West Michigan Roundup, Tuesday 2/15/22

West Michigan Roundup, Tuesday 2/15/22

Best Win: Grand Haven over Rockford 54-51

After falling in the first meeting 62-56 in January, Grand Haven evened up the season series with a road win at Rockford. Harrison Sorrelle led the Bucs with 28 points in the game. Both teams are now (10-1) in OK Red play with three games left in league play. They each have favorable schedules to finish the season, so we very well could have a split league title.

Next Best: Grandville over West Ottawa 43-42

Following a string of six straight losses, Grandville has now won two straight games including a key road victory over West Ottawa. The Bulldogs are back to an even (8-8) on the season. They were led by Trey Johnson with 14 points while Quinton Hendrickson added 8 points. West Ottawa falls to (8-8) and has now lost two of their past three games.

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. Unity Christian 70, West Catholic 61

Unity Christian clinched at least a share of the OK Blue title with a road win at West Catholic. The Crusaders improve to (16-0) on the season, the lone undefeated team in the OK Conference. Mitch Tibbe led the way for Unity Christian with 16 points while Gabe Newhof chipped in 15 points. West Catholic was led by Caleb Tuttle with 19 points. The Falcons five game winning streak comes to an end and they will turn their attention to key games against Coopersville and Godwin Heights this weekend.

2.Wyoming 63, Zeeland West 56 (OT)

Wyoming picked up an overtime victory at Zeeland West to improve to (10-6) overall. The Wolves were led by Ramere Draper with 24 points while Jordan Love added 17 points. Soph. Luke Bakker led the way for the Dux with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Zeeland West has some youth on the roster with Bakker and Merritt Alderink, a couple of sophomores that can produce big games. Keep an eye on the Dux in the next couple of years. Wyoming, on the other hand, is a veteran squad that will be dangerous in March.

3. Marshall 60, Pennfield 47

Marshall was able to avenge their lone conference loss with a double-digit home victory over Pennfield. The Redhawks essentially have an Interstate Eight title locked up with their final three games coming against teams in the lower half of the standings. Coldwater is the only team in the conference with two losses, but should not be a factor with star senior Ethan Crabtree likely out for the season with a knee injury. Once again, Marshall is not in the coverage area that is why they do not appear in the rankings, best of luck to the Redhawks.

4. Watervliet 42, Lawton 29

This game featured two teams playing to share the SAC-Lakeshore title with Fennville. Watervliet was able to complete the season sweep with a 13 point victory. Both Watervliet and Fennville are now (9-2) in conference play with games against Martin and Saugatuck on Friday. The only consolation prize for Lawton is that their district is much easier than Watervliet’s, so the Blue Devils may be able to pick up some hardware there.

5. Centreville 48, Comstock 45

Centreville improved to (13-0) in conference play with a close road win over Comstock. The Bulldogs needed to win this one or Cassopolis would be right on their tail with a big game looming next Tuesday against the Rangers. It was freshman Matt Swanwick leading the way for Centreville with 16 points and 5 rebounds. There are still five games left in conference play in the Southwest 10, but Centreville is in the driver’s seat with a two-game lead over Cassopolis.

Top Performances:

-Kyler Vanderjagt (Northview, Sr.): 33 pts, 8 reb

-Chris Jackson (White Pigeon, Jr.): 31 pts, 12 reb

-Marshaun Flakes (East Kentwood, Jr.): 30 pts

-Grant Gondrezick II (Benton Harbor, Jr.): 29 pts

-Harrison Sorrelle (Grand Haven, Jr.): 28 pts

-Scott Hughes (K-Central, Sr.): 28 pts

-Jesse Baushke (Decatur, Jr.): 28 pts

-Caleb Johnson (Portage C., Sr.): 26 pts, 10 reb

-Marlon Williams (Benton Harbor, Sr.): 25 pts

-Kaden Johnson (Hartford, Sr.): 24 pts, 15 reb, 12 ast

-Ramere Draper (Wyoming, Sr.): 24 pts

-Demarion Travis (Eau Claire, Jr.): 24 pts

-Brady Haisma (Calvin Chr., Sr.): 22 pts

-Matt Elderkin (Calvin Chr., So.): 22 pts

-Conner Milton (FH Central, Sr.) 21 pts

-Kaden George (Spring Lake, Sr.): 21 pts

-Thomas Dillard IV (K-Central, Sr.): 21 pts, 13 reb

-Mason Dykstra (Hudsonville, Jr.): 20 pts, 7 reb

-Jakhary Towns (Godwin Hts, Jr.): 20 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast

-Brant Goodpaster (Hamilton, Jr.): 20 pts

-Drew Caswell (East GR, Jr.): 20 pts

-Caleb Tuttle (West Cath, Sr.): 19 pts

-Tony Williams (Parchment, Sr.): 18 pts

-Brett Bultsma (Wayland, Jr.): 18 pts

-Jordan Love (Wyoming, Sr.): 17 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast

-Jorden Brooks (Catholic C., Sr.): 17 pts

-Jack Karasinski (Catholic C., Sr.): 17 pts

-Lukas Hagenbuch (Constantine, Jr.) 17 pts

-Luke Bakker (Zeeland West, So.): 16 pts, 12 reb

-Travis Ambrose (Reeths-Puffer, So.): 16 pts, 9 reb

-Matt Swanwick (Centreville, Fr.): 16 pts, 5 reb

-Ryan Van Liere (Mattawan, Sr.): 16 pts, 3 ast

-Durral Brooks (Catholic C., So.): 16 pts

-Shane Rykse (Schoolcraft, So.): 16 pts

-Mitch Tibbe (Unity Christian, Jr.): 16 pts

-JJ Stevens (Sturgis, Sr.): 16 pts

-Grant Pikkaart (Portage C., Sr.): 15 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast

-Jaxson Whitaker (Reeths-Puffer, So.): 15 pts, 4 ast

-Colin Shriver (West Ottawa, Sr.): 15 pts

-EJ Ryans (Northview, So.): 14 pts

Game I Attended: Benton Harbor 87, K-Central 86 (2OT)

A battle between two of the most successful programs in Southwest Michigan, Benton Harbor and K-Central took place on Tuesday night. KC jumped out to an early 7-2 lead within the first 1:30, but Benton Harbor answered tying the game at 9-9. K-Central was able to hold a 19-16 lead after the first quarter with production from Thomas Dillard IV and Scott Hughes. The entire second quarter was back-and-forth as we were all tied 33 with :53 left in the half. Benton Harbor went on a 7-0 run within that final minute including five points from Jajuan Walker who finished the quarter with 11 points. That run put Benton Harbor ahead 40-33 heading into the break. The Tigers extended their lead to 44-33 within the first :30 of the second half. By the end of the third quarter, Benton Harbor still held an 11 point lead at 58-47. K-Central’s Jahlin Banks-Jennings was crucial off the bench in the third quarter knocking down two three-pointer’s to keep the Maroon Giants within striking distance. K-Central was able to get the crowd back into it with a Thomas Dillard IV and-one with 6:18 remaining to cut the deficit to 61-55. Benton Harbor’s Grant Gondrezick hit back-to-back tough jumpers to bring the Tiger's lead back to eight points at 65-57 with 3:57 remaining. The Tigers held a 66-63 lead with 1:38 remaining and hit what some thought was a dagger three-pointer by Trucel Singleton to make it 69-63. K-Central was able to score and get a stop and trailed 69-65 with :21 left. Scott Hughes was fouled and then Benton Harbor was called for a technical foul as well on the same play. Jahlin-Banks Jennings made both tech free throws while Scott Hughes missed the first common foul free throw, but made the second to trail by one point. K-Central received possession fouling the technical foul and Scott Hughes was fouled once again going to the hoop. He missed the first free throw but made the second tying the game at 69. Benton Harbor had a shot to win but Gondrezick’s jumper came up short as an airball and K-Central missed a buzzer-beater chance sending the game into overtime. Both teams traded baskets and the game was tied 73-73 with 1:11 when Thomas Dillard IV was called for a charge when it could have potentially been an and-one and a chance for K-Central to seal the game. Nobody was able to score the rest of the overtime and we played on to a second overtime. Marlon Williams and Grant Gondrezick were crucial in the second overtime combining for 13 of the Tigers 14 points. Benton Harbor led 84-83 with :12 left in the game as Gondrezick went 1 of 2 from the line. Scott Hughes drove the lane and missed a tough contested layup to tie the game. Gondrezick hit both of the free throws his next trip to the line sealing the game with a four-point lead. Scott Hughes made a three-pointer at the buzzer to fall 87-86. In an all-time classic Benton Harbor was led by Grant Gondrezick with 29 points while Marlon Williams played fantastic in the overtime periods scoring a total of 25 points in the game. Jajuan Walker added 18 points but fouled out late in the game. K-Central was led by strong games from Scott Hughes with 28 points and Thomas Dillard IV with 21 points. Dillard fouled out early in the second overtime with K-Central leading 77-74. Benton Harbor improves to (16-2) while K-Central drops to (10-7).

OK Conf.

OK Blue

Coopersville 44, Spring Lake 42

Hamilton 57, Allendale 48

Holland Christian 64, Fruitport 33

Unity Christian 70, West Catholic 61

OK Gold

Catholic Central 91, Wayland 38

Cedar Springs 54, Middleville-TK 45

FH Eastern 74, Ottawa Hills 63

South Christian 63, Kenowa Hills 42

OK Green

GR Union 53, Zeeland East 25

Muskegon 61, Holland 51

Reeths-Puffer 47, Mona Shores 42

Wyoming 63, Zeeland West 56 (OT)

OK Red

Caledonia 54, Hudsonville 48

East Kentwood 65, Jenison 51

Grand Haven 54, Rockford 51

Grandville 43, West Ottawa 42

OK Silver

Calvin Christian 65, Comstock Park 51

Godwin Heights 60, Belding 31

Kelloggsville 69, Hopkins 55

NorthPointe Chr. 61, Sparta 41

OK White

East GR 53, Greenville 35

FH Northern 58, Lowell 52

Northview 74, FH Central 64

GR Christian 72, Byron Center 58

Other

Covenant Christian 79, Muskegon WMC 55

Southwest MI

Non-Conf

BC St. Philip 62, Calhoun Chr. 37

Benton Harbor 87, K-Central 86 (2OT)

Charlotte 52, Paw Paw 33

Mattawan 54, Sturgis 48

Plainwell 46, Portage Northern 44

Portage Central 66, Three Rivers 36

South Haven 73, Allegan 57

St. Joseph 65, Berrien Springs 51

Interstate Eight

Coldwater 58, Parma Western 52

Marshall 60, Pennfield 47

Harper Creek 56, Hastings 44

Southwestern Athletic Conf.

Coloma 56, Gobles 33

Constantine 48, Delton-Kellogg 43

Kalamazoo Christian 48, Hackett Cath. 35

Parchment 49, Galesburg-Augusta 30

Saugatuck 57, Martin 46

Schoolcraft 51, Fennville 36

Watervliet 42, Lawton 29

Southwest 10

Cassopolis 74, Bloomingdale 48

Centreville 48, Comstock 45

Hartford 72, Decatur 60

Marcellus 47, Bangor 43

White Pigeon 64, Mendon 40

BCS White

Eau Claire 82, BH Countryside 57

New Buffalo 84, Lake Mich. Cath. 58

River Valley 69, Howardsville Chr. 50

Other

Maple Valley 48, Union City 46