BATTLE CREEK — Pennfield and St. Philip did something that hadn’t been done in almost 20 years — play a boys basketball game against each other.
Despite sharing the same city borders, Pennfield hadn’t met St. Philip in an official game since 2007. On Saturday, the two teams were reacquainted as Pennfield defeated St. Philip 62-40 in a non-conference matchup at Pennfield High School.
“Great to play them, lot of these kids played against each other growing up. Fun to play them,” Pennfield coach Robbie Hattan said.
MORE: St. Philip’s Jackson Dzwik breaks school career scoring record
The matchup came about after both teams found a hole in their schedule. And, with both teams with a winning record, it would help each when it comes to the Michigan Power Rankings, which determines seeding in the MHSAA district tournament.
St. Philip, which plays in Division 4, rarely plays a school the size of Pennfield, but the Tigers were up for the challenge in this showcase type game.
“I think we took everything out of it that we could’ve possibly got out of it,” St. Philip coach Mike Kimber said. “We wanted to do this game to make the rest of the season a little bit easier by playing a bigger school and I think we got that done.”
As for the play on the court, Pennfield took control early, leading 17-11 after the first quarter. The Panthers started to put the game away at 35-20 after five straight points by Peyton Merlington, on a fast break layup and a 3-pointer with :50 remaining the first half.
Pennfield’s Calvin Paesens gave the home team a 20-point lead on a putback to make it 46-26 with 2:30 left in the third.
The Panthers were in position to play a lot of players after playing a triple-overtime game against Marshall on Friday.
“After such an emotional game on Friday, we were a little tired. We were subbing in a lot of guys,” Hattan said. “In the second half, we played better defense.”
Paesens and Merlington led Pennfield with 17 points each. Johnny Lake added eight points and 11 rebounds and Merlington grabbed nine rebounds. Brady Conley had nine assists. The second half saw the Panthers’ leading scorer Johnny Lake leave the game after suffering a blow to his nose where they had to stop the game to get the blood stopped. Soon after that, Paesens was ejected from the game with a flagerant foul after he collided with a St. Philip player near the sidelines. Pending a planned appeal by Pennfield, that would keep Paesens out of a key Interstate 8 Conference game against Coldwater on Tuesday.
“St. Philip plays a very physical brand of basketball. Had us rattled a bit, got us frustrated,” Hattan said. “We obviously have to have our emotions in check. But, we got the win, that’s all that matters.”
Carter Dzwik had 16 points to lead St. Philip, which falls to 9-6. Jackson Dzwik added 12 points for the Tigers with Lincoln Dzwik getting 10. With his final basket, Jackson Dzwik broke the St. Philip school record for career scoring of 1,397 points, held by 2020 graduate Conor Gausselin.
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Pennfield, St. Philip boys meet for first time since 2007. Who won?
Reporting by Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer / Battle Creek Enquirer
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