BATTLE CREEK – Pennfield was able to celebrate a league championship last Friday. Now, the Panthers have opened the door to possibly allow a league rival to do the same this Friday.
With a chance to clinch an outright Interstate 8 Conference championship, the Panthers fell short of that goal as Pennfield lost to Jackson Northwest 68-59 in boys basketball action at Pennfield High School on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
With the loss, Pennfield slips to 10-2 in the league. Marshall, with its win over Hastings on Tuesday, is 9-2 in the league. If Marshall beats Harper Creek on Friday, the Redhawks would share the Interstate 8 Conference crown with Pennfield. Pennfield, which clinched its share of the league title with a win over Hastings last week, does not have a league game left and will play non-conference-foe Berrien Springs on Friday.
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“We still have a share of it no matter what. Marshall still has to play some games, playing their rival on Friday. We don’t know the outcome yet, we’ll see,” Pennfield coach Robbie Hattan said.
Pennfield and Marshall shared the league title last year, along with Harper Creek.
Pennfield trailed at halftime, 32-27. Jackson Northwest never gave up the lead as the Mounties found the range from the outside and led 53-44 after the third quarter.
“They shot the crap out of it today,” Hattan said. “Their coach even said, they hadn’t shot the ball that well all season. They were just falling for them tonight.
“I thought we battled tonight… but we can’t turn the ball over that much … and we missed some free throws, have to get better there.”
Calvin Paesens led Pennfield with 25 points as the Panthers improve to 16-5 overall. Johnny Lake added 16 points for Pennfield with Peyton Merlington chipping in 15.
Roe DeDeaux led Jackson Northwest with 23 as the Mounties go to 12-8 overall and sit at 7-4 in the league for third place. Markese Williams and Dennis Graham each had 13 for Jackson Northwest.
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More Tuesday’s Boys Basketball
Marshall 69, Hastings 42
Marshall gave itself a chance to play for a share of the league title on Friday with the win over Hastings on Tuesday in I-8 action. Marshall is tied in the loss column with first-place Pennfield at 9-2 in the conference and improves to 16-4 overall. Lincoln Fuller led Marshall with 21 points with Lee Hall getting 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Parma Western 69, Harper Creek 64
Harper Creek (8-13) fell short in overtime to league-rival Parma Western (4-17). Maddox McCarty had 21 points to lead the Beavers with Keeson Trevino getting 13 as Dylan Eversole added 11 and Logan Converse chipped in with 10.
Coldwater 66, Lakeview 49
Coldwater (11-10) had 15 points and seven rebounds from Gavin Taylor in the non-conference win over Lakeview (5-16). Dayton Ennis added 11 for the Cardinals and Julian Thompson had 10.
Colon 80, Homer 73
Brock Butler had 33 points for Homer (7-14) in a loss to Colon (17-4) with Wyatt Winchell and Alex Benoodt each adding 11. Dalton Williams had 40 points for Colon.
Galesburg-Augusta 67, Constantine 59
Galesburg-Augusta jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter and held on to get the win. Gio Evans had 23 points to lead G-A.
Bellevue 51, Calhoun Christian 48
Kyle DeVisser had 21 points and Seth Allabaugh added 18 for Calhoun Christian (8-9). Bellevue wins its third game in a row to improve to 3-16.
Tuesday’s Girls Basketball
Lakeview 80, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 20
Lakeview (10-8) led 44-16 at halftime. Aaliyah Smith had 18 points to lead Lakeview with Abbi Kline adding 15.
Marshall 60, Hastings 49
Grace Shubert had a career-high 35 points to lead Marshall (12-6) past Hastings. Jordyn St. John had a season-high 15 points for the Redhawks.
Jackson Northwest 55, Pennfield 32
Pennfield falls to 4-12 on the season with the league loss. Peyton Rhoades had 17 points and five rebounds to lead Pennfield.
St. Philip 62, St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lakes 30
Addi Dzwik had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists for St. Philip (11-8) with Adrianna Olsen adding 11 points and eight rebounds and Quinn Dzwik chipping in with 10.
Gull Lake 51, Plainwell 27
Gull Lake outscored Plainwell 20-2 in the third quarter to pull away for the non-conference win. Ali Woodrow had 11 points to lead Gull Lake
Homer 67, Jonesville 61
Brooklen Minix and Ellerie Kissinger each had 17 points for Homer in the win as the Trojans improve to 10-9.
Olivet 35, Quincy 27
After trailing by one at halftime, Olivet outscored Quincy 16-6 in the third quarter to pull away and improve to 13-7. Ava Myers had 11 points for Olivet.
Monday’s Boys Basketball
Colon 62, St. Philip 61
Colon edged St. Philip to sweep the season series over the Tigers. Jackson Dzwik had 28 points to lead St. Philip with Lincoln Dzwik getting 15 points and Carter Dzwik adding 14. Brennan Morrell had 21 points for Colon with Dalton Williams adding 16.
Bellevue 58, Litchfield 49
Carson Dahlem had 30 points to lead Bellevue as the Broncos have now won two straight to improve to 2-16.
Coldwater 51, Sturgis 34
Coldwater climbed to 10-10 on the season with a non-conference win over Sturgis. Owen Tappenden had 14 points and four rebounds for Coldwater with Gavin Taylor adding 13 points and five assists.
Hopkins 57, Climax-Scotts 27
Hopkins led 28-12 at halftime. Tye Chambers led Climax-Scotts with nine points and three rebounds.
Monday’s Girls Basketball
Lansing Eastern 39, Pennfield 36
Trailing 35-22 heading into the fourth quarter, Pennfield rallied in the final period to outscore Eastern 14-4. However, the Panthers fell short to fall to 4-12 overall. Haydyn TenBrink led Pennfield with 15 points, five steals and three assists.
Union City 37, White Pigeon 34
Union City improved to 14-5 overall. Calli Wilkinson led the Chargers with 17 points, three steals and four rebounds.
Olivet 40, Hastings 33
Olivet goes to 12-7 with the win over 1-15 Hastings. Magan Priesman and Aly Priesman each had 10 points for Olivet.
Colon 66, Factoryville 33
Colon led 40-15 at halftime as the Magi improved to 7-11. Raegan Thaxton led Colon with 17 points and five steals with Lily Preston adding 14 points and six assists.
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Pennfield boys falter; Marshall can grab share of league title on Friday
Reporting by Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer / Battle Creek Enquirer
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