North Central closing in on state title game

POWERS — In boys high school basketball, the lone U.P. team left in the tourney is North Central in the Class D tournament. The Jets locked up their regional championship on Wednesday, defeating Lake Linden–Hubbell by a score of 69 to 53.

North Central is still undefeated this season and will be facing a Hillman team that has only one loss on the season. But you can rest assure that the Jets have done the proper amount of scouting on their upcoming opponent.

“I know a lot about them. They got a guard, Van Pammel, who was an all–state guard this year. They got another guard, Ty Jones, who’s a good player. They play similar to Carney or Cedarville in terms of style. They like to play some zone defenses and trap out of it. They average about 72 points a game and they like push it up tempo and they’ll play some matchup zones against us I’m sure. We’ll be ready for a challenge. They’re a fine ball club. They finally got through that regional. They lost the last two regional finals. They finally got through so I’m sure they’re looking forward to playing in the quarterfinal game,” Mercier said.

North Central and Hillman will face off in the Soo with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. Winner moves on to the semi–finals, which will take place at the Breslin Center.