MARCELLUS ― St. Philip’s senior triplets were waiting their entire career to win a district title. Now that they have done that, they are only days away from something even bigger.
The Dzwik triplets led St. Philip to a 56-45 win over Lawrence in a MHSAA Division 4 boys basketball regional semifinal at Marcellus High School on Tuesday, March 3. St. Philip (16-8) will now play for a regional championship against league-rival Colon at 7 p.m. Thursday.
MORE: St. Philip’s Jackson Dzwik breaks school career scoring record
“This means a lot,” St. Philip’s Jackson Dzwik said. “Getting this far is something me and my brothers have been waiting for since 8th grade, and we are not done. We want to do even more, and now we get to play for another title next.”
The Dzwik brothers have been a key part of the St. Philip basketball program since they put on the Tiger uniform, but they hadn’t won a district title until last week. The district championship was a first for St. Philip since 2014.
“This means a ton. I just told them, we get to play for another trophy on Thursday night. Our goals are still in front of us. We won the district and now we want to bring home a regional trophy as well,” St. Philip coach Michael Kimber said.
St. Philip jumped on Lawrence early as a 3-pointer by Jackson Dzwik with just seconds left in the first quarter gave the Tigers a 19-10 lead. St. Philip held that advantage throughout the first half, leading 30-19 at intermission.
Lawrence climbed to as close as six points in the fourth quarter, but never was in position to take the lead. Holding a 51-44 lead with 2:19 remaining, St. Philip made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch, including a 2-for-2 showing by little used junior Michael Miller.
“We showed a lot of toughness tonight, a lot of grit,” Kimber said. “The boys played motivated basketball all night long. We jumped out to that early lead and were able to maintain from there.”
Jackson Dzwik led St. Philip with 20 points with Carter Dzwik getting 19 and Lincoln Dzwik adding 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Colon 50, New Buffalo 43
In the other side of the Division 4 regional bracket at Marcellus, Colon trailed 24-21 at halftime, but rallied in the second half to earn a spot in the regional final. Dalton Williams led Colon with 17 points with Quincy Blair getting 13 and Brennan Morrell adding 12.
Colon, which improves to 21-4, gets St. Philip in the regional final. Colon beat St. Philip twice in the regular season, but both games were close. The Magi defeated St. Philip 77-73 in December. Colon beat the Tigers 62-61 in mid-February.
Division 2 regional
Marshall (19-5) saw its season come to an end with a 54-40 loss to Chelsea in a Division 2 regional semifinal at Fowlerville. Clark Erwin led Marshall with 13 points and six rebounds with Lincoln Fuller and Matthew Waito each scoring 10 points.
“I felt like we played well in the first half on both ends of the floor. Unfortunately, in the second half we didn’t clean up the defensive boards, and we had too many defensive lapses,” Marshall coach Anthony Miller said. “I am proud of the fight all the way to the final horn. These guys gave us something to be proud of night in and night out. I know this coach is proud of our improvement throughout the season.”
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: St. Philip advances to regional final in boys hoop; Marshall falls
Reporting by Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer / Battle Creek Enquirer
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