Luke finishes freshman season
Ferris State senior and Glen Lake graduate Reece Hazleton recently finished his collegiate basketball career after playing in the men’s NCAA Div. 2 tournament earlier this month.
“It’s crazy to be done playing basketball. I have been reflecting the last week and a half or so and going over some of the memories and times with my teammates back in high school and college. I’m just happy and proud of the career that I had,” Reece said.
The senior finished his remarkable season and career, averaging 10 points per game.
Hazelton has played a crucial role since he joined the Big Rapids campus in 2020.
Hazelton was an all-state selection for Glen Lake, averaging 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game. He led the Lakers to an MHSAA Class C runner-up finish in 2016 and even was the starting quarterback for the Lakers football team.
Reece will graduate this spring with a master’s in business administration. His highest- scoring game for the Bulldogs this season was 13 points in a win over Grace Christian.
“I’m just glad to think everyone was a part of it. It feels weird, but at the same time, it feels right, too,” he said.
Reece said he will take the leadership experience into life after basketball after representing an elite division two program.
“We’ve had a lot of wins over the few years that I’ve been here, and there’s been a lot of success before I’d been there. It’s just a testament to Coach Andy Bronkema. He’s done a really good job, and he finds the right guys to fit his program,” Hazelton said. “You got to be tough to play this sport, and you gotta be willing to do whatever it takes to win, and that’s what we did at Ferris. I have no regrets and would 100% take Ferris again if I had the choice.”
Some of his favorite memories on the basketball court were playing in the state finals his sophomore year and being able to compete in the NCAA tournament. He leaves the program as a GLIAC conference championship and contributes to the team that went to the elite eight.
Hazelton as a Husky
Reece’s younger brother, Luke Hazelton, finished his freshman season at Michigan Technical University men’s basketball team, and slowly but surely found himself competing for the Huskies.
For the first time since 2003, Michigan Tech won the GLIAC regular season championship.
“It just felt really good to get a championship under our belt and then obviously making the NCAA tournament was a dream come true for a lot of us, even though it didn’t end the way we wanted to look back on it now,” Luke Hazelton said.
The Huskies defeated Northern Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Div. 2 tournament earlier this month before losing to Lake Superior State University in the second round.
“(The tournament) makes the games feel like there’s a lot more on the line, which because there is, but it’s really cool just to experience something that only a few teams in our conference every year get to experience,” Luke said. “I’ve been learning from a lot of the older guys and learning how to play at the college level. I think I’m in a pretty good spot for next year in terms of personal and team goals. We got a taste of what it’s like to be good, I think we’re all pretty fired up for next year already. We know it’s going to take a lot of work to get back to where we were, but I think we’re in some ways unsatisfied with how the season ended.”
Hazelton’s best game of the season happened against Northland when he scored 12 points.
Both Reece and Luke Hazelton are the sons of Todd and Joanie Hazelton of Glen Arbor.
