Friday night with the Eagles
Frankenmuth holds on for win
By Andrew Selich
Sports Writer
FRANKENMUTH - Faced with a huge lead entering the fourth quarter against North Branch on Friday night, and coupled with the fact the Eagles play host to Holly on Saturday night; Frankenmuth coach Tim Crawford decided he would rest his starters and empty the bench, giving some players who might not normally get it a chance to play.
The decision almost came back to bite Crawford, but in the end, Frankenmuth had too big of a lead and the Eagles held on for the 77-60 win over the Broncos in Tri-Valley East Conference action.
The Eagles held a 66-36 lead over the Broncos at the completion of the third quarter, and with his players having to play two games in two nights; Crawford just felt that his starters needed a rest.
He just never thought his backups would let North Branch back in the game.
"We gave some guys a chance tonight, emptied the bench," Crawford said. "And then, in about four minute’s time, a thirty point lead was down to just twelve.
"That happened, but we held on to win."
North Branch opened the fourth by going on an 18-0 run over the first six minutes of the quarter before a lay-up by Frankenmuth's Nathan Kraft finally put the Eagles on the scoreboard in the final frame. So, with 2:33 left to play, Crawford was left with no other choice then to reinsert his starters.
"When North Branch gets (Zac) Hueter going, boy can he make a difference," Crawford said. "He was hurt at the beginning of the season and missed the first two games, but when he's healthy, he really makes it tough out there."
Hueter scored eight points in the fourth quarter during the Broncos scoring run and the big man ended up leading his team with 14 points, all of which came in the second half.
North Branch came within just ten points of Frankenmuth, when a Luc Bonner three-pointer with 1:07 left to play made the game 70-60 in favor of the Eagles, but some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch from Frankenmuth's Brad Redford put the game away and kept the Eagles' record perfect for the season.
"I thought we played pretty well tonight," Crawford said. "We did some good things defensively in the first half to build that big lead; we shot the ball well again tonight.
"And Redford had another great game."
Redford finished with a game-high 36 points, despite the fact that the senior did not play for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, although his coach insists that for his team to win, they need Redford to score a lot of points.
"We need Brad to shoot the ball like he can," Crawford said. "When Brad shoots the ball well, we have a chance to win ball games. In order for us to be successful this season, we need Brad to score."
Redford came out of the opening gates on fire.
The 6-0 senior scored 12 points in both the first and second quarter, making good on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the three-point line. In fact, Redford outscored the entire North Branch team by halftime, as the Eagles led the game 43-20 at the break.
Frankenmuth's Ryan Keith also had a solid first half, scoring all nine of his points before halftime and led the Eagles by grabbing a total of seven rebounds.
In the third quarter, it wasn't just Redford who starting raining down three's. Teammate Jeremy Warnemuende hit three-straight three-pointers in the third frame, and finished the game with 18 points.
Redford contributed eight more points in the third, made two more from beyond the arc, and finished the night 6-for-11 from three-point range.
"When Brad shoots like that, it makes it easy for others to get open," Crawford said. "All Jeremy had to do was find an open spot on the floor, which he did.
"When Jeremy makes shots like that, that makes it hard for teams to double-team Brad."
North Branch had two other players score in double figures.
Justin Calvert had 13 points and Mike Keith finished with 12 for the Broncos.
"This was a good win for us," Crawford said. "Any night, any team can beat us. We're just going to do the best we can every night and hope that we can keep shooting the ball well.
"If we do that, than we can be successful."
Frankenmuth: Keith 4 1-2 9, Shelton 1 1-2 4, Redford 12 6-7 36, Warnemuende 6 4-4 18, Aurenhamer 2 0-0 4, Bender 1 0-0 2, Kraft 2 0-0 4, Gray 1 0-0 2. Three Point Field Goals: Redford (6), Warnemuende (4), Shelton. Totals: 27 12-15 77..North Branch: Keith 5 2-4 12, Calvert 6 0-1 13, Bonner 1 2-4 5, Coulter 2 0-0 4, Raymond 1 0-0 2, Baker 3 0-0 7, Hueter 6 2-3 14, Arntz 1 0-0 3. Three Point Field Goals: Calvert, Bonner, Baker. Totals: 25 6-12 60.North Branch 9 11 16 24 -- 60Frankenmuth 23 20 23 11 -- 77
By Andrew Selich
Sports Writer
FRANKENMUTH - Faced with a huge lead entering the fourth quarter against North Branch on Friday night, and coupled with the fact the Eagles play host to Holly on Saturday night; Frankenmuth coach Tim Crawford decided he would rest his starters and empty the bench, giving some players who might not normally get it a chance to play.
The decision almost came back to bite Crawford, but in the end, Frankenmuth had too big of a lead and the Eagles held on for the 77-60 win over the Broncos in Tri-Valley East Conference action.
The Eagles held a 66-36 lead over the Broncos at the completion of the third quarter, and with his players having to play two games in two nights; Crawford just felt that his starters needed a rest.
He just never thought his backups would let North Branch back in the game.
"We gave some guys a chance tonight, emptied the bench," Crawford said. "And then, in about four minute’s time, a thirty point lead was down to just twelve.
"That happened, but we held on to win."
North Branch opened the fourth by going on an 18-0 run over the first six minutes of the quarter before a lay-up by Frankenmuth's Nathan Kraft finally put the Eagles on the scoreboard in the final frame. So, with 2:33 left to play, Crawford was left with no other choice then to reinsert his starters.
"When North Branch gets (Zac) Hueter going, boy can he make a difference," Crawford said. "He was hurt at the beginning of the season and missed the first two games, but when he's healthy, he really makes it tough out there."
Hueter scored eight points in the fourth quarter during the Broncos scoring run and the big man ended up leading his team with 14 points, all of which came in the second half.
North Branch came within just ten points of Frankenmuth, when a Luc Bonner three-pointer with 1:07 left to play made the game 70-60 in favor of the Eagles, but some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch from Frankenmuth's Brad Redford put the game away and kept the Eagles' record perfect for the season.
"I thought we played pretty well tonight," Crawford said. "We did some good things defensively in the first half to build that big lead; we shot the ball well again tonight.
"And Redford had another great game."
Redford finished with a game-high 36 points, despite the fact that the senior did not play for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, although his coach insists that for his team to win, they need Redford to score a lot of points.
"We need Brad to shoot the ball like he can," Crawford said. "When Brad shoots the ball well, we have a chance to win ball games. In order for us to be successful this season, we need Brad to score."
Redford came out of the opening gates on fire.
The 6-0 senior scored 12 points in both the first and second quarter, making good on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the three-point line. In fact, Redford outscored the entire North Branch team by halftime, as the Eagles led the game 43-20 at the break.
Frankenmuth's Ryan Keith also had a solid first half, scoring all nine of his points before halftime and led the Eagles by grabbing a total of seven rebounds.
In the third quarter, it wasn't just Redford who starting raining down three's. Teammate Jeremy Warnemuende hit three-straight three-pointers in the third frame, and finished the game with 18 points.
Redford contributed eight more points in the third, made two more from beyond the arc, and finished the night 6-for-11 from three-point range.
"When Brad shoots like that, it makes it easy for others to get open," Crawford said. "All Jeremy had to do was find an open spot on the floor, which he did.
"When Jeremy makes shots like that, that makes it hard for teams to double-team Brad."
North Branch had two other players score in double figures.
Justin Calvert had 13 points and Mike Keith finished with 12 for the Broncos.
"This was a good win for us," Crawford said. "Any night, any team can beat us. We're just going to do the best we can every night and hope that we can keep shooting the ball well.
"If we do that, than we can be successful."
Frankenmuth: Keith 4 1-2 9, Shelton 1 1-2 4, Redford 12 6-7 36, Warnemuende 6 4-4 18, Aurenhamer 2 0-0 4, Bender 1 0-0 2, Kraft 2 0-0 4, Gray 1 0-0 2. Three Point Field Goals: Redford (6), Warnemuende (4), Shelton. Totals: 27 12-15 77..North Branch: Keith 5 2-4 12, Calvert 6 0-1 13, Bonner 1 2-4 5, Coulter 2 0-0 4, Raymond 1 0-0 2, Baker 3 0-0 7, Hueter 6 2-3 14, Arntz 1 0-0 3. Three Point Field Goals: Calvert, Bonner, Baker. Totals: 25 6-12 60.North Branch 9 11 16 24 -- 60Frankenmuth 23 20 23 11 -- 77
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Girls
Frankenmuth 59 Vassar 12
Nicole Bade 13 points
Lauren Zehnder 7 points
Frankenmuth 30 Vassar 15 Halftime
Brad Redford 16 points for Frankenmuth
Jordan Knudsen 9 points for Vassar