BATTLE CREEK – Battle Creek city rivalry games are something that are on the schedule nearly every season. But, city hoops fans haven’t seen a matchup like this in almost two decades.
Pennfield vs. St. Philip in boys basketball will happen this Saturday, Feb. 7 as both teams were looking to add a game to their schedule and looked inside their own backyard to find a solution.
“The kids are excited we are playing this game. Not sure the last time this happened. Will have to look it up. But we are excited to add another city game to our schedule,” Pennfield boys basketball coach Robbie Hattan said.
MORE: Pennfield vs. Marshall leads weekend high school basketball schedule
The game was confirmed and announced late Wednesday. The last time St. Philip and Pennfield met in boys basketball was opening night of the 2007-08 season. Current Tiger head coach Mike Kimber played in that game for St. Philip.
“Outside of Calhoun Christian, we don’t get to play the other city schools, outside of a scrimmage here or there,” Kimber said. “To get to play another city school, the boys are fired up.
“When Coach Hattan texted me about the possibility, I was ecstatic. I pretty much said yes before even asking my AD.”
The game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Pennfield High School following a Panther girls varsity game against Charlotte.
The matchup came about after both teams found a hole in their schedule.
“We found out we lost our Centreville game. They couldn’t play us, for whatever reason,” Hattan said. “So we went out looking for a game. We didn’t want to find just any game. We needed a game that boosted our MPR and this game does that. It will actually help both teams that way.”
The Michigan Power Rankings (MPR) help determine seeding in the Michigan High School Athletic Association district tournament. With both Pennfield and St. Philip expected to have double-digit win totals by the time district seedings are decided, this added game is a bonus for both programs.
The level of division for teams isn’t involved in the calculations of the MPR as much as the win totals of teams. So, for Pennfield being a Division 2 school and St. Philip being Division 4 isn’t a concern for either coach when it comes to the MPR.
“Looking for teams that could help our MPR, we were looking at traveling all over the state possibly to find a game. To get one that fits what we need right across town, it helps both teams,” Hattan said. “Plus, our guys know their guys. They play pickup ball all the time. It will be fun.”
Pennfield will go into the weekend at 13-3 on the season, in contention for its second straight league title. St. Philip enters the weekend at 9-4 and won a league title a year ago. Both teams will be going in Saturday’s game after playing crucial conference matchups on Friday night. Pennfield will see second-place Marshall on Friday. St. Philip will see league-leading Mendon on Friday.
“For us, we are playing a bigger school in Pennfield. But, I wanted to play the game regardless. For me, we’ll play any one, any where,” Kimber said. “I don’t see any risk involved. Just high reward, so why would we say no?
“We are using it as a tool to get ramped up for the postseason. We have the talent on our team to make a run in the postseason and playing any quality team before that only helps.”
Wednesday Boys Basketball
St. Philip 69, Climax-Scotts 51
St. Philip improved to 9-4 with win over league-rival Climax-Scotts (3-10). Jackson Dzwik had 30 points for the Tigers with Lincoln Dzwik adding 23 and Carter Dzwik coming up with 16. Maddox Wyman had 16 points for Climax-Scotts with Tye Chambers adding 15.
St. Johns 56, Marshall 38
Marshall dropped to 12-4 with the non-conference loss to St. Johns (12-4). Clark Erwin had 16 points and Lincoln Fuller added 13 to lead Marshall.
Wednesday Girls Basketball
Lakeview 43, Stevensville-Lakeshore 31
In a makeup game, and on the second game of back-to-back nights, Lakeview came away with a win over league-rival Stevensville-Lakeshore. Jaleesa Todd led the Spartans with 16 points with Aaliyah Smith adding 11.
Climax-Scotts 42, St. Philip 29
Climax-Scotts led St. Philip 23-19 at halftime. Addi Dzwik had nine points and eight rebounds for St. Philip, which falls to 8-6. Climax-Scotts improves to 9-5.
Marshall 48, St. Johns 30
Marshall improves to 9-5 with the non-conference win over St. Johns (3-10). Ally Koenig had 23 points for Marshall with Brielle Kelly adding 11.
Homer 51, Leslie 36
Brooklen Minix had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Homer with Alivia Warner adding 15 points and seven rebounds.
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: City squads will play for first time since 2007. Why are they meeting?
Reporting by Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer / Battle Creek Enquirer
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