West Michigan Roundup, Friday 1/7/22

West Michigan Roundup, Friday 1/7/22

Best Win: Reeths-Puffer over Wyoming 59-51

The Rockets of Reeths-Puffer improved to 4-1 with a road victory over a red-hot Wyoming team. After tonight it seems as though RP might have the best chance in the OK Green to give Muskegon a competitive game. Their young core of Jaxson Whitaker and Travis Ambrose continue to shine. Whitaker had 19 points and 6 assists while Ambrose added 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 blocks.

Next Best: Battle Creek Central over Gull Lake 66-65

Gull Lake finds itself on the wrong side of a close game once again this week. The Blue Devils have now dropped three straight, but have a get-right game on Tuesday against Portage Northern. Battle Creek Central is a sneaky underrated team sitting at 3-2 with their only losses to Pennfield by 4 and Lakeview by 11. If BCC can defeat Mattawan and Loy Norrix next week they will be near the top 10 in the area. Junior Ke’Marion Tucker led BCC with 27 points while Kylon Wilson made the game-winning shot with :05 left.

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. East Kentwood 61, West Ottawa 58

EK earns their first victory of the season to improve to 1-3 while West Ottawa falls to 2-4 and has lost three straight. It was junior guard Marshaun Flakes leading the way for EK with 18 points and 6 assists. I had high hopes for West Ottawa coming into the season led by senior leaders Haglund and Bosma, but the Panthers have really struggled. Things won’t get any easier for West Ottawa as they host Grand Haven on Tuesday and look to pull off a big-time upset.

2. Marshall 64, Coldwater 55

Marshall wins again to improve to 6-0. Is it too early to consider Marshall as a Breslin contender? They will have to get past one of the D2 favorites Williamston in the regional final, but clearly Marshall isn’t afraid of anyone. Coldwater falls to 3-1 and 2-1 in conference play. Marshall and Pennfield lead the Interstate Eight with identical 3-0 records.

3. Lakeshore 50, BC Lakeview 39

Lakeshore improved to 3-1 with a double-digit road victory over BC Lakeview. Senior TJ Mitchell led Lakeshore with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Lakeshore’s lone loss came to St. Joseph by two points last month. BC Lakeview has entered a rut with back-to-back losses to Harper Creek and Lakeshore to fall to 4-3.

4. Holland Christian 65, Coopersville 58

Coopersville lost for the first time this season falling to 3-1 while Holland Christian improves to 3-3 following back-to-back losses. Senior big man Jalen Overway led the Maroons to victory with 19 points. The OK Blue should be extremely competitive this season with the exception of Unity Christian on most nights as the Crusaders are one of the best in the area.

5. Colon 59, Climax-Scotts 33

The Colon Magi pulled another rabbit out of a hat improving to 5-0 this season with a win over previously undefeated Climax-Scotts. Colon is without a doubt one of the best D4 teams in the area along with New Buffalo. The Magi should be in the running for the SCAA title with likely challengers Bellevue and Climax-Scotts.

Top Performances:

-Kaden Brown (Catholic C): 36 pts

-Jacob Zartman (Otsego): 27 pts

-Ke'Marion Tucker (BC Central): 27 pts

-Parker Swartz (Mona Shores): 22 pts

-Kyler Vanderjagt (Northview): 21 pts, 6 reb

-Bashir Neely (Grand Haven): 20 pts

-Aden Zank (Hudsonville): 20 pts

-Aiden Burns (Pennfield): 20 pts

-Tristen Perry (Hopkins): 20 pts

-Jaxson Whitaker (Reeths-Puffer): 19 pts, 6 ast

-Jordan Briggs (Muskegon): 19 pts

-Simon Vinson (Colon): 19 pts

-Jalen Overway (Holland Chr): 19 pts

-Jack Lamancusa (Rockford): 19 pts

-Anthony Sydnor III (Muskegon): 18 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast

-Marshaun Flakes (E. Kentwood): 18 pts, 6 ast, 5 stl

-Kobe Haglund (W. Ottawa): 18 pts, 6 ast

-Jalen Charity (Northview): 16 pts, 11 reb, 3 stl

-Luke Davis (Pennfield): 16 pts, 5 ast

-Ethan Hill (Muskegon): 15 pts, 11 reb

-Logan Brooks (Reeths-Puffer): 15 pts, 6 reb

-Porter Saunders (Spring Lake): 15 pts, 11 reb, 6 stl

-Brayden Gable (Grandville): 14 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl

-Cam Regnerus (Grandville): 12 pts, 8 reb, 6 blk

Game I Attended:

Kalamazoo Christian 41, Lawton 38

One of the best small-school matchups in the area took place at Kalamazoo Christian where the (4-1) Comets hosted (4-0) Lawton. K-Christian trailed 12-9 with two minutes left in the first half when JJ Manion and Ethan Bouma both knocked down three pointers to give the Comets a 15-12 halftime lead. Lawton exploded in the third quarter for 13 points including 9 from senior guard Jake Rueff who made 4-5 FG. Lawton held a 25-20 lead heading into the final quarter. K-Christian went on a 6-0 run to take a 29-28 lead with 5:50 remaining large in part due to offensive rebounds. Willem de Jong had multiple offensive rebounds that led to put-back layups. Lawton continued to battle trailing 35-32 with 2:18 left in the game. Lawton’s Jake Rueff was fouled shooting a three with :19 left and knocked down all three free throws to cut the deficit to 39-35. Following the free throws, K-Christian was called for a travel giving Lawton one last chance. Luke Leighton missed a contested layup ending the Blue Devils comeback bid. K-Christian came away with a 41-38 victory to improve to 5-1 with wins over Centreville and Lawton this week. The Comets were led by JJ Manion with 11 points, Brandon DeVries had 10 points, and Willem de Jong added 8 points. Lawton was led by Jake Rueff and Chase Mitchell with 12 points each while Cooper Geib added 8 points.

OK Conference

Calvin Christian 77, Belding 40

East Kentwood 61, West Ottawa 58

FH Central 65, Lowell 31

Godwin Heights 85, Comstock Park 43

Grand Haven 58, Hudsonville 50

Grandville 65, Jenison 41

GR Catholic Central 86, FH Eastern 36

Holland 42, Zeeland East 40

Holland Christian 65, Coopersville 58

Mona Shores 54, Union 42

Muskegon 74, Zeeland West 57

NorthPointe Christian 63, Kelloggsville 56

Northview 69, FH Northern 44

Ottawa Hills 86, Cedar Springs 59

Reeths-Puffer 59, Wyoming 51

Rockford 66, Caledonia 53

South Christian 66, Middleville-TK 26

Sparta 59, Hopkins 58

Spring Lake 58, Fruitport 37

Unity Christian 66, Allendale 56

Wayland at Kenowa Hills (canceled)

Southwest MI D1-D2

BC Central 66, Gull Lake 65

BC Pennfield 60, Parma Western 49

Harper Creek 64, Jackson Northwest 52

Lakeshore 50, Lakeview 39

Marshall 64, Coldwater 55

Otsego 46, Three Rivers 32

Plainwell 69, Allegan 44

Portage Central 61, Portage Northern 31

Schoolcraft 66, Coloma 50

St. Joseph 57, Mattawan 54

Vicksburg 54, Paw Paw 34

Edwardsburg at Dowagiac (moved to Sat. 1:00)

Constantine at Gobles (canceled)

Kalamazoo Central at Loy Norrix (canceled)

Niles at Sturgis (canceled)

Niles Brandywine at Parchment (canceled)

South Haven at Berrien Springs (canceled)

Southwest MI D3-D4

Bellevue 49, BC St. Philip 38

Buchanan 48, Bridgman 34

Colon 59, Climax-Scotts 33

Kalamazoo Christian 41, Lawton 38

Martin 52, Hackett Catholic 42

Bangor at Comstock (canceled)

Bloomingdale at Centreville (canceled)

BH Countryside at Eau Claire (canceled)

CS Creative Tech at Heritage Christian (canceled)

Decatur at White Pigeon (canceled)

Fennville at Delton-Kellogg (canceled)

Hartford at Marcellus (canceled)

Mendon at Cassopolis (canceled)

New Buffalo at St. Joe Lake MI Catholic (canceled)

River Valley at Howardsville Christian (canceled)

St. Joe MI Lutheran at Lawrence (canceled)

Watervliet at Galesburg-Augusta (canceled)