ALLEN PARK — For the past three seasons, Inter-City Baptist’s Ethan Esse has established himself as one of the top basketball players in the state of Michigan.
A former two-time all-state recipient, Esse came into the Chargers’ home matchup vs MIAC rival Southfield Christian on Tuesday on the doorstep of history. The senior needed 33 points to become the program’s new record holder for career points.The player he would pass? His head coach Mark Kraatz, who has been at the helm for Inter-City for nearly four decades. Kraatz said that Esse is “worth the price of admission.”
“I still say he is the best scorer in the state of Michigan,” Kraatz said. “He’s hard to guard. He’s going to have 1,700 by the end of this week and then be pushing 2,000 with people all over him. He’s not big, but he’s just that talented.
“If you haven’t had a chance to, I’d come watch him play.”
Esse certainly appeared well on his way to a record-setting night on Tuesday, but the festivities will have to wait for another day. Still, the senior turned in a game-high 22 for the Division 4 No. 2-ranked Chargers of Inter-City in their eventual 67-51 win over the No. 8-ranked Eagles from Christian.
The win makes it seven straight wins for Inter-City head-to-head vs Christian going back to the 2022-23 season. Albeit a one-sided affair in recent memory, Kraatz always welcomes his battles with the Eagles on the hardwood.
“It’s always good basketball,” Kraatz said. “Good programs, good teams, and a good rivalry.”
Tuesday’s battle was one where Kraatz saw his team formally never trail, however they needed a bit of a second-half push to pull away.
Inter-City — or Esse, rather — scored seven of the game’s first nine points. Esse was a big spark early, scoring 16 of his 22 in the first half, however the Chargers could only led by as many as eight and even had to settle for just a 30-26 halftime advantage.
“He has a high basketball IQ,” Christian head coach Clennie Brundidge said of Esse. “He knows how to see the play unfolding and he can find the right person. A little bit of speed helps with that too. He’s a very crafty point guard.”
While Esse slowed his scoring down some, the rest of the Inter-City team found their stride in the second half. A big 19-point third stanza, led largely by another senior in Mason Kowalski, helped the hosts finally create some separation from their Southfield counterparts.
Offense aside, it was one of the stronger defensive showings for Inter-City, who held the Eagles to their second-lowest scoring output of the season.
“I think we’re moving our feet,” Kraatz said. “We do a good job understanding the other team’s scorers and forcing them to take harder shots. (Christian’s Ronin Seals) got off at the end there and showed everyone why he is what he is. But overall, it’s just making the shots harder, reducing that percentage.”
Christian in the fourth could never get the deficit back down to single digits. The Eagles never went on a run bigger than seven points at any point on Tuesday, that coming in the first quarter.
Brundidge harked back to their early-game woes of falling behind early and needing to play catch-up all game long.
“I thought we made quite a bit of mistakes in the first half,” Brundidge said. “But our kids played hard and were able to respond and fight back. The first four minutes are like any other game. (Inter-City) took advantage and we could never recover.
“We just have to go back to the drawing board,” Brundidge added. “We got a good team, I know we do.”
In addition to the effort from Esse, Inter-City saw Kowalski catch fire late, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Another senior, Carlos Jackson, joined his classmates in double-figures with 13 points.
Christian meanwhile got a team-best 16 points from the aforementioned Ronin Seals. The junior scored 11 of that after halftime and was responsible for half of the team’s eight made three-pointers. The Eagles elsewhere saw another junior in Caleb Webb chip in with eight points.
Brundidge called Tuesday’s loss a mere “bump in the road” for a team he credits with bringing strong leadership and bounce-back ability.
“During the offseason, I never had to tell them to go run or lift weights,” Brundidge said. “This is the first group that took it upon themselves. I have strong captains too, and they’re doing a good job making everybody accountable.
“You watch,” Brundidge continued. “At the end of the year, teams better watch out, I’m telling you right now. Take your lumps now because at the end of the season, that’s not going to be the case.”
A hypothetical third meeting between Inter-City and Christian would take place in the regional final round of the D4 state playoffs. Brundidge will surely be eyeing a run that his Charger counterpart has enjoyed each of the past two seasons, that being the state semifinals.
Through nine games now, Kraatz says his team is locked in on all phases.
“I think the focus is good,” Kraatz said. “I think they’re hungry. And I don’t think they have taken anything for granted, which can always be dangerous. I like where they are at emotionally and mentally, and they’re playing well, but we’re still learning to get all three in perfect harmony.”
UP NEXT
Both teams will continue conference play later in the week on Friday, Jan 16.
Inter-City (8-1, 2-0 MIAC-Blue) will stay home and welcome in Whitmore Lake, while Christian (8-2, 1-1 MIAC-Blue) will return home to host Rochester hills Lutheran Northwest.
Photo gallery of Southfield Christian vs Allen Park Inter-City Baptist in a D4 top-10 showdown
