2013. Evart High School. The MHSAA Boys Basketball Districts Championship Game between the Bucks and the McBain Ramblers. Sitting here looking back, that game was almost something out of a dream for everyone at Pine River, especially those that played in it. As for me, I was in eighth grade at the time, and that  game would be one of the most intense I have ever watched. Nearing the end of being in middle school, I was still a little unaware what this game meant, but it’s something I would not soon forget.

The school year of 2012-2013 was pretty rocky for a lot of people. That was the year that our varsity basketball coach had retired, and his job was now opened up to several candidates. While the basketball team went to summer camps and scrimmages with the assistant coach, the hunt for a head coach was underway. After serious consideration, a new coach was selected. Although most were very happy with the decision, there were a few who were in disbelief, and that soon turned into anger. The thing about people is that, no matter how hard we try, a good part of the time, we tend to act on our anger, not really considering the possible consequences. And that is exactly what happened. A few families decided that they did not want to be a part of the Bucks family anymore, and decided to move themselves, and their sons who played basketball, to a neighboring district that was very much at odds with our team: McBain. McBain had been our rivals ever since I could remember, and I wasn’t really sure why. People always said it had something to do with different people moving back and forth from the schools the last decade or so. And of course, it didn’t help that both of our basketball programs were two of the best in the conference, naturally putting us at odds. We both had incredible student athletes, the coaches to coach them, and the crowds to support them, even though they sometimes got a little too, exuberant. And to have some of our boys move over there just before the season started sure didn’t help. Try going into a basketball season with that in the back of your mind. So, as the 2012-2013 boys varsity basketball season began, a rift had developed, and everyone knew that something, was going to happen. No one however, could have predicted what would transpire this magical season.

As the season got underway, I was having fun myself. I was playing as part of the middle school team, and I got to watch two of my cousins playing ball on the varsity. And, maybe because I was younger, maybe not, but I thought that they sure looked good. I was very confident that we could beat almost anyone. But sooner or later, we all knew that we would have to face McBain on the court. And sooner rather than later, we did. Since McBain was in our conference, we would have to play them at least two times, once at their home court, and once at ours. The first time we played them was at McBain’s home court, and man did we play good. We had about ten 3 pointers that game, eight of which were from one of our guards. We played superbly, and stealing the win on their home court was pretty sweet. However, just because we beat them badly once didn’t mean they’d roll over for the rest of the season. If anything, the exact opposite happened. The next time we played them was at our home court, and that is a game I am not very fond of remembering. We played really sloppy, and it was their turn to steal the win from the home team. That was a hard game to sit and watch, but as the saying goes, “You learn a lot more by losing than you do by winning.” Although we were all disappointed that we had to lose to McBain that way,  no one could have predicted what would happen next time. I mean, there wasn’t supposed to be a “next time”, not this season at least. But when conference play was finished, and everyone was looking to postseason play (we shared the conference title with Mcbain), it soon became clear that the Bucks and McBain Ramblers might have one more game left for the public to see, depending if they, and we, made it to the District's game. And that, is exactly what happened. 

We were all in disbelief. Again? We had to play McBain again?? It was surreal. Both teams had won once, and lost once. And now, as if being offered a final chance to show the world which team was better once and for all, the titans would clash one final time. And to have it be for the District Championship Title was even more of a reason to win. But what would happen? I sure didn’t know. The District's game was scheduled to be at Evart High School, giving neither team the home court advantage. On top of that, both times we had played each other, neither team was playing their best at the same time. If BOTH teams were to play at their best, what would that game look like? And the biggest question of all everyone was asking: who would win?  Only time would tell, and that time would soon be coming to a close.

The game was only a few days away. As the varsity prepared for the game of their lives, I was doing my thing at school. But I couldn’t focus. I kept thinking about the game. “Will we win?” This thought filled my mind constantly. And as Friday, game day, finally rolled around, excitement was at an all time high. When I got out of school that day, all I could think about was leaving for Evart that night.

“Come on guys! We can’t be late to the game!” I pleaded with my parents.

“Brad, don’t worry. We’ll get there with plenty of time,” my dad reassured me.

“Actually Darin,” my mom countered, “We do need to hurry up. People at school have been telling me that this isn’t going to be just a Bucks and McBain crowd. People from all over the area are coming to the game because of what happened.”

“Alright then, we better get going.”

As my parents talked about their feelings for the game on the way there, all I could do was ponder and hope. As we pulled into the school, I said a little prayer. The game was about to begin.

The game got off to a rocky start. An elderly woman had fallen down the bleachers just prior to the game starting, so the game was on hold until the ambulance came and took her out. But once it started, let me tell you, it was absolutely amazing. McBain led the whole first half, although not by more than 5. We were hanging in there, but it was rough going. McBain was a very athletic and physical team, especially under the basket. But then again, so were we. As the first half came to an end, we were just barely trailing them. We all knew that if something was going to happen, it was going to be soon.

If the first half was exciting, the second was exhilarating. It almost looked like we had improved from the first half. We were slowly catching up. We had struggled with rebounding the first half, but not so now. “Coach Goodenow  must have given them some sort of a pep talk in the locker room,” I thought to myself. Not more than a second later, my cousin Joey drove into the lane and put up a floater right over McBain’s 6’6’’ center! The crowd went wild. Then, marching back down the court, McBain’s center, Hunter, returned the favor. There was only 6:30 left on the clock and the score was 47-43, us trailing. And then, as if an answer to my prayer, something changed. School came alive.

Our point guard, Mitchell, sank one of two free throws. And then one of our shooting guards, Skyler, buried a 3 pointer. The crowd went nuts. The score was tied, 47-47. The Ramblers were chomping at the bit to keep their lead, the lead that they had held all game long. But that lead, was about to change hands. We stole the ball and came back down the court. Skyler squared up, outside the arc, and shot a second 3.  He came up short, but our Center, Lincoln, made sure it wasn’t in vain. He quickly scooped up the ball and put it in for 2. The Bucks finally had the lead. Then, McBain’s center Hunter came back down the court and tied it up once again, 49-49 with 4 minutes left. Back down the court, my cousin Joey drove in and dished it to Lincoln for an assist. As McBain came down the court once again, we didn’t let up, not for one second. We stole the ball, and the play ended with Mitchell sinking 2 free throws making the score 53-49 with one minute to go. Then, one of McBain’s guards buried a deep 3 pointer to bring it within 1. Their crowd went nuts, and they even stole the ball from us. But as McBain ran down the court, their final chance at scoring diminished  when Brandon, one of our guards, blocked McBain’s point guard. Our crowd went berserk. Not only that, Skyler would get fouled and sank 2 more free throws to make the score 55-52. With only 25 seconds remaining, we took another shot. My cousin, Devin, who already had 6 points tonight and several boards, boxed out one of their players, even as he punched Devin in the back out of desperation.  The refs would give Devin 2 free throws, after he got the rebound anyway. He sunk them both. 57-52 with nine seconds left. McBain’s morale was gone, and sealing the fate of the game for good, Mitchell got another steal and dished it to Skyler for the final basket of the game. The nails were in the coffin. Our team was victorious. 

Our crowd went absolutely nuts, including me. My voice was pretty much gone by this point, but I managed to muster up a final yell in celebration. We all ran onto the court as the buzzer sounded in a massive celebration with the boys who had just done something magical. We couldn’t stop cheering and clapping. As the trophy was presented to the team and coaches, we all sang the Bucks fight song in celebration for what had transpired. We won. We won.

That is a moment I will never forget. Looking back now, it still gives me chills and excitement to think about that game. How we won, what we achieved, and what it meant. Not only were we able to play our best, we beat one of the best teams that was playing at their best.  We played as intense as you can play, but we still kept our cool and showed outstanding sportsmanship at the same time. To this day, I’m still convinced that we had some help from above, but there is no doubt in my mind that our boys played their hardest. In fact, so did McBain’s. That’s what made the victory so sweet. To be a part of something bigger, something greater, something that couldn’t have a price put on it. We had PRide. And to this day, if you ask any of the boys who played in that game, they would tell you that they gave it all they had, so that they, and we, would be ALL IN.