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MARCELLUS - Dalton Williams was the first player on the floor in warmups.
He grabbed a basketball, dribbled it hard a couple of times and missed the first two shots he took. But as he adjusted the headphones in his ears about half an hour prior to the regional final matchup with Battle Creek St. Philip, he had a smile from ear to ear.
The Colon senior knew his team would be ready and they were about to tip-off arguably the biggest game any of them had ever played. It was the third time Colon and Battle Creek St. Phillip were meeting on the hardwood this season.
And as fellow senior Colin Trattles hurled the ball into the air following the final seconds coming off the clock, reality had set in for the Magi. They had just won the school's first regional championship in boys hoops, defeating St. Philip for the third time this year, 49-40, on Thursday, March 4.
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SHS GIRLS ARE IN THE DISTRICT FINALS: Defense, resiliency help lead Sturgis girls to district finals
Colon senior Quincy Blair was certainly pleased following the game.
"This is the best feeling, man, I've never been so happy in my life," he said.
Williams was proud of his team's defensive efforts.
"I've been telling this team all year, if we hold an opponent below 50 points, we're going to win the game," Williams said. "First regional title in school history, it's awesome. It's a great feeling, man."
Colon earned its 22nd victory on the season with the win. The Magi now advance to the Division 4 state quarterfinals, where they will take on Concord, which is also 22-4 on the year, Tuesday at Portage Northern High School inside the Igloo.
Magi coach Steve Vinson believed his team was going to win on Thursday.
"I think it's destiny. These guys were destined to win this regional championship in my opinion," he said. "There wasn't anything that was going to stop them tonight."
Battle Creek St. Philip coach Mike Zimber said even in defeat, he was proud of his team's efforts.
"Effort was phenomenal all night long, I really loved the energy we brought tonight," he said. "Extremely proud of the group as a whole."
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The first two meetings between the schools saw Colon win 77-73 and 62-61. Thursday's game was obviously much lower-scoring, which was a bit of a surprise for both coaches.
"A lot lower scoring than I thought, we both came in averaging close to 70 points on the year," Zimber said. "But the way the ball bounced tonight, it's a tough pill to swallow. But we're extremely proud of the group, it was a heck of an effort."
Vinson pointed out that the Magi defense has continued to be a major positive for the team.
"Our defense was pretty good once again. I think they (St. Philip) are used to hitting a few more shots than they were able to tonight." he said. "I'd like to think our defense helped make it harder on them."
In Colon's four playoff wins, the Magi have held their opponents to an average of just under 42 points per game.
Williams said the defense has been the main focus.
"Defense. We have been playing so good on defense this whole playoffs," he said. "We've been trying so hard as a team, doing it for the town of Colon."
The game was tight throughout and St. Philip led the entire first half. Zimber said he felt like the Fighting Tigers played their best first half of the season. Colon didn't lead in the game until the third quarter, where the Magi out-scored St. Philip 18-9. It included a flurry of buckets late in the stanza, where the momentum in the game felt like it switched.
"We came out after halftime, played harder on defense I think and we got better shot opportunities as well," Blair said. "I knew this would be a good game, they're a good team."
Blair, Williams and Brennan Morrell all finished with 15 points for Colon. Jeremiah West scored three and Dylan Smith hit a free throw.
Carter and Lincoln Dzwik both scored 13 points for the Fighting Tigers. Jackson Dzwik put in nine points and Gio Lugo scored five.
St. Philip ends the season at 16-9 overall.
Colon's game on Tuesday will tip off at 7 p.m. inside the Igloo.
"We're gonna have a couple good practices, get a lot of shots up," Blair said. "I think we will be ready to go."
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Colon Magi boys claim school's first regional championship
Continue reading...
He grabbed a basketball, dribbled it hard a couple of times and missed the first two shots he took. But as he adjusted the headphones in his ears about half an hour prior to the regional final matchup with Battle Creek St. Philip, he had a smile from ear to ear.
The Colon senior knew his team would be ready and they were about to tip-off arguably the biggest game any of them had ever played. It was the third time Colon and Battle Creek St. Phillip were meeting on the hardwood this season.
And as fellow senior Colin Trattles hurled the ball into the air following the final seconds coming off the clock, reality had set in for the Magi. They had just won the school's first regional championship in boys hoops, defeating St. Philip for the third time this year, 49-40, on Thursday, March 4.
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VOTE VOTE VOTE: Cast your votes for the Athlete of the Week, presented by Glen Oaks CC
SHS GIRLS ARE IN THE DISTRICT FINALS: Defense, resiliency help lead Sturgis girls to district finals
Colon senior Quincy Blair was certainly pleased following the game.
"This is the best feeling, man, I've never been so happy in my life," he said.
Williams was proud of his team's defensive efforts.
"I've been telling this team all year, if we hold an opponent below 50 points, we're going to win the game," Williams said. "First regional title in school history, it's awesome. It's a great feeling, man."
Colon earned its 22nd victory on the season with the win. The Magi now advance to the Division 4 state quarterfinals, where they will take on Concord, which is also 22-4 on the year, Tuesday at Portage Northern High School inside the Igloo.
Magi coach Steve Vinson believed his team was going to win on Thursday.
"I think it's destiny. These guys were destined to win this regional championship in my opinion," he said. "There wasn't anything that was going to stop them tonight."
Battle Creek St. Philip coach Mike Zimber said even in defeat, he was proud of his team's efforts.
"Effort was phenomenal all night long, I really loved the energy we brought tonight," he said. "Extremely proud of the group as a whole."
You must be registered for see images
SHS SWIMMERS QUALIFY: Sturgis swim duo qualifies for MHSAA state finals
BOWLING STATE FINALS RECAP: Three Rivers bowling's Jayna Larson finishes second at D2 state finals
The first two meetings between the schools saw Colon win 77-73 and 62-61. Thursday's game was obviously much lower-scoring, which was a bit of a surprise for both coaches.
"A lot lower scoring than I thought, we both came in averaging close to 70 points on the year," Zimber said. "But the way the ball bounced tonight, it's a tough pill to swallow. But we're extremely proud of the group, it was a heck of an effort."
Vinson pointed out that the Magi defense has continued to be a major positive for the team.
"Our defense was pretty good once again. I think they (St. Philip) are used to hitting a few more shots than they were able to tonight." he said. "I'd like to think our defense helped make it harder on them."
In Colon's four playoff wins, the Magi have held their opponents to an average of just under 42 points per game.
Williams said the defense has been the main focus.
"Defense. We have been playing so good on defense this whole playoffs," he said. "We've been trying so hard as a team, doing it for the town of Colon."
The game was tight throughout and St. Philip led the entire first half. Zimber said he felt like the Fighting Tigers played their best first half of the season. Colon didn't lead in the game until the third quarter, where the Magi out-scored St. Philip 18-9. It included a flurry of buckets late in the stanza, where the momentum in the game felt like it switched.
You must be registered for see images attach
"We came out after halftime, played harder on defense I think and we got better shot opportunities as well," Blair said. "I knew this would be a good game, they're a good team."
Blair, Williams and Brennan Morrell all finished with 15 points for Colon. Jeremiah West scored three and Dylan Smith hit a free throw.
Carter and Lincoln Dzwik both scored 13 points for the Fighting Tigers. Jackson Dzwik put in nine points and Gio Lugo scored five.
St. Philip ends the season at 16-9 overall.
Colon's game on Tuesday will tip off at 7 p.m. inside the Igloo.
"We're gonna have a couple good practices, get a lot of shots up," Blair said. "I think we will be ready to go."
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Colon Magi boys claim school's first regional championship
Continue reading...
