West Michigan Roundup, Tuesday 3/1/22

West Michigan Roundup, Tuesday 3/1/22

Best Win: Kalamazoo Central over Muskegon 51-46

The Maroon Giants came into the season with high expectations returning nearly their entire roster from last season. It has been a season of ups and downs as they started out (2-4) before stringing together seven straight wins, and now upset the #3 ranked team in the state. Hutch Ward and Scott Hughes played fantastic while Thomas Dillard IV did all he could while playing in foul trouble for most of the game. The Maroon Giants will prepare for a tough district next week with Coldwater and Gull Lake.

Next Best: Brandywine over Edwardsburg 47-39

Brandywine has now won eight straight games with wins over New Buffalo, Buchanan, and now Edwardsburg. The Bobcats are peaking at the right time with district play right around the corner. They will have one final test on Thursday on the road against (14-5) Lakeshore. I wouldn’t say that they are a lock to win their district with Watervliet, Cassopolis, and the host Buchanan, but they certainly have a chance to bring home some hardware.

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. South Christian 79, East Kentwood 59

South Christian dismantles East Kentwood to close the season out with a (15-5) record including winning their last seven games. The Sailors were led by soph. Jake Vermaas with 19 points. In district play, South Christian will likely get a rematch with GR Christian who defeated them by eight in the season opener.

2. Northview 59, FH Central 55

Northview clinched an outright OK White title on the road at FH Central. The Wildcats were led by 21 points from Kyler Vanderjagt. Northview finishes the regular season with a (19-1) record with the lone loss coming to GR Christian. FH Central’s four-game winning streak comes to an end as they finish the season (13-7).

3. Charlotte 48, Harper Creek 47

Harper Creek continues to stumble to the finish line with back-to-back losses to close the regular season. The Beavers fell to (7-12) Charlotte after dropping a home game on Friday against Coldwater. The road does not get any easier for Harper Creek who will play Pennfield in the first game of districts on Monday. The Beavers swept the season series of Pennfield, but it is difficult to beat a good team three times.

4. Coldwater 54, Otsego 46

Coldwater earns their fifth straight victory with an eight-point win over Otsego. The Cardinals are now (16-3) and (7-2) since the injury to their senior star Ethan Crabtree. They will look to keep their streak going on Thursday at Portage Central where I will be in attendance.

5. Jackson Northwest 66, Gull Lake 59

Gull Lake falls for the third time in the past four games to close the season. This time the Blue Devils' loss came to (9-10) Jackson Northwest who was an Interstate 8 bottom-feeder but did just pull off a big upset over Marshall last week. At this point I do not have much confidence in Gull Lake at all, they have struggled down the stretch. If you take away their two wins over K-Central then their resume looks extremely average.

Top Performances:

-Javion Otten (Kenowa Hills, Jr.): 33 pts, 16 reb

-Simon Neuhaus (East GR, Jr.): 33 pts

-Brady Titus (Tr-Unity Chr., Sr.): 30 pts

-Matt Lage (Lake Mich. Cath., So.): 29 pts

-Kobe Kambestad (West Cath., Sr.): 25 pts, 7 reb

-Trucel Singleton (Benton Harbor, Sr.): 25 pts

-James York (Berrien Springs, Sr.): 25 pts

-Kaden Johnson (Hartford, Sr.): 24 pts

-Trey Johnson (Grandville, Sr.): 22 pts

-TJ Mitchell (Lakeshore, Sr.): 21 pts, 19 reb

-Kyler Vanderjagt (Northview, Sr.): 21 pts

-Tyson Williams (Watervliet, Jr.): 20 pts

-Jake Vermaas (South Christian, So.): 19 pts

-Jack Carlisle (Lakeshore, So.): 18 pts

-Levi Tilden (Zeeland East, Sr.): 18 pts

-Ethan Hill (Muskegon, Sr.): 18 pts

-Ashton Atwater (Otsego, Sr.): 18 pts

-Conner Milton (FH Central, Sr.): 18 pts, 8 reb

-Zay Strickfaden (Fennville): 17 pts

-Noah Arsulowicz (West Cath., Sr.): 15 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast

Game I Attended: Kalamazoo Central 51, Muskegon 46

Muskegon made the long trip down to Zuidema Gymnasium for the final game of the regular season. The Big Reds were riding a seven-game winning streak entering the game (18-1) while K-Central entered (11-7). K-Central took the early lead 8-3 with 5:25 left in the first quarter, but Muskegon answered to trail 14-7. It was the Maroon Giants leading 19-12 after the first quarter with help from Hutch Ward who went 2-2 from 3PT range to lead KC. Muskegon began to close the gap trailing by only four points at 21-17 with 5:30 left in the half. An extended 9-2 run capped off by another Hutch Ward three-pointer gave the Maroon Giants a 30-19 lead. They would take a ten-point lead into halftime led by Ward’s 11 first-half points. Muskegon started the second half with a Jordan Briggs three-pointer to cut the deficit to seven points. The Big Reds went cold and did not make a field goal for nearly four minutes trailing 37-26. Muskegon did gain some momentum with an Ethan Hill layup at the buzzer to trail 39-34 heading into the final quarter. The Big Reds cut the deficit back down to three points at 41-38 with 6:40 remaining, but K-Central answered with baskets from Scott Hughes and Thomas Dillard IV to expand the lead back out to seven points. With under two minutes remaining, Muskegon’s Anthony Sydnor III knocked down a three-pointer to pull his team within two possessions at 49-43. It was K-Central who slowly began to falter as they fouled M’Khi Guy who made both free throws to trail 49-45. The Maroon Giants then turned the ball over on their next two possessions, but Muskegon was unable to capitalize. The Big Red’s senior forward Ethan Hill was fouled after an offensive rebound and made one of two free throws to make it a one-possession game. On the following possession, K-Central’s Scott Hughes was called for a charge, turning the ball over to Muskegon. The Big Reds were unable to score and were forced to foul Rico Smith-Shepard with :20 left who made one of two to make the score 50-46. Muskegon’s Jordan Briggs missed a three-pointer and the game was essentially over. K-Central earned their biggest victory of the season with a 51-46 win over #3 Muskegon. The Maroon Giants were led by 15 points from Hutch Ward while Scott Hughes added 13 points. Muskegon’s leading scorer was Ethan Hill with 18 points. One of the major downfalls for Muskegon came at the free-throw line where they went just 7-16. Both teams will look to bring home district titles next week but will have to defeat talented programs to achieve that goal.

OK Conf.

Non-Conf

Coopersville 62, Sparta 34

Covenant Christian 65, Kelloggsville 60

FH Eastern 51, Comstock Park 27

Grandville 66, Middleville-TK 50

Grand Haven 60, Saginaw Arthur Hill 52

Holland 55, Hamilton 45

Holland Christian 59, West Ottawa 41

Hopkins 51, Kent City 34

Kalamazoo Central 51, Muskegon 46

Potter’s House Chr. 69, Cedar Springs 45

South Christian 79, East Kentwood 59

Wayland 73, Allendale 59

West Catholic 96, Grant 56

Zeeland East 52, Ludington 48

OK Gold

Kenowa Hills 73, Ottawa Hills 65

OK White

East GR 62, Greenville 59

FH Northern 51, Lowell 45

Northview 59, FH Central 55

Southwest MI

Non-Conf

Benton Harbor 82, Loy Norrix 58

Brandywine 47, Edwardsburg 39

Charlotte 48, Harper Creek 47

Coldwater 54, Otsego 46

Hackett Cath. 52, Vicksburg 44

Jackson Northwest 66, Gull Lake 59

Kalamazoo Central 51, Muskegon 46

Pennfield 67, Lakewood 50

Watervliet 69, Berrien Springs 62 (2OT)

Delton-Kellogg 63, Maple Valley 52

Fennville 56, Muskegon WMC 50

Melvindale 55, Phoenix 53

Saugatuck 39, Zion Christian 24

St. Joe Lake MI Cath. 53, Black River 38

WM Aviation 57, Martin 50

SMAC

Lakeshore 60, BC Central 51

Southwestern Athletic Conf.

Galesburg-Aug. 54, Constantine 51

BCS Red

Buchanan 62, South Haven 50

BCS White

Eau Claire 67, Covert 40

Lawrence 53, St. Joe MI Lutheran 31

Southwest 10

Cassopolis 63, Hartford 36

Centreville 80, Decatur 31

Comstock 85, Marcellus 36

Mendon 46, Bangor 19

White Pigeon 44, Bloomingdale 41

SCAA

Bellevue 74, Athens 26

Colon 71, North Adams-Jerome 37

Waldron 59, Burr Oak 56

Other

Bronson 57, Springport 34

Concord 62, Union City 52