MHSAA Tournament: Harbor Beach 56, Cass City 49
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Pirates Out-Rebound Red Hawks 2:1, Survive to Advance to District Championship
February 26, 2025 /// District 95 - MHSAA Tournament /// Pigeon, Michigan
The Harbor Beach Pirates survived a potential postseason upset via the offensive glass, defeating Cass City 56-49 in the District 95 Semi-Finals on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. Harbor Beach now returns to the district championship to face the Elkton Pigeon Bay Port Lakers on their opponent’s home floor.
The game was never further than seven points at any point with a back-and-forth, high-intensity game that felt like a tournament game of decades past. Most of Harbor Beach’s scoring opportunities came in bunches, outrebounding Cass City 41-20 which included 24 offensive boards. Each of the first three quarters of the game featured at least one lead change and five total for the night. The Pirates led at the end of the first quarter 14-11 in part due to a 5-0 run in the final 35 seconds from the game’s leading scorer Benson Harper, as well as Skiler Kruse.
Cass City outscored Harbor Beach in the second quarter 11-9, thanks in part to starting the quarter on a 7-0 run in less than two minutes and lead 18-14. The Pirates would craw back with their own 7-2 run to enter halftime with a slim one-point margin in their favor. Harbor Beach had just two field goals in the second quarter, compared to Cass City’s five, with the remaining five points coming from the free-throw line. Both offenses exploded to start the second half scoring 16 points each for it to remain a one-point game entering the fourth quarter. The Red Hawks hit four three-pointers in the third quarter, including two from Griffin Weiler.
Harbor Beach finished the game shooting 5-20 from beyond the arc, with four of them hitting in the second half. Pirate junior Andrew Kabban connected on two of them in the fourth quarter, the second to extend the lead out to six points, 49-43 halfway through the final stanza. Cass City’s senior duo, Trent Patrick and Matt Mellendorf would each score to bring the game back within two points, 49-47 with 3:53 remaining, but Harbor Beach would camp out at the free throw line for the remainder of the game, scoring their final seven points with the clock stopped. Final score: Harbor Beach 56, Cass City 49.
As has been the case for a majority of the season, Harbor Beach was led in scoring by Benson Harper’s 34 points and followed by Andrew Kabban with 11, all coming in the second half. Cass City finished the game with three scorers in double digits: Griffin Weiler at 17, Carson Anthes 15 and Matt Mellendorf 12.
A year ago on their home court, Harbor Beach fell to Cass City in the district championship with a Carter Patrick three-pointer at the buzzer. Now, the Pirates take on the host of District 95, Lakers on Friday, February 28 at 7:00pm. Coverage on Sports Radio 102.1FM and wlewsports.com will begin at 6:10pm with Clark Ramsey and Mark Gainforth.