TRAVERSE CITY — When Cadillac took away one option, Traverse City West presented another.
The Titans spread things around throughout the game, with Owen Ribel scoring 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first half and Carter Grubb stepping up with 10 of his 14 in the second in a 71-46 victory in Thursday’s Big North Conference boys basketball game at TC West.
Blake LaFaive added 19 for the Titans, all in the first three quarters. Senior Jacob Banish added 10, including a pair of 3-pointers to close out the first quarter and widen West’s lead to 20-6.
“Their guards bothered us tonight,” Cadillac head coach Ryan Benzenberg said. “Blake had a really good game against us the first time. With him and Owen in the backcourt, they put so much pressure on us. We put Domenic (Wing) on Grubb and he did awesome. He held him the four points in the first half, and Ribel went crazy in the first first half and had 16, so we put Domenic on Ribel and he didn’t score in the third quarter, but Grubb got going.”
West won by 10 at Cadillac in mid-December, but lost to Paw Paw by seven Saturday on the Vikings’ court in the Jeff McDonald Memorial Showcase.
“We knew it was in us,” Titans head coach Doug Baumann said. “We had it down there in Cadillac, and then we let them get back into it, and we talked about that, just keeping the intensity, not letting them back in. I thought we were going to let them in towards the end of the third quarter, gave up some threes. This was one of the best games we’ve had overall, where we’ve had that intensity for the whole game.”
TC West (7-4, 6-0 Big North) has won six of its last seven.
“Blake LaFaive played just phenomenal for us today,” Baumann said. “Owen Ribel had a big spurt for us, and then Jake Banish came up huge for us this game, just a great senior effort for him. That’s a good breakout game for him and for us as a result. That’s why we got the numbers up there (on the scoreboard), because of what he was able to do for us tonight. Real happy for Jake.”
Grubb dunked twice, once on a fast break for a 50-24 third-quarter lead and then on an intentional off-the-backboard pass from LaFaive with 2:34 remaining to go up 67-44.
Cadillac (5-7, 2-3 Big North) came into Thursday having won two in a row, including a last-minute change in the McDonald Showcase to play Manistee instead of Sparta.
The Vikings have dealt with an ever-changing schedule this season, with Thursday’s game starting a span of 11 games in 21 days, due to three games getting rescheduled.
Cadillac visits Sault Ste. Marie for a Friday date, and also had its game against Gaylord moved back due to weather. West and Cadillac were supposed to play Tuesday, but that contest was pushed back by weather.
Baumann was amped up for the game, extoling his players to keep going even while up more than 20 points.
“That’s what we found works,” Baumann said. “We don’t really have that strong leader that’s going to get out there and give us the energy, give us the push. So at times, I’m going to have to do that just to get them running and get them going, and they respond to it well, which is nice. But I tell them all the time, I’m getting too old for this. I’m gonna have an aneurysm or something, trying to holler and jump up and down to get them excited.”
The Titans led 40-21 at halftime.
Wing started the third quarter with a 3-pointer, but West answered with a 13-0 run to expand its lead to 29 midway through the stanza.
Cadillac’s young inside combo of 6-7 Wing and 6-6 Alex McGowan is one that’ll give the BNC fits for two more years, Baumann said. Both are sophomores.
“In the future, they’re going to be a bear,” Baumann said. “As those kids get older and get a lot more experience, they’re going to be really tough. But I was real happy. Brody Jones, Graham (Hetherington), Cam (Bohrer) all played really good defense on (Wing). I was happy with the defensive effort.”
Wing led the Vikings with 13 points. Jaxon Webb and McGowan each scored eight and David Nobles six.
“Dom, not only is he obviously our most gifted offensive player, he’s showing to be our most gifted defensive player,” Benzenberg said. “Ribel didn’t score in the third quarter, and that a lot of that is because Dom was on him.”
Cadillac is in Division 1 again this year by only a few students, but not in the same district and TC Central and West. The Vikes head to Bay City Western in a bracket that also includes Bay City Central, Midland, Midland Dow and Mount Pleasant.
West heads to the Petoskey bracket for the postseason, a district with Alpena, Gaylord, Marquette and TC Central. The Titans have beaten every team in that district, except for Marquette, who they haven’t played.
“We have work to do,” Benzenberg said. “I still think we have something to say in that district if we can continue to grow defensively. We can’t give up so many points. It’s embarrassing. Can’t give up that many.”