Marshall opens season with victory over Lakeview; Pennfield wins big

BATTLE CREEK - With a new-look roster for both teams, Lakeview and Marshall came into their season opener with a lot of questions.

In the end, the Redhawks were able to find a few more answers on the way to a win.

Marshall defeated Lakeview 49-39 in a non-conference boys basketball game on opening night of the 2025-26 season at Lakeview High School on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

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"We came into tonight just looking to see what we could do. See what we were good at or what we are not good at," Marshall coach Anthony Miller said. "We saw we have to get better at a lot of things.

"But, anytime you can go on the road and get a win, it feels good. And, it feels good knowing we can get better."

After a tight first quarter, with Marshall up just one, the Redhawks took charge in the second quarter and led 19-9 with 3:30 left in the half. During that early stretch, Marshall senior Clark Erwin had nine of his team's first 19 points. The Redhawks led 26-16 at halftime and held a double-digit lead most of the rest of the way.

Marshall took its biggest advantage late in the third quarter after back-to-back baskets by Lincoln Fuller to take a 36-19 lead with 2:22 left in the period.

Lakeview ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 36-26, but would not get much closer.

"I was pleased with our effort, pleased with our defense," Lakeview coach Steve Wichmann said. "Tonight, we saw that we have to find a consistent scorer or two.

"I think with a young team, experience wise, it will be a process for us. We have to trust the process and believe in each other and try to get better as the season goes."

Erwin led Marshall with 19 points and 11 rebounds with Fuller adding 11 points and six rebounds as Lee Hall chipped in six points and six rebounds.

Lakeview junior Nolan Porter had 11 points to lead the Spartans, including three 3-pointers, as Isaiah McFerrin added eight.

More Tuesday Boys Basketball Results

Pennfield 80, Galesburg-Augusta 30

Pennfield senior Johnny Lake had a career-high 41 points, which is the fourth most points in a game in school history, to lead the Panthers to the one-sided win. The Panthers led 32-8 after the first quarter with Lake scoring 20 in the period. Lake added six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Peyton Merlington added 20 points for Pennfield with four rebounds, as Calvin Paesens came up with a good all-around game with seven points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals. Gio Evans had 17 points for Galesburg-Augusta.

St. Philip 70, Bronson 64

St. Philip opened the season with tight win over Bronson with Carter Dzwik leading the way with 32 points. Jackson Dzwik had 20 points for the Tigers and Lincoln Dzwik came up with nine. Owen Losinski had 17 points to lead Bronson.

Gull Lake 67, Coldwater 62

Gull Lake trailed at halftime 31-26, but rallied in the fourth quarter to earn this non-conference win over Coldwater. Gull Lake's Gavin Markucki had a game-high 27 points. Espen Owens and Chase Moratti each had big 3-pointers down the stretch as Gull Lake outscored Coldwater 25-17 in the fourth quarter.

Mattawan 72, Harper Creek 42

Harper Creek lost its season opener on the road at Mattawan in this non-conference matchup. Dylan Eversole led the Beavers with seven points.

Contact Bill Broderick at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Battle Creek-area boys basketball results from Tuesday's opening night