Packers Hold Off Tiger Attack

3/9/2023

Packers Hold Off Tiger Attack
Team advances to District Final

Fremont 54 Grant 49

When Grant defeated Newaygo Monday the Tigers sealed the deal by knocking down their free throws down the stretch. The charity stripe proved to be anything but charitable to the Grant team Wednesday when they faced the Packers.
A wild and raucous game saw two teams battle back and forth at warp speed for much of the night. The momentum constantly shifted back and forth. At one point the Pack seemed in control with an 18-9 lead but these Tigers are resilient and scrappy. They took off on a 17-3 run led by Zak Barnhart and went up by 5. As the third came to a close Grant was up 7 but Chaz Miller scorched a shot from distance and Braiden McDonald dropped a 2 and the team would enter the final frame down just 2.

Miller was center stage again at the start of the quarter, canning another triple giving Fremont the lead but Blake Rider converted a pair at the line and Austin Whitney ripped the nets from the corner for 3 and Grant was up 4. McDonalsd scored the next 10 Packer points while Barnhart and Oakley Obenauf kept the Tigers in front.

With 4 ½ minutes left and holding a 4 point edge the Tigers went 0-4 their next 2 trips to the line while the Pack got a pair of buckets from Ben Mellema and Miller and the game was knotted at 47. In a key play with less than a minute to play Mcdonald missed a jumper but snared his own rebound, and scored. A turnover put the ball in Mellema’s hands after being fouled he drained a pair to put the Pack up 4. Rider answered with a pair from the stripe to keep the game within a bucket. Both teams went 0-2 from the line in the next few seconds but Grant needed to foul as time was running out and they sent Miller to the line. The Packer Junior sent his team to the District finals going 2-2 and Grant's season had come to an end.

Coach Bowen: “Really proud of how our guys fought! Both teams played really hard I thought. It wasn’t the prettiest game at times but it was hard fought. I thought we had a lot of nervous energy in the first half. A lot of turnovers. We were able to settle down in the second half, but Grant made a lot of really tough, contested shots. Jordon really carried us down the stretch. He just would not let us lose that game. We had other guys who stepped too, and made winning plays down the stretch. Chaz Miller hit a couple of big three’s and three big free throws. Ben Mellema made two big free throws as well. Gavin Richards had a huge offensive rebound on a missed free throw and also a big steal. We definitely didn’t play our best game but we played hard and found a way to win. Sparta is going to be a tough game, we know that. They’re a very good team and we will have to play a much cleaner game in order to win.”

The Packers will play for a District title and a trip to the Regionals Friday when they take on Sparta. Game time 7pm at Comstock Park.
Regionals will begin March 13th at Hudsonville Unity Christian HS.