West Michigan Roundup, Friday 2/25/22

West Michigan Roundup, Friday 2/25/22

Best Win: Jenison over Grand Haven 56-52

Jenison finishes the regular season with a (6-14) record after pulling off a crazy home upset of Grand Haven. Jenison trailed 10-0 early but overcame the deficit to trail 26-22 at halftime. The Bucs held onto a one-point lead heading into the final quarter leading 36-35, but Jenison completed the comeback for the win. This is a brutal loss for Grand Haven who drops to (16-3) and has now lost two straight games to teams with losing records. Grand Haven will travel across the state to Saginaw Arthur Hill on Tuesday hoping to end the regular season with a victory.

Next Best: Union over Reeths-Puffer 70-54

Union finishes the regular season winning four of their final five games. The Redhawks handed Reeths-Puffer their second loss of the week led by a huge game from unsigned senior Genesis Kemp. Kemp scored 25 points while grabbing 16 rebounds and has been critical to Union’s success this season. Union is playing their best ball of the season at the moment and it will be interesting to see if they can play spoiler in the district tournament.

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. Rockford 79, East Kentwood 71

Rockford finished off the regular season with a home victory to clinch an outright OK Red title. The Rams will take an (18-2) record into district play where they will be on a collision course with Northview in what should be a district title for the ages if it occurs.

2. Caledonia 59, Grandville 54 (OT)

The OK Red continues to be pure chaos. After defeating Grand Haven on Tuesday, Grandville falls to Caledonia in overtime. The Bulldogs overcame a 12 point halftime deficit to send the game into overtime but fell by five in the extra frame. Recent Aquinas commit Nick Henry led Caledonia with 23 points as they improve to (10-10) on the regular season. Grandville drops to (9-10) and will travel to Middleville-TK on Tuesday.

3. Coldwater 49, Harper Creek 46

Coldwater picked up a huge road victory over Harper Creek by three points to improve to (15-3) on the season. The Cardinals received help from Jackson Northwest who shockingly defeated Marshall 53-29 which gave Coldwater a share of the conference title. Things will not get easier for Coldwater next week as they will play two tough non-conference matchups against Otsego and Portage Central.

4. K-Christian 53, Lawton 32

Kalamazoo Christian improved to (13-6) by winning their SAC crossover matchup against Lawton. The Comets have won three straight following their loss to Schoolcraft. K-Christian will most likely face Schoolcraft for a third time this season in the district title game in a couple of weeks.

5. Bronson 56, Reading 47

Bronson gets revenge for a six-point loss earlier in the season to Reading. The Vikings have now won five straight games to improve to (10-9) and will host Springport on Tuesday in their final game of the regular season. Bronson is a team to keep an eye on to potentially pull off a district upset over Centreville.

Top Performances:

-Kaden Johnson (Hartford, Sr.): 34 pts, 25 reb

-Brady Titus (Tri-Unity Chr., Sr.): 32 pts

-Henry Weller (Dowagiac, Sr.): 31 pts

-Jakhary Towns (Godwin Hts., Jr.): 30 pts

-Tony Williams (Parchment, Sr.): 26 pts

-Damarion Travis (Eau Claire, Jr.): 26 pts

-Daeton Gillam (Cassopolis, Sr.): 26 pts

-Genesis Kemp (Union, Sr.): 25 pts, 16 reb

-Gabe Newhof (Unity Chr., Sr.): 25 pts, 14 reb

-Jack Lamancusa (Rockford, Sr.): 25 pts

-Kyler Vanderjagt (Northview, Sr.): 24 pts, 8 reb

-Jaleil Holt (Wyoming, Sr.): 24 pts, 8 reb

-Nick Henry (Caledonia, Sr.): 23 pts

-Marshaun Flakes (East Kentwood, Jr.): 23 pts

-Kaden Parmley (New Buffalo, Sr,): 23 pts

-Ty Rykse (Schoolcraft, Sr.): 22 pts

-Jeremiah Mitchell (New Buffalo, Sr.): 22 pts

-Ashton Toliver (Paw Paw, Jr.): 22 pts

-Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Jr.): 21 pts

-Parker Swartz (Mona Shores, Jr.): 20 pts, 10 reb

-Jaxson Whitaker (Reeths-Puffer, So.): 19 pts

-Kobe Kambestad (West Cath., Sr.): 19 pts

-Brayden Szamrej (Hudsonville, So.): 19 pts

-Brady Haisma (Calvin Chr., Sr.): 19 pts

-Chris Jackson (White Pigeon, Jr.): 19 pts

-AJ Fox (Greenville, Sr.): 18 pts

-Aden Zank (Hudsonville, Sr.): 17 pts

-Shane Rykse (Schoolcraft, So.): 17 pts

-Andrew Brown (Three Rivers, Jr.): 17 pts

-Michael Morris (West Cath., Sr.): 16 pts, 7 ast

-Kaden George (Spring Lake, Sr.): 16 pts

-Pieter Veldhuijzen (South Christian, Sr.): 16 pts

-Ben Peterson (Fennville, Jr.): 16 pts

Game I Attended: Parchment 70, Watervliet 62

The top seed from each division in the SAC matched up at Watervliet High School with (17-1) Parchment looking to bounce back from their loss to Schoolcraft. Watervliet entered (15-2) looking to defeat one of the best D2 teams in the area.

Watervliet took an early 5-0 lead with Parchment starting the game shooting 0-6 from the field. Wyatt Epple added two three-pointers off the bench in the first quarter to regain the Watervliet lead at 13-11. Parchment was able to take an 18-16 lead following the first quarter after Tony Williams connected on 4-6 FG. Within a minute of the second quarter, the Parchment lead expanded to eight points after back-to-back three-pointers from Tony Williams and Aaron Jasiak. Watervliet had gone cold, but three-pointers from Andrew Chisek and Brennan Bornas kept them within six points at halftime, trailing 33-27.

Parchment started the second half going 3-3 from the field to lead 40-34, but it was Watervliet’s Kaden Bierhalter making a major impact on the game. Bierhalter, a talented sophomore was held to two points on 1-7 FG in the first half but was able to score six points in the third quarter to help keep Watervliet within striking distance. On the Parchment side, Kofi Barima was critically in the third quarter cleaning up on the glass and drawing fouls as his team took a 50-45 lead into the final quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, it was Watervliet sophomore Wyatt Epple making an impact with a three-pointer to pull within four and then a steal and assists to trail by two points at 52-50. Watervliet cut the deficit to a single point at 58-57 with 4:26 remaining following a basket by Bierhalter. Parchment seemed to have an answer every time as Darius Baker knocked down a three-pointer to go back up four points. Watervliet answered with an and-one by Kaden Bierhalther, but he failed to convert the free throw as they trailed 61-59 with 3:33 remaining. Parchment began to pull away leading 65-59 with just over two minutes left when Wyatt Epple hit another three-pointer for Watervliet to get within a possession. Parchment then answered as they did all game and Watervliet was unable to score inside amongst the tall frame of Kofi Barima.

Parchment came away with a 70-62 victory led by 26 points from senior guard Tony Williams. Kofi Barima and Aaron Jasiak each added 14 points. Watervliet was led by 16 points from Andrew Chisek while sophomores Kaden Bierhalter and Wyatt Epple each had 15 points. I was very impressed with Epple’s play as he went 5-6 from three-point range including some critical shots for Watervliet. Watervliet will be back in action on Tuesday hosting Berrien Springs while Parchment will close the season on Thursday hosting Buchanan.

OK Conf.

OK Blue

Fruitport 61, Allendale 57

Unity Christian 75, Coopersville 55

West Catholic 55, Spring Lake 43

OK Gold

Ottawa Hills 75, Middleville-TK 52

South Christian 76, Cedar Springs 43

OK Green

GR Union 70, Reeths-Puffer 54

Muskegon 79, Zeeland East 36

Wyoming 71, Mona Shores 60

Zeeland West 38, Holland 33

OK Red

Caledonia 59, Grandville 54 (OT)

Hudsonville 60, West Ottawa 40

Jenison 56, Grand Haven 52

Rockford 79, East Kentwood 71

OK Silver

Calvin Christian 49, NorthPointe Chr. 35

Hopkins 69, Belding 35

Kelloggsville 76, Godwin Hts. 74

Sparta 61, Comstock Park 54

OK White

FH Central 62, Byron Center 51

GR Christian 45, FH Northern 32

Lowell 70, Greenville 55

Northview 60, East GR 36

Other

Covenant Christian 68, WM Aviation 36

Tri-Unity Chr. 55, Potter’s House Chr. 36

Southwest MI

Interstate 8

Coldwater 49, Harper Creek 46

Pennfield 59, Hastings 40

SMAC

BC Lakeview 53, Loy Norrix 45

Gull Lake 56, Mattawan 51

K-Central 49, BC Central 48

Lakeshore 59, Portage Northern 46

Portage Central 59, St. Joseph 51

Wolverine Conf.

Dowagiac 55, Paw Paw 46

Edwardsburg 49, Sturgis 44

Otsego 75, Allegan 58

Three Rivers 60, Niles 51

Southwestern Athletic Conf.

Constantine 67, Gobles 53

Galesburg-Aug. 57, Martin 54

Hackett Cath. 47, Coloma 37

Kalamazoo Christian 53, Lawton 32

Parchment 70, Watervliet 62

Saugatuck 50, Delton-Kellogg 43

Schoolcraft 57, Fennville 42

Southwest 10

Cassopolis 82, White Pigeon 57

Centreville 76, Marcellus 29

Comstock 77, Bloomingdale 40

Decatur 47, Bangor 21

Hartford 75, Mendon 69

BCS Red

Niles Brandywine 61, South Haven 48

BCS White

Bridgman 62, Lawrence 22

Covert 64, Howardsville Chr. 64 (2OT)

New Buffalo 87, Eau Claire 72

River Valley 75, St. Joe MI Lutheran 39

St. Joe Lake MI Cath. 63, BH Countryside 59 (OT)

SCAA

BC St. Philip 72, Athens 51

Bellevue 72, Climax-Scotts 48

Burr Oak 76, Litchfield 55

Hillsdale Acad. 40, Colon 38

Other

Bronson 56, Reading 47

Homer 71, Union City 37

Kalamazoo Phoenix 89, Heritage Chr. 24