RedHawk Showcase Recap & WM Roundup 2/13/21

West Michigan Roundup, Saturday 2/13/21

Yesterday had a pretty decent amount of games for a Saturday, but that will be every Saturday now with the shortened season. The main event was the RedHawk Showcase at the newly renovated Grand Rapids Union gym. It didn’t feel the same without the packed crowds, but nonetheless, it was still great basketball with a ton of talent on the floor each game. Props to coach Guyton for putting on another great event amongst the circumstances he had to deal with this season.

Best Performance: Sparta’s Conner West (2021 G): 27 pts

The Indiana Tech commit exploded for 27 points in a big win over Grant 69-43.

Next Best: Lakeshore’s Grant Gondrezick II (2023 G): 20 pts, 10 reb

In one of the bigger Kalamazoo area games, Gondrezick played a huge part in beating Portage Central 51-48. Lakeshore lost several key players from last season such as Ben Brower, so Gondrezick II will need a big season to propel Lakeshore.

Honorable Mention:

GR Christian’s Kobe Bufkin (2021 G): 24 points

Reeths-Puffer’s Kaleb Mitchelson (2021 G): 22 points, 5 assists

Best Win: Lakeshore over Portage Central 51-48

I had Lakeshore ranked #5 in the D1-D2 rankings and Portage Central #4 so both teams came in evenly matched, but Lakeshore was able to come away with a victory. It seems like every time these two teams get together a great game occurs. They will face each other next Thursday in a re-match.

Games I Attended: (1) Rockford 61, Jenison 44

I caught the early 10 a.m. Rockford-Jenison game en route to the RedHawk Showcase and was even more impressed with Rockford. They are such a deep team and they play fantastic defense. As crazy as it sounds I could see them running the table going undefeated and winning the OK Red. Rockford jumped out to an early lead, but Jenison clawed back to make it a 7 point deficit 46-39. Then Rockford’s Sam Krist caught fire scoring all thirteen of his team's points in the third quarter. Sam Krist led all scorers with 15 points, while Calvin Kibbe, Brendan Schueller, and Nick Heinen each had 9 points. Jenison was led by Caleb Dean with 11 points and Michael Care with 10 points.

(2) Northview 61, GR Union 36

Game one of the RedHawk Showcase featured the host GR Union facing Northview. Northview started the game with a 25-2 run including a few dunks from Jalen Charity. GR Union played a good second quarter outscoring Northview 12-10. In the third quarter Northview extended their lead to 49-26 led by a couple buckets from 2024 PG EJ Ryans. The final score ended up being 61-36 which isn’t that bad considering the 23 point first quarter lead Northview had. Northview was led by Kyler Vanderjagt with 18 points, EJ Ryans with 13 points, and Jalen Charity with 9 points. EJ Ryans is a very talented freshman PG and one to keep an eye on. On the Union side they are a young inexperienced team that just needs more time on the court to figure things out. Senior Da’Quin Freeman led the team with 16 points.

(3) Detroit Douglass 60, Benton Harbor 53

Game two of the RedHawk Showcase was one of the more anticipated matchups. Douglass jumped out to an early lead with the help of MSU commit Pierre Brooks II and unsigned senior center Javantae Randle. Benton Harbor didn’t have the size to guard Randle and got in foul trouble early. At the half Douglass held a 31-18 lead led by 17 points from Pierre Brooks II. The third quarter was when things began to change. Javantae Randle picked up three fouls and ended up fouling out with 1:50 left in the third quarter. It seemed as though Benton Harbor had all the momentum with help from Kyle Booth’s 10 points in the third quarter. The lead had shrunk to 40-36 heading into the fourth quarter and Douglass was without Randle. That was when Pierre Brooks II took over draining two three’s, one of which he got fouled on. Then once again he was fouled shooting a three and knocked down all three free throws. Douglass ended up winning 60-53 led by 29 points from Pierre Brooks II, while Javantae Randle had 10 points. Benton Harbor was led by 16 points from Kentrell Pullian and 12 points from Kyle Booth. They will look to bounce back on Monday at Kalamazoo Central.

(4) Williamston 46, FH Northern 44

In the nightcap, talented Williamston and FH Northern faced off. FHN jumped out to an early 10-0 lead as Williamston was held scoreless the first five minutes of the game. Both teams shot the ball poorly in the first half as Williamston went 4-29 FG and FHN went 8-27 FG. Late third quarter was when things began to change. FHN was leading 30-22 up until back-to-back Max Burton three pointers for Williamston. Trinidad Chambliss was able to counter that run with 5 points of his own taking a 35-28 lead into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter was all Williamston with the emergence of Bethel commit Brandon Hunt scoring 9 points on 4-4 FG in the quarter. Max Burton always stayed hot with 5 points in the quarter as well. FHN just could not knock down a shot as they were outscored 18-9 in the quarter. Williamston defeated FHN 46-44 in what was an amazing comeback. Williamston was led by Jay Wallace with 15 points, Brandon Hunt with 13 points, and Max Burton 11 points. FHN was led by 14 points from Trinidad Chambliss while Cole Rynbrant and Ethan Erickson each had 11 points.