hungerford fouls Jordan Buffum who splits a pair of free throws. After a missed three pointer, Durant Vega is fouled and hits two more free throws for Tri-Unity. They now lead 56-44 with 2:30 left and time is starting to run out for Fulton. Doug Venema steals an entry pass and Durant Vega is fouled by Brandon Trefil to stop the clock.
Vega splits his pair of free throws. Fulton takes the ball down and misses another three point shot. Tri-Unity misses a layup and a putback. In a wild scramble for the ball, Jordan Buffum fouls Zach Baker who makes tow free throws to make it 57-46 with 1:50 left in the game. Joey Blauwkamp is fouled one second later (Fulton can’t waste any time at this point.) and hits two free throws for Tri-Unity. Mike Boon fouls Tyler Walden who hits two free throws to make it 59-48 with 1:41 left.
Brandon Trefil fouls Jordan Buffum on a putback; Buffum hits two free throws to make it 61-48 with 1:34 left. Tri-Unity makes a steal, but the ball is knocked loose. Tri-Unity gets the ball back, but Fulton is not giving up! Tyler Walden fouls Durant Vega who hits two free throws to make it 63-48 left. Mike Boon steals the ball and gets it to Durant Vega who hits a fast break layup with 53 seconds left to push the Tri-Unity lead to 65-48.
After one last miss by Fulton, Joey Blauwkamp gets the rebound and Durant Vega hits a layup with 31 seconds left to give Tri-Unity a 67-48 lead.
Both teams clear their bench. Fulton passes the ball around and Cameron Waldron hits a putback shot just before the buzzer to make the final score Tri-Unity 67 Fulton 50.
Fulton made a game of it, but in the fourth quarter, they got behind and when they committed desperation fouls, Tri-Unity calmly hit their free throws to extend their lead. Fulton has had a great season and has a lot to be proud of. Also, all three of their leading scorers as well as their sixth man are juniors and will have another chance next year.
Tri-Unity is this year’s Class D Champion!
For Tri-Unity Christian, Durant Vega led the way with 21 points; Joey Blauwkamp added 16 points and Mike Boon contributed 14. Jordan Buffum contributed three points and nine rebounds to the cause.
For Fulton, Tyler Walden had twenty points and Cody Johnson hit twelve. Corey Hungerford added nine points, Zach Baker had four; Garrett Slavik and Cameron Waldron added a basket and Eric Litwiller had one point.
Thanks to both teams for putting on a great game that was close until the middle of the fourth quarter!!
The Bleacher Denizen is so excited after Sexton’s victory over Country Day that he is eager to get to Saturday’s final games in all four classes. He is so excited that he forgets to set his alarm. Our dedicated Bleacher Denizen arises at nine AM and realizes he has one hour to shower and get to the game. (Our Bleacher Denizen is fortunate that he only lives about ten to fifteen minutes from the Breslin Center.)
He forgets to bring his handy-dandy note pad and has to stop at Quality Dairy to buy one. This is okay because he also encounters a train on Harrison Street. (I swear that train operator has a sixth sense as to when people will be in a hurry and uses that sense to decide when to send trains. I swear it. I swear it!) However, God personally intervenes and somehow I am able to get to the gym with time to find my seat and talk to the people next to me for about five minutes before the game. Whew!
I’m glad I made it because a local Central Michigan Athletic Conference team, Fulton is in the Class D Semifinals. They are led by the coach’s son, Junior All-State Guard Tyler Walton and fellow 6’ 3” juniors Cody Johnson and Corey Hungerford. I have only seen Tri-Unity’s semi-final game. Sophomore Joey Blauwkamp had a great game with 21 points and Durant Vega played well at the point for them.
The game starts with Tri-Unity winning the tap. Fulton ties up the loose ball and the Possession Arrow decrees that Fulton now has possession. (One never wins an argument with the Omnipotent Possession Arrow!)
Corey Hungerford assists Cody Johnson for the first score of the game with 7:17 left. Eleven seconds later, Durant Vega ties the game for Tri-Unity Christian with a layup. Fulton travels, Tri-Unity turns the ball over and Fulton airballs a three point shot. Tri-Unity follows with an airball. (Maybe we could just play volleyball.) Maybe not. Joel Boersen catches the airball and gets a putback for Tri-Unity to make it 4-2 with 6:06 left.
Jordan Buffum commits a foul and Corey Hungerford ties the game with a jump shot with 5:56 left in the quarter. Tri-Unity travels and then Eric Litwiller assists Cody Johnson on a three point shot to give Fulton a 7-4 lead with 5:18 left. Tri-Unity tries to match the three point shot, but misses and Cody Johnson gets a layup with an assist from Corey Hungerford.
After another missed three point shot, Tyler Walden, one of the finest shooters in the state, hits a three point shot from the corner with an assist from Eric Litwiller to make it 12-4 Fulton. After another miss by Tri-Unity, Cody Johnson gets a fast break layup with another assist from Eric Litwiller. Fulton now leads 14-4 with 3:35 left in the quarter.
Joey Blauwkamp misses a shot for Tri-Unity, but gets his own rebound and hits a jump shot to stop the Fulton 12 point scoring streak. Daniel Cole steals the ball for Tri-Unity, but misses a layup. He steals the ball from the Fulton rebounder and is fouled. He splits his free throws to make it 14-7 with 2:37 left. After a Fulton turnover, Daniel Cole hits a runner to make it 14-9 with 1:54 left. There is no more scoring with in the quarter as the two teams basically take turns missing three point shots. (Each team throws in a missed two pointer.)
The score at the end of the first quarter is Fulton 14 Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian 9.
Cody Johnson steals the ball from Tri-Unity on the first possession of the second quarter. Joey Blauwkamp fouls Zach Baker who hits two free throws to give Fulton a 16-9 lead with 7:15 left in the quarter. Blauwkamp responds with an acrobatic layup and he’s fouled by Cody Johnson, but misses the free throw. After a missed shot by Fulton and a turnover by Tri-Unity, Corey Hungerford hits a layup with an assist from Zach Baker to give Fulton an 18-11 lead with 6:46 left. Hungerford fouls Mike Boon who hits two free throws for Tri-Unity.
Durant Vega follows that with a steal and a layup. After Fulton misses a jump shot, Vega gets another layup to close Fulton’s lead to 18-17 with 5:51 left in the half. After Fulton misses a three point shot, Doug Venema gets the rebound and Joey Blauwkamp hits a fast break layup to give Tri-Unity the lead. After a steal by Vega, Tri-Unity misses the layup and Fulton rebounds. Tyler Walden is fouled and hits two free throws to make it Fulton 20 Tri-Unity 19 with 4:47 left. After each team misses a shot, Joey Blauwkamp gets the ball to Eric Zudweg for a layup to give Tri-Unity the lead back at 21-20 with 3:49 left. Jon Osantowski fouls Garret Slavik who misses both free throws for Fulton.
Durant Vega hits a three point shot for Tri-Unity and after a Fulton turnover, Joey Blauwkamp hits a layup to give Tri-Unity a 26-20 lead with 2:39 left in the half. After a slow start, Tri-Unity has outscored Fulton 22-6. Fulton misses a three point shot, but Tri-Unity travels and negates a basket. Corey Hungerford hits a long shot, but for some reason is only awarded two points. Durant Vega hits a layup but has it negated by a charging foul. Now, suddenly, there is a conference and Hungerford is awarded a third point for his shot.
(Perhaps the referees’ mornings were as hectic as mine. This was a bizarre moment; I have never seen a point awarded two plays later before.) It is now 26-23 with 1:44 left. Jon Osantowski gets a putback for Tri-Unity to make it 28-23, but after an Eric Zudweg foul, Corey Hungerford hits two shots for Fulton. It is now 28-25 and there is no more scoring in the half as Tri-Unity misses a three point shot with 20 seconds left after holding the ball. Tri-Unity steals the ball back, but they miss two hurried three point shot as the half ends.
Tri-Unity leads Fulton 28-25 at half time. Our Bleacher Denizen heads out and has a Strawberry Smoothie during halftime. Yum!
Tri-Unity has the ball to open the third quarter, but this only lasts for 11 seconds before there is a traveling violation. Fulton misses a shot and then Zach Baker and Eric Litwiller pick up fouls about ten seconds apart. Each team then misses a shot and Baker picks up his second foul. Tri-Unity turns the ball back over and Joel Boersen fouls Cody Johnson as he hits a layup (assisted by Hungerford.) Johnson hits the free throw to complete the three point play and tie the game at 28 with 5:53 remaining.
There is a scramble for the ball on Tri-Unity’s next possession. Joey Blauwkamp wins the scramble, gets the ball, leans in and hits a layup as Zach Baker commits his third foul. Blauwkamp misses the layup and then Cody Johnson assists Tyler Walden on a three point shot to give Fulton a 31-30 lead with 3:13 left. After Tri-Unity misses a couple three pointers on its next possession, Joey Blauwkamp steals the ball and takes it in for a layup to give Tri-Unity the lead back at 32-31 with 4:32 left.
Blauwkamp gets another steal which leads to a three point basket by Mike Boon and Tri-Unity has a 35-31 lead. Fulton turns the ball back over to Tri-Unity and the TV Timeout occurs. At home, I always wonder what happens during the TV Timeout while I’m refilling my water or UM never mind. It turns out that the teams get a nice long timeout while everyone in the gym waits for the timeout to end. I suppose the advertisers like it.
When play resumes, Tyler Walden is fouled on a three point shot and hits three free throws to make it 35-34 with 2:58 left. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot, but gets an offensive rebound. Fulton makes a nice open court tackle, but no free throws are awarded as Tri-Unity is not in the bonus. (The Bleacher Denizen should probably clarify that this was the result of hustling defense not mean or deliberate.)
Durant Vega hits a two point jump shot and Fulton turns the ball over. Vega is fouled on a shot and splits a pair of free throws to make it 38-34 with 1:42 left. Fulton misses a layup and Tri-Unity commits a charging foul to negate a basket. Cody Johnson assists Tyler Walden on a sixteen foot shot from the corner. Mike Boon gets a putback for Tri-Unity to put them up by 40-36. Brandon Trefil assists Garrett Slavik on a layup to make it 40-38 with 38 seconds left. Tri-Unity holds the ball for the last shot, but travels with 3.4 seconds.
Brandon Trefil has to throw the ball off a Tri-Unity defender to avoid a turnover. Fulton calls a time-out to try to set up a lob pass to tie the game at the third quarter buzzer, but Tri-Unity knocks the pass away and the quarter ends with Tri-Unity leading Fulton 40-38.
Fulton gets the ball to start the fourth quarter but misses a layup. Cody Johnson knocks the outlet pass away to spoil a Tri-Unity fast break. Joey Blauwkamp makes a tremendous pass to Mike Boon for a layup to make it 42-38 with 7:10 left. Doug Venema fouls Eric Litwiller who splits a pair of free throws and it’s 42-39.
After Joey Blauwkamp hits a fast break layup for Tri-Unity, Corey Hungerford assists Tyler Walden, who nails a three point shot to make cut Tri-Unity’s lead to 44-42 with 6:27 left. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot, but Joey Blauwkamp steals the ball back for Tri-Unity. After Tri-Unity misses a three point shot, Joey Blauwkamp commits his third foul, but Brandon Trefil misses the front end of a one and one situation. It is still 44-42 with 5:29 left. Tri-Unity misses a shot, Fulton misses a three pointer and a Mike Boon three point shot makes it 47-42 with 5:05 left. After a missed three point shot by Fulton, Doug Venema hits a ten footer from the corner to make it 49-42 with 4:42 left.
Joey Blauwkamp commits a hard foul for his fourth. Tyler Walden shakes it off and hits two free throws to cut the lead to 49-44 with 4:22 left. Tri-Unity commits a turnover and Fulton misses a three point shot. Fulton’s Eric Litwiller gets the offensive rebound, but Joey Blauwkamp steals the ball and gets it to Mike Boon. Garret Slavik fouls Boon to prevent a layup. Boon hits two free throws to make it 51-44 with 3:53 left.
Fulton misses a layup, but after Tri-Unity misses a three pointer and gets an offensive rebound, Cody Johnson fouls Doug Venema. Venema hits both free throws to push the Tri-Unity lead to 53-44 with 3:15 left. Fulton turns the ball over when they over throw the ball to a player open under the basket.
Corey Hungerford fouls Jordan Buffum who splits a pair of free throws. After a missed three pointer, Durant Vega is fouled and hits two more free throws for Tri-Unity. They now lead 56-44 with 2:30 left and time is starting to run out for Fulton. Doug Venema steals an entry pass and Durant Vega is fouled by Brandon Trefil to stop the clock.
Vega splits his pair of free throws. Fulton takes the ball down and misses another three point shot. Tri-Unity misses a layup and a putback. In a wild scramble for the ball, Jordan Buffum fouls Zach Baker who makes tow free throws to make it 57-46 with 1:50 left in the game. Joey Blauwkamp is fouled one second later (Fulton can’t waste any time at this point.) and hits two free throws for Tri-Unity. Mike Boon fouls Tyler Walden who hits two free throws to make it 59-48 with 1:41 left.
Brandon Trefil fouls Jordan Buffum on a putback; Buffum hits two free throws to make it 61-48 with 1:34 left. Tri-Unity makes a steal, but the ball is knocked loose. Tri-Unity gets the ball back, but Fulton is not giving up! Tyler Walden fouls Durant Vega who hits two free throws to make it 63-48 left. Mike Boon steals the ball and gets it to Durant Vega who hits a fast break layup with 53 seconds left to push the Tri-Unity lead to 65-48.
After one last miss by Fulton, Joey Blauwkamp gets the rebound and Durant Vega hits a layup with 31 seconds left to give Tri-Unity a 67-48 lead.
Both teams clear their bench. Fulton passes the ball around and Cameron Waldron hits a putback shot just before the buzzer to make the final score Tri-Unity 67 Fulton 50.
Fulton made a game of it, but in the fourth quarter, they got behind and when they committed desperation fouls, Tri-Unity calmly hit their free throws to extend their lead. Fulton has had a great season and has a lot to be proud of. Also, all three of their leading scorers as well as their sixth man are juniors and will have another chance next year.
Tri-Unity is this year’s Class D Champion!
For Tri-Unity Christian, Durant Vega led the way with 21 points; Joey Blauwkamp added 16 points and Mike Boon contributed 14. Jordan Buffum contributed three points and nine rebounds to the cause.
For Fulton, Tyler Walden had twenty points and Cody Johnson hit twelve. Corey Hungerford added nine points, Zach Baker had four; Garrett Slavik and Cameron Waldron added a basket and Eric Litwiller had one point.
Thanks to both teams for putting on a great game that was close until the middle of the fourth quarter!!