Basketball Preview- Friday’s Games

By Ken DeLaat, N3 Sports

The Big Q (as in quarantine) has sidelined teams throughout the state and our region the past few weeks. This week it has hit the Chip Hills/Newaygo contests.
Nothing warms the hearts of AD’s and their erstwhile assistants as much as the opportunities for rescheduling games and it’s been rough even without the usual snow days.
Here’s hoping the cancellations abate a bit going forward.

Girls

Central Montcalm (2-3, 2-7) at Grant (4-2, 6-4)
This should be Grant’s kind of game. They're at home facing a team that has struggled on the road and the Tigers are coming off a big win in Big Rapids,
But watch out. The Hornets have won 2 in a row, played BR tough in a loss before that and could spell trouble if they hang around. Getting their trio of distance shooters going early will help the Tiger cause and they have Ashbaugh who can rule the paint if she gets hot.

Reed City (2-2, 3-6) at Fremont (2-4, 2-9)
Interesting matchup. The Packers have improved and seem to be finding themselves and the Coyotes have been a bit erratic. They don’t score much and Fremont has had similar struggles. A win here could help turn around a rough first half for the hosts.

Hesperia (0-4, 1-5) at Holton (1-1, 4-2)
The Panthers have played better of late and the Devils have hardly played at all.
However, Holton has Robins who can fill it up and Fowler who can dish it out. Tinkham has been lighting up the scoreboard for the Panthers but they will likely need more to overcome the Devs.

Kent City (3-0, 9-0) at White Cloud (2-2, 4-6)
Coach Wilk has done a nice job with this White Cloud team. They compete hard but they have also faced some of the area's best teams since the calendar turned with a win over Lakeview sandwiched between losses to Shelby, Morley and Hart. 
And now Kent City. Like the Pirates and ‘Hawks, the Eagles are among the top teams in D3 and they are indeed a winning machine right now.
The Cloud will need everything it’s got in the tank, some steaming hot shooting and maybe a significant foul differential with subsequent perfection from the line to stay in this one. Not saying it couldn’t be done but the hill to climb is indeed a steep one. 

Boys

Central Montcalm (1-4, 1-7) at Grant (3-3, 4-5)
The enigmatic Tiger team should not have trouble in this one given the lone Hornet win was over Chip Hills the only team without a conference win. But caution here. Those same Hornets gave Big Rapids a scare on the Cardinal home court and have lost 3 other games by less than 4 points.
The Tigers have had an interesting season with the last 7 games going L-W-L-W-L-W.
Given that (and they are on their home court) Grant looks to pick up a win here but the Hornets have been known to hang around late and if they do, well, anything can happen in the final minutes.

Reed City (4-0,6-1) at Fremont (5-1, 6-4)
The Coyotes took apart Newaygo earlier this week. Along with BR they are atop the conference standings and have run the table outside of a one point loss to a really good Clare team.
But look! One game behind the leaders are the Packers who have won 4 straight and are looking to keep it a 3 team conference race. Fremont has a good spread of offensive weaponry led by McDonald, with DeLong, Nelson, Richards and now the recently returned Hanshue putting up points as well and kept teams from focusing all their attention on Jordon.
Like Fremont’s chances here but don’t let the ‘Yotes jump early.

Hesperia (0-4, 1-6) at Holton (2-0, 4-1)
Other than an impressive performance by a talented Heights team the only thing to stop the Devils this far has been the pandemic. Holton has played but 5 games in the past 6 weeks and due to makeups will now play 5 in the next 9 days (unless of course there are more cancellations). They are a good team with some solid talent and should fare well if they can stay on the court.
The Panthers have improved, particularly when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. The improvement is not likely to be enough to pull off a win in a rivalry road game against a strong team like the Devils but if they play like they have lately they might be able to stay with them for a bit.

Kent City (3-0, 5-3) at White Cloud (2-1, 3-5)
The Cloud snapped a 4 game skid with a big win over Lakeview and now stay home to face the Eagles. The Kent City boys aren’t dominant like their counterparts on the girls team but they haven’t lost a conference game yet and look to challenge Holton for the title. The hosts will need to play well for all 4 quarters to take this one and hopefully avoid the cold streaks they have gone through in some games. 

​

---