West Michigan Roundup, Tuesday 1/25/22

West Michigan Roundup, Tuesday 1/25/22

Best Win: GR Union over Wyoming 64-59

After going winless (0-13) last season and starting out this season (0-5-1), the Redhawks have begun to find their groove. They have now won four of their past five games including tonight’s win over (6-4) Wyoming who I had ranked #11 in the OK Conference. The addition of Genesis Kemp has been instrumental for Union’s success this season. Kemp led Union with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks, to help secure the Redhawk's biggest win of the season. Union will look to build off this victory when they travel to Reeths-Puffer on Friday.

Next Best: Allendale over Coopersville 49-43

Allendale started the season with a (2-5) record and was in absolute disarray when I saw them play against Tri-Unity Christian over Christmas break. The Falcons were defeated 53-32 at the hands of the D4 Defenders. The Falcons pulling off the upset over (7-1) Coopersville is one of the best wins of the season for an area team. Allendale improves to (4-6) while Coopersville drops to (7-2) ahead of their matchup against Unity Christian. This seems like it was a “look-ahead” game for Coopersville who already had their eyes set on the undefeated Unity Christian team. Coopersville overlooked an Allendale team that was hungry for a big victory.

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. Zeeland East 67, Zeeland West 63

Zeeland East picked up a major upset on the road over Zeeland West after dropping their past seven games. The Chix are now (2-7) and will face the tough task of undefeated Muskegon on Friday. Zeeland East was led by senior Levi Tilden with 19 points including 5 three-pointers. The Dux of Zeeland West have been a tough team to figure out this season dropping to (6-5) with wins over Gull Lake and Reeths-Puffer, but losses to Jenison and Zeeland East.

2. Cassopolis 53, White Pigeon 42

Cassopolis, a program that is always near the top of the Southwest 10 got off to a tough start this season starting (1-4). The Rangers have now won four straight and earned a huge victory on the road at White Pigeon. I had Cassopolis just outside the top ten of the Southwest MI small schools and White Pigeon ranked #8. Cassopolis should find its way into the top ten next week. They will look to avenge an early-season loss to Comstock this Friday night on the road.

3. Rockford 54, West Ottawa 48

Rockford extended their winning streak to eight games improving to (11-1) overall with a close home victory over West Ottawa. This Rams team is currently the team to beat in the always difficult OK Red. Going into this game West Ottawa may have been overlooked, but the Panthers have been playing strong basketball winning three straight before tonight’s loss. West Ottawa falls to (5-6) and will have Hudsonville at home on Friday in what should be a marquee matchup. Rockford will travel to East Kentwood with a chance to stay perfect in OK Red play.

4. New Buffalo 76, Berrien Springs 56

New Buffalo improves to (10-0) with another blowout victory, this time against a larger school in D2 Berrien Springs. Senior guard Kaden Parmley led the way with 20 points for New Buffalo. The Bison still have a big week ahead with Brandywine on Friday and Bridgman on Saturday. If New Buffalo can with both games they will certainly receive a rise in my small-school rankings.

5. FH Eastern 52, Kenowa Hills 45

Kenowa Hills faced a tough task in their first game since January 4th. The Knights were tasked with a surging FH Eastern team that just defeated South Christian on Friday night. Kenowa Hills had an early first-quarter lead but eventually gave it up, falling 52-45 to FHE despite 26 points from Javion Otten. FH Eastern improved to (8-3) and was led by Jacob Pallo with 14 points. FH Eastern will travel to Wayland on Friday looking to keep their five-game winning streak intact.

Top Performances:

-Simon Neuhaus (EGR 2023): 28 pts

-Kaden Johnson (Hartford 2022): 28 pts, 11 reb

-Javion Otten (Kenowa Hills 2023): 26 pts

-Carter Meerman (GR Cath. 2024): 25 pts

-Jacob Thompson (Sturgis 2022): 25 pts

-Jalen Overway (Holland Christian 2022): 24 pts, 11 reb, 4 blk

-Donovan Cummings (Comstock Park 2024): 23 pts

-Cole Weller (Dowagiac 2022): 23 pts

-Chase Mitchell (Lawton 2022): 22 pts

-Genesis Kemp (GR Union 2022): 21 pts, 13 reb, 3 blk

-Gabe Newhof (Unity Christian 2022): 21 pts, 12 reb, 4 blk

-Kayden Bird (NorthPointe 2023): 21 pts

-Travis Ambrose (Reeths-Puffer 2024): 20 pts

-Marshaun Flakes (East Kentwood 2023): 20 pts

-Connor Walsh (Mattawan 2024): 20 pts, 4 reb

-Kaden Parmley (New Buffalo 2022): 20 pts

-Kaden Brown (GR Cath. 2023): 20 pts, 5 ast

-Jakhary Towns (Godwin Heights 2023): 19 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast

-Levi Tilden (Zeeland East 2022): 19 pts

-Durral Brooks (GR Cath. 2024): 18 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast

-Drew Chandler (Unity Christian 2022): 18 pts, 7 stl

-Jonas VanderWoude (FHC 2024): 18 pts

-Adam Kroeze (Holland Christian 2022); 17 pts

-Jordan Briggs (Muskegon 2023): 17 pts

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

Game I Attended: Gull Lake 56, Lakeshore 42

(6-3) Gull Lake hosted (6-3) Lakeshore in a SMAC showdown between two teams that are always near the top of the rankings. Gull Lake trailed 9-5 early in the first quarter but closed the quarter on an 8-0 run including a three from Warrick Elder at the buzzer. The Blue Devil’s offense went cold to start the second quarter going scoreless for nearly four minutes but still held the 15-11 lead. A key moment in the second quarter was when Lakeshore’s star forward TJ Mitchell picked up his third foul with 3:14 remaining in the half. He sat out the rest of the quarter and Gull Lake went on a small run to take a 24-17 lead into halftime. The Blue Devils came out firing in the third quarter knocking down four three-pointers on seven attempts to expand their lead to 38-27 going into the final quarter. Lakeshore never really made it a close game in the fourth quarter as they cut it to 10 points at one point trailing 40-30, but were unable to power a comeback. Gull Lake took the home victory by a score of 56-42. Leading the Blue Devils was Nathan Louden with 17 points, Tyler Corstange with 12 points, and Haidyn Garrison with 10 points. Lakeshore was led by TJ Mitchell with 16 points and freshman JJ Frakes with 14 points. I had not seen this Lakeshore team this season and was surprised by their youth. They only have three seniors on the roster and TJ Mitchell is the only one who starts. Lakeshore had two underclassmen in double figures with JJ Frakes scoring 14 and sophomore Jack Carlisle with 10. Lakeshore will definitely be a team to keep an eye on in future seasons. Gull Lake will continue their three-game week on Thursday when they play Loy Norrix.

OK Conference

Allendale 49, Coopersville 43

Calvin Christian 46, Kelloggsville 25

Catholic Central 83, Cedar Springs 48

Comstock Park 55, Hopkins 52

Covenant Christian 69, Oakridge 47

East GR 48, FH Northern 47

East Kentwood 64, Caledonia 48

FH Central 78, Greenville 40

FH Eastern 52, Kenowa Hills 45

Godwin Heights 62, Sparta 60

GR Union 64, Wyoming 59

Grand Haven 65, Grandville 54

Hudsonville 58, Jenison 53

Mona Shores 56, Holland 44

Muskegon 55, Reeths-Puffer 47

NorthPointe Christian 70, Belding 39

Northview 65, Byron Center 34

Rockford 54, West Ottawa 48

South Christian 66, Ottawa Hills 49

Spring Lake 59, Hamilton 50

Unity Christian 65, Holland Christian 55

Wayland 69, Middleville-TK 50

West Catholic 65, Fruitport 46

Zeeland East 67, Zeeland West 63

Southwest MI D1-D2

Buchanan 64, Constantine 33

Coldwater 72, Grand Ledge 65

Dowagiac 70, Paw Paw 43

Edwardsburg 55, Sturgis 42

Gull Lake 56, Lakeshore 42

Harper Creek 69, BC Central 58

Kalamazoo Central 61, Mattawan 48

Lawton 51, South Haven 48

New Buffalo 76, Berrien Springs 56

Otsego 80, Allegan 49

Plainwell 59, Vicksburg 41

Portage Central 52, BC Lakeview 44

St. Joseph 58, Loy Norrix 51

Three Rivers 48, Niles 45

Southwest MI D3-D4

Bridgman 43, Niles Brandywine 41

Cassopolis 53, White Pigeon 42

Centreville 72, Marcellus 13

Colon 72, Burr Oak 41

Decatur 52, Bangor 36

Hartford 74, Mendon 44

Heritage Christian 65, WM Lutheran 43

Reading 61, Bronson 55