HOUGHTON LAKE — The Lakers never gave up, even when the game seemed out of reach.
The 2023-24 season for the Glen Lake varsity boys basketball team concluded Tuesday, but the Lakers fought until the end in the Division 4 state quarterfinals against Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
The Lakers haven’t made a trip to the state rounds since the 2017-18 season — where they finished as Class C runner-up. But after losing 63-51 to the fourth-ranked Irish at Houghton Lake High School on Tuesday, Glen Lake head coach Jason Bradford said he was proud of the way his players battled to the final buzzer.
“We played all the way through. We made a statement each game. It seemed like after getting through the tough one with Frankfort, we continued to build,” Bradford said. “
Benji Allen scored the first field goal to lead 2-0 in the first, but the Irish responded quickly with a 2-pointer of their own. After several lead changes, Lakers senior Cooper Bufalini drilled a 2-pointer followed by a 3-pointer to put the Lakers ahead 7-5.
The Irish would regain the lead after a bucket and a foul to send Irish junior Grady Pieratt to the charity stripe to make it 10-7. The Irish started the second with a 14-9 lead and stayed in front the rest of the game.
The Lakers didn’t make Sacred Heart’s ticket to the Breslin Center in East Lansing an easy one to get. The Irish will face 10th-ranked Allen Park Inter-City Baptist on Thursday.
The Irish led by as much as 11 points in the first half, but the Lakers continued to cut the deficit to single digits the entire second quarter.
The Lakers got the deficit to 29-22 after a 3-pointer by junior Michael Houtteman and senior Tyler Bixby making a 2-pointer.
After a lengthy back and forth, during which the Irish killed about a minute of the clock before scoring a basket, the Lakers escaped the second down 36-25. The Lakers played the second half with heart and grit.
Lakers sophomore Jacob Plamondon scored eight of the Lakers’ 15 third-quarter points to help Glen Lake strike within eight points heading into the fourth quarter.
The sophomore’s dominance was in full effect in the fourth as he splashed a 2-pointer after a defensive stop and then again right after Bufalini drilled a 3-pointer to make it 48-45 with five minutes to play.
After the Irish called a timeout, they extended their lead to 50-45, and the Lakers wouldn’t get within three points for the rest of the quarterfinal matchup.
Glen Lake hasn’t faced a team like the Irish since their matchup in early February against Benzie Central, where the Lakers lost 41-39.
“People asked who would I compare them (Sacred Heart) to. I said Benzie Central,” Bradford said. “The dribble-drive, and they go in and get you up in the air. They’re smooth with the ball. That was the difference in the game.”
Plamondon led the team with 18 points.
Bufalini ended his final game with 16 points, and Allen finished with eight.
The Lakers will graduate Bufalini, Gage Baker, Dylan Cundiff, Bixby and Jamie Blondia.
“The change over in December that they went through and different leadership, that’s a lot for a high school kid,” Bradford said, referencing his replacing Rob Flaska as the Lakers’ head coach a month into the regular season. “They never gave up. They came to practice every day. There were times I wanted a break, and they kept saying, ‘No coach, we are going to practice.’”
Bradford said doesn’t know if he will be asked back next season. The veteran head coach said he’d love to coach the boys team if school officials were to ask him to return.
Bradford joined the program midseason and guided the Lakers to a 22-5 overall record — their first 20-win campaign since the 2018-19 season. He helped the Lakers clinch their first regional title since 2017-18.
Allen expressed after the win in the D4 regional finals against Bellaire, he loves playing for Bradford. Plamondon added being coached by Bradford has been fun.
“He’s a great man,” Plamondon said. “He has tons of experience, and I love to have him.”