Tri County 59 Grant 50 A bit over a month ago the Vikings came into Tiger territory and halted their 3 game win streak in a game that featured a veritable ocean of whistles. This time the game was on the Viking court and once again TC was able to outlast the visitors from Grant and make it a sweep of their season series. Coach Delamater: “It was a mirror image of the last time we played them without as many travel calls. They shot nearly 40 free throws and were 74%from the line. In the fourth they were 16/20. We shot less than 15. Hard to overcome that sort of discrepancy. Factor in foul trouble and an off shooting night and you get a win for them.” Julie Ashbaugh paced the Tiger offense with 19 points. Tri County 73 Grant 61 The visiting Tigers struggled to score in the first half and could not chip away at the deficit down the stretch at Tri-County. Coach Schiutema: "We've seen it before, when we struggle to score. We got it down to 5 in the 2nd half, but Tri-County responded." Seth Schuitema led the team with 22 followed by Chase Geers with 13 and Lucas Swanson with 11. Gage Cronk added 8.
0 Comments
Packers Victorious Over Lions Photos and Story by Alexis Mercer Fremont 50 Newaygo 45 In a tie with Big Rapids for a share of the Conference Championship, each game at the end of the regular season is crucial for the Packers. And the Lions of late have struggled to put together four consecutive quarters, but these two teams seem to rise to the occasion when playing each other. Fremont’s student section more than tripled from the girls game to the boys, nearly matching the home team’s Snowcoming student section, creating an electric atmosphere in the gymnasium that hasn’t been seen in quite some time. Bryce Decker, the Lions’ center, started off the scoring for the night with a 3 point shot from deep. 2:15 into the first quarter, the Packers got on the board with Logan Nelson’s 2 point shot. Not much later, Jordon McDonald started his dominant play, heading into the paint and drawing a foul off the defense. But Decker was here to play, staying deep for yet another 3, putting the Lions up by 2 early. In the last 20 seconds of the first quarter, the Packers meant business, stealing the ball 3 times with a tough press and aggressive shooting, putting them up 15-8. The 2nd quarter started out with solid Fremont passing and teamwork, with McDonald reaping the benefits of added points to his stats. The largest lead so far of 8 was in the Packers’ favor. With Decker in foul trouble, Jaden Osawabine stepped on the court for the Lions, and made his presence known. He scored three times in a row and also got fouled to end up tying the game at 19. The shift in the momentum was temporary, however, with Fremont dropping 3 more before heading into the locker room with a lead of 22-19. Josiah Long came out for the Lions and dropped a 3 to tie the score back up, creating a huge rise in the crowd for both sides. The rivalry and intense game was exciting for everyone from the littlest attendees to the grandparents!
Both the Lions and Packers were hitting the inside hard, causing a lot of whistle blows and many players who were in trouble of fouling out without backing off a bit. Dyllan Bazzett came in key for the Lions, scoring 4 points in two possessions. But McDonald answered with his own jump shot. Grant Harkness, not ready to be done for the night, drained a 3 point shot. And Chaz Miller for Fremont answered with his own 3 as the buzzer sounded for the end of the 3rd quarter. Down by 1 point starting the 4th, the Lions were putting the pressure on the Packers. Senior Kody Bazzett, playing in his honorary Senior night game, got fouled and made all 3 of his free throws to go up 43-40 with 5:42 left on the clock. But it was the cool and collected Packers who would retain possession, control the clock and end up with 5 more points as the final buzzer sounded. A victory for the visiting team after a well-fought match. When asked about the game, head coach Adam Bowen said “I thought both teams played really hard. We knew that this game was going to be difficult. Fremont and Newaygo games always seem to be battles. We came into the game missing three players from our normal rotation due to sickness and injury but that is something everyone is dealing with this year. We executed well offensively but just could not make shots. Our shot selection and ball movement was good, they just weren't going in. You're going to have games like that throughout the season, so we had to rely on our defense to carry us and we were able to grind one out. I'm proud of our guys for hanging in there and battling hard all night. Jordon McDonald had another double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Joey DeLong had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals and Gavin Richards added 8 points and 5 rebounds.” The Lions were led by Bryce Decker with 13 followed by Jaden Osawabine with 10 and Dyllan Bazzett with 8. Conference-Leading Lions Too Much For Packers Photos and Story by Alexis Mercer Newaygo 62 Fremont 19 The Lady Lions haven’t been leaving much room for opponents to be in the game as of late, but the fact of the matter is that when Fremont and Newaygo play each other, it is never a foregone conclusion who will come out victorious. On Newaygo’s Snowcoming night, the Packers would have an extra large crowd to contend with if they wanted to upset the conference leaders. They would also have the Lions’ full court press. In sync and ready to put some points on the board, Newaygo opened the first quarter with a 19-3 lead. But Fremont was showing no sign of letting up and giving in. Emmerson Goodin caused major problems for Fremont underneath the basket, finding the bottom of the net and making her presence known from the first minute on. The second quarter started the same way, with Goodin getting a basket plus one. The score rose all the way to 35-9 when the Lions stole off the press, got the ball to Jaxi Long, this week’s MLive player of the week, and she took a shot from behind the 3 point line that found nothing but the sweet swish of the net. Despite the Packers’ relentless efforts to cover all the Lions’ players, the night belonged to the home team. In the third quarter, Emme Goodin had the ball at the top of the key, trying to pass inside, but the defense had them all covered. So Goodin stepped back and popped a three, opening the score to 51-12.
Though the rest of the game fell in the favor of the Lions, the Packers were full of tenacious effort. Haley Zerlaut led Fremont with 8 points. The Packers fall to 2-14 overall, 2-8 in the CSAA Gold. They travel to Grant on Tuesday. Coach Zerlaut stated about the game: "We knew what to expect. Newaygo is a talented team that plays with a great deal of effort and gets a lot out of their pressure defense, We prepared for their full court press, and I felt that we handled that much better in the first half than we did the first time we played them. However, we didn't turn transition opportunities into points on the scoreboard. We had missed uncontested layups and unforced errors in open space that added up and put us in a big deficit early. As I told the girls, I was pleased with the improvement we showed in handling that pressure, but unless you put it in the basket at the end of the play it doesn't show up on the scoreboard." And from Coach Nate Thomasma, "Unbelievable effort by the girls tonight. I thought the whole team really competed in all four quarters. Defensively, I thought we were able to dictate the tempo and offensively we hit some shots that always help. Seniors Fisk, Long, Goodin and Swinehart all played well on Senior night for us They are not only great players but they are great leaders. They really have stepped up for us. We'll enjoy it tonight and get ready for Tri-County on Tuesday. Jaxi Long led the Lions with 22 points, 5 assists and 6 steals. Emmerson Goodin had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals. Kayla Fisk had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Newaygo improves to 15-1 (10-0 in conference) It was Senior Night in the Cloud as the scholar athletes who have taken to the hardcourt for the Orange and Black were honored for their contributions. Unfortunately the teams were doing battle with a pair of tough Morley squads and fell short of victory. Morley Stanwood 67 White Cloud 32 While the ‘Hawks are only 1-3 against teams with ‘City’ in their name (Kent, Lake, Reed) they are 12-0 against the rest of the field including their win over the Cloud Friday night. Coach Wilk: ”Morley did a great job moving the ball around, and when they had an open shot the ball went through the hoop. Leading us tonight in points was Abby Derks with 17 and Gaby Reeve with 8. “We didn't get the win on senior night, but luckily we have a shot to win our final home game against North Muskegon on Tuesday.” Morley Stanwood 74 White Cloud 54 The Cloud has been finding their touch on the offensive end the past few games and that trend continued Friday. Their guests however were knocking them down with even more regularity to notch the win and inch past WC into third place in the Silver. Coach Jones: ”If you told me before the game that we would score 54 pts and 27 in one period, I would have told you we would have been in the game at the end or maybe even won. The problem is we gave up 74. Not the way we wanted to send off our Seniors.” Jared Watson (14) and Kevin Strait (10), finished in double figures while Taylor Bode hit for 9. Joel Bradley and Donavon Stevens fired in a half dozen apiece. Robins, Brant pace RD scoring
Girls Holton 53 Lakeview 26 The Red Devils kept their winning streak alive and thriving as they inched ahead of the visiting Wildcats before pulling away following intermission. Coach Jordan: “I'm not sure why or what it has been about this team and the second half. Another game that we went into half in a close contest and another game where we dominated in the second half, tonight we had a 28-5 second half. “This is the 5th time during this 6 game win streak where we took control in the second half. I'll take it for sure but I also know that it's a double edged sword, I don't want my girls to think that this is just what we do. We can't expect it to always work out the way it has. Hoping to put together a few complete games before districts. “Tonight we were paced by Ryann Robins with a huge night of 19 points and 11 rebounds. It was good to see her get it going, she has had a quiet couple games but we need her to be a force down low and tonight she was active and efficient. Abby Fowler had a line of 10 point 6 assist and 6 steals. . She has been seeing the floor well the past few games and has really set her teammates up for good shots. Courtney Boes had 8 pts 5 steals and Layla Cannady had 7 points.. we have really found some scoring balance over this win streak and it always seems to be a different girl leading every night and we always have about 5 or so girls with at least 5 points “We have a great opportunity to keep this streak alive on Tuesday when we play Ravenna, but I keep telling my girls we have to show up night in and night out and earn it, we are not skilled enough to just walk on the floor and win.. we have to grind out all wins. Luckily for me these kids work hard and don't mind the grind. We just have to stay focused and take it one game at a time.” Holton 64 Lakeview 23 It would have been easy for the Devils to have a bit of a letdown after that emotional one point loss to Kent City on Tuesday. A loss that dropped them into second, a game behind the Eagles. But instead they took out their frustrations on the Wildcats, carving them up from the opening tip and hitting halftime with a tenfold lead, 40-4 Coach Swanson:” We are happy with the win. We will turn our focus to next week with our second match up with Kent City.” A matchup that will determine the Silver crown is to be shared or owned by one team. Carter Brant dropped 17 on the Cats, Kevin Erickson hit for 13 and Austin Fowler joined the three Devils in double figures knocking down 11. Fowler and Wyatt Monette shared rebounding honors with 5 apiece while Fowler led the defense with 7 steals and Monette dished out a game high 8 assists. By Ken DeLaat, N3 Sports Girls Fremont (2-7, 2-13) at Newaygo (9-0, 14-1) Despite the record the Packers have improved a good deal this season. The improvement, however, is not enough to make their chances of stealing a win in Newaygo very likely. The Lion express is hitting on all cylinders led by the triumvirate of local hoops named Long, Goodin and Fisk and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon. With 10 straight wins behind them Newaygo would like nothing more than to run the table and head into districts wearing a conference crown. Not saying they can’t be beat but you better bring your best game, hope you’re on the favorable side of most whistles, and can drain a boatload of shots from distance because you won’t get a lot of second chances. Grant (7-2, 9-6) at Tri County (3-6, 6-9) The Vikes have had an odd season. Most of their wins have come against teams that have struggled a bit. They knocked off Holton early on but the Devils were not the team they are today. And then there was the win over Grant on the Tiger home turf. A puzzling loss for the hosts that was influenced by a cavalcade of whistles that did not come from the stands, though I understand there were audible groans. Even though this is a tough venue for visiting teams the Tigers should come home happy if they can play their game. But they need to beware of TC’s ability to slow things down to the point of keeping them hanging around at the end. Morley Stanwood (5-2, 12-3) at White Cloud (3-4,7-9) Coach Wilk has done a nice job with this team. They’ve been inconsistent at times but overall have put together a respectable season and earlier this week posted an impressive win over Tri County, But Morley is good. Really, really good despite not being able to overcome Kent City in their 2 matchups with the Eagles. They might be looking ahead to a possible third go at KC in Districts but likely not looking far enough ahead to stumble here. Lakeview (2-5, 2-13) at Holton (4-3, 10-5) The Red Devils are believing in themselves after 5 straight wins including one over the Wildcats in Lakeview and an impressive showing against Muskegon Catholic Central earlier this week. With back to back games coming soon against Kent City and a strong Fruitport Calvary squad they can use all the confidence builders they can get. And this one they can get. Kent City (7-0, 15-0) at Hesperia (0-7, 2-11) If absolutely everything went the way of the hosts the probability of the Panthers being able to upset the undefeated and state ranked Eagles would still be as slim as an Olympic ice skater. They will give it a go but this is a seriously talented contender for a lengthy tourney run who score more in a half than Hesperia averages per game. Boys Fremont (8-1, 10-5) at Newaygo (2-7, 4-10) The Packers share the top spot in the Gold with Big Rapids and have reeled off 8 wins in their last 9 games including a huge win over their co-leaders. The Lions took apart Chip Hills to halt an 8 game losing skid that began with a loss to the Packers. But thus far everyone has beaten CH since their season opening win over Lakeview. Newaygo/Fremont is always a battle and the Lions haven’t been blown out of many games, they just struggle with putting together 4 strong quarters. Still, the Packers are playing some solid ball these days and the Lions would have to score a bunch of points to keep up with an explosive Fremont offense. Grant (5-4, 7-6) at Tri County (4-5, 7-7) The only team with anything close to a winning record the Vikes have beaten has been the D4 Zion Christian squad. The Tigers handled them at home posting a 20 point win earlier this season. Grant has been a bit erratic at times but this is a good team with a heavy schedule ahead of them including BR, Fremont, West Catholic and Holton. They should be able to repeat their performance against the Vikings but TC is not the easiest place to play and the hosts have nothing to lose. Morley Stanwood (3-4, 7-7) at White Cloud (4-5, 7-8) The Cloud came close to taking down MS in the ‘Hawks home gym earlier in the season. Coach Jones’ team has been a bit inconsistent but have had some good games recently winning 4 of their last 5. The Cloud’s offense needs to be on target and they can’t afford the lapses they’ve been prone to but this would be a sweet one over their longtime rivals and a great way to celebrate senior night. Lakeview (2-5, 3-12) at Holton (6-1, 10-4) The Red Devils lost a heartbreaker at home to fall a game behind Kent City for the conference lead. If the Holton squad can shake off that loss they should cruise here because they can’t afford a letdown with a rematch coming up for a possible share of the title. And I don’t think it’s likely they will have one given the nature of this team. Kent City (7-0,10-4) at Hesperia (0-7, 1-12) The Panthers haven’t won in a couple of months. They’ve improved but it would be a steep uphill climb to win #2 against a surging Eagle squad who now sit alone atop the Silver. Tuesday Hoop Results
Girls White Cloud 40 Tri County 38. Coach Wilk: “We came out with a game plan, and these girls did a great job at taking away what Tri-County does best. Abby Derks led the way with a monster game. She recorded a double double in points 19 and rebounds. In the first quarter our guards did a great job at getting her the ball, and she scored our 1st 10 points. After three quarters of play we held a 33 to 20 advantage. Tri- County hit a lot of shots in the fourth, but in the end we hit our free throws to seal the game. Carsyn Scarlavai battled foul trouble all night, and she still managed 9 points. Jaden Gomez added 7 points, and played great defense until the final whistle. Kiara Edwards had 3 points, and Ceara Bode added a huge bucket. On Friday we will be celebrating our Seniors against Morley Stanwood.” Boys Kent City 36 Holton 35 In a battle of conference unbeatens the Eagles outlasted the Red Devils to inch ahead in the race for the title. Coach Swanson: “Another battle tonight. Kent City showed a lot of toughness, lots of credit to those guys. We wound up on the wrong side of it but not for lack of effort. I thought we cleaned up some things on the defensive side of the ball from last night, but we weren't able to find enough rhythm offensively to get the win. We will pick ourselves up and keep striving to be the best team we can be.” Cater Brant led the Devils on the scoreboard knocking down 17 points while Wyatt Monette hit for 8 and Kevin Erickson tallied 7. Photos and story by Mike Gesler Grant 44 Morley Stanwood 55 The Tigers were at home tonight in a non conference showdown of second place teams against the Morley Stanwood Mohawks. Grant is sitting second with a 7-2 (9-5) record behind near north rival Newaygo in the CSAA Gold conference while Morley Stanwood is sitting second with a 5-2 (11-3) record behind undefeated and State ranked Kent City in the CSAA Silver conference. “When you come in against a team that’s got three losses, two of them against an undefeated second in the State team and one of them against a one loss Lake City team, you know what you are in for,” stated Grant’s Coach, Josh Delamater. “We talked a lot about that. We’ve been talking a lot about these teams, where they’re at, why they’re there, and where we are at, and it is all of those little things that we have just got to get to get to that next level.” The Mohawks jumped to an early lead in the first quarter before the Tigers settled in and began playing their quick paced, tight pressure game that they have demonstrated all season. This frustrated Morley Stanwood as suddenly they weren’t able to get the shots they wanted nor move the ball down the court. Couple that with a three from Rider and another from Chase while limiting the Mohawks to just two more points before the end of the quarter, the Tigers found themselves with a comfortable eight point lead 16-8 During the second quarter, Grant continued to press Morley Stanwood and frustrate the shooting lanes, but Morley Stanwood made some quick adjustments that challenged Grant’s defense. The two teams were locked in a fairly equal battle with neither team conceding. When the dust settled at the horn for half, Grant headed into the locker room with that same eight point lead 26-18. The Tigers however were not quite prepared for the second half. Morley Stanwood came out of the locker room with little adjustments that would put Grant on their heels. The Mohawks frustrated Grant’s shooting with a 2-3 zone, and found unguarded players in the transitions that created numerous one-on-one and break away scoring opportunities. And while the Mohawks did manage to tie up the game in the third, the Tigers still found a way to narrowly hold on to the lead by three 35-32. The last quarter though solely belonged to Morley Stanwood. The Tigers were now clearly frustrated by the Mohawks adjustments. With the game tied up and six minutes to play, Grant lost sight of their game and began playing sloppy. In fact, Grant was so flustered that they put Morley Stanwood from Bonus into Double Bonus within ten seconds of play. Of the Mohawks’ twenty-three fourth quarter points, sixteen came from the line. With Ashbaugh, Chase, Rider, and Arends in foul trouble (Ashbaugh would foul-out with a minute remaining), the Tigers couldn’t pull it back together as they let a disappointing and tough fought game slip through their paws. “Morley did a great job of free throw shooting, taking care of the ball better in the second half, hitting some shots, taking advantage of some of our rotations when we weren’t getting back fast enough, and until we clean those things up, we’re just going to be in that second tier of teams,” stated Delamater. “We have a big stretch of games, five games coming up, and we have to win four out of the five to stay in second place. That’s going to be monumental … But again, we battle hard. You’ve seen it all season. We battle hard. We battle to the end. It’s just little things we need to clean up and take care of.”
Chloee Chase led in tonight’s efforts for the Tigers with sixteen. Julie Ashbaugh put up nine, and Jaycee Rider hit for eight. Also scoring tonight was Sara Arends with five, Jocee Pleune with four, and Jocelyn Kruitoff with two. The Tigers will find themselves in Tri County on Friday night to try to avenge one of their earlier losses before returning home next Tuesday to face Fremont. By Ken DeLaat, N3 sports Girls Chippewa Hills (1-7, 5-9) at Newaygo (8-0, 13-1) The Lion bench is a group that faces some of the toughest competition around during practices as they prepare the starters for upcoming games. Fans should have ample time Tuesday to witness them in action. Morley Stanwood (5-2, 11-3) at Grant (7-2, 9-5) The Ladies of Morley have lost three times. Twice to 15-0 Kent City and once to 13-1 Lake City. So while the current run of 2 losses in a row will likely drop them from their #20 ranking there is no indication that their talent level will fall as well. The Tigers have had some outstanding games but they will struggle if they can’t control the pace of the game. Fortunately for Grant the same goes for MS so if the Tigers can run and keep finding the hot hand among their talented shooters the home fans will go away happy. Muskegon CC (4-2, 7-5) at Holton (4-3, 9-5) A word or two about the Holton team. They began their season with a full December then ran into a number of cancellations leading to a 5 week layoff. The second week back on the court they ran into a scheduling nightmare for teams as they took on 3 state ranked teams in 5 days taking it on the chin from Newaygo, Morley and Kent City. This is a relatively young team who could have cashed it in after spending a week being thumped by an average of 30 points a game. But they didn’t and proceeded to run off four W’s in a row. The Crusaders present a challenge and come into town following four straight dominating performances. But challenges are nothing new to these Devs. Tri County (3-6, 6-8) at White Cloud (3-4, 6-9) The physical play of the Vikings can intimidate teams but this hasn’t been a big problem for the Cloud. Their offense however,hasn’t been consistent enough and the press can still create problems for them. It would be a big win for Coach Wilk’s squad with a daunting Morley team coming to town Friday. Hesperia (0-7, 2-10) at Walkerville (6-5, 6-6) This might be the best chance the Panthers have at collecting another W this season with a quartet of tough teams following this one. The Wildcats though are going to present a stiff challenge and they want to keep their 3 game win streak going, It’s on the road, but it’s not a very long road. Boys Kent City (6-1,9-4) at Holton (6-0, 10-3) Huge game and part of a two game home and home series just 10 days apart that will determine the Silver title. The Red Devils haven’t lost a conference game since the 2019-20 season and want to hang onto that crown. They are playing with confidence and have players who can fill it up led by Monette, Fowler and Brant The Eagles have put together a good season but they haven’t beaten a single team with a winning record. Well, to be fair, they have only played one team with a winning record. A season opening loss to Grant.The Devils are playing back to back after a close loss to Shelby Monday and KC will come in rested, but Holton knows a win here would make their chances at back to back titles look pretty good so they will be ready. Chippewa Hills (0-9, 1-11) at Newaygo (1-7, 3-10) Newaygo has lost 8 in a row. That streak ends Tuesday. CH has lost 11 in a row. That streak doesn’t. Boys Shelby 43 Holton 40 The Tigers rallied from a first quarter deficit to catch up to the Devils then put together a strong 4th to secure the win. Wyatt Monette hit for 17 points, Austin Fowler scored 11 and Carter Brant finished with 7. Bret Hosmer put on some heady defense grabbing 7 steals Coach Jordan: “Shelby has a really nice team and coach Zoulek as always has done a great job with them. I thought our guys played a winning game and I need to do a better job in the future putting them in better positions to finish. We will take our lessons and pivot to our key matchup with Kent City tomorrow night.” Hart 60 Hesperia 50 Coach Worcester: “I have to say I’m proud of our guy’s performance tonight. We were down by 7 at half and managed a big third quarter push to win the quarter 19 to 13, but had some fourth quarter turnovers that allowed Hart to gain the advantage. In my opinion it is the best basketball we have played all season. Definitely a confidence booster going forward. I’m happy our guys had an opportunity to experience their capabilities.” Maddox Mosely knocked down 24 points for the Panthers and Maverick McKinnonfinished with an even dozen. White Cloud 57 Pentwater 36 Coach Jones: “We took a 10 -0 lead to start the game and never looked back. We still have a lot to clean up but not a bad start to the week.” Taylor Bode had a game and season high 21 points while Jared Watson and Kevin Strait each hit for 10 and Christian Ringler finished with a half dozen. Girls Holton 51 Orchard View 22 Coach Jordan: “This was not our prettiest game by far, we missed so many layups and 2 foot shots tonight. I'd say close to 20 if I was guessing. We created a bunch of turnovers and steals (30) we just had a hard time converting them to points. Probably our worst shooting night from a percentage standpoint. Another game where we took control in the second half, this is the fourth game in a row like where it was close at half and we pulled away significantly in the second half. , score was 23-15 at half but a 29-7 second half put it away for us. I like that we are closing out games but would love to see a complete game sometime real soon.” Courtney Boes had another solid game with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 steals. Abby Fowler had 5 assists with 7 steals and Ryann Robbins finished with 7 points and 8 boards. |
Archives
May 2024
Categories |