PETOSKEY — You won’t often hear Rider Bartel on the basketball court.
The Petoskey senior plays with a fiery, quiet confidence, that, if you do hear him, it’s likely too late. He’s already celebrating that and-1 chance or 3-pointer.
But, Bartel hasn’t played the whole season with that confidence. He’ll admit, he wasn’t himself early in the 2025-26 season, as he built himself back up to basketball form, learned a new system and coaches and gelled with new teammates after moving over from Harbor Springs.
“The first few weeks, it took me a minute to get in my groove and just feel natural on the court,” Bartel said. “But, I’m definitely in that spot now where I’m feeling at home.”
That’s been clear as day for Bartel and opponents are finding that out too.
An all-state guard that’s eclipsed well over 1,000 points for his career on the court, Bartel’s scoring ability has always been there.
With Petoskey this season, he’s showing another side, one where he get’s to display his tenacity on the defensive side and ability to cause havoc with active hands and his knowledge on the court.
“You’ve got to be able to play defense,” Bartel said. “That’s something that’s really important. If you can’t play defense, you’re not going to be playing much on our team. So it just starts there.”
He showed the other little parts of his game in a dominant 73-44 win over Cheboygan Monday, Feb. 9, a game where he also saw the starting lineup for the first time in a while.
Bartel had previously provided a boost as first off the bench, though Petoskey head coach Matt Tamm wanted to get more offense going early in games and Bartel’s been providing that lately, too. He saw the starting lineup Monday again.
“I think he’s gotten a lot more comfortable,” Tamm said. “He was coming off the bench, giving us a spark there and then his defense is getting better and we just thought, let’s come out of the gates where we’re a little stronger on the offensive end.”
Bartel’s nine points in the first half helped Petoskey build a 37-18 lead against Cheboygan, then he finished the early night with 14 points, nailing three 3-pointers and converting an and-1.
A lot of his points came out of transition opportunities, whether created by himself or his teammates.
“I’ve had more success starting on defense, then building my momentum and flow into the game for offense,” Bartel said on using that defense first. “Whether that’s taking a charge or getting a good steal, that translates to offense for me and the team.”
That changed mindset and Bartel coming on of late has helped Petoskey win seven straight down the stretch and improve to 13-5 overall on the season.
It’s a big change from a 2-4 stretch at the midseason point, though things are just flowing well at the moment, with balanced scoring and defense.
“We definitely have a good stride going right now,” Bartel added. “We had a little midseason slump where we had to figure some things out, but we’re on a pretty good win streak and seems like we’re all on the same sheet of music right now.”
Bartel’s 14 points came with six rebonds and two steals before exiting in the third, while Braeden Flynn scored 14 and had four assists, Parker Ward had 12 points, Jace Shaw scored 10 and Tate Russell had seven.
While the win streak is fun for now, it’s about to get more challenging over the next two for Petoskey, as Traverse City West visits on Friday, Feb. 13, then a trip to Traverse City Central follows. Both came as losses previously.
Tamm likes where his team is currently, though knows the final three games of the regular season will give a clearer picture.
“I think we’re playing pretty loose,” he said. “We’ve got two big ones coming up, two teams that beat us the first time and I think these will be games that’ll really tell us where we’re at going into districts.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey’s Rider Bartel feeling back to himself, fueling win streak
Reporting by Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
