Boys Hoops Preview

By N3 Sports

Some key games this week as the conference races begin to heat up at the schedule’s halfway point.
The Gold looked like it could shape up to be a Cardinal/Coyote race early on before Fremont took down Big Rapids in a thriller at home  and a 1-4 Grant team knocked visiting Reed City from the unbeaten ranks. The Pack followed up by grabbing  a road win in Stanton over the Hornets then  fighting off a relentless Newaygo team for a double overtime victory. The Tigers fell to Chip Hills on the road before delivering a trouncing in Tri County.
The two teams meet Tuesday night in Fremont’s gym and the stands will be filled with fans from both sides in what should be a tough matchup. While Fremont heads out for a Friday game against the Vikes, Grant’s task gets no easier as they host their rivals up the road.
Newaygo stayed in contention for a win in each of their losses to the three teams sharing the top spot. They were in contention for a win at the highly unfriendly Coyote gym in the season opener, nearly beat Big Rapids on the Cardinals home floor then took the Packers to double overtime before falling just short, also on the road. After hosting TC they get to the halfway point by taking their game to the Tiger court. The good news is all four of the teams the Lions are staring up at will play in the Den the second half.
Tri County is struggling to get in the win column and haven’t the height to compete with bigger squads who control the glass on both ends. The conference his filled with good teams possessing an advantage in depth as well as height. The Vikings will battle every opponent and any team  looking past them on the schedule could be in trouble.
After Tuesday the trio atop the standings will whittle to one or two depending on the outcome of the Tiger/Packer matchup. Big Rapids and Reed City go at it for the first time so one team will emerge with their second loss.
Tiger Coach Matt McCorkle feels Fremont might be the team to beat for the title.
“They have size and are scoring the ball right now.”