West Michigan Roundup, District Semifinals

West Michigan Roundup, District Semifinals

Best Win: Coopersville over Grand Haven 57-50

Grand Haven entered the night with an (18-3) record facing (13-7) Coopersville. Coopersville had defeated Union in the first round of district play on Monday. The Broncos of Coopersville trailed by nine after the first quarter and three points at halftime but took over the game with a strong third quarter. Luke Sanford led Coopersville with 22 points in the upset while Bashir Neely led Grand Haven with 19 points. Coopersville’s next task will be defeating the Big Reds of Muskegon on their home court. The odds will be stacked against them, but clearly, Coopersville thrives in the underdog role.

Next Best: Buchanan over Brandywine 49-37

Conference foes Buchanan and Brandywine squared off for the third time this season with Brandywine winning the previous two meetings. Brandywine entered the game (14-5) winners of eight of their past nine games while Buchanan stumbled to the finish line dropping three of their final five games. Buchanan led nearly wire-to-wire with a halftime lead of 12 points that was maintained for the victory. Brandywine was unable to stop the Bucks senior leader Ryan Young who had a game-high 19 points. Buchanan finally gets revenge on the Bobcats and advances to the district final to face Watervliet.

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. Rockford 57, FH Central 53

FH Central entered the game (14-7) winning five of their past six games. The Rangers had a chance for a potential upset playing Rockford at home. The (18-2) Rams won a close one defeating FH Central by four points. Junior forward Caden Pokorzynski led Rockford with 19 points in the victory. High-scoring senior guard Jacob Bonnett poured in 18 points in his final high school game for the Rangers. Rockford will meet Northview in the district final for what should be a fantastic game.

2. West Ottawa 46, Hudsonville 43

My pick to win the district, West Ottawa finished the regular season with an (8-12) record. The Panthers trailed by as many as 15 points in the game, but a strong second half propelled them past Hudsonville. West Ottawa was led by senior Brady Bosma with 17 points. Next up for the Panthers will be facing Grandville on their home court in the district final.

3. St. Joseph 49, Portage Central 45

The Mustangs of Portage Central fell victim to a mild upset on their home court in the district semi-finals. They had swept St. Joseph in the regular season en route to a (13-7) record. St. Joseph was led by 20 points from senior Conner Wright in the victory. The Bears have won five of their past six games. They will be tasked with facing rival Lakeshore in the district final, a team that they split the season series with.

4. Coldwater 57, Gull Lake 51

In one of the better district semi-finals games down south, (17-3) Coldwater hosted (13-8) Gull Lake for a chance to face K-Central in the district finals. I saw this game as two teams going in different directions. Gull Lake closed the season dropping three of their final four games while Coldwater won their last six games. The Cardinals had home-court advantage and won a tight one over the Blue Devils. Coldwater will now host Kalamazoo Central for a district title.

5. Covenant Christian 67, Potter’s House 62 (OT)

The outcome of this division three matchup was surprising to many. Covenant Christian defeated Potter’s House by 32 points earlier in the season, but was nearly upset by the Pumas and needed overtime to come away with a win. The Chargers trailed with :30 left until a Jonny Kuiper three-pointer sent the game into overtime. It was Zach Gritters leading Covenant Christian with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Jonny Kuiper added 15 points. Potter’s House put up a great fight on the road led by 22 points from Quincy Winkle. Covenant Christian will turn their focus to rival Calvin Christian who they will host on Friday in the district title.

Top Performances:

-Brady Titus (Tri-Unity Chr., Sr.): 35 points

-Carson DeHaan (Calvin Christian, Jr.): 33 points

-Ramere Draper (Wyoming, Sr,): 29 points

-Jalen Overway (Holland Christian, Sr.): 29 points

-Gabe Newhof (Unity Christian, Sr.): 27 points

-Jacob Zartman (Otsego, Sr.): 27 points

-TJ Mitchell (Lakeshore, Sr.): 24 points, 13 reb

-Jayce Warren (Bridgman, Sr.): 24 points

-Chase Mitchell (Lawton, Sr.): 23 points

-Luke Sanford (Coopersville, Sr.): 22 points

-Tyler DeGroote (Schoolcraft, Sr.): 22 points, 10 reb

-Kayden Bird (NorthPointe, Jr.): 22 points

-Tyler Schut (Fennville, Sr.): 22 points

-Quincy Winkle (Potter’s House, Jr.): 22 points

-Kaden Johnson (Hartford, Sr.): 22 points, 15 reb, 13 blk

-Tony Williams (Parchment, Sr.): 21 points

-Porter Saunders (Spring Lake, Sr.): 21 points

-Markvell Shaw (New Buffalo, Sr,): 21 points

-Kaden Brown (Catholic Central, Jr.): 20 points

-Brandon Downs (Coldwater, Sr.): 20 points

-Conner Wright (St. Joseph, Sr.): 20 points

-Kaden Parmley (New Buffalo, Sr.): 20 points

-Anthony Lijewski (New Buffalo, Sr.): 20 points

-Caden Pokorzynski (Rockford, Jr.): 19 points

-Zach Gritters (Covenant, Sr.): 19 points, 10 reb

-Bashir Neely (Grand Haven, Sr.): 19 points

-Kaden Geoge (Spring Lake, Sr.): 19 points

-Ryan Young (Buchanan, Sr.): 19 points

-Grant Gondrezick (Benton Harbor, Jr.): 19 points

-Evan Sloan (Coldwater, Sr.): 18 points, 10 reb

-Jacob Bonnett (FH Central, Sr.): 18 points

-Trey Johnson (Grandville, Sr.): 18 points

-Brayden Gable (Grandville, Sr.): 18 points

-Tyson Mann (Grandville, Jr.): 18 points

-JJ Frakes (Lakeshore, Fr.): 18 points

-Chris Castle (Harper Creek, Sr.): 18 points

-Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Jr.): 17 points

-Brady Bosma (West Ottawa, Sr.): 17 points

-Durral Brooks (Catholic Central, So.): 17 points

-Shane Rykse (Schoolcraft, So.): 17 points

-Brayden Wilkerson (NorthPointe, Sr.): 17 points

-Jake Rueff (Lawton, Sr.): 17 points

-Javion Otten (Kenowa Hills, Jr.): 17 points

-Kyler Vanderjagt (Northview, Sr.): 15 points

-Anthony Sydnor III (Muskegon, Jr.): 15 points

-Jalen Charity (Northview, Sr.): 15 points

-Jack Karasinski (Catholic Central, Sr.): 15 points

-Jake DeHaan (South Christian, Jr.): 15 points

-Trucel Singleton (Benton Harbor, Sr.): 15 points

Game I Attended:

Wyoming 80, Caledonia 61

The first game of the Caledonia district featured a semi-final matchup between (11-10) Caledonia and (13-7) Wyoming. The Wolves got off to a quick 6-1 start three minutes into the game, but Caledonia answered with a 10-0 run holding the Wolves scoreless for nearly four minutes. Caledonia held a 13-8 lead after the first quarter with Wyoming unable to hit shots from behind the three-point line. Wyoming flipped the switch in the second quarter with a 12-0 run to take a 20-13 lead with Caledonia scoreless for over half the second quarter. Wolves senior Ramere Draper drained back-to-back three-pointers to give Wyoming a 29-18 lead as they began to pull away. Draper scored 13 points in the quarter including three three-pointers to put Wyoming on top 34-18 at halftime. Draper continued to score in the third quarter where he added 14 more points including four three-pointers as the Wolves were led by nearly 30 points. Wyoming advanced to the district finals with an 80-61 win over Caledonia. Draper put on a clinic scoring 29 points on seven three-pointers while Qua’dir Hatchett added 16 points and Jaleil Holt chipped in 14 points. The lone bright spot for Caledonia was senior Gavin Hurst scoring 16 points off the bench, all in the second half.

East Grand Rapids 53, Byron Center 52

The second semi-final matchup featured OK White foes (6-15) Byron Center and (10-10) East Grand Rapids. The Bulldogs were coming off their first postseason victory in five years. Byron Center hung with EGR early, trailing 10-7 halfway through the first quarter. EGR caught fire from behind the three-point line, knocking down four three-pointers on five attempts to take a 20-10 lead after one quarter. The Pioneer's lead expanded to 12 points at halftime as Byron Center was only able to make three shots in the second quarter. The Bulldogs found themselves trailing 34-19 midway through the third quarter, but an 8-4 run put Byron Center back within 10 points heading into the final quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs struggled to close the gap, but with 3:10 remaining they were only trailing 42-39. Everything seemed to be falling for Byron Center with Logan McKenzie scoring inside and outside. EGR began to pull away once again, but the Bulldogs did not quit and Michael Bradshaw hit a key three-pointer as the Bulldogs pulled within three points trailing 51-48 with :53 remaining. Byron Center fouled David Bernecker who went 0-2 from the line while BC grabbed the rebound and scored again to trail by one point with :17 left. The Bulldogs were forced to foul Drew Caswell who was a perfect 8-8 from the line. Caswell shockingly missed both free throws, but Simon Neuhaus was right there to grab the offensive rebound and was fouled as he made the put-back. A deflating play for the Bulldogs who trailed 53-50 after Neuhaus missed the free throw. Byron Center had :09 left to tie the game. They looked for Bradshaw in the corner, but he was blanketed, so Camden Karel took the ball at the top of the key and passed up a deep three-pointer, and made a layup as time expired. Byron Center fell by one point 53-52. A tough loss for the Bulldogs, but they can only improve with nearly all their production coming from sophomores and juniors besides Logan McKenzie. The Bulldogs were led by a strong performance from freshman Camden Karel who scored 15 points while senior Logan McKenzie added 10 points and junior Austin Buckley scored 10 points as well. EGR was led by 11 points from David Bernecker while Brendan Burns and Drew Caswell each had 10 points. EGR will face Wyoming in the district final on Friday at Caledonia.

Division 1:

District 9 @ FHC

Northview 53, FH Northern 35

Rockford 57, FH Central 53

District 10 @ Muskegon

Coopersville 57, Grand Haven 50

Muskegon 68, Kenowa Hills 37

District 11 @ Grandville

Grandville 56, Jenison 47

West Ottawa 46, Hudsonville 43

District 12 @ Caledonia

EGR 53, Byron Center 52

Wyoming 80, Caledonia 61

District 13 @ Portage N.

Lakeshore 59, Mattawan 46

St. Joseph 49, Portage Central 45

District 14 @ Coldwater

Coldwater 57, Gull Lake 51

K-Central 49, BC Lakeview 45

Division 2:

District 41 @ Spring Lake

Montague 55, Oakridge 39

Whitehall 62, Spring Lake 57

District 42 @ Sparta

Sparta 60, Grant 51

Fremont 70, Newaygo 40

District 43 @ West Catholic

Catholic Central 82, FH Eastern 48

Unity Christian 65, West Catholic 44

District 44 @ Kelloggsville

South Christian 73, WM Aviation 35

GR Christian 73, Godwin Heights 50

District 45 @ Wayland

Hamilton 61, Hastings 52

Holland Christian 79, Wayland 58

District 46 @ South Haven

Benton Harbor 73, Dowagiac 49

Berrien Springs 57, Coloma 24

District 47 @ Constantine

Edwardsburg 47, Niles 46

Vicksburg 57, Three Rivers 53

District 48 @ Otsego

Otsego 58, Comstock 55 (2OT)

Parchment 68, Paw Paw 43

District 50 @ Marshall

Harper Creek 59, Olivet 53

Marshall 83, Charlotte 58

Division 3:

District 75 @ Saranac

NorthPointe Chr. 53, Carson City-Crystal 40

Pewamo-Westphalia 75, GR Wellspring 40

District 76 @ Covenant Chr.

Calvin Christian 63, Fennville 50

Covenant Chr. 67, Potter’s House Chr. 62 (OT)

District 77 @ Delton-Kellogg

K-Christian 65, Galesburg-Aug. 45

Schoolcraft 72, Hackett Cath. 33

District 78 @ Bloomingdale

Hartford 56, Decatur 40

Lawton 68, Bloomingdale 46

District 79 @ Buchanan

Watervliet 49, Bridgman 41

Buchanan 49, Niles Brandywine 37

District 80 @ Bronson

Bronson 60, Reading 49

Centreville 53, Union City 40

Division 4:

District 113 @ Calvary Christian

Calvary Christian 70, Libertas Christian 27

Muskegon Hts. 44, Muskegon Cath. 26

District 114 @ Climax-Scotts

Martin 52, Climax-Scotts 51 (OT)

Tri-Unity Christian 58, Phoenix 44

District 115 @ Lawrence

Gobles 85, Covert 67

Lawrence 56, Howardsville Chr. 43

District 116 @ River Valley

Eau Claire 75, Lake Mich. Cath. 42

New Buffalo 74, River Valley 54

District 117 @ Jackson Christian

Bellevue 75, Marshall Academy 38

BC St. Philip 46, Jackson Christian 43

District 118 @ Mendon

Athens 67, Burr Oak 58

Colon 57, Mendon 49