West Michigan Roundup, Monday 2/8/21

West Michigan Roundup, Monday 2/8/21

The 2021 high school basketball season tipped off last night with a few local games. One thing this jam-packed season is bringing us is games every single night. This season I am going to release a recap after every night of basketball featuring results and performances from every OK Conference team along with all of southwest Michigan.

Best Performance: Paw Paw’s Finlay Tate (2021 G): 30 pts 11-16 FG

Next Best: Berrien Springs’ Byron Tate (2022 G): 25 pts

Game I attended: Paw Paw 73, Watervliet 62

Watervliet started the game on fire from behind the arc going 3-4 from deep. The Watervliet lead extended all the way to 19-6 at one point in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Paw Paw started applying defensive pressure, forcing turnovers, and took a 36-35 lead into the locker room. The second half was mostly all Paw Paw, but Watervliet did not go down without a fight cutting the deficit to 60-55 with six minutes remaining in the game. Paw Paw’s one-two punch of Mitchell Mason and Finlay Tate is going to be a force to be reckoned with this season. Mason had 20 points and Finlay Tate led the game with 30 points on 11-16 FG including 5-8 from deep. Watervliet was led by Tyson Williams with 17 points and Brennan Bornas also had 11 points. Paw Paw is a team to keep an eye on for the next couple of weeks as they could jump into my D1-D2 southwest Michigan rankings. Watervliet on the other hand has many solid young players with only three seniors on the roster. Led by a veteran coach Dan Hoff, Watervliet could pull off some upsets this season.