#TBT: Sticks’ Record 50 Still Stands
April 10, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Last month marked the 58th anniversary of the longest-standing individual record in MHSAA Basketball Finals history.
In 1956, Battle Creek Lakeview center Bob “Sticks” Bolton scored 50 points in a Quarterfinal against Kalamazoo State High School. His points remain the most scored during the final round of the tournament – Quarterfinal-Semifinal-Final.
What follows are edited excerpts from a piece in the MHSAA archives written by former Battle Creek Enquirer reporter Allen Palmeri:
The date was March 21, 1956, and seating capacity in the Hastings High School gymnasium had been expanded to 2,000 this Wednesday night in anticipation of a marvelous Class B Quarterfinal basketball game between two sizzling teams.
New bleachers beckoned behind both goals as Battle Creek Lakeview, 18-2 with a 16-game winning streak, prepared to battle Kalamazoo State High, 19-2 with a 17-game winning streak.
The bleachers weren’t sufficient. About 2,500 fans were able to shoehorn their way in, ringing the court and leaving others in the school’s hallways and out on the sidewalk as one of the most spectacular individual efforts in MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament history was about to unfold.
In one corner was Lakeview center Bob “Sticks” Bolton, a 6-9 rod of fury. In the other corner was State High’s mountain range of a front line, with peaks standing 6-6, 6-6 and 6-5.
“We looked forward to the game with quite confidence, because we really respected them for the tremendous team they had,” Bolton recalled in 1996. “We knew it was going to be a battle royale because of their size.”
The game within a game of one-on-three was no contest as Bolton simply pulverized the peaks. He poured in 50 points in a 90-73 Lakeview victory, setting a final round record for single game scoring that has withstood decades of assaults by the likes of Ralph Simpson, Spencer Haywood, Earvin Johnson, Jay and Sam Vincent, Antoine Joubert, Jay Smith, Mark Brown and Chris Webber.
***
(He scored) 12, 20, 10 and 8 points through four quarters against State High. He was particularly impressive in the second quarter, when he wound up scoring 20 of his team’s 21 points. Overall, he sank 17 of 27 shots from the field and 16 of 20 from the free throw line.
Though State High took the brunt of Bolton’s blows during the tournament, his effort throughout Lakeview’s run was just as spectacular. ... When Marshall tried to stall away the district opener, Bolton had to settle for 18 points in 40-20 victory. In an 80-58 win over Albion for the district championship, he punched in with a 34-point effort.
In carrying Lakeview to its first regional title, Bolton went ballistic, pumping in 42 points against Three Rivers and a school-record 46 points against an East Lansing team coached by Gus Ganakas. He then went out and topped that in the quarterfinal.
In the semifinals two days later, Bolton was whistled to the sideline with 25 points with a little over half the game played, fouling out in a 74-69 loss to eventual champion Stephenson. Opposing center Mel Peterson, who went on to play for Wheaton College and the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets, had scored 21 points when Bolton fouled out.
Though the memory of that game is painful, he fondly recalls his five-game scoring spree as “lifting my game to a higher level as the competition got tougher and tougher. Praise the Lord for that!”
***
Bolton went on to play collegiately at Western Michigan University, where he cracked the 1,000-point barrier, set a school rebounding record and outscored future NBA Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond on two of three occasions. After his college career, in a semi-pro championship game, he managed to outplay another Hall of Fame center, Walt Bellamy.
But his passion for basketball was never the same after high school. His dedication, vigor and enthusiasm gradually shifted towards the ministry.
At the time of this writing, Bolton served in Marquette, as pastor and administrator of Bethesda Baptist Church and Bethesda Baptist School. He died in 2008.
PHOTO: Bob "Sticks" Bolton dropped 46 points on East Lansing in a 1956 Class A Regional championship game. He followed that with a record 50 points in the Quarterfinal.
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Boys Report Week 9
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 6, 2023
We are down to the final four weeks of this MHSAA boys basketball season – and while the entertaining part is detailed below in our regular Monday report, there’s some major data crunching underway behind the scenes as well.
Seeding the top two teams in every District requires thousands of data points – and a season-long process of collecting them all. More than 720 varsity teams are playing this winter, and we’re in the midst of a process of checking their schedules one by one – about a 24-hour task by itself to make sure all scheduled games are showing, league standings are set up correctly, etc.
Additionally, daily we’re sorting through disputed scores, changes to schedules because of weather or teams that have discontinued their seasons, and other adjustments. But we’re always striving for perfection – and when Districts are drawn and those top teams seeded Feb. 26, we hope to have every schedule up to date and every score filled in.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. North Farmington 68, Muskegon 55 These two have lived at or near the top of Division 1 MPR all season, making this win by the Raiders (12-1) at the 2K23 Showcase at Aquinas College arguably their best, especially considering it also was the first loss for the Big Reds (13-1).
2. Saline 57, Ann Arbor Huron 47 The Hornets (11-4) saw an eight-game winning streak end three days later, but in this one handed Huron (13-1) its lone defeat of the season.
3. Ann Arbor Huron 67, Benton Harbor 55 The River Rats, meanwhile, rebounded immediately with a 13-point win over Dexter and then a 67-55 victory over Benton Harbor (13-3) at Aquinas.
4. Warren Lincoln 52, Grand Rapids Northview 37 The Abes (12-3) just keep impressing, this time with a big win over a Northview team matching their 12-3 record, also during the 2K23 Showcase.
5. Iron Mountain 64, Powers North Central 58 This matched arguably the best in the Upper Peninsula in Divisions 3 and 4, respectively, with the Mountaineers moving to 13-1 and the Jets to 11-2.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit U-D Jesuit (14-2) The Cubs have won outright or shared the last two Detroit Catholic League Central championships, and they’re hoping to run that streak to three by winning Friday’s rematch with first-place Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (14-1). A 68-53 defeat to the Warriors on Jan. 24 and a 67-64 loss to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s on Jan. 6 have left Jesuit a game back, but the Cubs do have a sweep of reigning Division 1 champion Warren De La Salle Collegiate plus early impressive nonleague wins over Clarkston and Ferndale.
Kalamazoo Central (13-2) After just missing the Division 1 Semifinals a year ago – losing to Northview by two in a Quarterfinal – the Maroon Giants are ahead of their 16-win pace from that finish with their only losses to Brother Rice and Battle Creek Lakeview (11-3), the latter by a point. They also defeated Lakeview in the teams’ first meeting, handed Mattawan its only loss and most recently defeated Detroit Renaissance at the 2K23 event.
DIVISION 2
Ferndale (7-6) Few if any have played a tougher schedule, especially considering Ferndale is Division 2 playing most of the Division 1 powers. The Eagles are No. 5 in Division 2 MPR despite a 1-5 start including losses to Brother Rice, Jesuit, St. Mary’s and Muskegon, and then a two-point loss to North Farmington last week. Meanwhile, Ferndale has defeated Grosse Pointe South (13-3), Flint Beecher (12-3), Clarkston (11-5) and River Rouge (10-5). The North Farmington rematch is Feb. 24, and a Feb. 11 matchup with Port Huron Northern should also boost MPR.
Grand Rapids Christian (10-4) The Eagles may be in fourth in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White, but they are No. 6 in Division 2 MPR. Three of the four losses were to league opponents, but Christian is coming off a 55-53 double-overtime win over Warren Michigan Collegiate (13-2) on Saturday at Aquinas. An early win over Grand Rapids Catholic Central and a Jan. 21 victory over De La Salle also stand out.
DIVISION 3
Flint Beecher (12-3) The Bucs are off to another big start after last season’s finish at the Division 3 Semifinals, losing only to Detroit Cass Tech (17-0), Benton Harbor and Ferndale as Beecher also has loaded up its nonleague schedule. Beecher also has four wins over teams with double-digit victories, with an 80-71 defeat of Flint Hamady (14-2) on Jan. 10 putting the Bucs in first in the Genesee Area Conference Red. The Hamady rematch is Feb. 18, before a major regular-season finish against Goodrich (13-1) and Grand Blanc (14-2).
Napoleon (14-0) The Pirates aren’t sneaking up on anyone after going 19-3 last season, but they are dominating nonetheless. All but one win have been by eight points or more, and Napoleon leads the Cascades Conference after finishing second last year with a pair of losses to Vandercook Lake. The Pirates not only defeated Vandercook in their first meeting, by 40, but next defeated Michigan Center by 17 after the Cardinals ended their season last winter. Napoleon also has a 63-45 win over Big 8 Conference co-leader Concord.
DIVISION 4
Baldwin (13-1) The Panthers are coming off an 18-5 finish and second place in the West Michigan D League, and they lead it this time by two games and with a win over Mesick after losing both meetings to the eventual league champ a year ago. Baldwin also has avenged a 2021-22 loss to Mason County Eastern and could avenge another hosting Traverse City Christian on Tuesday. The Panthers also have given Marion (11-4) half its losses.
Powers North Central (11-2) As noted above, the Jets are at least among the handful of elite small-school Upper Peninsula teams, No. 4 in statewide Division 4 MPR although second in D4 in the U.P. with Painesdale Jeffers in the top spot. Those two wouldn’t see each other until a Regional Final, where North Central’s 19-5 run ended last season. The Jets only defeats this time are to Division 2 Kingsford and Division 3 Iron Mountain, which stand a combined 25-3.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Goodrich (13-1) at Corunna (12-2) – They’re tied atop the Flint Metro League Stars with Goodrich winning the first meeting 69-54 on Jan. 10.
Friday – Detroit U-D Jesuit (14-2) at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (14-1) – As noted above, the Detroit Catholic League Central title will be on the line, as Jesuit can force a shared championship.
Saturday – Hamtramck (10-5) vs. Kalamazoo Central (13-2) at Benton Harbor – The Cosmos have faced their share of statewide elite as well, and will be seeking what would be one of their most notable wins in this Wilson Chandler Shootout matchup.
Saturday – Flint Hamady (14-2) at Davison (10-5) – Old rivals meet again as Davison is coached by longtime Beecher leader Mike Williams.
Saturday – Saginaw Arthur Hill (7-9) at Saginaw (14-4) – They’ll still have 2023-24 left before one the best rivalries in state history ends with a school merger, but this year’s rematch comes after Saginaw won 57-55 on Jan. 14.
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PHOTOS (Top) A Saginaw player gets to the rim during Friday's 59-54 loss to Mount Pleasant. (Middle) A Montabella player goes to the basket during his team's 43-28 win last week over Carson City-Crystal. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)