Jackson-area basketball highlights: Hanover-Horton boys roll in season-opener

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JACKSON – The Hanover-Horton boys basketball team had plenty of reasons to come out flat or have an off-night during Monday’s season-opening road matchup against Adrian.

The Comets hadn’t conducted any contact practices before jumping into live action and were tasked with replacing eight seniors from last year’s team that went 20-1 and was on pace to compete for a state championship before the season was shut down last March.

There was no rust to be found from the visitors from Hanover-Horton, however, as the Comets locked down their opponents and scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to secure a 58-38 win over the Maples and tip off the unique 2021 boys basketball season with an impressive road win.

Junior forward Carson Sanders scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Hanover-Horton (1-0), while senior guard Brogan Brockie added 16 points and 11 rebounds and senior guard Conner Mortimer had five points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

The Comet defense was the key to victory, as the team held Adrian standout Joe Francis to just nine points on 3-of-17 shooting from the field.

“We played tough defense tonight and really did a nice job on (Joe) Francis,” said Hanover-Horton head coach Chad Mortimer. “(Garrett) Gumper and Kyler (Rod) did a really nice job defending him and our rotations on defense as a team were very good for the first game of the season.

“On offense, we were sloppy in the first half with 10 turnovers, but we did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half with only four. It’s a nice win for our guys especially on the road to start the season. We’re excited to start conference play at home against Grass Lake on Wednesday.”

The Comets will take on Cascades Conference rival Grass Lake on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a pivotal league matchup.

Here are some more local scores from Monday’s season openers

BOYS

Leslie 62, Columbia Central 50

The Blackhawks jumped out to a 33-24 halftime lead and held off Columbia Central in the second half for a 62-50 road win Monday in the two team’s season opener of the 2021 season.

Tristan Feighner scored 16 points to lead the Blackhawks, while Ayden Rutan added 12 points and Jarrett Chappell had 10 points.

“I’m so excited for our guys to get a chance to compete,” said Leslie head coach Matt Johns. “It’s always fun to win and hopefully, we can build off of this.”

Ashton Ballach led Columbia Central with 17 points, nine rebounds, three steals and one assist, while Cameron Adams added 11 points and three rebounds, Ethan Stewart added seven points and five assists and Lane Myer added six points.

Columbia Central will return to the court Tuesday night to host Ida at 7 p.m., while Leslie will travel to Pottersville on Thursday at 7 p.m.

East Jackson 66, Manchester 33

The Trojans kicked off the 2021 season by doubling up host Manchester on Monday night thanks to a big night from Austin McKessy.

The junior playmaker scored 27 points and added six rebounds, four steals and two assists to lead East Jackson, while Jake Swiontek added 10 points, five rebounds, seven steals and two assists and Trae Lammon had eight points, seven steals and two assists.

East Jackson (1-0) will travel to Whitmore Lake on Wednesday at 7 p.m., while Manchester will host Michigan Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Chelsea 46, Stockbridge 27

The Bulldogs controlled their non-conference matchup with Stockbridge from start to finish on Monday, pulling away for a 46-27 win to open the 2021 season.

Jordan Fansler led the way for Chelsea with a double-double, while Lucas Hanifan added eight points and Joey Cabana finished with six points.

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GIRLS

Hanover-Horton 44, Concord 43 (OT)

After falling behind by as many as 21 points in the first half, Hanover-Horton rallied in the second half to force overtime.

In the extra session, Hanover-Horton’s Liv Watkins knocked down a 3-pointer with one minute left to play to cut the Concord lead to two points. A few possessions later, Kennedy Wagner stepped in front of an inbounds pass from the Yellowjackets and converted on the other end to tie the game at 41-41 with 12 seconds left.

After a quick score by Concord pushed the Yellowjackets in front 43-41, Hanover-Horton’s Sarah Bowker drilled a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to give the Comets a dramatic 44-43 comeback win in overtime on Monday to start the 2021 season.

Bowker scored 12 points to lead Hanover-Horton, while Wagner added eight points, Natalee Krage and Emily Smith each had seven points and Watkins had five points.

The Comets (1-0) will host Grass Lake on Tuesday at 7 p.m., while Concord will host Jonesville (1-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Jonesville 64, Union City 15

Corryn Berlin scored 11 points to lead the Comets, while Natalie Doyle added nine points and five rebounds, Maya Page had eight points and five rebounds and Ally Lucas recorded seven steals and four rebounds.

“It was great to see the girls take the floor and have some fun tonight,” said Jonesville head coach Tom Dunn. “We have a lot of stuff to work on but the girls played hard tonight and all 13 players scored.”

The Comets return to action Thursday when they travel to Concord (0-1) for a Big Eight Conference matchup at 7 p.m.

Chelsea 60, Stockbridge 45

The Stockbridge girls basketball team jumped out to a 17-11 lead over Chelsea on Monday but couldn’t hold off a second-half rally by the Bulldogs.

Chelsea scored 23 points in the third quarter and held Stockbridge to just five points in the fourth quarter to secure the non-conference win over the Panthers.

Gwen Rogozinski scored 28 points to lead Stockbridge, while Madison Mazuca added 13 points and Grace Hall grabbed six rebounds.

The Panthers will host Pinckney at noon Saturday in another non-conference matchup.

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