West Michigan Roundup, Regional Finals

West Michigan Roundup, Regional Finals

Division 1:

Regional 3

Northview 50, West Ottawa 45

• (12-12) West Ottawa looked to continue their Cinderella run with a win over (23-1) Northview. Northview held a one-point lead at halftime 18-17, but West Ottawa was able to take the lead entering the fourth quarter leading 29-28. Late in the fourth quarter, Northview regained the lead 43-37 with 1:04 left when Panthers star Brady Bosma fouled out. Northview was able to hold on for a 50-45 victory and will face move onto the quarterfinals where they will face K-Central. Jalen Charity led Northview with 19 points while Kyler Vanderjagt added 17 points. Brady Bosma scored 20 points in the loss for West Ottawa.

Regional 4

Kalamazoo Central 70, Okemos 62 (2OT)

• K-Central who started the season (2-4) was playing for their first regional title since 2017 when Isaiah Livers starred for the Maroon Giants. Okemos entered the game (19-4) looking for their second regional title in the past four seasons. Okemos got off to an early 13-10 lead after the first quarter with K-Central struggling to knock down shots. The Maroon Giants played a better second quarter tying the game at 18 before a 6-0 Okemos run. Okemos went into halftime with a 24-23 lead. In the third quarter, it looked like Okemos was going to run away with the game as they led 38-26 with 1:41 to play. K-Central battled back with baskets from TD4 and Hutch Ward to trail 38-35 entering the fourth quarter. It was back-and-forth in the fourth quarter until with 1:07 left Jaden Pruitt made a layup to take a 51-47 lead for Okemos. K-Central responded with an and-one by Scott Hughes to trim the deficit to one point. Will Young answered on the other side of the court with a layup for Okemos to go up three with :35 to play. Once again, K-Central responded this time with a three-pointer from Hutch Ward to tie the game. Okemos was unable to get a shot off and we went to overtime tied at 53. K-Central trailed in the overtime period 57-55 with 1:28 to play when Hutch Ward drained another three-pointer, this time to take the lead at 58-57. Okemos regained the lead with a Jaden Pruitt put-back layup. On the next possession, K-Central’s Scott Hughes was fouled and sent to the line where he split a pair of free throws to tie the game. Okemos held for the final shot and missed a deep three-pointer to send the game into double overtime. K-Central came through in the clutch in double overtime hitting seven of their ten free throws to take a 70-62 victory and move on to the quarterfinals. Hutch Ward led the Maroon Giants with 25 points while Scott Hughes added 24 points, and Thomas Dillard chipped in with 16 points.

Division 2:

Regional 11

GR Catholic Central 95, Whitehall 63

• (18-5) Whitehall would have needed a miracle to defeat the (22-1) Catholic Central Cougars. Catholic Central led 27-10 after the first quarter and never looked back. The Cougars have been all business this postseason looking to defend their division two state title. They will face Benton Harbor on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Camden Thompson led Whitehall in the loss with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

Regional 12

Benton Harbor 76, Edwardsburg 58

• Following their shocking upset of Parchment, (16-7) Edwardsburg was tasked with defeating the always talented (21-2) Benton Harbor Tigers. Edwardsburg trailed by nine points early in the first half but was able to cut the deficit down to 31-27 at halftime. Benton Harbor applied pressure on defense forcing Edwardsburg turnovers as they outscored the Eddies by 15 points in the third quarter to take a 59-40 lead. Benton Harbor moves on to the quarterfinals to face GR Catholic Central on Tuesday. The Tigers were led by Grant Gondrezick with 21 points, Trucel Singleton with 15 points, while Jajuan Walker and Marlon Williams each chipped in 12 points.

Division 3:

Regional 19

Pewamo-Westphalia 48, Ravenna 38

Regional 20

Schoolcraft 45, Watervliet 31

• Two of the top SAC teams matched up the regional final with (21-2) Schoolcraft facing (19-3) Watervliet. The schools did not meet during the regular season with Watervliet facing Parchment in the crossover games. Watervliet senior guard Andrew Chisek got off to a great start for the Panthers scoring all 10 points to lead 10-7 after the first quarter. The low-scoring affair continued with Schoolcraft taking a 15-13 lead into halftime. Schoolcraft opened the second half on an 11-0 run to take a 26-13 lead, but Watervliet recovered to trail 29-22 entering the final quarter. Watervliet couldn’t seem to close the gap still trailing 38-31 with 3:00 to go. Schoolcraft would end up taking the regional title 45-31 and will face Pewamo-Westphalia with a trip to the Breslin Center on the line. Andrew Chisek led Watervliet with 18 points.

Division 4:

Regional 29

Tri-Unity Christian 57, New Buffalo 40

• The (22-1) New Buffalo Bison hosted (17-6) Tri-Unity Christian in the regional final looking to upset the Defenders. New Buffalo who normally scores 70+ points was held to just 11 points in the first half trailing 28-11. The Bison had no answer for Tri-Unity’s star guard Brady Titus who scored 35 points. Tri-Unity will look to punch their ticket to the Breslin Center once again on Tuesday against Lenawee Christian.

Regional 30

Adrian Lenawee Christian 50, Bellevue 44

• Bellevue entered the game as the favorite with a (20-3) record while Lenawee Christian was (12-12) but had home-court advantage. The game was tightly contested with a 26-26 tie at halftime. Lenawee Christian pulled away in the second half for a regional title and will play Tri-Unity Christian in the quarterfinals. Bellevue had a tough break with three of their starters out with sickness including their leading scorer Braylon Robbins who scored 29 points on Monday.