As ESPN anchor Dan Patrick would say, you couldn’t stop Michael Skinner ? you couldn’t even hope to contain him.
The junior Goodrich basketball player scored 20 points and connected on four 3-point shots as the host Martians defeated North Branch 56-43 in a Jan. 13 Genesee Area Conference Red Division matchup.
The game was marred by an exchange of punches near the end of the first half between Goodrich’s Adam McAuliffe and North Branch’s Kevin Wheaton. Both players were ejected and automatically suspended for one game each, meaning McAuliffe sat out the Martians? Jan. 16 game against LakeVille.
Junior Kirk Elsworth added 10 points for the Martians, who are now 4-3 overall and 2-1 in league play. Goodrich bounced back from a tough game against Mt. Morris to defeat North Branch.
‘We’re still teaching,? Goodrich coach Gary Barns said. ‘We’re still very young, but we’re hustling. We played well enough against Mt. Morris to win, but they went to the free throw line 47 times.?
The Martians excelled on the glass, pulling down 46 team rebounds. Elsworth led the way with 10 boards, while Ben Wilson added nine, Skinner seven and Craig Van Wagoner six.
Kevin Wheaton led the Broncos with 13 points, while Devin Friske added 12 and Derek Beadle 11.
The Martians also helped themselves at the free throw line, shooting 17-of-20 (85 percent) in the game, including 8-of-10 in the fourth quarter. By contrast, North Branch shot 5-of-16 (31 percent), including 3-of-8 in the final stanza.
Goodrich started out on a tear, taking a 16-0 lead at the start of the game before the Broncos knew what hit them. However, North Branch battled back to cut the Martians? halftime lead to two points, 29-27.
With about 18 seconds left the second quarter, McAuliffe and Wheaton were battling for a loose ball and tempers flared between the two players. According to Barns, Wheaton punched McAuliffe, who retaliated.
In the second half, cooler heads prevailed, and the rest of the game was played without incident.
‘I think the officials did a good job in the second half of keeping things under control,? Barns said. ?(North Branch coach) Steve (Sippell) and I have been friends for a long time. We weren’t going to let anything else happen. Both guys shook hands and apologized to the other team afterward.?
Goodrich reasserted itself in the third quarter, outscoring the Broncos 13-5 in that period to take a double-digit lead at the end of the third, 42-32, and held on for the win.
Goodrich’s next game is Jan. 23 when they travel to Hamady.