Local Sports Weekly Recap

BOYS BASKETBALL

WALLED LAKE CENTRAL-WATERFORD MOTT

In a spirited showdown that took overtime to decide, Walled Lake Central defeated Waterford Mott on the road, 41-34, on Friday, Jan. 18.

With the victory, the Vikings (9-2) grabbed sole possession of first place in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association (KLAA) North Division with a 5-0 division record while the Corsairs (8-3) fell to 4-1.

Central trailed Mott in overtime, 34-32, but then scored 9 unanswered points to steal the win in hostile territory.

T.J. Warren led the Vikings with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, while Phil Nelson contributed 12 points.

Whether or not last Friday’s game will serve as an omen for the remainder of division play remains to be seen.

Last season, Central defeated Mott in their first meeting of the year. But it was the Corsairs who won their next five KLAA North Division games, including a victory over the Vikings in the division finale, to claim the North crown.

Central began its week with a 58-46 victory on its home floor over Walled Lake Northern on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The Vikings took control of the game with a 13-3 run in the third quarter.

Warren finished with 16 points for the Vikings, followed by Brandon Nafso with 13 and Nelson with 8.

Gage Throgmorton led the Knights with 12 points while Brennan Williams had 10.

Central will next host Waterford Kettering on Friday, Jan. 25.

WALLED LAKE WESTERN-HURON VALLEY LAKELAND

Four quarters was not enough for Walled Lake Western and Huron Valley Lakeland in their first meeting of the season.

In the end, it was the visiting Warriors who came away with a 56-52 overtime win over the Eagles on Friday, Jan. 18.

Lakeland led Western 48-46 with time running out before Western’s Miroslav Jaksic tied the game with a buzzer-beating basket on a tip-in.

In overtime, the Warriors outscored the Eagles, 8-4, to claim the victory on the road.

Last Friday marked Lakeland’s second overtime loss in three games, including its 73-69 double-overtime loss to Walled Lake Northern back on Jan. 11.

Jaksic led the Warriors (7-3, 3-2 KLAA North) with 17 points while Bryan Manekin had 14 and Marcus Bailey had 9.

Nick Troxell scored 19 points to lead the Eagles (4-6, 1-4) while Brad Govan had 14.

Western began the past week with a disappointing 72-42 defeat at home to Waterford Mott on Tuesday, Jan. 15, marking its second straight loss.

Meanwhile, Lakeland earned a 46-42 victory at Waterford Kettering on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The Eagles led 31-19 at halftime before the Captains went on a 14-5 run the third quarter to pull within three, 36-33.

But, Lakeland hung tough for the win as Timmy Brotherton had 15 points for the Eagles, followed by Govan with 14.

Western resumes KLAA North Division play on Friday, Jan. 25 at Walled Lake Northern while Lakeland is at Waterford Mott that same night.

HURON VALLEY MILFORD

Huron Valley Milford’s hopes of repeating as Kensington Lakes Activities Association West Division champion took a hit this past week.

The Mavericks suffered their second division setback of the year, 47-46, in overtime to Brighton at home on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The game was tightly contested as the score was tied at 21 at halftime. The Bulldogs then pulled ahead, 32-30, at the end of the third quarter.

But, Milford (8-3, 3-2 KLAA West) outscored Brighton, 12-10, in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 42 and force overtime.

There was little margin for error in the extra session, as the Bulldogs outscored Milford, 5-4, in the extra session to escape with the victory.

Jacob Lee led Milford with 16 points while Kyle Valden had 13.

Andrew Chevalier and Daniel Buschman each scored 11 points for Brighton.

The Mavs rebounded with a 35-29 victory at Pinckney on Friday, Jan. 18.

Milford led 15-9 at halftime before the Pirates pulled to within one, 18-17, at the end of the third quarter. But, the Mavs went on a 17-12 run in the fourth to claim the win.

Josh Corey led the Mavs with 12 points, followed by Lee with 11.

Milford currently trails first-place Grand Blanc (5-0) in the KLAA West by two games and will host the Bobcats on Friday, Jan. 25 to resume division play.

Grand Blanc defeated Milford in its first meeting, 59-45, on Jan. 4.

WALLED LAKE NORTHERN

Walled Lake Northern cruised to a 67-47 victory at home over winless Waterford Kettering on Friday, Jan. 18.

Four Knights scored in double figures, led by Gage Throgmorton with 15 points, followed by Tabin Throgmorton with 14, Trent Lansaw with 11 and Brennan Williams with 10.

Northern is now 3-8 overall and 2-8 in the KLAA North while Kettering fell to 0-10 and 0-5 in the KLAA North.

Northern will host Walled Lake Western on Friday, Jan. 25.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

WALLED LAKE WESTERN-HURON VALLEY LAKELAND

The surging Walled Lake Western Warriors are in first-place in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North Division halfway through its division schedule.

Western (9-2) moved to 5-0 in the KLAA North with a 49-31 victory at home over Huron Valley Lakeland on Friday, Jan. 18.

Jayla Nichols led the Warriors with 15 points while Maddie Schram had 13 and Erickah Woods had 12.

Amanda Lock had 9 points for the Eagles (6-4, 2-3) in the loss.

With the victory, Western remains a full game ahead of the defending KLAA North champion, Waterford Kettering (4-1), in the standings. The Captains also went 2-0 this past week, including a 28-15 victory at Lakeland on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The Warriors began this past week with a hard-fought 48-46 victory on the road at Waterford Mott on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

Western trailed the Corsairs, 34-32, at the end of the third quarter before going on a 16-12 run in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

Nichols led the Warriors with 14 points while Schram had 9 points and Woods and Brooke Schwandt each had 8.

The Warriors will resume KLAA North division play on Friday, Jan. 25 at Walled Lake Northern.

HURON VALLEY MILFORD

Huron Valley Milford picked up its first Kensington Lakes Activities Association West Division victory of the season in a 50-47 win at home Pinckney on Friday, Jan. 18.

After trailing 13-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Mavericks went on a 17-8 run in the second quarter to take a 26-21 halftime lead.

Milford (3-8, 1-3 KLAA West) held on to win despite being outscored 26-24 in the fourth quarter.

Elise Gustafson led the Mavs with 21 points.

Milford began its week with a 59-46 loss at Brighton on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The Mavs will resume KLAA West play on Friday, Jan. 25 when they travel to Grand Blanc.

WALLED LAKE NORTHERN-WALLED LAKE CENTRAL

In a matchup of struggling KLAA North teams, Walled Lake Northern defeated Walled Lake Central at home, 45-40, on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The matchup was evenly contested throughout, but the Knights (2-9, 1-4 KLAA North) came out on top for their first division victory of the season.

Caitlin Crowley led Northern with a game-high 27 points, including 7-of-13 free-throw shooting, while Joanna Finn had 10 points for the Vikings (1-10, 0-5).

Both teams then suffered losses on Friday, Jan. 18 as Northern was slammed by Waterford Kettering, 65-28, as Crowley scored 19 points for the Knights.

That same night, Central fell to Waterford Mott, 39-24, as Kaitlyn Wolschlager scored 8 points for the Vikings. Mott is 7-4 and 3-2 in the KLAA North.

Northern will next play at Walled Lake Western on Friday, Jan. 25 while Central travels to Waterford Kettering on the same night.

ICE HOCKEY

WALLED LAKE CENTRAL

Walled Lake Central maintained its hold on first-place in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North Division with an 8-3 victory over Waterford Kettering on Thursday, Jan. 17 at Farmington Hills Ice Arena.

The Vikings led 2-1 at the first intermission before outscoring the Captains 3-1 in the second period.

Eric Rosteck and Drew Kocoves each scored 2 goals for Central, while Andrew Wood, Jarrett Haas, Matt Rosteck and Adam Dennis had the other tallies for the Vikings.

Jake Segedi was strong in net for Central as he finished with 11 saves.

The Vikings also defeated Waterford Mott, 5-1, on Saturday, Jan. 12.

Central (9-3-4, 4-1-4 KLAA North) now leads the KLAA North with 12 points, giving them a 6-point cushion in the standings over Mott.

The Vikings played at Flint Powers on Saturday, Jan. 19 and will host Swartz Creek at Farmington Hills Ice Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Central will then face Walled Lake Northern on Saturday, Jan. 26 at Lakeland Ice Arena.

ALL-STAR FOOTBALL

Two lakes area football players were selected to play in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association’s 33^rd Annual East-West All-Star Game on June 22 at Grand Valley State University.

Walled Lake Northern’s Matt Kosmalski and Walled Lake Western’s Josh Jones will both play on the East Team.

Jones, who is committed to the University of Illinois, had a season to remember, as he finished with 668 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns in addition to 303 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. On defense, he finished with 95 total tackles, 3 sacks and 5 interceptions in helping Western win back-to-back district titles.

Meanwhile, Kosmalski had 72 Tackles, 7 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries for Northern. He also finished with 998 yards rushing, 670 yards receiving and 17 total touchdowns in helping the Knights win their first KLAA North Division and Lakes Conference titles before claiming their first state playoff victory this past season.