Lions Fall In Final Stellar season comes to an end as Falcons avenge last year’s loss Photos by Alexis Mercer Story by Ken DeLaat Everyone knew this was going to be a tough one for the Lions. The Falcons have been flying high all season with the only blemish on their record - a 4 point loss to the D1 Rockford team currently preparing to play a Quarterfinal game after knocking off top ranked Hudsonville. In a pre-game discussion with Editor Mercer we figured the Lions would have to limit turnovers, hit some threes, convert free throws and by all means not fall behind early. In other words, play a near flawless game to pull this one out. And that didn’t happen. The ball simply would not fall for the Lions on this night. Part of it was the Falcon defense but a couple of easy put backs failed to drop and the first couple of distance shots missed the mark and suddenly it was a 14-0 WC lead. Jaxi Long finally got them on the board and was answered by Elisha Dykstra and the first ended with the Falcons in control 16-2. In the second they held WC to 11 but their shots still could not find the bottom of the net. The Lions were held to a Long triple and a bucket by Kayla Fisk who put an exclamation point on the half by swatting away a Falcon attempt and intermission arrived with WC up 27-7. Coming out of the locker room Long spent the warm up draining shot after shot from various places beyond the arc and the team took the floor with determination. They were down 20 but ready to rumble. Early on Falcon Abbey Kimball, a Ms. Basketball finalist who had been mostly held in check by the defense of Emmerson Goodin and Fisk, engaged in a bit of taunting after a WC basket that drew a technical. The Newaygo defense kept playing tough but without points falling on the other end the Lions fell further behind and by the time they entered the fourth WC had the game in hand with a 47-19 advantage. As is their way the Lions battled to the buzzer as if the score was even. Goodin continued to scrap underneath, Fisk’s in your shirt defense caused Kimball to lose her cool and toss an elbow toward the Lion defender and soon after went to the bench for the remainder of the game. Meanwhile Long found room in the paint to hit a few floaters. But it was too late and the season came to an end for the Lions. Coach Thomasma: “It just wasn’t our night. We didn't play very well, had some early turnovers, missed some layups. “But hey I couldn’t be prouder of these girls. They won with class and lost with class, but they didn't lose very often. Just a tough team… mentally tough and I love them to death. “I’d go to battle with them any day.” This is a team that has exuded class and dignity. They are a tight knit group who have believed in themselves and believed in their teammates all season long and remain hands down the most entertaining high school team I have ever covered. Unlike the Regional final they won last year that saw the losing team walk out during the trophy presentation, the Lions stayed on the bench to witness the presentation of the award they took home the year before and honor the competition between the teams. In the past three years the Lions are 13-2 in tournament games, tonight’s loss and last season's setback in the State Final being their only defeats in the postseason. They held the Falcons to their second lowest point total of the season and while there’s little consolation in doing so it says a lot about the grit of this team. For Long, Goodin, Fisk and Lily Swinehart it would be their final time wearing the unis of Lion basketball. Each will move on to play spring sports and each will go on to graduate and pursue whatever post secondary endeavors they have chosen. "Can't say enough positive things about our Seniors,” added Coach T. “They have played a large role in helping build the program up. Making three straight regional finals (with a State Final appearance last year) is a difficult task to say the least. They have provided great leadership for our young kids."
"This team was a special group. All 10 of them really came together and made this season a great one. The girls really bought into their roles and I am excited for next year and the future of this program. We have not only a good group of talented girls but good people too." “Lastly, I would like to say thank you to the community for all of the support this year. It has been helpful and unbelievable." This team won’t soon be forgotten. Their style of play, their relentless spirit and the miles and miles of heart captivated an entire community. As well as an aging sportswriter. Well done ladies. Well done indeed. “Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” - John Wooden
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Not Even Close Packers take command early, advance to Friday Finals Photos by Alexis Mercer Story by Ken DeLaat It wasn’t Newaygo’s night. To say the least. Fremont took control early. After Joey DeLong hit a three to edge Fremont ahead 5-1 Grant Harkness drilled a triple of his own to make it a 5-4 game. The next 12 points went to the Pack, the final 3 on a Shears shot from the arc, and the first ended with Fremont holding a 17-4 lead. With a boisterous student section egging them on the Packers began the second quarter scoring the first five points, 3 coming from another DeLong missile, Josiah Long got to the line and stopped the bleeding when he split a pair. But DeLong found paydirt from downtown again and Jordon McDonald added a 2 and a 3 that sandwiched a Gabriel Schillman bucket and suddenly the lead was 30-7 To their credit the Lions fought back and began to get a bit of offense going as the teams hit intermission with Fremont firmly in the lead at 37-16. But there would be no miracle comeback. After the break Remy Wells dropped a three but Blake Hanshu answered for the Packers. Long hit a bucket then made it to the free throw line where he drained a pair to make the score 40-23. It was the closest the Lions would get for the rest of the night. McDonald heated up, scoring the next seven including 3 from the line and Elijah Shears hit his second triple. When Harkness hit another from distance the 3rd ended with Fremont firmly in front and playing loose and easy while the Lions continued to struggle with getting the ball in the basket and stopping their opponents from pouring in the points. The final frame saw the Pack pulling even farther away and the teams went to their benches for the final few minutes. Coach Bowen. “The team played hard. I think the time we had off was good for us since we kind of ran out of gas toward the end of the season. Really proud of the kids. They played really well. During our time off we worked really hard on our defense. The last game we played (Reed City) our defense was just not there. We fixed a lot of things and they came out and performed well tonight. “Sparta’s a good team. We played them early in the season here in this gym and they won but it was a close game. We know we’re going to have to play a good game to beat them, but we’re excited for the challenge.”
Jordon McDonald led the way with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Joey DeLong had 16 points and 2 steals. Logan Nelson filled the stat sheet with 4 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Blake Hanshue added 9 points and Elijah Shears had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench. For the Lions Josiah Long paced the scoring with 15 points, Grant Harkness fired in 8 and Bryce Decker hit for a half dozen. Fremont will play Sparta Friday at 7pm. Story and Photos by Mike Gesler Grant 51 Sparta 60 Sparta and Grant faced each other once already this year. It was the first game coming off of Winter Break. It was a game that was more about knocking the rust off than quality brand basketball. It was also a game that Grant led at half by 10, but then lost by two in the end. It was a game that Grant felt they should have won. As luck would have it, the Tigers got to have their chance at Sparta once more to open the State playoffs in District play. The Spartans had easily handled Comstock Park on Monday evening to earn their way to face the Tigers. The Tigers hadn’t played since last Thursday when they narrowly escaped with a win over Holton. If history would prove true that would mean that Grant would enter tonight’s game a little rusty. Sparta, on the other hand, had the benefit of playing two days prior, and playing on their home court. Like two heavyweight boxers in the first round feeling each other out, both teams started the game a little sluggish. Sparta would be the first to strike a blow and put points on the board. Barnhart would get the Tigers going, but it was slow going. While the Tigers were dominating Sparta on the boards, they couldn’t buy a bucket. Couple that with some poor turnovers, and Grant found themselves constantly battling to stay relevant in the game. Nonetheless, Grant went into the locker room at half only down by five. “Of course we really felt like we had a good chance to win the game.” stated Grant’s Coach, Joe Schuitema. “We didn’t start off very well with our offensive possessions. Turned the ball over too much. Didn’t get buckets that we thought we should get; in the first quarter in particular. What we did do is we played hard, and we played with a lot of heart and energy to get back in as close as two in the fourth quarter.” If you have stuck around with the Tigers throughout the season, you know that Coach Schuitema has harped about quality brand basketball. He has constantly asked his players if this is the brand of basketball they want to play. And in this roller coaster season for Grant, there have been some really good quality games, and some games that the team would sooner forget. Tonight, the Tigers certainly showed grit and determination that probably any other given day would have won them the game. First of all, offensively, minus the first five minutes or so of the game, the Tigers couldn’t ask for much more. Other than a few poor passes, they moved the ball well. They had plenty of solid looks. They had opportunities to put points on the board. They just could not get that ball to fall inside the hoop. Had the ball dropped just a few more times, Grant would easily be moving onto the District finals and not Sparta. Second, like I stated earlier, Grant dominated on the boards and frustrated Sparta’s shooters. It was the Tiger’s solid defensive play that kept them in the game. Third, due to let’s just call it a “series of unfortunate events,” when the Tigers did finally get the momentum to swing in their favor and started to stage a fourth quarter comeback, they were stifled. That hurt Grant every bit as much as their slow start at the beginning of the game. So for the players and the fans alike, this was a tough loss to swallow. But regardless of the outcome, the Tigers can be proud that they played some quality brand basketball. They played hard. They played with determination. They played with the heart and soul of a Tiger. And that was good to watch. “Our guys are really bummed about this loss,” shared Schuitema. “We had a great season. We had a fun season. And we didn’t want it to end tonight. So there’s a lot of emotions in the locker room. The seniors talked afterwards, and they just showed a kind of class act talking to the juniors and sophomore about what you need to do to get a better season next year. I really appreciate them. I told them I’m really proud of them, and I was so thankful to be able to coach them.” Grant says goodbye to seniors Isaac Higgins, Sawyer Carr, exchange student Giovanni Fallador, and Seth Schuitema, who, by my unofficial calculations, finished his high school career with 1369 points. This year’s juniors that will return for their senior year will be a solid group that should give the Tigers a strong base to build on. Couple that with Lucas Swanson’s growth throughout the season as a sophomore and a good core of Junior Varsity players eager to get their shot at Varsity, the Tigers look to be a strong contender in their conference finishing in the top three.
Sawyer Carr was the Tiger scoring leader tonight with thirteen. Seth Schuitema trailed Carr with twelve. Lucas Swanson added eight. Zach Barnhart put up six. Austin Whitney and Chase Geers each had five, and Giovanni Fallador shot two. The Tigers finished fourth in the conference with an 8-6 (11-10) record. Classic! Lions head to Regional Final after putting away a stubborn Spring Lake squad Story by Ken DeLaat Photos by Alexis Mercer In a game for the ages the Lions fought off a strong Laker squad to capture the win and move on to the Regional Finals. From tip off on it was a rough physical game. Emmerson Goodin opened the scoring with a bucket before Laker Nicole Schmitt hit from distance to give SL the lead. Jaxi Long drew a foul and drained both then after a stop fired in a triple to make it 7-3 Lions. As they would all night the Lakers kept coming at Newaygo. Laker Jennifer Judge hit a three late in the first to take the lead before Goodin dropped in 2 from the line and the first quarter ended at 10-9 Lions. The Laker defense proved a tough hurdle as Ella Andree spent her time on the floor going to combat with Long who responded early in the second by breaking free to hit another three then after a stop she smoothly hit a floater from the paint. Another defensive stop put the ball in Grace Painter’s hands and she rifled one in from distance and after an acrobatic and seemingly physically improbable shot by Long that found net the score was 20-11 Lions The Lakers were far from finished. They rallied with a 7-0 run and the teams hit halftime with Newaygo clutching a 20-18 lead. Early in the third Goodin drew a 4th foul and was forced to sit, a huge blow to the Lions. The Lakers charged forward taking the lead back at 23-22 but the Lions punched back. Kayla Fisk and Painter each split at the line then Long twice found an open Bella Welch underneath who converted both shots. Welch paid it forward delivering a gift to Painter who hit nothing but net and the 3rd ended with Newaygo up 30-23. But the Lakers were far from finished. Their defense along with a couple of interesting calls by the officials opened up opportunities as they clawed their way back to within 2. Welch started a move to the lane before firing off a nifty pass to Painter who stood outside the stripe and once again found her target to push the lead to 5. Alexa Carter pulled SL within 3 and they got the ball back with a breakaway that would have been an easy layup except for the dynamic play of Fisk who caught up with the Lakers and rejected the shot before it had a chance. Laker Coach Subdon called time with just over 3 minutes. Long drew a foul and converted a pair from the stripe but Meah Bajt scored and drew Goodin’s 5th foul. She hit the shot to complete the 3 point play and the game stood at 38-36 with just over 2 minutes left. Jaxi Long hit a bucket then kept the Laker defense off of her long enough to eat some clock and drew a foul converting both. Again the Lakers got off the canvas and battled back with a Judge triple to pull within 2 with 24 ticks left on the clock. Long once again dribbled her way around the court forcing SL to foul and once again the consummate clutch player dropped both and with 13 seconds left as her second shot gave the Lions a 44-40 lead. The Lakers came down and scored as time ran out but it would be the Lions who were moving on. Coach Thomasma; “It wasn’t our best game tonight but some of that had to do with Spring Lake. We played the second half without arguably our best player and the girls found a way to win and that’s all that matters. Jaxi gutted it out, Grace made some big time shots for us and Bella and Barb coming off the bench for us was big.We gutted it out that's what we do I guess.
“We know next game is going to be tough either way. Christian beat us earlier this year and West Catholoc has the best point guard in the state. “I’m just so proud of the girls. They made the plays we needed to at the end. I gotta give Spring Lake a lot of credit. They played really well. They’re a scrappy team and they gave us all we wanted but a win’s a win. We’ll take it and get ready for Thursday.” There were a lot of heroics on this night. The minutes provided by Barb Toth and Welch, the gritty defense of Swinehart, Goodin battling despite the foul trouble, Painter who not only hit some key shots but also provided some needed ball handling against the Laker press and, of course, Long who in my book is the best shooter I have been privileged to witness. And on Tuesday evening one of the main reasons the Lions would be moving on was the relentless high energy defense provided by Fisk. She slapped away passes, blocked shots and generally made herself well known to the Laker players. Her work on this night was beyond impressive. And now it’s to be West Catholic on Thursday, a team that was held to their second lowest offensive output of the season (55) and yet managed to defeat a strong Christian team by a dozen. It will indeed be a tough hill to climb if the Lions are to move on to the Quarterfinals once again with a Regional title in grasp. But this is a team that could care less who it is that takes the floor against them. They are utterly fearless and as we've said before, their greatest weapon is their heart. The heart of a Lion. Morley Stanwood 48 White Cloud 44 The Cloud’s season came to an end Monday night as they battled the Morley team on the MS home turf. Coach Jones: “Lost a heartbreaker tonight. So proud of my team, these 15 young men poured their hearts into tonight's game,only to come up a little short at the end. 16 second's left we had a chance to win or tie but the three point shot just wouldn't go down and Morley got an easy lay up as time expired to give them the win.” Taylor Bode led the way with 14points, Jared Watson dropped in 8, and Donavan Stevens hit for 7, while Kevin Strait, Christian Ringler and Noah Robinson each notched 5. White Cloud finishes their season at 8-13 including a 4-6 conference record and 4th place in the CSAA Silver. Regional play opens tonight
By Ken DeLaat Spring Lake (14-8) v. Newaygo (21-1) 5:30pm, Orchard View HS The OK Blue is tough. How tough? No less than five schools finished the regular season tied for second place in the uber-competitive conference ruled by West Catholic. Bajt, Judge, Andree, and Carter are 4 of their top scorers, but the bench is a long one and Coach Hyde doesn’t shy away from using a lot of players. They rebound well and are one of those teams who know how to create turnovers and know how to convert them into points. The defense can be stifling…unless they’re playing West Catholic. The Falcons outscored SL in their 2 meetings 148-68. The Lakers didn’t make it past their first postseason game last year getting bounced out by Montague on the Laker home court. They avenged that loss by taking out the Wildcats in the District final last week. The teams have 2 common opponents, Fremont and WMC. Both outscored the Packers by comfortable margins and both defeated the Warriors in closer games, the Lions by 7 and the Lakers by 8. The Lions come in having held off an inspired Sparta team to capture their third straight District Crown and they are playing some wicked good ball right now. Goodin is playing like she owns the paint, Fisk has made creating turnovers an art form, Painter steps up with confidence when the team needs a 3 and Swinehart seems to always be open for the shovel pass underneath. The bench played a major role Friday and they will need them again. And then there is Long, the sharpshooter with ice in her veins. The Spartans threw everything they had at them and the Lions never got rattled. When shots didn’t go, they knew they were going to start falling. When the Spartans were finding the open shots, they knew their adjustments would be shutting them down. This is a team that knows how to win. Three years of success when it comes to hauling home hardware does that for you. All in all this one has the look of being a close one. Again we hope the officials will allow both of the teams to play their game and not have a role in altering the action on the court. After Friday’s win the Lion players enjoyed a lot of post game celebration. They know what these moments are like and they drank in every bit of it as they have the past three years. But once it was done, they went back to work like the gritty, blue-collar squad they are. Talent & Teamwork. Coaching & Communication. Dedication & Drive. And miles and miles of Heart. Go Lions. A Tourney Preview
By Ken DeLaat D2 At Sparta Monday March 7 Sparta (8-12) v. Comstock Park (6-14) 7pm Wednesday March 9 Sparta/Park winner v. Grant (11-9) 5:30pm Fremont (13-7) v. Newaygo (7-13) 7pm Sparta and Park split their games this season. The Spartans opened the seon 5-1 including a pair of wins over Fremont and Grant. Since then however they are 3-11 and lost 5 of 6 as the regular season wound down. The lone win these past few weeks was over the Panthers. Park hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record. Sparta has a bit of a better record and are playing at home, but the Panthers live right next door. On Wednesday the winner plays Grant, the top seed and a team that can be puzzling at times. Puzzling and yet with the potential of being explosive. Newaygo faces Fremont for the third time and despite the discrepancy in records this one could be closer than many might think. The Packers finished their season getting crushed by Reed City, a team they handled easily earlier in the season. Still, with McDonald, Nelson, Miller, etc. they have more offense than the Lions though Osawabine in the lineup has added a spark to the contributions by Decker and Long. The Packers are seeded second and are the likely pick to advance but despite a season sweep this is a dangerous game for them and if the Lions get on one of their scoring spurts late it could go either way. D3 Monday March 7 White Cloud (8-12) v. Morley Stanwood (11-8) 530pm Kent City (14-6) v. Lakeview (3-17) 7pm Wednesday March 9 WC/Morley winner v. Montabella (17-3) KC/Lakeview winner v. Ravenna (13-6) Friday March 11 Finals 7pm At White Cloud The Cloud nearly beat Morley on the road but in their next meeting MS stomped them winning by 20. While WC’s offense has started to percolate the defense yielded 142 points in their last two outings. Since a season opener win over MCE just one of WC’s victories have been against teams with more than 3 wins. It's a home game for WC and they would love to move to the semis courtesy of a win over their old rivals but it will be a tough climb and the defense will definitely need to step up to allow a somewhat less than prolific offense to keep pace. Coach Jones needs big games from Bode, Watson and Strait and hope the turnovers can be minimal because the “Hawks feast on them. Kent City should have no trouble with Lakeview. The Wildcats rarely score 40 and give up a ton of points. Montabella are co champs of the MSAC but they have lost 2 in a row going into the post after winning 16 0f their first 17 games. Ravenna had a good year in the WMC finishing second to Whitehall. What's puzzling is their loss to Mason County Central the league's cellar dweller. At WMC Monday March 7 WMC (7-13) v. N Muskegon (12-8) 530pm Hart (6-14) v. Hesperia (1-18) 7pm Wednesday March 9 WMC/NM winner v. Shelby (12-8) 530pm Hart/Hespo winner v. Holton (14-6) 7pm Friday March 11 Finals 7pm The Warriors have only one win over a team with more than 6 wins. The Norse competed in a tough conference and have wins over WMC as well as top seeded Shelby. Toss up. I like the Red Devil team. They’ve played well all season and have the weapons on offense and defensively they are stingy. Just 2 teams scored more than 50 on them all season. Whether Hart or Hesperia becomes their opponent the RD’s will more than likely be playing on Friday for the title. Lions Hold Off Spartan Rally to Capture 3rd Straight District Crown Photos by Alexis Mercer, Story by Ken DeLaat Two years in a row the Sparta girls were bounced from the dance by the Lions. Spartan seniors Bella Vallone and Ashley Cowdrey in particular remembered watching the Lions celebrate those District crowns and this time, this year they were determined to turn the tables. This time it was their turn to hoist the trophy with the Lions watching. This time it would be Sparta moving on to the Regionals. Nope. Not this time. Some games are like track meets. Some become real physical resulting in a slowing of the action. This one was both. These teams left nothing on the court as they battled, banged and bashed each other while moving up and down the court at a speed that saw heads in the crowd moving back and forth like they were at a tennis match. Coach Thomasma was worried going into this one and with good reason. Sparta had but 8 players on their team, but they had a solid lineup and we all know a team that made it to Breslin with just 7 players last year. The game got physical right from tipoff. Sparta’s Cowdrey started the scoring then Jaxi Long began hitting the target like a sniper banging in a pair of threes then forcing a foul and draining a pair. Suddenly it was 8-2. The Spartans responded as Makayla Hatchew tripled and another Spartan stop with a basket and free throw forged a tie. Vallone fired in a pair from distance that sandwiched a similar scoring strike from Long and the quarter ended with Sparta up 14-12. The second quarter belonged to the Lions. A Long bucket and a split from the line from Emmerson Goodin inched Newaygo back into the lead then as a Spartan player was about to lay in a basket to regain the lead Goodin leapt up and rejected the shot, a move that brought the crowd to its feet. Goodin wasn’t done. She drove in for a pair, drew a foul and converted both then Long hit a floater and suddenly the Lions were up 21-14 midway through the second quarter. Coach Applin called a time out but it didn’t stop the bleeding. After Long slipped a pass to Lily Swinehart for 2, Swinehart and Long made trips to the charity strip converting 4 of 4 as the fouls began to pile up for Sparta. Cowdrey's basket finally put the Spartans on the board again after a 13 point Lion run and when the teams left the floor for intermission Newaygo held a 27-16 lead. A lot of teams might have folded after falling behind by double digits but Sparta isn’t a lot of teams. They came out of the locker room on fire continuing their fierce defense while putting the offense into gear. Cowdrey scored and after 2 stops Vallone hit a 2 and Delaney Desillier fired one in from distance. Vallone continued with another pair of buckets answered by Goodin and just when the Spartans got within 2, Grace Painter hit a clutch three pointer to provide the Lions with a little breathing room. Undeterred, the Sparta team kept grinding it out led by Vallone and tied the game at 34. Long launched a missile for 3 but was immediately answered by Hatchew. An exchange of buckets ended the third all even at 39 and the Lion faithful looked a bit tense after seeing an 11 point lead evaporate. While there may have been a seed of doubt in the stands there was none on the Lion team. These warriors took to the court for the final 8 minutes on a mission. This is a team that doesn’t get rattled. A team with confidence in their ability to bring home the groceries and on this night they delivered big time. Goodin scored twice, Kayla Fisk the defensive demon tapped away an errant pass then looped a pass to Long who converted. Fisk caused another turnover and got the ball into Painter’s hands who drained it. Cowdrey split at the line before Goodin scored and was fouled completing the three point play and putting the Lions up 10. Though the Spartans continued to battle, the Lions were content to put the ball in Long’s capable hands as she ate up clock when not being sent to the line. When the buzzer finally sounded the large Newaygo student section poured onto the court to celebrate with their beloved Lions. Goodin “We knew they were going to be tough and they came out quick and fast so we knew we were going to have to keep up with their pace.”
The key to the Lion response to the 3rd quarter run by Sparta? ”Good communication and defense. We knew we needed to cover their player that was getting the open shots and we adjusted to get it done.” Long: “It was really fun. It was a good game, they’re a tough team and we worked really hard to get here so it was nice to get the win.” Both players were asked about the next game and, as it is with these Lions, neither knew nor seemed to care who the next opponent would be. They just knew they were moving on. Moving on with their third straight District crown. Coach Thomasma: “"Unbelievable performance by their girls tonight. Sparta is a tough team. They are well coached and talented. Our girls were able to withstand a good run by the Spartans in the third quarter. In the 4th quarter, our girls made championship plays when it counted. Jaxi and Emmerson were great at making big shots and free throws. Lily also made some big buckets late. Kayla was great as always on defense and really set the pass for us defensively tonight. Grace hit some big shots for us. Our bench gave us minutes and energy throughout the game." "It was a great win for the girls and the program. Winning three straight district titles is a difficult accomplishment. These girls work hard and it has paid off for them." And now it’s on to Orchard View where the team will travel Tuesday to take on former Lakes 8 rival Spring Lake, a team that shut down Montague in their District final. On the other side of the bracket? West Catholic and GR Christian. 2 teams with a bit of history when it comes to these Lions. D2, D3 District finals tonight
By Ken DeLaat, N3 Sports Newaygo v. Sparta at Comstock Park 7pm If you like your basketball to be physical and rugged this one’s for you. Both teams play dogged defense and are strong in the paint. Sparta dismantled Grant Wednesday, taking over the game with a wealth of steals; offensive boards and later on some wicked shooting from beyond the arc. The Lions are not to be intimidated with physical play as they put out their own brand of muscle ball and can beat you in so many ways. After the win over Fremont Coach Thomasma said “We have a tall mountain to climb Friday facing the number one seed so we need to play better. They play tough so we’ll have to match that." They’ll match the toughness for sure. Fremont shut down Long from scoring but she does so many things on both ends of the court and can get hot offensively at any time. While getting blanketed by the Packer defense she dished to Painter who can hit it from distance as well and Swinehart has the knack of being in the right place at the right time. Welch can also go long off the bench and she’s not alone with solid players ready to spell the starters. Each time I’ve seen Goodin play this season I think she can’t get any better. Then she puts together a monster game like she did against Fremont and I see what a true warrior she is. Sparta has run into a lot of good D playing in the OK Silver but they’ve not seen Fisk patrolling center court on the press and no one plays with her level of energy and emotion. This looks to be a close one. We hope the officiating continues to allow for the kind of play these teams execute. What is not needed is a game decided by free throws or players sitting out with foul trouble. For my money this is one of the premier games of the season. For the last 3 seasons I haven’t picked against these Lions in the postseason, particularly in games when they come in as the underdog, a role they seem to relish. I’m not about to stop now. Go Lions. Kent City v. Morley Stanwood at Morley 7pm This is the one MS has pointed to since they lost for the second time to the Eagles a month ago. In both contests Kent City ended up winning by double figures although it was just barely double figures. Morley is a good team. In a different bracket they would likely be heading for the Regionals. But barring an upset it will be the Eagles moving on to Northpointe Christian to take on the winner of Hart/WMC. Hart v. WMC at Holton 7pm And who will that opponent be? The Pirates are 8-1 against teams with a winning record. The Warriors are 3-4. And Hart handled them easily in their first meeting, though consideration must be made that it was the opener for WMC and Hart already had a couple games under their belt. The Warriors are a good team and Pirates have a long group of seriously good players who have rallied together after losing their captain early in the season. Only one team came close to beating Kent City this season. That team was the Pirates who came up 3 points short a couple of weeks ago. After this one they will likely get another shot at them in the Regionals. Story and photos by Mike Gesler Grant 38 Holton 36 I have my theories about tonight’s game, but they are based solely on superstition. You know the credulous believe that there are good omens and bad omens, and some people bring good juju while others bring bad…that kind of superstition. Even though sports are riddled with superstitions, they honestly have no effect on the game. At least I don’t think they do. Although who am I to say? Stranger things have happened, and tonight saw those stranger things. In an era near forgotten, Grant and Holton used to be rivals. And based on the amount of cars in the Grant Middle School parking lot tonight, I’m guessing that some rivalries die hard. I’ve seen less cars for a Grant Fremont or Grant Newago game. At first I honestly thought that there must be another event at the school. There wasn’t. The Grant faithful and the Holton faithful attended in mass to witness this final game in regular season play. The Red Devils stepped onto the Tiger’s court with an 8-2 (14-5) CSAA Silver Conference record. Their two conference losses coming at the hands of Kent City; a team that Grant beat to start the season. So the signs at least pointed to this game being one that should play well; a competitive clash with Grant having the edge. Because this was Grant’s final home game of the regular season, it was Senior Night. Before the game, the Tigers took a moment to honor their four seniors; Sawyer Carr, Giovanni Fallador, Isaac Higgins, and Seth Schuitema. The seniors also started the game which was a different lineup than the Grant fans have been accustomed to seeing. Overall though, Carr has been solid on the boards and recently putting up good numbers. Fallador can light up the points. Higgins is as steady as they come. And give Schuitema the opening, and he’ll burn you. Add Barnhart as the fifth starter, and this line up should do serious damage. But tonight with the stars all out of alignment or a tiki idol disturbed, this was not the case. Let’s just say that there is good basketball and there is bad basketball. If this had been a junior high game, it probably would have been good basketball. But this was a high school varsity game, and it was far from good basketball. This game was painful to watch. The seniors managed to put up one point in the five plus minutes they had the floor in the first quarter. And the normal starters? Well they added two more points before the quarter ended. Holton though was not tearing it up either as they shot ten in the first quarter. The Tiger’s only saving grace was they dominated on the boards. By the end of the half the Tigers trailed by three, 13-16. Yes, that is correct. Maybe someone should have burnt some sage or performed some sort of incantation, because the second half didn’t get any better. Grant started out by hitting a three to tie the game, but then play returned to the same level of underperformance the fans witnessed in the first half. So by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, neither team had broken thirty, and Holton still led by three. The Tigers finally got some things working for them in the fourth, and now a battle ensued. The teams would swap leads right up to the final seconds. With less than thirty seconds remaining, the Tigers took the lead and managed to stave off the Red Devils to narrowly escape with the victory. All without breaking the forty point mark. Strange things indeed. “Final score is the one statistic that we talk about as the only one we really care about, and tonight we found a way to win a very low scoring game against a very deliberate, patient, competitive Holton team,” shared Grant’s Coach, Joe Schuitema. “The next thing that we talk about is do we want to play a brand of basketball that we’re proud of, and unfortunately we can’t say that for tonight. We didn’t do that. And we know that. And we need to gear it up here over the weekend and early next week to get ready for whoever we play Wednesday in Districts because Comstock Park and Sparta are going to be very hungry to beat us.” Seth Schuitema was the Tiger’s point leader tonight with fifteen. Austin Whitney and Zach Barnhart each shot six. Sawyer Carr and Chase Geers put up four apiece. Giovanni Fallador hit for two, and Isaac Higgins added one.
Kevin Erickson paced the Devils with 16 points and Carter Brant hit for 10. The Tigers next game will be in Sparta on Wednesday evening for District play. They will play the winner of the Comstock Park v. Sparta match up. The Red Devils head to the WMC District on Wednesday to face the winner of Hart v. Hesperia |
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