Boys Friday BBall

Photo by Sue Harrison

Red Devils Clip Eagle Title Hopes; Packers, Tigers Stay in the Trophy Hunt: Warriors Get a Share; Mohawks Seize Crown

Holton 68 Kent City 56
The first time around the Red Devils were riding a 4 game win streak and the Eagles were alone atop the Silver having just knocked Morley from the top spot. KC went onto the Holton court and blasted the Devs by 25 points.
A month later and all the Eagles needed to do was to end another 4 game winning streak by the Devils to secure a share of the Silver crown.
And this time they had them on their home court.
Not so fast.
The visitors took charge early forging a 5 point lead after one before opening it up with a hot second period to enter the break up 33-19. The Eagles hammered back but the Devils were able to fend off any runs and emerged with the win to knock KC out of the title share 
Coach Houseman: “I am proud of my guys. All of them. The guys on the bench played a very important role cheering and encouraging their teammates. Our guys that got minutes executed our game plan.
“Good players make coaches look good. We have some good players. I feel they are starting to believe in themselves and each other. We have won 5 straight now and are gaining more and more confidence going into the state tournament.
“We have Grant on Thursday next week who is having a solid year and a good team in Western Michigan Christian team in the first round of the districts. I am excited to see where we end up!”
 Nathan Slowik led the Red Devils with 25 points and Aidan Poling knocked down 20. Drew Trygstad finished with 8 points, Lukas Ramaekers 6, Wyatt Monette 5 and Chip Wright 4.
Eli Carlson paced the Eagle offense with 29 points while Shawn Anderson hit for 13. Will Wright also finished in double figures with10.

Fremont 76 Chippewa Hills 44
As expected the Packers secured a shot at a share of the title with a convincing win over the Warriors in front of a packed house.
The hosts ran off a 22-11 lead after one and followed it up with a dominating 24-2 second quarter performance to hold a 33 point lead by intermission.
The second half saw the  Packer bench take charge.
The seniors would shine on Senior Night led by Tristan Campbell’s 18 points. Christian Kennedy dropped in 11, Carter Moon hit for 9, Jacob Visser nailed one from distance and Jaxx Miller grabbed 5 steals while dishing out a quintet of dimes.
Fremont (11-2, 15-4) now heads to Grant on Tuesday for a makeup game that will decide who shares the Gold title with the Hornets of Central Montcalm.

Grant 78 Big Rapids 66
On Senior Night, the Tigers came to play and defeated a tough Big Rapids team, 78-66.  Carter Chase and Seth Schuitema led the team in scoring with 27 and 26. Diesel Rose chipped in 10 points and dominated the paint.  Orion Evans battled for loose balls all over the court while adding 5 points and Gage Burrows hit 2 3's to help seal the game.   
Coach Schuitema: "We're really pleased with the win, the way the guys played against a solid Big Rapids team.  It was a fun game!" 
Now the focus turns to Tuesday's regular season finale as the Packers come to town with the winner grabbing a share of the Gold crown.
 
White Cloud 48 Lakeview 36 
The Cloud grabbed an early lead, taking a 16-4 advantage after one and kept the Wildcats at bay in the second hitting the break up 22-11.
The hosts got within 7 points entering the final frame but WC turned on the burners in the 4th and took the lead back to double figures to secure the win.
Jake Foster  fired in a game high 16 points  and Sam Venema hit for 15. Dexter Cox  also hit double figures finishing with an even dozen.
White Cloud (4-6, 7-11) visits Tri County on Tuesday

​Morley Stanwood 61 Hesperia 21
The Mohawks needed a win to get at least a share of the title and a Holton win over Kent City to take the crown outright.
They got both.
MS ran to an early lead over the Panthers and finished their conference season with the first pace clinching win on their home court.  
Coach Worcester: “Morley played great in transition and their coaching staff made respectable rotations. 
“Our guys played the best offense I have seen all season as far as fundamentals go. Logan Balkema scored 6 pts, but the highlight of our game was Liam Auw’s 6 points in under a minute in the fourth quarter. The bench and our fans were full of excitement.
“ All I can say is I love this team and I love our fans! “
Hesperia (0-11, 0-19) will finish their regular season schedule by welcoming in Shelby on Tuesday.

WMC 71 Manistee 43
The Warriors earned a share of the Lakes Eight Conference title with a win over the Chips. Going into Friday's games, WMC, Ludington and Orchard View were in a three-way tie atop the conference with 7-2 league records.
The Orioles defeated the Cardinals, 49 to 39, to put WMC and Ludington tied for the title with 8-2 league records while OV slipped to second place at 7-3.
The Warriors ran to a 20-8 lead after one then blew it open with a 13-1 run heading into intermission. The bench saw significant second half minutes for WMC
Kellen Mitchell fired in 21 points to lead the Warrior offense and  Brekken Fairfield hit for 11.
All the players on the  WMCroster scored.
WMC hosts GR Wellspring Prep on Tuesday in their regular season finale before heading for Ravenna and District play the following week.