West Michigan Roundup, Friday 1/21/22

West Michigan Roundup, Friday 1/21/22

Best Win: Schoolcraft over K-Christian 54-41

In the game of the night, Schoolcraft defeated K-Christian by double-digits led by Tyler DeGroote’s 14 points and 15 rebounds. Schoolcraft improves to (8-2) overall and (5-1) in conference play. The Eagles will get one more crack a Parchment on February 18th for a possible division title. The victory over K-Christian marked Schoolcraft’s eighth straight win against the Comets. Coach Randy Small seems to have K-Christian’s number and will face the Comets at home on February 11th. Schoolcraft will jump up to #1 in my D3-D4 rankings and certainly be ranked in next week’s AP Poll.

Next Best: Coopersville over West Catholic 53-45

West Catholic came into the season with lofty expectations and they now have dropped to (5-4) and (2-3) in conference play. Coopersville on the other hand continues to win and improves to (7-1). The Broncos have a massive matchup at home next Friday against Unity Christian as they will look to defeat the undefeated #3 D2 team in the state. Overall, winning on the road against West Catholic is a huge win for the Coopersville program that continues to prove doubters wrong.

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. Hudsonville 55, Grandville 39

After their (2-4) start that featured one of the most difficult schedules in the state, the Eagles have now got back to .500 at (5-5). Hudsonville does such a great job of reloading every single year after losing key players. The Eagles are now (3-2) in the OK Red which puts them in a two-way tie for third place with West Ottawa. Grandville had a tough week dropping both contests to West Ottawa and Hudsonville. The Bulldogs are now (6-4) and travel to Grand Haven on Tuesday for another difficult game.

2. Coldwater 80, Harper Creek 61

Another win for Coldwater who moves into a two-way tie for first place in the Interstate-Eight with Marshall. There was no let-down game for the Cardinals after defeating Pennfield on Tuesday. Coldwater took care of Harper Creek in front of the home crowd very easily with a 19 point victory to finish out a strong week.

3. FH Eastern 53, South Christian 52

FH Eastern improved to (7-3) with a buzzer-beating victory over South Christian. It was senior Caden Vanderberge securing the win with the layup at the buzzer following a great bounce pass. The Hawks defeated one of the better teams in the area in South Christian who now drops to (5-4). FH Eastern will have another battle on Tuesday against (4-1) Kenowa Hills who has not played since January 4th.

4. New Buffalo 85, Eau Claire 76

In one of the best Division 4 games across the state featuring two unbeaten teams, it was New Buffalo coming away with the win to improve to (9-0). The Bison feature a lineup that scores in bunches as they often have 3-4 guys with 15+ points. Things don’t get easier for the Bison with an extremely tough schedule next week. The Bison will face D2 Berrien Springs, D3 Niles Brandywine, and Bridgman all within the next seven days. It will be interesting to see if New Buffalo can keep that undefeated record intact.

5. GR Christian 46, FH Central 44

GR Christian earned a tough victory over FH Central winning by two points. The Eagles are now (6-2) overall with losses coming to Northview and Catholic Central, two of the best teams in the area. FHC is still playing short-handed without Conner Milton and Jacob Bonnett due to personal issues. Both teams have favorable schedules next week with GRC playing Lowell on Tuesday and FHC playing Greenville.

Top Performances:

-Jaxson Whitaker (Reeths-Puffer 2024): 31 points, 5 reb, 3 ast

-Landon Baskin (Eau Claire 2023): 31 pts

-Brayden Wilkerson (NorthPointe 2022): 29 points

-Trevor Zamarron (Greenville 2024): 28 pts

-Kyler Vanderjagt (Northview 2022): 26 points, 10 ast

-Jalen Charity (Northview 2022): 25 points

-Kaden Parmley (New Buffalo 2022): 24 pts

-TJ Mitchell (Lakeshore 2022): 23 points

-Jacob Zartman (Otsego 2022): 23 points

-Adam Kroeze (Holland Chr. 2022): 22 points

-Kaden George (Spring Lake 2022:) 22 points

-Henry Weller (Dowagiac 2022): 22 points

-Brady Bosma (West Ottawa 2022): 21 points

-Matt Lage (St. Joe Lake MI Cath. 2024): 21 points

-Aaron Jasiak (Parchment 2023): 21 points

-Durral Brooks (Catholic Central 2024): 20 points

-Kobe Haglund (West Ottawa 2022): 20 points

-Chase Mitchell (Lawton 2022): 20 points

-Carson Knapp (Brandywine 2022): 20 points

-Jalen Overway (Holland Chr. 2022): 19 points, 18 reb

-Gabe Newhof (Unity Chr. 2022): 19 points

-Cam Chandler (Unity Chr. 2022): 19 points

-Terrell Jefferson (Middleville-TK 2023): 19 points

-Tony Williams (Parchment 2022): 18 points

-Kaden Johnson (Hartford 2022): 17 points, 16 reb, 6 ast, 6 blk

-Zach Gritters (Covenant Chr. 2022): 17 points

-Caden Vandenberge (FH Eastern 2022): 17 points

-Anthony Sydnor III (Muskegon 2023): 16 points

-Tyler DeGroote (Schoolcraft 2022): 14 points, 15 reb

OK Conference

Calvin Christian 70, Sparta 35

Cedar Springs 72, Wayland 62

Coopersville 53, West Catholic 45

Covenant Christian 54, Tri-Unity Christian 41

East Grand Rapids 53, Lowell 35

FH Eastern 53, South Christian 52

FH Northern 44, Byron Center 41

GR Catholic Central 76, Middleville-TK 31

GR Christian 46, FH Central 44

Grand Haven 57, East Kentwood 50

Hamilton 55, Fruitport 49

Holland Christian 59, Allendale 48

Hudsonville 55, Grandville 39

Kelloggsville 72, Belding 21

Muskegon 74, Mona Shores 29

NorthPointe Chr. 64, Comstock Park 51

Northview 91, Greenville 44

Reeths-Puffer 57, Holland 50

Rockford 61, Jenison 36

Unity Christian 75, Spring Lake 59

West Ottawa 57, Caledonia 50

Wyoming 68, Zeeland East 55

Zeeland West 55, GR Union 40

Southwest MI D1-D2

BC Lakeview 60, Loy Norrix 43

BC Pennfield 73, Hastings 38

Coldwater 80, Harper Creek 61

Comstock 58, White Pigeon 51

Edwardsburg 47, Niles 31

Lawton 47, Coloma 38

Niles Brandywine 58, South Haven 37

Otsego 49, Paw Paw 38

Parchment 83, Delton-Kellogg 55

Plainwell 43, Sturgis 23

Portage Central 57, St. Joseph 46

Three Rivers 53, Dowagiac 44

Vicksburg 60, Allegan 57

Southwest MI D3-D4

Bellevue 63, Colon 43

BH Countryside 91, St. Joe Lake MI Cath. 62

BC St. Philip 73, North Adams-Jerome 50

Bloomingdale 55, Bangor 42

Buchanan 52, Bridgman 46

Cassopolis 83, Marcellus 27

Centreville 57, Hartford 48

Climax-Scotts 81, Athens 59

Decatur 45, Mendon 40

Fennville 54, Saugatuck 28

Hackett Cath. 50, Constantine 44

Lawrence 45, Black River 26

New Buffalo 85, Eau Claire 76

River Valley 72, St. Joe MI Lutheran 39

Schoolcraft 54, Kalamazoo Christian 41

Waldron 48, Burr Oak 27

Watervliet 60, Martin 12