From staff reports

BATTLE CREEK – The Niles boys’ basketball team lost a disappointing game at Battle Creek Central on Tuesday night 60-49 in Big 16 non-divisional action.

Niles came into the contest with a 3-1 record, while the Bearcats were a mere 1-5.

Niles led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter led by five points apiece from David Garner and Myles Busby.

Austin Parks added four in the opening frame.

Parks would score six more points in the second quarter as the Vikings took a 32-28 lead into the locker room.

Niles coach Todd Pawielski said, “We had a couple of chances in the first half to stretch our lead to nine or 10 points and kind of put the game away and missed a few shots or turned the ball over. We shot a terrible percentage tonight, but still win this one if we take care of the basketball. We turned the ball over 22 times tonight and Central scored almost 20 points off our turnovers.”

Battle Creek scored with one second left in the third quarter to take a 44-43 lead.

Niles would only manage six points the entire fourth quarter. Still, the Vikings were only down four with 3:07 to play, however more missed shots and missed free throws in particular would haunt the visitors.

“Defensively, we played pretty well and gave ourselves a chance to win,” Pawielski commented. “Battle Creek did not score much in the half court at all.”

Niles shot 1-16 from the floor in the fourth quarter and 4-11 from the free throw line. The Vikings also missed the front end of three one and ones in the fourth quarter.
Final shooting totals had Niles at 15-of-61 from the floor and 14-of-27 from the free throw line. The Vikings also misfired on 20 of their 25 3-point attempts.

Garner and Busby had 14 points apiece for Niles while Parks added 10. Jordan Potthoff had six points. Garner added nine rebounds.

“We did a lot of things tonight that are uncharacteristic of us. Our decision making was poor all night with the basketball. However, we did a lot of good things. Defensively, we continue to play hard and well. Our effort was solid but this game is a whole lot easier when the ball goes in the basket,” Pawielski concluded.

Niles will host SMAC West nemesis Lakeshore in a doubleheader on Friday.

NILES 49
David Garner 14, Myles Busby 14, Matthew McLaughlin 0, Austin Parks 10, Jordan Potthoff 6, Mitch Peterek 0, Quinton Irby 0, Riley Robson 0, Nick Lucero 3, Zach Prenkert 2, Justin Potthoff 0. TOTALS: 15 14-27 49
BATTLE CREEK 60
Prather 2, Sweet 12, Maye 5, Gibbs 2, McKeethan 5, Wilcox 2, Gibson 5, Hightower 4, Gray 8, Hale 6, McDonald 9. TOTALS: 22 14-24 60

Niles 17 32 43 49
Battle Creek 14 28 44 60
3-point goals: Niles 5 (Parks 3, Garner, Busby), Central 2 (Gibson, Sweet). Total fouls (fouled out): Niles 18 (none), Central 20 (none). Varsity records: Niles 3-2, Central 1-5. JV score: Central 50, Niles 48