West Michigan Roundup, Tuesday 2/16/21

West Michigan Roundup, Tuesday 2/16/21

Some major games took place across the OK-Conference last night. First, Kobe Bufkin and GR Christian faced their toughest test of this young season against FH Central and won 71-61. Northview found themselves in another big game against East Grand Rapids and trailed early before turning it up defensively winnin 56-38. Over in the OK Blue Coopersville matched up against Unity Christian falling 83-78 despite a valiant comeback. In the OK Red a couple big matchups took place as West Ottawa added a nice win over Caledonia 60-50 and Hudsonville topped Grandville big 51-35.

Best Win: Northview over East Grand Rapids 56-38

Northview disappointed in their first big game of the season last week against FH Central and looked to avoid dropping another tonight. East Grand Rapids came into the game 2-0 looking to notch a big win.Northview was down early 13-7 after one quarter and trimmed the deficit to four points at halftime. This is a solid win for Northview who will turn their focus to GR Christian on Friday in a huge matchup.

Next Best: Hudsonville over Grandville 51-35

Hudsonville had very little buzz coming into the season after losing many key players from last season's 20-2 team. All they have done so far is surprise people with a win over Unity Christian and now a big win over Grandville who came into the game 2-1.

Best Performance: Unity Christian’s Zac Velthouse (2021 G): 40 points

One of the best unsigned guards on the west-side Velthouse continued his stellar start to his senior season with a 40-piece in the win over Coopersville. He will look to lead his team to an OK Blue conference title this season.

Other Performances:

Coopersville’s Blake Stewart (2021 G): 31 points

GR Christian’s Kobe Bufkin (2021 G): 26 points

Northview’s Kyler Vanderjagt (2022 G): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

West Ottawa’s Kobe Haglund (2022 G): 29 points

Games I Attended: Comstock 40, South Haven 38 (OT)

Comstock came into the game 2-1 with wins over Marcellus and Hartford while South Haven won their lone game against Berrien Springs. Comstock took a 32-26 lead into halftime led by 9 points from junior wing Israel Patterson. South Haven opened the half on a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to one possession. Then in the fourth quarter South Haven went on a 10-2 run taking a 36-34 lead until Comstock’s Israel Patterson tied the game up with 4:18 remaining. What transpired after that was scoreless basketball for both teams the rest of the way. South Haven had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but Xavier Ward’s jumper rattled off. Overtime was a continuation of the low-scoring game. Israel Patterson scored all four of Comstock’s points in overtime as they won 40-38. South Haven had an inbounds play with 8 seconds left but turned it over, securing the victory for Comstock. Israel Patterson was without a doubt the player of the game scoring 17 points, while Keyon Thomas led South Haven with 14 points.