Beal City to win against Northern Michigan Christian

Erin Hillard

Beal City Varsity Boy’s Basketball won against Northern Michigan Christian Thursday night, 59-56 in overtime.

Before the game, Coach Tom Ramon seemed confident about his team.

“I think the boys are prepared,” he said. “The game Tuesday was canceled, so we haven’t played in a week. We might be a little bit rusty, but we’re prepared.”

Still, he realized his team would have to work hard to win.

“We really have to create some turnovers and get some easy buckets. [NMC] is a big team,” Ramon said.

Tyler Lutke, of NMC, was the first to score in the game, with a three point shot. After two unsuccessful three-point shots by Beal City, Kevin Lucka was the first to score for Beal City with a free-throw shot.

After falling behind in the beginning of the first quarter, with the score 4 to 15, Beal City Junior Alex Barnes caught his team up with two consecutive shots. The first quarter ended with a score 8 to 17.

In the second quarter, Beal City passed NMC, with Junior Justin Sharrar scoring a three-point. The second quarter ended with a score of 23 to 22. Beal City defended well, only allowing NMC to score five points.

During halftime, fans were excited for their team.

Mary Kay Maas, of Beal City, came out to support her son-in-law, who is the coach. She also came to watch her grandson, Jake Ramon.

“I think they’ll do well if they keep up a good defense and good rebounding,” she said.

Beal City fell behind in the third quarter, with the score 31 to 36. They tied the game with less than two minutes to go, and then took the lead, after two successful free-throw shots from Junior Kohl Bechtel.

In the last eight seconds of the game, NMC Senior Jordan Oudman scored a three-point shot, making the score 46 to 48. In the last four seconds, Beal City Junior Kendall Gross tied the game with a two-point shot.

The game ended in overtime with Beal City winning 59 to 56, on foul throws and a three-point shot by Sharrar.

Edited by Mariah Richards