GOODRICH- Though the Martians hit a few rough patches in their quest for a league title, they are determined for things to run smoothly in districts.
“We have come together as a team this season,” coach Gary Barns said. “We know what the basketball tradition is at Goodrich. . .our goal is to win the districts, that will definatly help our record this season.”
The boys in Blue and Gold got off to a good start on their goal Tuesday, March 4, as they hosted the district 56 tournament and defeated the Richmond Blue Devils in round one.
In the 68-57 victory, the Martians came out hard to lead the entire game. It was an 11 point margin in the third quarter, however, which broke open the game for Goodrich. Richmond fought back in the fourth, with their leading scorer, Donnie Kidman, scoring nine of his team high 16 points in the quarter. Despite the 21-15 fourth quarter, the Blue Devils could not make up the difference.
Kori Garman lead the Martians in scoring with 19 points. Charlie Goetz and Kyle Gianotti each added 13. Brandon Giegling pulled down seven rebounds for Goodrich.
“It was a good win,” Barns said. “We needed it and hope to maintain through tonight [Thursday]. But win. lose or draw we are going to leave positive.
“Macomb Lutheran is a very good team, very disaplined, but we think we have a good chance at them,” he added.
The Martians advanced to the district semifinals against Macomb Lutheran North at 8 p.m. Thrusday March 6, however, scores were not available by press time. The winner of the semifinal match-up advanced into play on Saturday March 8 against the winner of the Capac vs. Imlay City game.
Goodrich finished regular season play in second place in the GAC red division, with a league record of 8-8, 10-10 overall. They barely scraped past LakeVille, who was also 8-8 in league play, 9-11 overall.
To end regular season play, the Martians hosted Montrose on Friday, Feb. 28, for a 69-43 victory. In the win, Goetz led the pack with 19 points and eight rebounds. Garman added 12 points and Michael Skinner put up 10. Giegling pulled down 11 rebounds for the Martians, and Drew Odette recorded six assists.