FROM STAFF REPORTS
GAYLORD -- Dylan Roe scored a career-high 43 points Monday as Traverse City Central defeated Gaylord 92-70 in a Class A district basketball opener.
Roe hit 21 of 27 shots from the field.
"He was outstanding," Trojans coach Jeff Turner said.
Central (14-7) will now play Traverse City West on Wednesday at West. The Trojans beat the Titans twice during the regular season.
Central jumped out to a 26-7 lead in the first quarter at Gaylord.
"We wanted a quick start to set the tone," Turner said. "And we did that."
Gaylord cut the deficit to 14 at half, 45-31, but the Trojans pushed it to 24 after three quarters.
Ben Fischer played a strong all-around game for the Trojans, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Mack Sovereign added 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals.
As a team, Central shot 57 percent from the field. The Trojans also had 19 assists.
Gaylord (2-19) was led by Kurtis Dutcher's 17 points. Troy Gahn chipped in 14.
CLASS B
At Kingsley
Kingsley 56
Reed City 53
Jack Ocobock hit a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining as Kingsley upset Reed City 56-53 in a Class B district opener at Kingsley.
The Stags (3-19) will now play Ludington on Wednesday.
Billy Wismer led Kingsley with 21 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Ocobock added 11 points, six rebounds and three steals.
On the final play, Wismer drove to the basket, and as the defense collapsed on him, dished it out to an open Ocobock.
Josh Nix had 11 points and five rebounds and Sonny Hills seven points and five assists for the Stags, who led 25-19 at half.
"That was our best game of the year," Kingsley coach Tyler Eising said. "We put four quarters together."
Jared Holmquist and Evan Steig led Reed City (16-5) with 10 points apiece.
CLASS C
At East Jordan
East Jordan 59
Mancelona 53
East Jordan led by as many as 21 early in the third quarter before hanging on for a 59-53 Class C district win over Mancelona.
The Red Devils, who have won six of their last seven games, improved to 10-11. They'll play Boyne City on Wednesday.
Nico Cornstalk paced East Jordan with 19 points -- 16 in the first half when the Red Devils built a 35-18 lead. Teddy Snowden added 13 points.
Taylor Borst fueled the Manelona comebcak, scoring 18 of his game-high 24 in the second half. Tyler Hartzell chipped in 12.
CLASS D
At Ellsworth
Ellsworth 56
Boyne Falls 33
Ellsworth outscored Boyne Falls 19-2 in the third quarter to pull away to a 56-33 Class D district win over Boyne Falls.
The Lancers (16-5) led by eight at half.
Jared Danbert paced Ellsworth with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Jordan Muma added 15 points and Rob Gruse nine points and five assists.
Josh Puroll's 15 points led Boyne Falls.
At Leland
Leland 78
TC Christian 44
Galen Whittaker and Nate Sneed inched closer to reaching the 1,000 career point mark in Leland's 78-44 Class D district win over Traverse City Christian.
Whittaker tossed in 21 points and Sneed 14. Both could hit the 1,000-point milestone Wednesday when the Comets face Lake Leelanau St. Mary.
Sawyer Scott and Sam Scott added 11 points apiece in Monday's win. The Comets (13-8) led 40-19 at half.
Paul Bump's 12 points topped Traverse City Christian.
At Manistee CC
Manistee CC 68
Onekama 41
Four players scored in double digits as Manistee Catholic defeated Onekama 68-41 in a district opener.
The Sabers led 35-19 at half.
Nick Kolanowski, Nick Niesen and Nick Doyle all had 13 points for Catholic. Nathan Miller chipped in 12. Doyle added nine rebounds and three assists and Niesen six steals for the Sabers, who will play Brethren on Wednesday.
CLASS D
At Wolverine
Gaylord St. Mary 58
Onaway 43
St. Mary broke open a close game with a 19-0 run that extended from the final minute of the third quarter into the fourth, enabling the Snowbirds to pull away and prevail over Onaway 58-43 in a Class D district opener.
Senior Pete Spyhalski drained 22 points to pace the Snowbirds (15-6), who move on to play Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian in Wednesday's semifinals. Spyhalski also grabbed eight rebounds with six steals and four assists. Twin brother Phil Spyhalski hit for 10 points with 12 boards and Clay Becker scored nine. Mike Burzynski had five steals.
Senior center Tyler Walker paced the Cardinals (4-17) with 11 points and also had 12 rebounds. Newt Chapman and Jan O'Bradovich scored nine and eight points.
Wolverine 58
Vanderbilt 52
Wolverine held off a furious fourth-quarter comeback by Vanderbilt to record a 58-52 victory in the district opener. Vanderbilt (8-13) trailed by 22 points in the third quarter but outscored the host Wildcats 16-2 in the fourth quarter and make a game of it.
Seniors Josh Brush and Alex VandenHoek paced a balanced scoring ledger for Wolverine with 15 points each while Jeremy Brush scored 13 and Ryse Brink 11. The Wildcats (15-6) face Johannesburg-Lewiston in the second half of Wednesday's semifinals.
Junior Travis Ormsbee paced the Yellowjackets with 22 points, including seven in the fourth quarter. Cody Hunter tallied 14 with three hits from beyond the arc.
-- Compiled by Dennis Chase and Mike Dunn
