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Montrose connected on better than half of its shots from two-point range and connected on a solid 47% of its overall shots from the floor en route to a convincing 50-37 win at Mt. Morris last Tuesday.

Ram coach Rick Ustishen likes what he has seen lately from his team on offense.

"We are attacking the basket when it's there and we are making the extra pass to get the open shot when we need to," said Ustishen. "Tonight was another good team effort and an example of what can happen when everyone works together."

The win over Mt. Morris comes on the heels of a previous win on Friday at LakeVille, in which the Rams shot 55% from the floor. On Tuesday, Montrose won convincingly without the services of senior forward Cory Hargraves, who is out indefinitely with an injury. Hargraves has been a force on the glass all season and he carries a 10.1 scoring average in league play.

"Keith Boswell and Cody Groulx really stepped up for us tonight on the boards," praised Ustishen. "Each of them had 11 rebounds and that was critical in our win."

In addition to his work on the glass, Groulx also scored a game-high 16 points for the Rams. Boswell, just a freshman, had six points and four blocked shots to go with his rebounding contributions.

Junior Preston Taylor turned in a solid all-around game with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals while Adam Campbell contributed eight points and six boards in a performance that his coach called, "aggressive, but smart decision-making". Brandon Rose also enjoyed a good, all-around floor game with five points and a pair of assists.

The Rams jumped out to a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, led 28-16 at intermission, and expanded their cushion to 42-25 heading into the fourth quarter before coasting home with the victory.

Montrose hit 18 of their 35 shots from two-point distance and made 3 of 10 from beyond the arc for a combined 21 of 45 shooting night.

The win moved the Rams into a three-way tie for second place in the GAC-Red. Montrose stands at 7-7 in conference play and at 8-9 overall.

Jastrzembowski hits 1000-point plateau as Tribe trounces Alma

ALMA - Brooke Jastrzembowski scored the 1000th point of her illustrious basketball career to highlight an evening of basketball that was dominated by Chesaning's varsity girls basketball team last Tuesday.

Jastrzembowski scored her 10th and 11th points of the game on a basket midway through the second quarter to become just the second girl in Chesaning history to reach the prestigious plateau. By then, the Indians were well on their way to an easy 64-20 triumph over the host Panthers.

"Melissa Sager holds the school record with 1039 and now Brooke has 1007," said Indian coach Wayne Scanlon after the game. "The scoring mark is quite an accomplishment, but more important than any points scored is the leadership Brooke gives to this team."

Jastrzembowski entered the game at 990 points scored and poured in 17 more points against Alma. She also contributed nine rebounds and five assists to the Tribe cause. Sydney Pacek led all scorers with 18 points, recording two assists and a pair of steals along the way. Katie Vincke was the third Indian to reach double figures, accumulating 16 points to go with three assists and three steals. Whitney Pacek had a solid game with five points, four rebounds and two assists while Brooke Beckman led the war on the boards, grabbing a dozen caroms in addition to scoring a couple of points. Sabrina Aguilar finished with four points, five steals and a pair of assists.

The Indians, who outscored Alma by a 45-11 margin in the middle periods of the contest, finished at 44% from the floor on 24-of-55 shooting. The Tribe buried 7 of 16 three-point attempts.

The win gives the #10 Class B ranked Indians a sparkling 16-2 overall record. Chesaning is 11-2 in the tough TVC-Central.

"I told my players before the game to play like a Top Ten team, and we did," concluded Scanlon.

Indian gals pick up cakewalk win in nonleague romp over Montcalm

CHESANING - It seemed as easy as a walk in the park last Wednesday as Chesaning's varsity girls basketball team strolled to a lopsided 67-19 win over visiting Montcalm Central in a nonleague mismatch.

The Indians led by a 37-10 margin at halftime en route to the convincing triumph.

"We didn't press, just played a good half-court defense," said Chesaning mentor Wayne Scanlon. "I'm stressing defense and it seems to be paying off, because we've held our opponents to 20 points or less in our last three games. We also had some great assists on some fast breaks tonight."

Brooke Jastrzembowski scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Indians. Her scoring output on Wednesday gives her 1027 points for her career and draws her to within 12 points of the school record, held by Melissa Sager at 1039. Jastrzembowski also contributed four steals and three assists against Montcalm.

Sophomore Sabrina Aguilar sparkled with a career-high dozen points, five assists and a whopping nine steals in the contest. Sydney Pacek scored 10 markers while Brooke Beckman added eight points and six rebounds. Whitney Pacek scored six points, Katie Vincke tallied five and Chelsie Harris added four markers for the Indians, who shot 38% from the floor and committed just five turnovers all night long.

With the win, Chesaning bumps its impressive overall record to 17-2.

Bulldogs lose pair of TVC-West tilts

St. Charles' varsity boys basketball team lost a pair of TVC-West contests in similar fashion early last week, falling to host Michigan Lutheran Seminary on Monday, 67-56, before dropping a 64-55 decision at home to Carrollton on Tuesday.

St. Charles faced second-half deficits in both contests.

The Bulldogs fell behind by a 33-22 count at halftime against MLS before playing the Cardinals on even terms in the second half. A 20-point fourth quarter by SC came too late as the 'Dawgs struggled through a 33% shooting night, making just 19 of 57 shots from the floor.

Tyler Nieman was the leading scorer for St. Charles with 16 points. Dugan Roosa tallied 13 points, three assists and four steals while Ryan Humpert contributed 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Matt Schalow and Marshall Davenport scored nine and eight points, respectively.

The following night, Carrollton came to town and jumped out to a formidable 32-18 halftime advantage. But St. Charles closed the game some with a 13-10 edge in the third quarter and put up 24 points in the final stanza to narrow the final deficit. However, Carrollton posted 22 points of its own over the final eight minutes of play to hold off the Bulldog rally.

St. Charles again struggled from the field where it converted just 22 of 69 shots for a chilly 32% median.

Roosa scored a team-high 14 points to go with three steals. Nieman added 11 markers and Humpert chipped in with nine points and four assists. Schalow and Davenport each registered eight points and five boards. Davenport had a whopping seven steals.

St. Charles girls fall twice in hardcourt action

St. Charles' varsity girls basketball team lost a pair of league contests early last week, dropping a close 41-33 decision at Michigan Lutheran Seminary on Monday and succumbing to Carrollton, 58-33 at home on the following day.

Larry Mishler's crew established an 11-5 lead at the end of the first quarter at MLS, but the host Cardinals rallied to take a 17-15 edge into the locker room at intermission. The third quarter proved decisive as MLS outscored the Lady Bulldogs by a 12-4 margin to expand its cushion to 29-19 heading into the final quarter. St. Charles rallied to within four points of the lead on two separate occasions in the fourth, but fell just short down the stretch.

"Down by four with two minutes to go, we were forced to foul. They missed some free throws, but we couldn't get a rebound when we needed it, and they eventually pulled away," explained Mishler after the game. "Nonetheless, I am proud of how we battled and never quit despite having people sick."

The Lady Bulldogs were without the services of Megan McSweyn for most of the night because of illness and other girls played at less than full strength. Still, St. Charles had a shot at victory until the last minute of the game.

Natalie Trier and Kaleigh Bashans each recorded seven points and four rebounds to pace the Lady Bulldogs. Nicole Apsey scored six points while Jade Tribfelner tallied five points and seven boards. Brooke Braley contributed four points and four rebounds.

St. Charles made 12 of 31 shots from the floor for a 38% average and converted 7 of 9 free throws.

The following night, St. Charles sat atop a17-15 lead with under than two minutes remaining in the first half before Carrollton ran off seven unanswered points to take a 22-17 edge into the locker room. Three straight turnovers by the Lady Bulldogs to begin the second half sparked a 19-9 third-quarter advantage for the Cavaliers and the visitors coasted home to victory from there.

Tribfelner was the only SC player to reach double figures in the scoring column, notching 11 markers along with 4 rebounds. Jordan Mishler recorded five points and five rebounds while Lexy Burch and Natalie Trier finished with four points apiece. Trier also grabbed four boards. Bashans finished with three points. The 'Dawgs were again without the services of Megan McSweyn, who is still out due to illness.

St. Charles bowlers clinch boys title, girls roll past Breckenridge

St. Charles' boys bowling team clinced the TVC-West title on February 4 with convincing wins over Hemlock and Ithaca. On the previous Saturday, the girls' team rolled past Breckenridge, 29-1, to improve its record to 8-2 in league play.

The guys won both Baker games against Hemlock with scores of 221 and 172 en route to a 28-2 trouncing of the Huskies. Garrett Alvarez won both of his individual games with scores of 251 and 158 while Dugan Roosa and Andy Cradits also won twice. Roosa posted 203 and 191 scores while Cradits rolled 162 and 195 games. Zach Rich earned a point with his 225 winner. Luke Hart (191) and Joe Anderson (182) also won individual games.

Ithaca provided a slightly larger challenge, but the Bulldogs still won with a title-clinching 20-10 triumph.

St. Charles won one of two Baker games with a 193. Roosa (152 and 234) again won both of his games while single game winners were Anderson (207), Alvarez (244), Hart (184) and Cradit (202).

The girls team defeated Breckenridge by winning both Baker games and all but one of its individual matches. Nicole Apsey (192 and 200), Kara Binder (138 and 137) and Jacki Cooper (134 and 103) were double winners. Kaleigh Bashans (189), Lora Yuchesz (168) and Kristie Showalter (163) each won single matches.