 Photos by Alexis Mercer Newaygo 64 Hesperia 39 The Panthers fought back from a 5 point deficit after one to hit halftime trailing by a single point. Newaygo came out strong in the third to stretch the lead to 11 then ran away from Hespeira in the 4th Coach Barrette remarked,"We did not match their desire in the first half, but were able to move the ball well enough in the second half to get some open shots" MItch Karrip continues to have a hot hand as he ripped the nets for 20 points while Jacob Polasek hit for 14 and Ryan Brummel dropped in 9. Newaygo (7-5, 4-4) will face Chippewa Hills (4-9, 2-6) Friday at home. Fremont 79 Orchard View 54 Make it 8! The Packers brushed past the Cards in a matchup of teams who battled in the Lakes 8 to secure their 8th straight win Monday night. Riley Krim fired in 23 points and Logan Karnemaat dropped another 15 to lead the offense. Calvin Miller had another rugged night on the glass pulling down 10 boards to go with a dozen points and Carter Moon was the 4th Packer to hit double figures finishing with 10. Fremont (10-2, 7-1) faces Reed City (7-5, 5-3) Fridayand wioll be looking to perform better at home than they did in Coyote Country. That night the ‘Yotes delivered a trouncing to an overwhelmed Fremont squad winning by 27 points. They will be facing a different Packer team than the one they handled in mid December, but beware. Reed City has stumbled a bit losing their last two games but their big men in the middle can rule the glass and if Karsten Koopman gets on a scoring roll watch out. Should be a good one.
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 Photos by Alexis Mercer Newaygo 60 Hesperia 45 The Lions leapt out to a 10 point lead after one but Hesperia regrouped and traded baskets with Newaygo in the second. Coming out of intermission with a 9 point lead the Lions pulled away in the third building the lead to 17 points entering the final frame. Freshman phenom Jaylee Long led the Lions with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Madison Bush also totaled 7 boards and knocked down 13 points including a perfect 5-5 at the charity stripe. Alexis Brocker turned in another solid game with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals and Daisy Hagen finished with 6 steals 5 rebounds. The lions dominated the turnover wars forcing 30 while yielding just 13 "Overall, pretty happy with the effort, said Coach Thomasma. “It was the first time that we had our complete team back (injuries, sickness) since before Christmas." “We got a little loose at times defensively but we played good enough to get the win.When we ran the offense, we got good looks at the hoop. "We still have to rebound the ball better and play more consistent on defense." Newaygo (3-10,1-7) will host Chippewa Hills (3-10, 1-7) Friday. Fremont 48. Whitehall 40
Natalie Jamieson shook off the effects of a weekend illness to come off the bench and fire in a game high 18 points to help lead the Packers over the Vikings. Fremont edged to a 4 point lead after one and inched it up to 6 by intermission. The defense held back a number of Whitehall runs in the second half to secure the win It was a team effort that brought an end to the three game skid that began in Tri County when newcomer Brianna Noordyk went down with an injury and joined Bre Harris on the sidelines instead of on the hardcourt. With Fremont struggling to score the past two games the offensive output was welcomed by Coach Krim. “We had good ball movement tonight and finally started making some shots that we missed the last couple of games.” Calla Miller continues to be a spark plug canning 11 points while dishing off a half dozen gifts to teammates and Anna Patenge popped in 8 for the Pack. Sydney Noordyk was a force on the floor as she passed out a team high 8 assists, grabbed a quartet of steals and pulled down 4 rebounds. Abby Seeger led the Viking visitors with 15 points. Fremont (7-7, 3-5) will host Reed City (11-2, 6-2) Friday night. Tri County 58 Orchard View 17 The Vikings ran over the Cards in this contest between former Lakes 8 rivals. TC moved to 7-7 on the season with a balanced scoring attack that included 11 players making their way into the scorebook. “It was a fun night,” said Coach Overbeek. “Everyone got to play a lot.We needed that sandwiched between games against the two top teams in our league.” Tricia Slaven paced the offense with 11 points. Summer Longstreet hit for 9, Alicia Bowen finished with 8, Emma Overbeek 7, Taylor Reed 6 and Julia Bice 5 Tri County (7-7, 4-4) will take on the Cardinals (13-1, 7-1) at home this Friday.  Fremont 59 Chippewa Hills 33
The Packers took awhile to shake loose of the Warriors before running away in the 4th to secure the win. The road victory kept Fremont in a tie with Big Rapids for the top spot in the Gold two games ahead of Reed City who fell to Newaygo. “It was a grind it out defensive type game on the road. We talked about how our defense needed to travel and tonight it did.” Ten Packers found their way into the scorebook led by Logan Karnemaat who dropped in a team high 13 points. Calvin Miller hit for 10 and Riley Krim tallied 8 for the visitors. Central Montcalm 78 Tri County 68 The Hornets took 45 trips to the line Friday night compared to 19 attempts by the Vikings. Those charity stripe shots provided the points needed for CM to secure the Gold win and keep TC winless. Bryce Hallman fired in 28 points for the Vikes Big Rapids 64 Grant 53 The Tigers battled to a 32-28 lead at the half but the Cardinals exploded out of the locker room behind Braeden Childress and Jackson Lund to hit the final frame with a 49-38 lead Childress popped in 17 of his 22 in the second half while Lund finished with 18. Grant was paced by freshman Freddy Hull who canned 18 points and senior Tyler Naffziger who hit for an even dozen. Lakeview 51 White Cloud 37 Steven Holt had 12 points for the Indians, Jared Elder scored 7 and Andy Newfer and Sean Kakoczki finished with a half dozen each.  By Ken DeLaat Photos By Alexis Mercer In the 7 weeks since the beginning of the boys basketball season Newaygo had gone undefeated on their home court. In both games. A grinding first half schedule saw the Lions begin their season at one the area’s toughest venues in Reed City then playing 7 of their next 9 on the road. Tough back to back losses to the conference co-leaders included a dramatic double overtime affair in Fremont. A week later the team fell short against their rivals from the south as the team weathered another key conference defeat Earlier this week playing away from their gym once again, the Lions lost a cross conference game to Morley Stanwood. A game when their effort was questioned. It was a low point midway through the season but with the corner turned and a feast of home cooking on the horizon the Lions let it be known that they fully intend to hold home court down the stretch. Newaygo faced down a good Reed City team. The Coyotes can dominate the glass and with scoring machine Karsten Koopman utilizing his patented spin move in the paint they’ve been known to run away from teams early. But not tonight. Not in Lion country where a raucous student section led an energetic home crowd in backing their team as the hosts simply took the game away from their foes. When RC took an early lead behind a pair of easy inside buckets by Anthony Pelton it looked like it might be an uphill climb but Morgan Manlick got to the line and sank a pair to put Newaygo on the board then Mitch Karrip laced a triple giving the Lions the lead. Zac Saez answered with a 3 pointer and the Coyote were in front again but Connor Swinehart quickly responded from beyond the arc for the lead that Newaygo would hold for the remainder of the contest. Reed City made countless runs at the Lions pulling within a bucket five different times but this was Newaygo’s game to win and you could see it in the way the team took to the court. In the paint they gave up height but not heart battling to secure boards and fighting to keep the dangerous Koopman contained. In the second half Koopman came out of intermission to trim the 7 point edge to 2 as he scored the first 11 Coyote points but Richard Hearth twice capitalized on scoring opportunities then exchanged a pair of assists for scores with Swinehart before drilling a last second three from the corner to give the Lions an 8 point lead heading to the final period. Between Karrip’s shooting for the floor and Manlicks cool conversions from the line the Lions kept the Coyotes at bay in the fourth and came away with a big win to keep their home record unblemished.
At 3. An obviously pleased Coach Joe Barrette was asked about the turnaround from their lackluster loss to the Mohawks earlier this week. “After Tuesday this group of young men decided to dig in and not go back to that place ever again. Tonight was a great effort and now we can look forward to playing in front of our home crowd for another 8 games.” Swinehart finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Karrip totaled 15 points on the night and Hearth hit for an even dozen to go with his 7 boards. And the defense for the Lions? The defense never rested.  Chippewa Hills 36. Fremont 28
The Packers struggled on offense hitting on just 2 of 32 shots in the first half to reach intermission on the short end of a 17-9 score. The break didn’t seem to provide much relief as the visitors defense continued to contain the Warriors only to see the offensive output fall short again as the teams entered the final frame with CH up 23-14. ‘Believe it or not we moved the ball very well in the first half and had lots of opportunities to score but just could not put the ball in the basket,” said Coach John Krim. “Our defense was very good and keep us in the game. Fremont’s offense came alive in the 4th and when Calla Miller drained a three pointer it pulled the team within 3 with a couple minutes left. In the end the Packers could not get over the hump. A steal resulted in a missed layup then after putting CH at the line where they split for a 4 point edge Warrior Haley Mercer read a Packer pass and stepped up for the steal and a game deciding layup. Chloe Shriver had 8 points Miller finished with 6 and Natalie Jamieson scored 5 Anna Patenge totaled 11 rebounds and 5 blocks. “We hope to take our momentum from the 4th to our game against Whitehall Fremont (6-7, 3-5) faces Whitehall at home Tuesday before returning to conference play against visiting Reed City on Friday. White Cloud 58 Lakeview 45 Lakeview can be a tough place to play and Friday the fans turned out to pack the gym for their game against a surging Indian squad.The Wildcats were clear from the start about wanting to stop Hannah Brown throwing a box and one with the rover trailing her. They didn’t figure, however, on Alexis Strait who scorched the Cats with 8 triples enroute to a 28 point performance. And as far as shutting down Brown, she fired in three three pointers herself while draining 13 of her 16 attempts from the stripe and finishing with 26 points while dropping 8 dimes on her teammates and snaring 4 steals Olivia Bowman battled against a huge Lakeview front line tearing down 6 crucial rebounds for the Cloud. “Very proud of my team’s performance tonight,” said Coach Kurt Brown.. White Cloud(9-5, 4-2) will be tested on the road next Friday when they get a rematch with Kent City. The Eagles sit atop the Silver and only one team (MS) has finished closer than 25 points to them in conference play. Central Montcalm 62 Tri County 33 After winning 4 of 5 since the break the Vikings hit a wall as the undefeated Hornets made them their 14th straight victim and remained a game ahead of Big Rapids in the Gold title race. “When you play a good team and don’t play well, this is the result,” said TC Coach Chris Overbeek. “They are a very tough team to defend. And we turned it over way too many times in the half court tonight.” Grace Miller finished with 10 points and Tricia Slavens added 7 for the Vikings (6-7, 4-4) who will head to Orchard View to face the Cardinals on Tuesday before returning to conference play to face another Cardinal team. This time from Big Rapids.  Story by Ken DeLaat Photos by Alexis Mercer Reed City 54 Newaygo 26 An undermanned undersized and overmatched Lion team showed a lot of grit tonight in their loss to the Coyotes. Reed City came into town after seeing their undefeated season come crashing down when the one two punch of Big Rapids and Central Montcalm produced a pair of routs and tumbled them to third place in the Gold. With Lily Ruehmeier sidelined by illness the Lions were down to 9 players and facing a Reed City squad of 13 featuring a deep 8-9 player rotation Kamryn Myers started the scoring for the ‘Yotes and her name would be announced time and again throughout the game. Jaylee Long answered for the Lions before Reed City promptly ran off 10 in a row until a Dana duChemin bucket stopped the streak. Myers responded with a three pointer and with time expiring in the first Emily Libey hit the cylinder on her third attempt from underneath and the quarter ended with the Coyotes in control 17-4. The Lions came out fighting as Daisy Hagen Madi Bush and Sophia Frisbie exchanged baskets with the visitors while Long, Bush Mya Berwald and Alexis Brocker banged away with the taller team fighting for rebounds and scrapping for loose balls. At the half Reed City’s lead had increased by just one. The third was a different story as fresh troops kept coming on the floor for Reed City and the press began to take its toll on the Lions. Myers hit a pair of triples with Libey and Ali Duddles scoring in the paint and the lead went to 24 points before Long battled her way inside past three defenders to end the drought before adding a free throw. The Lions never gave up. The Coyotes continued to press and Newaygo continued to fight through it the best they could. Watching the team play out the final minutes with the level of effort they were putting out it looked as though they could have been battling in overtime rather than down by a couple of dozen. "We just got beat tonight,” said Coach Nate Thomasma. “Reed City took us out of our offense defensively and we just had a bad start to the game and the 3rd quarter. "Give credit to them, they really played a solid game." The Lions did themselves and their school proud. There may be more losses down the road as the team still have to face the high flying Cards and the Hornets who have been carving up their opponents, but my hunch is there will be some wins in there as well. One thing is for certain, however. These girls won’t back down. "We'll regroup and be ready for our game against Hesperia on Tuesday,” added their coach.  38 point performance leads Tiger rout Story by Mike Gesler Photos by Catalpa Photography Grant 86 Lakeview 57 If you missed Grant’s game Tuesday night you missed a first half shooting clinic by the Tiger’s sophomore guard, Carter Chase. The Lakeview Wildcats came into Grant’s house hoping to improve upon their record in a non-conference matchup against a younger Grant squad. However, Grant had other plans for the Wildcats, and they would have to execute those plans without senior guard, Tyler Naffziger, whose was out sick. To say the first half was all about Carter Chase would be an understatement. The Wildcats were woefully unprepared for Chase’s presence on the court. And as Whitehall learned earlier this season, if you don’t shut down Chase, you will have a difficult time overcoming what he can do to you. Chase lit up the boards draining eight three pointers, three field goals, and each of his three free throw attempts to score thirty-three of Grant’s fifty first half points. “We’ve seen it before,” said Coach McCorkle. “We know his shooting ability. We needed him tonight, especially on a night when one of our fellow teammates wasn’t here, Tyler Naffziger, was sick. [Naffziger] has been stepping up to scoring because a lot of teams have been keying in on Carter. Just an outstanding performance from a kid who probably doesn’t care if he only scored one point.” Lakeview would come out of the locker room with some second half adjustments hoping to make up for their fifteen point first half deficit. Shutting down Chase would be priority number one. These adjustments would prove to be effective as the Wildcats would go on an eight point unanswered run before Coach McCorkle would call a timeout to refocus the Tiger’s efforts. However, when you key in on Chase, you leave one or more of Grant’s other talented shooters open. Both freshman guard, Frederick Hall, and senior forward, Michael Frey, stepped up to replace Chase. This was all too much to overcome for the Wildcats as Grant dominated with a final score of 86-57. “Defensively we’re not going in the right direction right now,” offered Coach McCorkle. “I’m happy we won. I’m always happy when we win. I don’t take wins lightly especially at home. That’s one of our goals is to win all of our games at home. I’m pleased for the boys. I think we’re not quite there yet where we need to be defensively if we’re going to achieve the goals we set out to achieve. Hopefully we can continue to make progress.” Defensively Grant will need to step up if they have any plans of going into Big Rapid’s house this Friday in a second round conference match up and coming away victorious. Big Rapids beat the Tigers on the Tiger’s home court earlier this season by four. Scoring in double digits tonight were Carter Chase with 38 points, Frederick Hall with 13 points, and Michael Frey with 11 points. Also adding to the Tiger’s effort were Cole Chase (8), Alex Longcore (6), Connor VanderWilt and Patrick Lancestremere both with four, and Karlton Zerlaut with two. The Tigers move to 5-6 for the season, and will face the Big Rapid Cardinals on Friday evening in Big Rapids.  Story By Mike Gesler Photos by Catalpa Photography Grant 23 Lakeview 25 The Lady Tigers were at home tonight in a non-conference matchup against what would prove to be an equally complemented foe in the Wildcats of Lakeview. If you are a fan of high scoring, fast paced ball, this would not be in your milieu. However, if defensive battles are your thing, tonight’s game would have had you on the edge of your seat, or bleacher if you may. Grant got off to a lack luster start as the Wildcats jumped out to a six-nil lead before Coach Paulsen called a time out to rally his squad about half way into the first quarter. That was the spark that Grant needed as they turned the defensive tide bringing the score within two before the quarter ended. That energy continued into the second quarter. The Tigers were able to make up some ground before both teams settled into shutting down each other’s looks at the boards. With both teams breaking the defensive stonewall late second quarter, Grant was able to go into the half with a one point edge, 13-12. The second half would yield more of the same defensive drama as the first. Neither team was able to get much of an offensive rally going. With 5:01 left in the game, junior center, Kyle Patton, fouled out. That would take Grant’s height away, and their inside shot maker. “It did change some things. We had started looking at her down low. We had gotten the ball to her. She had a good drop set jump hook going for us, and that changed it a little bit. Even when she fouled out though, we moved the ball. We got some open looks that just didn’t fall,” Coach Paulsen shared. With ten seconds left in the game, Grant found themselves down by two. Lakeview’s Kyra Perez sent Grant’s sophomore guard, Kirstyn Throop, to the line for a chance to tie it up on a one-and-one. Unfortunately, she missed her first attempt, but the Tigers rebounded the ball again missing the opportunity to tie the game. It seemed all but over for the Tigers with 1.3 seconds on the clock when the Wildcats were called for traveling on Grant’s offensive half of the court. 1.3 seconds would not be enough, however as the Tigers fell short by two; 23 points to Lakeview’s 25. “If you would have told me the other team had twenty-five points, I would have felt pretty good about coming in,” offered Coach Paulsen. “I thought we played a heck of a defensive game. The only problem is they played a pretty good defensive game too. We got our open looks, but they were usually contested. A lot of credit goes to how they played us, and limited us to one shot.” The Tiger’s fall to 3-9 for the season, and will back in conference play against Big Rapids on Friday in Big Rapids. Junior guard, Cecelia Male, led Grant’s efforts with eight points followed by Kylie Patton who put up six. Also scoring for the Tigers were Kirstyn Throop, Nichole Whan, and Kylee Wemple each with three points apiece. BOYS
Fremont 71 Whitehall 54 The Vikings are putting together another strong season and are in a dogfight with North Muskegon for the WMC title. Their only loss coming into Tuesday’s noncon game with the Packers was to the Norsemen a couple of weeks ago. Make that 2. Fremont took an early lead going up 16-11 after one and held off the Whitehall squad to run their winning streak to 6 in a row. Coach Pete Zerfas was happy with what he saw from his team-particularly the bench. “ It was our best shooting night of the year and we had our lowest turnover rate of the year. I thought with 3:30 to play in the third quarter when we had 4 starters on the bench with 3 fouls, our bench players Carter Moon, Jaxx Miller, Bailey Baddis and Micah Whittle along with starter Ben Schmidt ran a great motion offense, wearing down Whitehall while preserving and then extending our lead to 9 with a Bailey Baddis 3 point shot and Micah Whittle’s 2 free throws.” Logan Karnemaat paced the scoring with 17 and Packer sharpshooter Bailey Baddis scorched the nets 5 times from downtown for 15 points. Calvin Miller knocked down 14, Wyatt Kaastra hit for 9 and Riley Krim pulled down 10 boards to go with his 8 points. Fremont (8-2, 6-1) will be on the road to Remus Friday to face the Warriors Of Chippewa Hills. Morley Stanwood 60 Newaygo 46 Lion Coach Joe Barrette did not mince words when describing Tuesdays loss to the Mohawks. "Morley outplayed us in every phase of the game, effort being the most important." The Lions were down just 16-14 after one before the ‘Hawks pushed their lead to 8 by half. After intermission the hosts pulled away and by the time the teams were entering the final frame MS had the game in hand with a 20 point advantage. Connor Swinehart tallied 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Lions who have now lost 4 out of 5. Newaygo (5-5, 3-4) returns to conference play Friday when they host Reed City. Chippewa Hills 49 White Cloud 43 The Indians dropped their 10th in a row. GIRLS White Cloud 43 Chippewa Hills 34 The Cloud shook off an emotional overtime loss last Friday and took home a road win with some dominant play in the paint. “The combination of Hallie Schulz, Elexis Plotts, and Layna Yeiter controlled the boards limiting Chippewa Hills to only 2 offensive rebounds,” said Indian Head Coach Kurt Brown. Once again Hannah Brown paced the offense firing in 20 points and handing out a quartet of assists. Alexis Strait ripped the nets for an even dozen and also dished off 4 to her teammates. Strait and Brown proved to be thorns in the side of the Warrior guards picking off 4 steals apiece in the Indian victory. White Cloud (8-5, 3-2) begins the second half of the conference season Friday when they head east again this time to face the Wildcats of Lakeview. Morley Stanwood 56 Newaygo 45 Newaygo took a 10-9 lead after the first but the Mohawk offense caught fire and halftime arrived with the visitors holding a 26-21 edge.The Lions kept pace after the break and entered the 4th down just 6 but the Mohawk players hit their free throws down the stretch and kept their hosts at bay for the win. Coach Nate Thomasma: "We just came up on the short end again in a tight game. We had our opportunities to win the game but just didn't make it happen. Credit it Morley. They were 22-28 from the line and they collected key rebounds." Jaylee Long continues to have a hot hand as she canned 9 of 10 from the line as part of her team high 19 points.Madi Bush pulled down 7 boards to go with her 5 points, Sophie Frisbie hit for 8 and Alexis Brocker scored a half dozen, dished out 3 assists and snared 7 steals. "Nothing changes with these girls,” added Coach Thomasma. “They'll be ready to play hard and together for the next game on Friday. “They’re a fun group to coach " Newaygo (2-9 ,1-6) Hosts Reed City on Friday  By Mike Gesler Photos by Catalpa Photography Grant 73 Newaygo 65 When it comes to rivalries, last season matters. The Tigers took not only their home match against Newaygo, but also came into Newaygo’s house and won. This is a new season, and the Lions were looking to take back bragging rights by coming into Grant’s house and walking away victorious. And unlike last season, the Lions were much better paired up against a younger Tiger squad. Both teams were tied in the CSAA Gold conference at 3-3, but the Lion’s had two more overall wins on the season. Grant’s Middle School gym was packed with fans, and the student sections were in form, as the battle of the near north rivalry was set to begin. Unfortunately for Newaygo, the best laid plans of mice and men would become their story. The Tiger seniors were not about letting the Lions win in Grant’s house. As the first quarter came to an end, the Tigers led 24-18. The Lion’s would make up some ground in the second quarter scoring seventeen, and bringing Grant’s lead within four before the half buzzer sounded. But in the second half, no matter what Newaygo did, Grant always seemed to answer back. If the Lions hit a three, the Tigers answered right back with a three of their own. If Newaygo shut down Grant’s looks at the board, Grant would adjust and stretch the lead back out. “Our kids played hard. Right now we haven’t taken that next step. We’re still a couple plays away. It’s been kind of a brutal stretch on the road,” shared Newaygo’s coach Joe Barrette. As the final buzzer sounded, it would be Grant hailing themselves as the victors once more with a score of 73-65. “I’m super proud of the boys. I’m excited for them. A rivalry game like that. They wanted it real bad, and so I’m happy for them; I’m proud of them. I told them defensively was still a bit of an issue. We’re giving up too many points. Probably exciting for the fans; not for us coaches. We made some adjustments, and did certain things at the right time to win,” stated Grant’s coach Matthew McCorkle. At the halfway point of the season, Grant now sits at 4-6 (4-3 conference), as Newaygo moves to 5-4 (3-4). Four of the Tiger shooters were in double digits led by senior guard, Tyler Naffziger, with nineteen, followed by Carter Chase (16), Alex Longcore (14), and Michael Frey (10). Also contributing to the Tigers victory was Conner Vanderwilt (7), Patrick Lancestremere (4), and Cole Chase (3). For Newaygo, junior forward, Connor Swinehart, led with nineteen points, and senior guard, Mitchell Karrip, followed with sixteen. Jacob Polasek (9), Kade Bruyan (7), Cooper Heinzman (6), Noah Cantu and Richard Hearth each with three, and Morgen Manlick (2) all added to the Lion’s effort. The Tigers will stay at home and see Lakeview on Tuesday at 7:00, while the Lions will be on the road again against Morley Stanwood. |
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