GOODRICH- As the buzzer sounded to close the final quarter of the Thursday March 6 district semifinal at Goodrich, Martian players, coaches and fans erupted into cheers.
Goodrich had come out on top of a tough battle with Macomb Lutheran North to move on to the District final against the Imlay City Spartans. The Martians won the game by a mere four points.
After the match up, Goodrich players remained pumped up and seemed all too eager for Saturday’s final. “It’s about time we started playing as a team,” senior captain Kyle Gianotti said. “Ever since the ‘Detroit Free Press’ picked us to win the district we have been more determined. We had the home court advantage for the game and that helped, plus the coach never gave quit on us. We have played hard and we are going to keep playing hard.”
“They were good,” coach Gary Barns said. “I was nervous, because for awhile there, it didn’t look like they were going to miss a shot.
“We sucked it up a bit in the last couple of minutes of the second period, but half time came at the right time. We came back out and went to a box and one (defense) and they never scored. We were just able to dig a little deeper and win.
“We always say live by the long shot, die by the long shot,” he added. “We had some guys make key shots for, and Billy Bartley made a few big three’s which really helped us out.”
In the 67-63 win, senior captain Kori Garman led the pack of double-digit scorers with 25 points. Billy Bartley and Charlie Goetz each added 14 points, with 12 of Bartley’s coming from 3-point shots. Gianotti added 12 points to the win, and Brandon Giegling added 2.
On the floor, Goetz and Bartley each nabbed seven rebounds, while Garman took five steals and Gianotti recorded nine assists.
That game would be the end of the Goodrich celebration, however, as Imlay City halted the Martians hopes for a district title on Saturday March 8.
Imlay City proved to be a solid force against the Martians, in the first half of the game, the Spartans held Goodrich to a mere 18 points, as they posted 33 by the break.
The Martians made a come back in the second half, adding 38 points to the board, but their first half deficit couldn’t be overcome, and the Martians dropped the game 75-56.
In the loss, Goetz led the Martians with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Garman added 8 points while Craig VanWagoner, Gianotti and Drew Odette each put up seven points. Bartley put up five points while Aaron Cheney added three and Max Bell and Michael Skinner each put up a basket.
Goodrich ended their season with a 12-11 record overall. They finished out regular season play at second place in the Genesee Area Conference Red Division with a record of 8-8 in the league, 10-10 overall.