West Michigan Roundup, Friday 2/11/22

West Michigan Roundup, Friday 2/11/22

Best Win: FH Northern over FH Central 40-39

FH Northern completed the season sweep of FH Central with a one-point road victory. The Huskies improve to (5-8) on the season in what is a rebuilding year for the program following the final four run last season. FH Northern will travel to Country Day on Saturday to face the (9-3) Yellowjackets. FH Central drops to (9-5) and ends their four-game winning streak. The Rangers are now all but eliminated in the OK White race with four conference losses.

Next Best: Fennville over Lawton 54-38

Fennville avenges an early season overtime loss to Fennville with a huge home victory. The Blackhawks have now won seven straight games to move into first place in the SAC-Lakeshore division. Fennville was led by senior Dylan Schut with 15 points while Tyler Schut and Zay Strickfaden each added 14 points. The Blackhawks are now in the driver’s seat for at least a share of the divisional title with their only remaining game against (4-10) Saugatuck while Lawton and Watervliet each have two divisional games left.

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. Hopkins 62, NorthPointe Chr. 59

Hopkins has had a tough season entering the night with a (3-9) record, but the Vikings picked up their biggest win of the year defeating NorthPointe Christian who drops to (9-7). Hopkins has continually improved over the course of the season now winning three of their past five games. The Vikings also lost by only 16 points against Calvin Christian on Tuesday who has been beating everybody by twenty-plus points.

2. Calvin Christian 88, Godwin Heights 44

Calvin Christian remains one of the hottest teams in the state with their 12th straight win. The Squires are (10-0) in OK Silver play and will have a chance to clinch the title next week if they can win both games. The emergence of junior Carson DeHaan has been pivotal for Calvin Christian this season. DeHaan scored a career-high 40 points with 10 rebounds in the win over Godwin Heights. The fact that Calvin Christian is not ranked or receiving votes in Division 3 is beyond me.

3. GR Christian 48, East GR 41 (OT)

GR Christian came away with a huge victory over East Grand Rapids to stay at the top of the OK White division tied with Northview. The Eagles have been a pleasant surprise this season with the emergence of soph. Jaylan Ouwinga along with key players Dono’ Thames and Delon McCloud. GR Christian is now (12-3) overall and (8-1) in OK White play. The Eagles have five conference games remaining including three against bottom-dwellers Lowell and Byron Center.

4. Marshall 59, Coldwater 48

Marshall takes over sole possession of first place in the Interstate Eight with a road victory at Coldwater. The Redhawks completed the season sweep of Coldwater defeating them by double-digits in both meetings. Marshall improves to (14-1) with the lone loss coming against Pennfield who the Redhawks will host on Tuesday.

5. Sturgis 56, Three Rivers 40

Sturgis earns a much-needed victory after dropping six of their past seven games. The Trojans improve to (7-8) on the season and avenge an early-season two-point loss to Three Rivers. With the loss, Three Rivers eight-game winning streak comes to an end. Both teams will face non-conference SMAC foes on Tuesday with Sturgis traveling to Mattawan and Three Rivers traveling to Portage Central.

Top Performances:

-Bradley Richards (Calvary Chr, Fr.): 47 pts, 20 reb

-Carson DeHaan (Calvin Chr, Jr.): 40 pts, 10 reb

-Henry Weller (Dowagiac, Sr.): 39 pts

-Jacob Thompson (Sturgis): 31 pts

-Ashton Toliver (Paw Paw): 27 pts

-Tony Williams (Parchment, Sr.): 24 pts

-Luke Stowasser (Edwardsburg, Sr.): 23 pts

-Ramere Draper (Wyoming, Sr.): 22 pts

-Jalen Overway (Holland Chr, Sr.): 21 pts

-Kaden Brown (Catholic Central, Jr.): 21 pts

-Brayden Gable (Grandville, Sr.): 21 pts

-Bashir Neely (Grand Haven, Sr.): 21 pts

-Austin Bradley (Niles): 21 pts

-Michael Morris (West Cath, Sr.): 20 pts

-Jaxson Whitaker (Reeths-Puffer, So.): 18 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast

-Isaiah Currie (Coopersville): 18 pts

-Carson Vis (South Christian, Fr.): 18 pts

-Anthony Sydnor III (Muskegon, Jr.): 18 pts

-Mason Dykstra (Hudsonville, Jr.): 18 pts

-Austin Osborne (Hamilton): 17 pts

Game I Attended:

Schoolcraft 51, K-Christian 40

A capacity crowd was on hand to see Schoolcraft put their ten-game win streak on the line hosting rival Kalamazoo Christian. Schoolcraft got off to a quick 7-0 start while K-Christian started just 1-9 from the field. Following the first quarter, Schoolcraft led 9-4. The Schoolcraft lead expanded to 20-9 midway through the second quarter with Shane Rykse scoring for the Eagles. Entering halftime Schoolcraft held an 11 point lead with a score of 24-13. Schoolcraft Soph. Shane Rykse scored 14 points in the first half on 5-8 FG. K-Christian began to gain momentum cutting the deficit to seven points at 27-20 with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter. Schoolcraft answered with a Tyler DeGroote three-pointer to lead by double-digits. Junior JJ Manion played great in the third quarter keeping K-Christian in the game by scoring ten points on 3-4 FG including two three-pointers. K-Christian outscored Schoolcraft 13-8 in the third quarter to trail by only two-possession at 32-26. The Comets made it a one-possession game with 6:24 remaining trailing 33-30. Shane Rykse had a pivotal put-back for Schoolcraft to extend the lead to 37-32 with 3:57 left in the game. K-Christian answered with a JJ Manion three-pointer to make it a 37-35 game. The biggest moment of the game came with 2:01 left and Schoolcraft leading 39-36. Asher Puhalski went to the line for the Eagles where he made one of two free throws, but Tyler DeGroote got the offensive rebound and a put-back and-one to put the Eagles ahead 42-36. To make matters worse for the Comets, Willem de Jong was called for a technical foul. DeGroote missed his and-one free throw, but Shane Rykse converted on both of the technical foul free throws. Following that sequence, Schoolcraft led 44-36 with 1:59 remaining. The Comets were never able to recover from that trip to the free-throw line. Schoolcraft came away with a 51-40 victory and season sweep over the Comets. Schoolcraft has won nine straight games against K-Christian. Soph. Shane Rykse led the Eagles with 22 points including a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line while Tyler DeGroote added 13 points. K-Christian was led by JJ Manion with 13 points, all of which came in the second half. Schoolcraft will have a huge game next Friday at home against Parchment where the Eagles will have a chance to earn a share of the divisional title.

OK Conf.

OK Blue

Coopersville 58, Fruitport 48

Holland Christian 59, Spring Lake 48

Unity Christian 77, Hamilton 51

West Cath. 51, Allendale 46

OK Gold

Catholic Central 77, Ottawa Hills 34

FH Eastern 57, Cedar Springs 45

South Christian 77, Wayland 41

Kenowa Hills 65, Middleville-TK 40

OK Green

Mona Shores 41, Zeeland West 38

Muskegon 83, Wyoming 41

Reeths-Puffer 56, Zeeland West 48

GR Union at Holland (postponed to Sat.)

OK Red

West Ottawa 36, Jenison 27

Rockford 67, Hudsonville 48

Grandville 66, East Kentwood 58

Grand Haven 62, Caledonia 45

OK Silver

Calvin Chr. 88, Godwin Heights 48

Comstock Park 54, Belding 35

Hopkins 62, NorthPointe Chr. 59

Kelloggsville 78, Sparta 52

OK White

Byron Center 70, Greenville 37

FH Northern 40, FH Central 39

GR Christian 48, East GR 41 (OT)

Northview 66, Lowell 33

Southwest MI

Interstate Eight

Harper Creek 54, Jackson Northwest 45

Marshall 59, Coldwater 48

Pennfield 77, Parma Western 58

Wolverine Conf.

Dowagiac 63, Niles 56

Edwardsburg 55, Vicksburg 52

Otsego 54, Plainwell 48

Paw Paw 70, Allegan 61

Sturgis 56, Three Rivers 40

Southwestern Athletic Conf.

Fennville 54, Lawton 38

Martin 44, Gobles 30

Parchment 73, Delton-Kellogg 42

Saugatuck 54, Galesburg-Augusta 47

Schoolcraft 51, Kalamazoo Christian 40

Watervliet 52, Coloma 29

BCS Red

Berrien Springs 70, South Haven 60

BCS White

Bridgman 79, BH Countryside 59

Eau Claire 75, Lawrence 46

New Buffalo 86, Howardsville Chr. 36

Southwest 10

White Pigeon 54, Hartford 46

SCAA

Burr Oak 46, Tekonsha 38

Climax-Scotts 49, BC St. Philip 45

Other

Bronson 57, Union City 43

Calhoun Christian 63, Heritage Chr. 58