Bedford’s basketball teams traveled north to Monroe Tuesday and came away with a sweep of St. Mary Catholic Central.
The girls got it started by holding on for a 39-36 victory in the season opener for both teams.
Kenzi Burmeister came up with a steal in the final seconds, then made a free throw to ice the victory.
“I am proud of Kenzi for making a play at the end,” Bedford coach Bill Ryan said.
There were a lot of first-game mistakes, but the Mules were able to hold on after suffering heavy graduation losses from last year’s team that went to the Division 1 state quarterfinals.
“I think we shared the basketball well,” Ryan said. “We had some tired girls out there at the end, but they had the courage to finish the game.
“We’re young. We had a lot of girls out there who had not seen any varsity action before.”
Anna Gray led the Mules with 15 points. Six of those came in the final minutes.
Olivia Beaudrie paced SMCC with 11 points and Adela Illes added 8.
“I liked our comeback and how hard we played, but we definitely have a lot to clean up,” said Brian Boberg, who was making his debut as SMCC’s varsity coach.
Bedford’s boys featured balanced scoring as Hussein Salami scored 11 points and Payton Sheaves and Corbin Miller tossed in 10 each in a 60-43 triumph.
The Mules (1-2) led 35-20 at the half, then pushed the margin to 52-33 after three quarters to secure their first win under new coach Nick Brillhart.
SMCC (1-2) got 14 points apiece from Vince Harris and Ben Martin.
TUESDAY’S GAMES
BOYS
Whiteford 38, Milan 30
MILAN – Whiteford became the last Monroe County Region boys team to make its 2025-26 debut, notching a road victory.
Keegan Thomas scored 9 points to lead the Bobcats in their debut under former Bedford coach Jordan Bollin.
“It was for sure a rock fight but I’m proud of our defensive effort and our ability to keep them off the glass,” Bollin said. “I thought the difference in the game was rebounding.”
Zach Farmer scored 13 for 1-2 Milan to lead all scorers.
Jefferson 59, Erie Mason 48
NEWPORT – Freshman Hunter Barton poured in 22 points as Jefferson moved to 3-0.
“Tough battle tonight against a well-coached Mason team,” Jefferson coach Corey Wiley said. “Hunter Barton had the best game of his young career.”
Trey Oldenburg added 13 points for the Bears.
Mason (0-3) was led by Blake Herrera with 10 points.
“After a rough start we showed some improvement battling with a tough team tonight,” Mason coach Isaac Skaggs said.
New Boston Huron 56, Monroe 52
NEW BOSTON – Zennon Grant scored 10 of his career-high 24 points in the third quarter as New Boston Huron dominated the period 22-8.
Jackson Surma added 12 points for the 1-2 Chiefs.
“We continue to improve and tonight it showed in the win column,” Huron coach Ted Tackett said. “The guys earned it. Zennon Grant played a high-level, efficient game of basketball.”
Landon Johnson (15 points) and Tanner Collett (14) led Monroe.
Hillsdale 45, Ida 41
HILLSDALE – Ida led 21-18 after three periods, but Hillsdale erupted for 27 points in the fourth quarter.
“We never got into a rhythm tonight,” Ida coach Jared Karner said.
Jacob Towne paced the 1-2 Blue Streaks with 11 points.
Blissfield 57, Dundee 50
DUNDEE – Dundee suffered its first loss of the season after winning three games last week.
“Blissfield hurt us with transition 3s in the first half,” Dundee coach Larry Middleton said. “We defended it a little better in the second half. Their quickness hurt us a little bit, too.”
Luke Bishop scored 21 points and Mason Ray 16 for the Vikings.
Summerfield 59, Whitmore Lake 53
PETERSBURG – Summerfield roared back after trailing by 13 with seven minutes left in the game.
“Whitmore Lake is senior led and huge,” Summerfield coach Phil Schiffler said. “I challenged our boys to control glass and we ended up plus 7. What a gritty comeback win for our team.”
Brody St. John racked up 34 points for the 2-1 Bulldogs and Rylee Schiffler added 10.
GIRLS
Dundee 37, Whiteford 29
WHITEFORD – Dundee, which won just six games last year, opened the new season with victories on consecutive nights.
“Great win for the girls,” Dundee coach Jay Briggs said. “We’re managing four injuries, so we knew the back-to-back games would be a challenge, but we gutted out a win.”
Maddie Salenbien led the way with 12 points and Ella Rath tossed in 10.
“Salenbien is a heck of a player,” said Nick Kopp, who was making his debut as Whiteford’s coach.
Avy Wood led Whiteford with 8 points.
Summerfield 60, Manchester 21
MANCHESTER – All 10 players scored as Summerfield cruised in its season opener.
Jaeli’s Jones (12 points) and Bridget Salenbien (11) led the offense. Mayley Mannebach had a strong overall game with 8 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
“I thought all 10 players did a nice job they were aggressive at both ends,” Summerfield coach Mickey Moody said. “We just never took our foot off the pedal tonight.”
Adrian 33, Monroe 30
ADRIAN – Monroe played solid defense, but could not generate enough offense in Kara Wilson’s debut as coach of the Trojans.
“We played super hard on the defensive end,” Wilson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the ladies for being so tough. Have to work on some small things but overall, the future looks bright.”
Josslyn Jones scored 8 points to lead Monroe.
Plymouth 49, Flat Rock 19
PLYMOUTH – Flat Rock trailed just 7-4 after the opening quarter, but Plymouth piled up 27 points in the second period.
“We battled hard tonight, but ran into a team that thrived in transition and applied constant pressure on the ball,” Flat Rock coach Brian Kryk said. “Their speed and aggressiveness forced us out of rhythm.”
Flat Rock got 6 points each from Madleen Hussein and Leah Riddle.
Blissfield 61, Erie Mason 14
ERIE – Erie Mason was outscored 30-0 in the opening period in John Kenger’s coaching debut.
Zoie Stubleski and Paige Konrad led the Eagles with 5 points each.
MONDAY’S GAMES
GIRLS
Dundee 36, Jefferson 29
DUNDEE – Maddie Salenbien scored 11 points, including 7 in the opening quarter, for Dundee.
“Proud of the girls tonight,” Dundee coach Jay Briggs said. “It was a physical win, but we’re happy with the way we started. Maddie Salenbien was all over the glass.”
Ella Rath and McKenzie Heath added 9 points apiece.
Alivia LeBrun and Aubrey Hoffman led Jefferson with 9 point each.
Airport 70, Wyandotte Roosevelt 28
CARLETON – Airport never allowed more than 8 points in a quarter.
“We are really pleased with how we played defensively tonight,” Jets coach Darrell Mossburg said. “Our team defense tonight was one of this group’s better performances in a long time. We played with our feet, hands in passing lanes and I thought our communication was good.”
Olivia Gratz (20 points), Sophia Mator (17) and Peyton Zajac (10) all scored in double figures.
Ida 56, Ann Arbor Central 17
ANN ARBOR – Ida roared out to a 24-2 lead in the opening quarter and coasted in its opener.
Adisyn Swiderski scored all 7 of her points in the first period and Karlee Walentowski netted 6 of her game-high 14. Ali Schrader added 13 points for the Blue Streaks.
“Ida was able to use pressure defense to open a first quarter lead,” Ida coach Tim Leonard said after the first game of his 35th season as coach of the Blue Streaks. “We did a nice job of getting the ball inside against their zone and Karlee Walentowski was able to knock down 12 of her 14 points in the first half.”
Gibraltar Carlson 43, Grosse Ile 38
GIBRALTAR – Freshman Addison Burgei scored 17 points in her varsity debut for Gibraltar Carlson.
“Burgei was not phased by the bright lights,” Carlson coach John Mason said.
She had 7 points in the fourth quarter when the Marauders wiped out a 26-22 deficit by piling up 21 points.
Evelyn McMaster and Addison Wallace added 10 points each for the winners.
Crestwood 52, New Boston Huron 43
DEARBORN HEIGHTS – New Boston Huron exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter, but could not catch Dearborn Heights Crestwood.
Elle Huffman fueled the comeback bid with all 8 of her points in the final period.
“We had some first game jitters for sure,” Huron coach Bradd Bossick. “Came back in the 2nd quarter after settling in. Had trouble scoring in the third but our defense held strong. Starters got into foul trouble in the fourth giving Crestwood the advantage.”
Ava Bossick led the Chiefs with 12 points and Addison Beddow tossed in 10.
Ypsilanti Lincoln 41, Milan 29
WILLIS – Emily Bladen scored 18 points, but it was not enough for Milan in its debut under new coach Phil Freeman.
“We played hard, but really couldn’t make shots,” Freeman said.
The Big Reds were missing one starter and had another in foul trouble.
BOYS
Gibraltar Carlson 49, Flat Rock 38
FLAT ROCK – Trent Ison, who scored a career-high 25 points Friday, once again led the Marauders, this time with 13 and 10 rebounds.
Cole Federoff added 12 points and Kaleb Medalla 9. Luke Sliwinski also snared 10 rebounds for the 1-2 Marauders, who took control by outscoring their hosts 16-7 in the second quarter.
Evan Szalay and Jordan Godfrey each netted 7 points for 0-3 Flat Rock. Godfrey also had 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
“We haven’t pieced one complete game together yet,” Flat Rock coach Rick Smith said. “We didn’t shoot well. We’re growing and seeing some improvements in our inexperienced guys. We’ll keep grinding.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Roundup of Monroe County Region basketball games for Dec. 8-9
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
