Boy’s Basketball: Varsity Chemics beat Chargers in thriller

by Cory Butzin

Monday’s game between Midland and Dow was a game of runs. The only question was which team was going to have the last one.

Turns out, it would be the Chemics.

Midland came back from an early deficit and then held off a furious Charger rally to preserve their perfect record with a 65-59 win at Midland High.

“Anytime there is a Dow and Midland game, you’re going to have high intensity and if you don’t come out with extreme energy you’re going to get pounded,” said Midland coach Eric Krause.

The Chargers pounded Midland early as they were able to force the Chemics into early turnovers to open the game with a 9-0 run on their way to an 18-13 first quarter lead.

It was Midland’s turn for a run in the second quarter as they were able to erase Dow’s lead, led by three 3-pointers from Kyle Wakeman. Chris O’Brien hit a shot with 1:53 remaining in the half to give the Chemics their first lead of the game at 27-26.

Two free throws by Spencer Jennings gave the lead back to Dow. However Wakeman answered with his third bucket from long range to give Midland a 30-28 lead going into the half.

“Their press wore us down a bit,” said Dow coach Dave MacDonald. “We had a lot of turnovers, a lot more than we’ve had.”

Midland came out of the half firing on all cylinders with a 7-0 run to push their lead to nine points, but then it was Dow’s turn.

Brad Ostergren laid in a bucket to end the Chemics’ streak and Spencer Jennings hit a 3-pointer to get Dow back in the game 37-33. Dow’s aggressive play forced Midland into turnovers that allowed the Chargers to close the gap to 43-41 setting the stage for a thrilling final period.

“I thought we played hard defensively,” MacDonald said. “We created a lot of mistakes on their part.”

Midland opened up an eight point lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter led by Wakeman and Evan Sanders who hit 3-pointers for the Chemics.

Dow wasn’t about to lie down. Led by the hot hand of Jennings, the Chargers mounted a furious rally hitting three 3-pointers to cut the lead to 59-55 with 2:31 remaining.

That was as close as they would get as the two teams traded points the rest of the way.

Two late free throws by Wakeman sealed the win for Midland.

“We kind of flat lined,” Krause said. “Maybe I’d play some of it different, but I think there’s room for a lot more growth here, so we’ll see how we go.”

O’Brien led the Chemics with 20 points, while Wakeman and Colter Roberson finished with 16 and 13 points.

Jennings poured in 29 points to lead the Chargers, while Tyler Schroll finished with 12.

The loss dropped Dow to 2-1. They look to get back in the win column Thursday when they travel to take on the Knights of Flint Southwestern at 7:15 p.m.

Meanwhile Midland will try to add to their 3-0 record when they travel to Bay City Thursday to take on the Wolves of Bay City Central. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

For more photos from Monday’s game click on “Photo Slideshow” in the top right corner of this article.

Photos by Cory Butzin & Jason Wolverton

 Print This Post