Gremlins, Lakes Advance in Hoops Tourney – Tuesday Sports Wrap

Click on the highlighted scores for additional game details.

High School

On the opening night of the girls basketball tournament…

Division Four, District 97 at Ewen-Trout – Bessemer got past Watersmeet 41-33. The Speedgirls will face Ewen-Trout Creek in a 5:30 semifinal tomorrow. Wakefield-Marenisco will play Ontonagon at 7:00.
Division Four, District 98 – Lake Linden-Hubbell dispatched Dollar Bay-Tamarack City 54-41. The Lakes will play at Baraga in one semifinal tomorrow at 6:00. Hancock will play at L’Anse at 6:00 in the other.
Division Four, District 99 – North Central eliminated Carney-Nadeau 46-42. The Jets will tip off at Norway tomorrow. North Dickinson ousted Stephenson 60-30. The Nordics will play at Forest Park tomorrow.
Division Three, District 65 – West Iron County downed Ironwood 42-25. The Wykons will play at Calumet tomorrow night at 6:00. Coverage will begin at 5:40 on the Voice of the Copper Kings, KBear 102.3. Jeffers will play at Westwood at 6:00 in tomorrow’s other semifinal.
Division Two, District 33 – Houghton led 14-3 at the end of the first quarter, and cruised past Escanaba 56-30. Jacey Sleeman led a balanced Gremlins attack with 12 points, and Ellie Hainault added 11. The Gremlins will play at Negaunee in a district semifinal tomorrow at 6:00, with coverage at 5:40 on the Voice of the Gremlins, 97.7 The Wolf. Gladstone will play at Kingsford in tomorrow’s other district semifinal.

Boys regional semifinals will be staged tonight…

Division Four, Region 25 – Dollar Bay-Tamarack City will face Wakefield-Marenisco at 7:00 at Houghton High School. Forest Park will tip off against North Dickinson at Kingsford High School at 5:00 CST. The winners will meet for the regional title Thursday in Negaunee.

Benjamin Bonacorsi from C-L-K Elementary won the Michigan State Championship for the Elks Hoop Shoot competition in Big Rapids this past weekend. Ben is a 5th grader, and represented Elks Lodge #404. He won the 10-11-year-old division by shooting a perfect 25/25 on his free throws. The runner-up made 24/25, and the third-place finisher made 23/25. Ben also won the Rod Bellman Award, which is given to the top shooter in Michigan regardless of division. Ben now moves on to the regional competition in South Bend on March 14th, where he will face the winners from Ohio and Indiana. That regional winner will move on to the National Competition in Chicago in April.

Sophie Ruotsala from Ewen, who also represented Elks Lodge #404 in Calumet, finished as a top-six shooter in the 10-11-year-old girls division.

Houghton High School is arranging a fan bus that would travel to the state hockey tournament championship Saturday, should Houghton win its semifinal game Friday. If you’d like to reserve a seat and get details, contact the athletic office by noon tomorrow.

The Houghton Athletic Department is also looking for community support to cover the cost of the team’s trip downstate. You can donate through their GoFundMe page, or by writing a check directly to the athletic department. No other fundraising efforts are planned, including telephone outreach. If you receive a call from someone asking for money to support the school or the team, hang up – it’s a fraud. Link to the Houghton hockey GoFundMe page here.

Our coverage of Houghton’s semifinal game against Traverse City St. Francis Bay Reps will begin Friday morning at 10:30 on the Voice of the Gremlins, 97.7 The Wolf.

NHL

The Red Wings doubled up the Predators 4-2 yesterday afternoon. Emmitt Finnie and Lucas Raymond scored early. Albert Johansson netted the game-winner early in the third period – just his second goal of the season. Alex DeBrincat sealed it with an empty-netter.

Goalie John Gibson left last night’s game after the opening period with an upper-body injury. Cam Talbot replaced him. Coach Todd McLellan said that Gibson took a shot off the shoulder that numbed his arm. He’ll be evaluated today.

The Wings welcome the Golden Knights tomorrow. Coverage will begin at 6:45 on 99.3 The Lift.

NBA

The Pistons visit the Cavaliers this evening. Coverage will begin at 6:35 on 99.3 the Lift.

Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from the injury list last night, but the Bucks lost to the Celtics 108-81. Antetokounmpo had 19 points and 11 rebounds. It was the third straight game in which Milwaukee was held to less than 100 points.

The Bucks host the Hawks tomorrow night.

MLB

The Tigers dropped a 5-2 Grapefruit League game to the Braves yesterday. Minor-leaguer Brett Callahan and Tomás Nido homered. Framber Valdez gave up two hits over three scoreless innings. Casey Mize followed, allowed three runs over three innings, and took the loss.

The Tigers will face the Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic team in Santo Domingo tonight. Ty Madden will start for Detroit.

Tigers’ games this summer will be televised on a new platform called Detroit SportsNet. The start-up venture is being launched by Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, which owns the Tigers and the Red Wings. Telecasts will be available via cable, satellite and in-market streaming. Red Wings telecasts will shift to the new network next season. The Tigers and Wings recently severed their connection with the financially challenged Main Street Sports Group after it failed to make broadcast rights payments.

The Brewers had yesterday off, and will play the Great Britain World Baseball Classic team today. Jacob Misiorowski will start.

NFL

The Lions are trading running back David Montgomery to the Texans. Montgomery’s role with Detroit had been reduced as Jahmyr Gibbs got more playing time. Reports indicate that the Lions will receive fourth-round and seventh-round draft picks, along with offensive lineman Juice Scruggs.

Detroit has also released veteran offensive lineman Graham Glasgow. The move will open up $5.5 million in salary cap space.

Local Sports Broadcasts

Tomorrow – Girls Basketball Division Two, District 33 semifinal – Houghton at Negaunee – pregame around 5:40 on the Voice of the Gremlins, 97.7 The Wolf.
Tomorrow – Girls Basketball Division Three, District 65 semifinal – Ironwood/West Iron County at Calumet – pregame around 5:40 on the Voice of the Copper Kings, KBear 102.3.
Friday – Hockey – Houghton Traverse City St. Francis/Bay Reps – State Semifinal at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth – pregame around 10:30 on the Voice of the Gremlins, 97.7 The Wolf.