The Crowd Goes Wild: White Cloud Beats Newaygo In Packed Gym

The Crowd Goes Wild: White Cloud Beats Newaygo In Packed Gym
Story and photos by Alexis Mercer


OT Newaygo 62 White Cloud 64 


The crowd was on fire from the start of the game. And it only got louder and more vibrant as the night went on. By the time overtime hit, younger children in the stands were covering their ears from the roar.


This was a conference matchup that became a back and forth battle until the very last second.


While the crowd was on fire from the first minute, neither team’s offense was even warm. But Mason Ruether would change that when he dropped his first of many 3s on the night.


Josiah Long took from Ruether’s cue and hit his own 3 to end the first quarter tied at 10.

Bryce Decker opened up the 2nd quarter with a 2 and then Blake Kerr came off the bench to drop a 3 for the Lions as well.


Kevin Strait would get his scoring started with a 2 point shot and then in snuck Mason Ruether for another of his 3s. Not to be outdone, Josiah Long followed it up with his own yet again.


Going into the locker rooms for halftime the Lions were down 21-26 to the Indians.


The third quarter belonged to the Lions. Caris Nelson got it going with a bucket and one and then Decker got fouled and one as well. Lions were up 34-23 and seemingly pulling ahead without looking back.


But Strait wasn’t having it on his Snowcoming night. He attacked the basket for 2 points and Jayden Robinson followed that up with his own bucket. White Cloud was on the hunt.

After four offensive rebounds, Noah Robinson finally made good on a shot and White Cloud was down by just 6. But Newaygo ended the 3rd quarter with a basket to go up 41-33.


The crowd was starting to play a factor right away at the beginning of the 4th quarter. Every rebound, shot and good defensive play was being rewarded with cheers from the packed stands. The Indians could feel the momentum.


Jayden Robinson nailed a 3 point shot to pull back within 6 points. Mason Ruether hit his 2 free throws, then Noah Robinson hit his 2 free throws. After a steal by Noah, he drained a fast break layup and the game was all tied up.


Caris Nelson took matters into his own hands for Newaygo and found the bottom of the net for 3 points to go up 51-48. But it wouldn’t last as White Cloud immediately tied it back up again.


They were tied at 51 with 33.7 seconds left in regulation. A timeout was called.


Newaygo had the ball coming out of the timeout. Nelson buried a 2 and only 17.1 seconds remained on the clock.


White Cloud called a time out to get their plan in place.


It worked. Tied. Overtime.

Overtime was back and forth, with neither team able to pull away and finish it off.


Mason Reuther wasn’t done with his 3 point shots yet, so he lit another one. The crowd went OFF.


White Cloud was up by 1 point with 10.2 seconds left in OT and had the ball. Jared Watson stepped up to the free throw line and like he had ice in his veins dropped both his free throw shots to go up by 3 points.


Rather than allow Newaygo to get off a 3 point shot, White Cloud fouled Nelson at mid-court. Nelson made both, but the Lions were still down by 1.


Strait was the man with the ball when Newaygo fouled him and he made 1 of the 2 shots. This would prove just enough as White Cloud’s defense held strong and stopped the final attempt to tie or win the game by Newaygo at the buzzer.


The stands emptied of students who ran out to celebrate the big win: the home team put on a show for their supporters and earned the celebration.


Newaygo was led by Bryce Decker with 21 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Caris Nelson with 16 points and 5 assists, and Josiah Long with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

White Cloud Coach Bob Jones said of his team: "So very proud of them. They deserve a big win like this. Hopefully this will give us the confidence we need down the stretch run of the season.”


“Kevin Strait had 19, Mason Ruether had a perfect shooting night going 4/4 deep and a layup and 2/2 from the free throw line for 16 pts, Noah Robinson had 14, Jayden Robinson 9 and Jared Watson added 6 pt with two big free throws late in the overtime. He also played outstanding defense on Newaygo's very talented big man.”