BRIMLEY — An unstoppable green force met and immovable blue object Friday night as the Brimley Bays and the Cedarville Trojans battled for the District 123 Championship, but after four periods of relentless competition, the Bays fought off the Trojans to seal the win.
The game opened with both teams displaying a great deal of energy, trading baskets back and forth and keeping the score within one or two points while fans for both teams reacted jubilantly at each score. Brimley eked out a single-point lead towards the end of the quarter, and Jake Parish landed a 3-point shot to put the Bays up 17-14.
Cody Robbins came out strong in the opening period, shooting eight of the 14 points, while Derek Beseau hit a long-bomb in addition to Parish's shot and Travis Lynn added a bucket. Cedarville's Jeff Slater and Ross Hansen divided up the quarter with six and five points respectively, and Jason Sweeney hit for two.
The second quarter was just as close as the first, as Brimley managed to pull out a 6-point lead twice in the period, but Cedarville was able to catch up, and a 3-pointer by Hansen tied the game up at 35-35. The Bays were able to recapture the lead and hold off Cedarville, but Brimley ended the half 39-36 — scoring one less point than the Trojans in the quarter.
Cedarville best quarter was the third, as they came out of the locker room with new purpose. They quickly advanced to a 43-39 lead, successfully stealing the ball from Brimley several times. Robbins closed the game up again with a 3-pointer that brought Brimley to 43-42, and a shot by Kellen Perron put the Bays back on top at 44-43.
Brimley's 48-46 lead after the third vanished when the Trojans tied the game up, but two points from Albert Bertram and three from Beseau, followed by two more from Lynn, brought the Bays up by seven. Lynn stretched the lead to nine on a steal, and Cedarville never recovered.
Brimley let the clock wind down in the last minute, and as the time rolled under 30 seconds, Brimley fans began celebrating, knowing that it would take a small miracle for Cedarville to catch up. Robbins was fouled shortly before the buzzer, and he sank a free throw shot to give the Bays the 66-58 win.
“We were ready,” said Beseau after the game. “We had to give it our all, and we pushed through to the final three minutes.”
Bays Coach Reg Robbins spoke highly of his seniors for their performance.
“Derek [Beseau] stepped up tonight, and Albert [Bertram] came back,” Coach Robbins said. Beseau shot for 18 points with six baskets, a long-shot and three free-throws.
Cody Robbins ran away with the game, leading game scoring with 23 points in nine baskets, a 3-point shot and two free throws. His play caught the eye of Cedarville coach Dave Duncan, saying that he was impressed with the way Robbins played.
About the game, Duncan was somewhat more critical.
“I'm happy with our effort,” Coach Duncan said, “but we didn't shots at crucial points in the game, and we had too many turnovers.”
For Cedarville, Slater led scoring with 18 points, followed by Hansen with 15 points on three baskets and three 3-pointers.
The Bays will now advance to the regional finals, traveling to Newberry to face Harbor Light Christian from Harbor Springs, Mich. on Tuesday night.
