Mount Pleasant vs. Bay City Central: 5 Takeaways
Mount Pleasant was able to return home with a victory over Saginaw Valley League foe Bay City Central on Tuesday night. The contest was a rematch of last years district championship game and a matchup that has budded into a…
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Continue ReadingMount Pleasant was able to return home with a victory over Saginaw Valley League foe Bay City Central on Tuesday night. The contest was a rematch of last years district championship game and a matchup that has budded into a rivalry game over the last several years.
Both teams got out to a slow start, but it was Mount Pleasant who began to click just before the end of the half, rattling off nine straight points to head into the break on top, 27-14.
The Oilers fought off the comeback efforts of Central in the third, who began to find a rhythm of its own thanks to a couple of timely buckets from Hayden Jatczak. But the Mount Pleasant’s depth eventually wore the Wolves thin, outscoring them 14-8 in the final frame.
– Thunder and Lightning in Mt. Pleasant –
When clicking, Mount Pleasant has an entertaining, well-rounded team that showcases both strength and speed. Peyton Fountain (2019), Mason Wojtusik (2020) and Jo Ostrowsky (2020) provide the lightning with their quickness and their ability to create in transition for both themselves and their teammates. Bringing the thunder are Tyler Huenenmann (2020) and Jackson Ostrowsky (2019), who provided the muscle on Wednesday night. Their ability to haul in rebounds, embrace contact and keep Bay City Central defenders out of the paint played a big role in the Oilers victory.
The two groups strengths of Mt. Pleasant’s roster nicely balanced each other out as the game went on. Huenemann tallied a game-high 16 points in the win while Wojtusik tallied 13. Jo Ostrowsy had seven points.
Last season, Wojtusik was one of the squads top scorers, averaging 19 points and seven rebounds.
– As Ramirez goes, so do the Wolves…for now –
With 6’8 senior Marcus Marcott out of the lineup on Tuesday night (more on that later), Bay City Central made it clear that their lineup would run through guard Elias Ramirez (2019). In the first half, nearly every possession operated through the Northwood University commit before his teammates settled in during the third quarter and mounted their best comeback effort.
Ramirez did pick up his third foul early into the second quarter, but that only hindered his intensity, not his playing time. It was easy to see why he’s one of the top players to keep an eye on in the Saginaw Valley League. But, once the Wolves can group the
smooth stroke of Hayden Jatczak (2020), the post play of Brian Elder (2019) and Landon Richard’s (2019) ability to get into the paint with the length and all-around skill of Marcott, there will be a lot less weight on Ramirez’ shoulders.
Jatczak led Central with 12 points alongside Richard, who chipped in 10.
– Mount Pleasant a second half team? –
Scoring for both squads was a struggle early on, but a handful of the Mount Pleasant faithful kept telling each other not to worry, the Oilers are a second-half team.
That label brought a smile to the face of Mount Pleasant Head Coach Dan Schell.
“I think people probably say we are a second-half team because we play so many kids,” said Schell. “When you play 10, 11, 12 kids, you look like a second-half team because the other team gets tired and you stay fresh.”
After nearly swapping buckets with Bay City Central in the third quarter, it was Mount Pleasant’s depth that helped put the Wolves away for good. The Oilers received solid minutes off the bench from Josh Schell (2021) and Alec Mills (2020) among others, that helped them outscore the Central 14-8 in the fourth.
“We’ve got a lot of key returning pieces, but we’ve also got some new pieces on this team that we need to catch up to speed. And that’s where all my length is, within those younger kids,” said Schell. “If we can get them to perform and contribute on the inside when we go up against those bigger teams, that will be huge.”
– Growing Pains –
The talent is there for Bay City Central. But after just three games, there’s still quite a bit to be sorted out.
There’s a lot of expectations surrounding the program and first year head coach Jordan Duby. A year ago, the Wolves played their way into the district finals while notching ten wins for the first time since 2004. They also return a lot of experience with seven seniors returning to their roster – One of which is skilled big-man Marcott, who did not dress for Central on Tuesday night.
According to Duby, Marcott will miss the Wolves’ first six games of the season due to a violation of team rules. Marcott’s 8.3 PPG and his 6’8 frame will be a huge addition to Central’s play on both ends of the floor. But in the meantime, Duby’s guys will have to come together and learn how to win in the always-difficult Saginaw Valley League, without him.
“(Marcott) will definitely makes us more consistent and potent on offense. And also as a post defender,” Duby said. “As you saw, we got a little thin there with the foul trouble tonight. But this is a great stretch for us to develop some depth and get some guys going, so when gets back we will can be operating at full strength.”
“We haven’t played our best these first few games, but we are getting better. I keep telling the kids that it’s not about now, we’ve got 20 games to keep getting better,” Schell said. “Bay City Central is a good team and (Marcott) didn’t even play. Down the road, he will definitely make a difference.”
The SVL could arguably be one of the most difficult and talented conferences, top to bottom, in the state of Michigan this year. Central and Mount Pleasant will have to square off with the likes of Sir’Real Smith and Freddie McIntosh of Saginaw High, as well as Reggie Williams and BJ Johnson of Arthur Hill twice this season. While in the South Division, teams such as Flint Beecher, Carman Ainsworth and Grand Blanc feature some of the top players in the state in Ernie Sanders, Jalen Terry, Dustin Fletcher, Michael Fletcher, Ty Rodgers and Kevin-David Rice.
Regardless of who makes it out on top of the SVL’s two divisions, there will be several teams in each who will be battle tested and well-prepared to make a deep run into the postseason.