Late Push Lifts MCC past Brethren
by MATT WENZEL
Manistee News Advocate Sports Editor
Published: Thursday, March 10, 2011 12:17 AM EST
ONEKAMA — This is where the season started for Manistee Catholic Central.

A late lead against Brethren with a chance to close it out at the free throw line.

This time — unlike the season-opening overtime loss — the Sabers came through at the charity stripe to seal a 57-50 win against the Bobcats in a Class D district semifinal on Wednesday night at Onekama.

“At the end of the game, it comes down to free throws,” said MCC senior Nick Doyle, who scored a game-high 22 points to go with nine rebounds and three steals. “We didn’t do it the first time we played them, so it’s definitely a good thing we did it now in districts when it matters. We did a good job at the line.” The defending district champion Sabers (15-6) also thrived in the clutch as they overcame a four-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run that earned them a spot in Friday's district championship against Frankfort.

"I'd like to think it's all the close games we've had this year, the four overtime games," said MCC coach Dale Edmondson Jr. "We don't seem to panic and I try not to panic myself, which is pretty hard on the sidelines there. We kept our heads pretty well, we hit some big shots, made the free throws at the end--it"s a big start for the first game of the tournament."

It certainly was early on as Bialik came off the bench to hit back-to-back triples as the Sabers closed the first quarter on a 10-1 run for a 14-8 lead.

Eddie Lodin scored six of his 11 points in the second quarter as the Bobcats stayed right with the Sabers and went into halftime trailing 26-22. J.R. Theodore finished with 13 points to lead the Bobcats while Dylan Richardson scored six.

Brethren was solid defensively early against Doyle, who had just six points at the half and didn’t get many touches or shots. “Roddy did just a great job on him,” Walker said, “and he had to work to get those six.”

But, that changed quickly after halftime as Doyle used the transition game to score nine straight points and MCC jumped out to a 35-24 lead. “Coming out of halftime, we wanted to run and I got some easy fast break points,” Doyle said, “and it just went off from there.”

 Brethren quickly got back into the game with a 13-0 run over the next 3:37 and was down just two heading into the fourth at 39-37. The Bobcats scored 11 of the first 16 in the fourth for a 48-44 lead with 3:48 to play before MCC responded, starting with a 3-pointer from the corner by Kolanowski as part of his seven-point night.

“That was huge,” Edmondson said. “That got us back in the ballgame. That was a big swing there for us.”

Doyle scored on the next trip down the floor for the last of 13 lead changes in the game.

Nathan Papes also came through late for MCC as he scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.

“(Doyle’s) the guy everybody is focusing on and by focusing on Doyle, they let Papes get some opportunities in there,” Edmondson said. “He had a nice game. He was active going to the basket looking for a shot, which is good. That’s what he’s been showing ever since he became a starter, way back in the eighth game.”

With Brethren needing to foul to force MCC to the line late, Richardson was whistled for an intentional after grabbing Kolanowski with 25 seconds left, resulting in a pair of attempts and the ball going back to the Sabers.

“It’s a tough break for the kids in that situation,” Walker said.

That all but sealed the win for the Sabers, who were 7-for-10 from the line in the fourth and scored 13 of the final 15 points to advance to the district championship.

“That was big for us hitting free throws at the end,” Edmondson said. “Going to the line in that last quarter, that’s what cost us the ballgame when we played Brethren the first time.”

The loss marked the end of a solid season for Brethren in Walker’s first as coach.

“Travis Walker has done an awesome job there,” said Edmondson, who coached Walker in high school at Manistee. “I think their kids played hard all year. Brethren should be very thankful they have a guy like Travis Walker as their boys basketball coach.”

Walker is also appreciative of the support his team received all season.

“I’m so proud and thankful for our fans and community,” he said. “They’ve followed us everywhere. They’re not just at the games, they’re behind us 100 percent and they got us going.”

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