LocalSportsJournal.com
Ludington’s varsity boys basketball squad pulled out a nail-biting 37-36 non-conference victory over Mason County Central on Tuesday.
Jared Collins came up with a steal with just under two minutes to play and converted it into a layup on the other end to give Ludington a 37-34 advantage with 1:45 left in the game. The Orioles (11-5, 6-2) would not score again and would have to rely on a defensive stand in the final seconds to ice their victory.
With 30 seconds left, MCC’s Ryan Mount hit two clutch free throws to cut the Orioles’ lead to one. Ten seconds later, the Spartans (9-8, 6-7) created a turnover and set themselves up with a play to win it at the buzzer. Ludington dug in defensively, forced a miss and grabbed the rebound to secure the win.
Sam LaDuke’s 13 points, Cameron Bandstra’s 11 points and Josh Laman’s 11 rebounds led the Orioles.
Mount finished the game with 11 points for the Spartans and Blake Bladzik had eight points and nine rebounds.
SHELBY 59, SPRING LAKE 50 – Shelby held a 38-28 advantage in the rebounding battle, helping the Tigers pull out a non-conference victory over the Lakers. Spring Lake’s Keegan George did all he could to cut into the Tigers’ lead, but the Lakers (13-4, 8-0) couldn’t get much closer than eight or nine points. George led all scorers on the night with 25 points. Danny Beckman led the Tigers (16-2, 11-2) in scoring with 23 points, while Jeff Beckman added another 14 points, to go with his 11 rebounds and four blocks.
MONTAGUE 68, MUSKEGON CATHOLIC 64 – The Wildcats, who are now 7-10 on the season and 3-9 in league play, closed the game with a 23-19 fourth quarter run to pull out the non-conference victory. Merritt Hamann paced Montague with 21 points, while Jacob Buchberger added 15. Muskegon Catholic (5-13, 2-5), which missed a chance to tie the game with 17 seconds left in regulation, was led by Christian Martinez with 20 points, while Nick Morgenstern added 17.
