HS Basketball: Bucking The Trend

The legendary rivalry in the area continues on the hardwood tonight in Kalamazoo, without the luxury of a buckboard wagon to take us there. Considered as the "Oldest Rivalry West of the Alleghenies" on the gridiron, the Battle Creek Central Bearcats and the Kalamazoo Central Maroon Giants have had their fair share of fantastic games on the basketball court.

Another edition of the rivalry takes place tonight, as the Bearcats will look to inch closer in the Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference's East Division lead and look to knock off the Maroon Giants on the road. These two teams have not squared off against each other since early December, when Kalamazoo Central won in a rout at Battle Creek Central 74-49.

A lot has changed since for the Bearcats, with a return addition of one of their players from last season and a six-game win streak to boot. The team has finally come together under veteran head coach Durant Crum, who has put Central at 10-5 in his first year.

They will look at stopping 6'8" center Isaiah Livers, who is a Division 1-caliber junior that has been looked at by several squads as a recruit, including Michigan State and Western Michigan. Kalamazoo Central only lost three games this season, all coming in non-conference against two-state ranked teams and an out-of-state squad from the Chicago area.

Join me tonight from Kalamazoo on 95.3FM WBCK, online at wbckfm.com and through your smartphone or tablet with our RadioPup app.

Here is the rest of a very busy Tuesday night schedule...

Game of the Night
Battle Creek Central vs. Kalamazoo Central
BC Central 10-5 (6-2 SMAC East) - Kalamazoo Central 12-3 (10-0 SMAC East)
Catch the game tonight at 7pm on WBCK!

Portage Central vs. Lakeview (Lakeview 4-9)
Harper Creek vs. Jackson Lumen Christi (Harper Creek 8-7)
Pennfield vs. Coldwater (Pennfield 7-7)
St. Philip vs. Camden-Frontier (St. Philip 6-9)

Homer vs. Athens (Homer 9-5, Athens 2-12)
Burr Oak vs. Bellevue (Bellevue 12-4)
Marcellus vs. Delton (Delton 8-6)
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Lawrence (Galesburg-Augusta 3-11)
Gull Lake vs. Plainwell (Gull Lake 1-13)
Maple Valley vs. Lake Odessa-Lakewood (Maple Valley 1-13)
Parma Western vs. Marshall (Marshall 12-2)
Olivet vs. Stockbridge (Olivet 9-6)
Union City vs. Quincy (Union City 12-2, Quincy 8-6)
Jackson Christian vs. Tekonsha (Tekonsha 1-15)

Girls Basketball
Battle Creek Central vs. Kalamazoo Central (BC Central 1-15)
Lakeview vs. Portage Central (Lakeview 9-5)
Jackson Lumen Christi vs. Harper Creek (Harper Creek 11-4)
Coldwater vs. Pennfield (Pennfield 6-8)

Athens vs. Bronson (Athens 12-4, Bronson 5-9)
Delton vs. Marcellus (Delton 3-13)
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Lawrence (Galesburg-Augusta 12-4)
Plainwell vs. Gull Lake (Gull Lake 9-5)
Lake Odessa-Lakewood vs. Maple Valley (Maple Valley 1-13)
Marshall vs. Parma Western (Marshall 15-1)
Stockbridge vs. Olivet (Olivet 11-6)