Onekama High School Boys' Basketball 2011-2012

MCC beats Onekama

Dylan Savela, Manistee News Advocate
February 28, 2012

ONEKAMA — In the modern world, information travels fast.

So, before the buzzer even sounded in Onekama Tuesday to make Manistee Catholic Central’s 78-63 win official, there were already murmurs of a Bear Lake loss to Baldwin buzzing from fan to fan in the Sabers’ section.

Though 60 miles apart, the two games had an important correlation. With MCC and Bear Lake tied atop the West Michigan D League standings heading into their season finales, the title was going to be either shared or awarded outright by the end of the night. With the Lakers’ loss, the Sabers (17-3, 15-1 WMD) took sole possession of the crown with their victory over the Portagers; not that they concerned themselves with the other contest in the first place.

“We’ve talked about it the last several weeks: If we take care of ourselves, then we don’t have to worry about anyone else,” MCC coach Dale Edmondson Jr. said after learning of the outright D League crown. “I’m pretty proud of the way we ended the year.”

The Sabers’ last loss was a 68-53 defeat to Bear Lake at home on Jan. 5. Since, they’ve have rallied off 13 straight wins. Tuesday’s was sparked by hot shooting from the start.

“I thought on the offensive end we really moved the ball well, and got good looks all around,” said Edmondson, whose team was led by Zack Bialik’s 34 points, including six 3-pointers. “Zack shot really well tonight. He was 11-for-16 and hit six 3s, so that’s pretty darn good shooting.”

MCC’s Alex Hogan added 10 points with nine assists and five rebounds while Andrew Perry scored nine with five boards.

Onekama (4-14, 3-12 WMD) had a pair of hot shooters, too, as Derek Hobart led the way with 22 points and point guard Quinn Matthews added 15.

Despite giving up 27 points in the first quarter, the Portagers played right with the eventual league champs for the final three frames.

“Really, when you break the game down, it was 27-16 at the end of the first and we lose by 15,” Onekama coach Jim Hunter explained. “That’s a close ballgame the rest of the way. But we spotted them that. In the second half, we got back within 10 a couple times — kind of shook the hornet’s nest late — but (MCC) inched away at the end.”

The Sabers led 43-29 at the break and took a 64-50 advantage into the fourth. The Portagers, however, started the final eight minutes with a 6-2 run that brought them within single digits for the first time since the opening quarter.

“For us, that’s a step up,” Hunter said of his team’s resiliency. “When you’re down huge early it takes a good effort to bring it back. And even though they inched away at the end, I never felt like we were out of it. That’s a testament to our kids.”

With five minutes remaining, the margin was still at 10 points as Onekama trailed 58-68. MCC, however, went on a 10-0 run to secure both the victory and its outright league title.

“It’s the first conference title for Manistee Catholic Central, certainly since being the West Michigan D League and since I’ve been coaching,” Edmondson said. “This is what we talked about at the beginning of the season: We want to be much better by the end. So far it’s turning out that way.”

After a celebratory team picture, however, the Sabers were quick to shift focus.

“It’s pretty awesome (to win the league),” Hogan said. “But honestly, it’s over now. All we’re going to think about it districts.”

Edmondson agreed.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet, because our ultimate goal is to win districts. I’m really proud of the kids to be able to accomplish this, and I’m not belittling it by any means, but I would rather relish this when it’s all said and done. To me, it’s about districts now.”