Leelanau Sports Guy’s World at sportspig.com

I was fortunate enough to be at those games in 1982 (as a 10-year old and future basketball star) and it’s hard to believe that Suttons Bay never got that far again before last night’s 80-60 win over Mason County Central in the Class C Regional at Traverse City West.

“I can’t even describe it,” Norsemen senior David Wheelock said of winning the regional. “It’s priceless. At the beginning of the year there were all these expectations. I’m just happy. These are the best group of guys I’ve ever played with. It just so happens we all love basketball. Going to practice every day is like hanging out with friends.”

Dwaun Anderson led the Norse with 27 points, 12 rebounds and two assists. Wheelock had 17 points, Chase Palmer scored 11 to go with nine rebounds and Jared Orban added 10 points.

“As always, Dwaun is our best player, but we’ve had other guys step up all season long,” Hursey said.

You can see some video of the first half from 9&10 Sports.

Suttons Bay now advances to the Quarterfinals against Rudyard at Lake Superior State University on Tuesday.

Read Norsemen win first regional since ‘82 in the Record Eagle

Suttons Bay started fast and never looked back in cruising to a 81-58 Class C regional semifinal win over Boyne City. The Norsemen will now battle Mason County Central on Wednesday for the regional title. Suttons Bay was led by Dwaun Anderson’s 18 points, while Jared Orban and Noah Rehyl each had 10 points for the 22-1 Norsemen.

“I was proud of the way we started,” Suttons Bay coach Todd Hursey said. “Our focus has been strong defense, and we got off on that note tonight. This time of year, it’s all about how you play on defense.”

Read Norsemen put on a show, beat Boyne City in the Record Eagle

Leland, now 16-8, used big games from Sam Scott (22 points); Galen Whittaker with 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks; Calvin Gibson’s 16 points and Nate Sneed’s 11 points to hold off Manistee Catholic Central 69-64 in overtime. They now get a third game against Northwest Conference Rival Buckley for the Class D Regional Title.

Leland won the more exciting game, as Scott’s bucket with 35 seconds left knotted it up and Whittaker’s block with two ticks left sent the game into an extra session.

“I was really proud of our team,” Whittaker said. “We were down and we just didn’t quit. All of us. On that block at the end of regulation, I saw my career flash before my eyes.”

Read Leland, Buckley to collide for title in the Record Eagle

Suttons Bay carries a 19-game winning streak into the Class C Districts next week at Traverse City St. Francis. The Norsemen capped the regular season with senior David Wheelock hitting nine 3-pointers as Suttons Bay topped Buckley 87-65.

“To play like that in your last home game, that’s pretty special,” Norse coach Todd Hursey said.

Wheelock was 9-of-13 behind the arc. Ben Walters had the previous record with eight 3-pointers.

Dwaun Anderson added 18 points, Stephen Wheelock and Chase Palmer 10 and Marcus Russell nine points and nine rebounds for Suttons Bay (19-1, 14-0), which finished the regular season with 19 consecutive wins.

Suttons Bay drew a bye in the first round of districts and awaits the winner of Forest Area and Elk Rapids on Wednesday night. Glen Lake (who finished the season 16-4) awaits the winner of host Traverse City St. Francis and Kalkaska. District Final is set for Friday at 7:00pm.

Read Basketball Roundup: School record set in win in the Record Eagle

Tom Izzo was the latest coach to visit Suttons Bay basketball star Dwaun Anderson this fall. Anderson, just a junior, is receiving plenty of attention after his breakout sophomore season.

“It went pretty good,” Anderson said. “He told me he was impressed and that he would like to see me work out some more.”

Anderson has scholarship offers from Central Michigan and Utah on the table. Several other schools are showing interest. A University of Dayton coach watched Anderson during an open gym on Sunday.

“September is the month when (college) coaching staffs are on the road trying to see guys play,” Hursey said. “My phone’s been ringing off the hook. Coaches are trying to find time to come up and watch him play — Michigan, Michigan State, Dayton, Oakland, Detroit. Eastern Michigan just called (Monday). Butler called today.”

I’m already planning some games to go watch this year. Some words I’ve heard describe him are: talented, unselfish, explosive, quick, and strong. Can’t wait!

Read Izzo keeps eye on Suttons Bay’s Anderson in the Record Eagle

Updated! – Another article and a video of Anderson dunking at Gang Green Blog.

Wow! That was a word I was using alot in the 4th quarter of the Class D Quarterfinal game between Ellsworth and defending state champion Muskegon West Michigan Christian at Traverse City Central on Tuesday night. Overcoming a 24 point third quarter deficit with a never quit attitude and some clutch shots, the Ellsworth Lancers cut the lead to 3 with 1:17 to go. I don’t believe I have ever seen a team play harder then the Lancers did and I give them tons of credit for that. Muskegon WMC also impressed me very much, especially their clutch free throw shooting and big-time 3-point shots in the first half.

When the score was 49-33 at the half in favor of WMC, the only thought on my mind was if the Warriors would make it to 100 points. Needless to say with Ellsworth’s half court trap and some scrappy rebounding they made it a game and had the entire gym on it’s feet.

Ellsworth was led by Jarod Steenwyk’s five early three-pointers (he finished with 22 points) and Jared Danbert with a game-high of 24 points. All-Stater Tyler Ingalls finished with 18 points, all in the 2nd half. Muskegon WMC was led by Evan Bruinsma’s 23 points (including a couple of big 3-pointers) and London Burris’ 20.

Congrats to both on a great game, I’m glad I got to see it.

Read Ellsworth’s late rally falls short in the Record Eagle

The Northwest Conference and Lake Michigan Conference have completed a 2-year contract to square off in next year’s Lake Michigan Conference/Northwest Conference Challenge. Both Boys and Girls teams will be matched up according to how they finished in the conference the previous season, so we will see some very exciting matchups, and some we don’t see very often. The Girls games are scheduled for December 6th and the Boys games for December 13th. The games will tip-off the 2008-09 seasons.

Here’s the Boys Matchups…

Charlevoix, which won the Lake Michigan boys championship and advanced to the Class C regional, will take on Northwest co-champion Benzie Central. The Frankfort Panthers, who also earned a share of the crown, will draw St. Francis, the runner-up in the Lake Michigan. Other match-ups include: Leland vs. East Jordan, Kingsley vs. Boyne City, Suttons Bay vs. Grayling, Glen Lake vs. Elk Rapids, Mesick vs. Kalkaska and Buckley vs. Harbor Springs. The boys games will be hosted by the Lake Michigan Conference schools.

And the Girls…

Since Charlevoix and Kingsley won the Lake Michigan and Northwest girls titles, respectively, they’ll meet in the marquee game. Frankfort, which tied Benzie Central for second in the Northwest, will face East Jordan, which was second in the Lake Michigan. Benzie will take on Boyne City, the third-place finisher in the Lake Michigan.

Other match-ups include: Glen Lake vs. Kalkaska, Suttons Bay vs. Harbor Springs, Buckley vs. Elk Rapids, Leland vs. St. Francis and Mesick vs. Grayling. The girls games will be hosted by the Northwest Conference schools.

Sounds like a whole lot of fun!

Read Basketball challenge set to tip off in the Record Eagle

Muskegon West Michigan Christian was bigger, faster and stronger as they cruised to a 72-45 win over Leland in the Class D Quarterfinals at Traverse City West. After Leland started the game on a 9-0 run, it was all WMC after that as they advance to take on Cedarville in the Class D Semifinals at the Breslin Center. Marcus Whittaker led the way for the Comets with 22 points as they finished 21-5.

Read WMC swarms Leland in the Record Eagle
Read Warriors roll on to Breslin at MLive.com

Photo: Leland’s Eric Larsen (10) hits the game winning shot over Bellaire’s Riku Lempio with seconds left. Photo by Jan-Michael Stump of the Record-Eagle

Leland used two clutch plays from junior Eric Larsen to capture the Class D Regional title at Traverse City Central with a 48-46 win over Bellaire. The Eagles had knocked the Comets out of the tournament in the regionals last year and had won 4 of the last 5 regionals. Larsen intercepted a Bellaire pass with under a minute to give the Comets a 1-point lead and then later hit the game-winner with seconds left.

“This feels great,” Larsen said. “Bellaire beat us in the first round (of the regionals) last year so it feels nice to come back and beat them. Bellaire played a great game. I tip my hat to them.”

Leland (21-4) now advances to Tuesday night’s Quarterfinal at Traverse City West to face Muskegon West Michigan Christian.

Read Larsen lifts Leland to regional title at the Record Eagle

The Freep’s Son of Swami loves this time of year and he has his annual semifinals predictions all set! He likes the Bellaire Eagles to advance to the Class D finals with a victory over Cedarville. The Eagles will have their hands full, but if they play like they did in the Quarterfinal the other night, they will be tough to stop.

I had never been to a game at Traverse City West with a better (or bigger) crowd. The atmosphere was electric and both teams played well. Bellaire’s Cody Bock was the difference as he drained 6 3-pointers from all over the floor and single-handedly kept the Eagles in the game.

Should be a fun time for the Eagles, my prediction is Bellaire 54, Cedarville 49.

The other northern Michigan team still alive, Charlevoix, takes on a tough Saginaw Nouvel team. SOS doesn’t like their chances, but don’t count them out!

Read SOS can’t get enough of E. Lansing in the Freep
Read It’s back to the Breslin for Bellaire in the Record Eagle

You can follow all the action at MHSAA.com and listen to webcasts of the semis and finals!

Dennis Chase of the Record Eagle takes a quick look at the final week of the boys basketball regular season. Only one team really stand out in the county and that’s Leland. The Comets clinched the Cherryland Conference title on Friday. Suttons Bay, with a little help, could still clinch a share of the Northwest title with a win over Frankfort and a Kingsley loss at Glen Lake.

Read Parity in preps makes for wild league races in the Record Eagle

Nick Edson of the Leelanau Enterprise is asking for your votes and opinions on the top 10 boys and girls basketball players in the history of Leelanau County. You can also vote for the Top 5 county coaches of All-Time as well.

The ballot is available in the January 25th edition of the Leelanau Enterprise or you can send Nick an email with your choices. Please include the players/coaches names and schools. Ballots are due by Friday, February 9th.

Now I have to start compiling my list, but here’s my #1 for each team…

Boys Basketball All-Time Top 10
1. Sander Scott – Northport

Girls Basketball All-Time Top 10
1. Julie Polakowski – Leland

Coach All-Time Top 5
1. Larry Glass – Leland

Let the debating begin…

Mitchell becomes 8th Wildcat to reach milestone
Senior Drew Mitchell scored 31 points to pass the 1,000 career point mark in a 66-53 win over Boyne Falls. Mitchell also pulled down 13 rebounds, grabbed 4 steals, and made 2 blocks. He now has 1,002 career points. Cody Brown added 17 points and Nathan Scherrer 10 as Northport evened it’s record at 5-5. Congrats Drew!

Photo by Anne Marie Mitchell

In other games…

Leland improves to 9-3
Marcus Whittaker led Leland with 21 points to help lift the Comets to a 72-57 win over Manistee Catholic in a non-conference matchup. Matt Lichty scored 16 and Jordan Gibson added 10.

Lakers fall to Elks
Glen Lake fell below .500 with a 46-39 loss to Elk Rapids. Ryan Dyksterhouse led the Lakers with 14 points as Glen Lake’s record falls to 5-6.

Read Prep Roundup in the Record Eagle

Don Miller was selected to be inducted into the MHSAA Hall of Fame this September. Miller led the Glen Lake Boy’s Basketball program for 31 years and to over 500 wins.

Read Miller selected to Hall of Fame in the Record Eagle

Here’s a list of all of the Leelanau County state championships won by our county schools. The head coach is listed after the sport.

Originally printed in the Leelanau Enterprise.

1942 – Leland boys’ basketball – Carl Furney

1944 – Leelanau School boys’ track – John Evans

1959 – Glen Lake boys’ basketball – Harold O’Brien

1977 – Glen Lake boys’ basketball – Don Miller

1978 – Glen Lake girls’ basketball – Ted Swierad
- Leland volleyball – Mike Kenney

1980 – Leland girls’ basketball – Larry Glass
- Leland volleyball – Mike Kenney

1981 – Leland girls’ basketball – Larry Glass

1982 – Leland girls’ basketball – Larry Glass

1985 – Suttons Bay girls’ X-country – Terry Ebright

1986 – Northport soccer – Don Hungerford

1987 – Suttons Bay girls’ X-country – Tim Bedford

1988 – Northport boys’ basketball – Gordie Wick

1991 – Glen Lake girls’ track – Bill Brendel

1992 – Glen Lake girls’ track – Bill Brendel

1994 – Glen Lake girls’ track – Doug Greer

1994 – Glen Lake football – Bill Hollenbeck

1995 – Glen Lake girls’ track – Doug Greer

1998 – Glen Lake/Leland girls’ skiing – Mark Fisher

1999 – Glen Lake/Leland girls’ skiing – Mark Fisher

2000 – Glen Lake boys’ track – Pete Edwards
- Suttons Bay boys’ golf – Todd Hursey
- Glen Lake girls’ cross country – Bryan Burns

2001 – Suttons Bay boys’ golf – Todd Hursey

2002 – Leland girls’ volleyball – Laurie Glass

2004 – Glen Lake/Suttons Bay boys’ skiing – Mark Fisher

2006 – Leland girls’ volleyball – Laurie Glass

Totals by School
Glen Lake – 13
Leland – 10
Suttons Bay – 5
Northport – 2
Leelanau School – 1

Northport fell to Bay City All Saints 85-55 in a Class D Regional Semifinal at Traverse City West. Northport kept it close for a half, but it was All Saints 55-point second half that was the difference. Drew Mitchell led the Wildcats, who finished 14-9, scoring 28 points, grabbing 12 boards and blocking 7 shots. Cody Brown added 13.

Read Wildcats knocked off by All Saints in the Record Eagle