West Michigan Roundup, Friday 1/14/22

West Michigan Roundup, Friday 1/14/22

Best Win: Harper Creek over Pennfield 59-41

Undefeated Pennfield traveled to rival Harper Creek for an Interstate-8 matchup with major title implications. Pennfield had the chance to remain in sole possession of first place with a win. Harper Creek dismantled the Panthers defeating them by 18 points. Harper Creek features a veteran lineup led by four-year player Ben Shafer. Shafer led the Beavers with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Marcus Ransom added 13 points and 6 rebounds. With the defeat of Pennfield, there is now a four-way tie for first place in the conference between Coldwater, Harper Creek, Marshall, and Pennfield. On Tuesday Pennfield will look to bounce back at home in a pivotal matchup against Coldwater.

Next Best: FH Northern over FH Central 52-42

The old saying “you can throw out the records when these two teams play,” is very accurate in the FHN/FHC rivalry game. The host, FH Northern entered the game with a (1-4) record while FH Central was (5-2) coming off a tough loss to EGR. On paper, you would think that FH Central rights the ship and comes away with an easy victory over a rebuilding FH Northern team. In rivalry games anything can happen and FH Northern ended up with a double-digit victory. FH Central drops to (1-2) in conference and two games back of leader (3-0) Northview. With this crucial win, FH Northern is right in the thick of the conference title race at (2-1).

Starting Five (Notable Games):

1. Calvin Christian 70, Godwin Heights 68

In the biggest game of OK Silver play so far this season, Calvin Christian came away with a comeback victory. It was junior Carson DeHaan leading the charge scoring 27 of his 29 points in the second half along with the game-winning layup. Jakhary Towns led Godwin Heights per usual with 25 points. Calvin Christian is now in a tie with NorthPointe at (3-0) for first place in the OK Silver with Sparta and Kelloggsville lurking at (2-1). Godwin falls to (1-2) in conference but will face inferior opponents for the next few weeks before they get another shot at NorthPointe and Calvin.

2. GR Christian 49, East Grand Rapids 40

GR Christian was able to bounce back from their 13 point loss on Tuesday to Northview with a win over EGR. GR Christian improved to (5-2) on the season while EGR fell to (3-4). EGR finishes a difficult week with a win over FH Central and a loss to GR Christian. It would have been nice to win both games at home, but EGR is still in the OK White race with a (2-1) conference record. Simon Neuhaus led the Pioneers with 28 points and has been putting up very strong numbers this season.

3. Zeeland West 58, Reeths-Puffer 47

Reeths-Puffer drops a tough road game after winning four straight games. This game was very intriguing to me as it featured a red-hot Reeths-Puffer team and a Zeeland West team in need of a big win. The Dux improved to (5-3) with a sweep of Mona Shores and Reeths-Puffer this week after dropping both games last week. Reeths-Puffer falls to (5-2) on the season and will turn their attention to Mona Shores at home on Tuesday.

4. White Pigeon 65, Hartford 63

The biggest game of the night in the Southwest 10 featured (2-1) White Pigeon traveling to (3-1) Hartford. White Pigeon came back from 14 down to defeat Hartford and improve to (3-1) in conference play which puts them one game back of leaders Comstock and Centreville who are (4-0). Hartford senior Kaden Johnson put up 28 points and 22 rebounds in the defeat.

5. Three Rivers 47, Sturgis 45

In a key Wolverine Conference matchup, undefeated in conference play Sturgis traveled to Three Rivers who desperately needed a strong win. Three Rivers came away with a two-point victory led by 18 points from Angelo Hausmanis including the game-winning second-chance bucket. Three Rivers gets back to .500 at (4-4) while Sturgis falls to (5-3).

Top Performances:

-Damarion Travis (Eau Claire): 31 points

-Kaden Parmley (New Buffalo): 31 points

-Carson DeHaan (Calvin Christian): 29 points

-Simon Neuhaus (EGR): 28 points

-Ryan Young (Buchanan): 28 points

-Kaden Johnson (Hartford): 28 points, 22 rebounds

-Kobe Kambestad (West Catholic 2022): 27 points, 8 rebounds

-Jakhary Towns (Godwin Hts): 25 points

-Jerry (New Buffalo): 23 points

-Darius Baker (Parchment): 23 points

-Markvell Shaw (New Buffalo): 20 points

-Davion Goins (Cassopolis): 20 points

-Chase Mitchell (Lawton 2022): 19 points

-Michael Morris (West Catholic 2022): 19 points, 6 rebounds

-Angelo Hausmanis (Three Rivers): 18 points

-Tony Williams (Parchment): 18 points

-Jordan Briggs (Muskegon): 18 points

-Porter Saunders (Spring Lake): 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists

-Travis Ambrose (Reeths-Puffer): 16 points, 11 rebounds

-Caden Pokorzynski (Rockford): 16 points

-Keontae Richards (Mona Shores): 16 points

Game I Attended: Lawton 45, Fennville 43 (OT)

A pivotal SAC-Lakeshore game took place in Lawton with the (5-1) Blue Devils hosting (4-3) Fennville. Lawton struggled early with multiple bad passes leading to turnovers. Fennville led 19-10 after the first quarter with the Blackhawks shooting 50% from 3PT range (3-6). Early in the second quarter with 6:30 remaining, Fennville reached their largest lead of the game at 23-10. Lawton clawed back with a 7-0 run led by seniors Chase Mitchell and Jake Rueff and ended up trimming the deficit to 27-25 at halftime. Lawton’s senior forward Chase Mitchell played fantastic in the third quarter going 4-4 from the field for 8 points, but Fennville’s star Dylan Schut scored 10 points in the quarter as well to maintain the two point lead for Fennville. Entering the final quarter the Fennville lead was 40-38. A three-pointer from sophomore Kallon Motter regained the lead for Lawton at 41-40 with 3:25 remaining. Tyler Schut answered for Fennville with a bucket to make it 42-41. A turnover by Lawton led to a foul that put Fennville’s Tyler Schut on the line. Tyler made one of two free throws to extend the Fennville lead to 43-41. Lawton’s Chase Mitchell received a questionable and-one call to tie the game at 43-43 but missed the free throw. Fennville turned the ball over with 1:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, but an errant skip pass from Lawton turned the ball back over to Fennville with :56 remaining. Fennville was intent on holding for the final shot, but lost possession with :10 left which led to Lawton running in transition. Lawton ended up losing the ball in transition which gave Tyler Schut a chance for a buzzer beater from the free throw line that came up short. Both teams struggled with turnovers early in overtime. Fennville’s Izayah Strickfaden was fouled and put on the free throw line with :29 remaining in a 43-43 game. Strickfaden missed both free throws, but Tyler Schut secured the offensive rebound. On the next possession Strickfaden missed a wing three-pointer for the lead giving Lawton the ball back. Both teams traded turnovers and Lawton called a timeout with 10.6 seconds remaining. Following the timeout senior guard Jake Rueff went coast-to-coast for a game-winning layup with :02 left on the clock. Lawton came away with a 45-43 overtime victory. Leading the Blue Devils was Chase Mitchell with 19 points and Jake Rueff with 15 points. Fennville was led by Dylan Schut with 13 points and Tyler Schut with 12 points. Lawton will turn their attention to Watervliet on Tuesday in one of the biggest games of the season. Both teams enter the game undefeated in SAC-Lakeshore play.

OK Conference

Byron Center 63, Greenville 41

Calvin Christian 70, Godwin Heights 68

Catholic Central 75, Ottawa Hills 36

Coopersville 52, Fruitport 45

Covenant Christian 78, Potter’s House Christian 46

FH Eastern 62, Cedar Springs 60

FH Northern 52, FH Central 42

Grandville 51, East Kentwood 46

Grand Haven 65, Caledonia 48

GR Christian 49, East Grand Rapids 40

Holland Christian 56, Spring Lake 54 (2OT)

Kelloggsville 77, Sparta 61

Mona Shores 59, Zeeland East 39

Muskegon 82, Wyoming 59

NorthPointe Christian 87, Hopkins 61

Northview 86, Lowell 50

Rockford 56, Hudsonville 54

South Christian 75, Wayland 37

Union 67, Holland 42

Unity Christian 66, Hamilton 34

West Catholic 70, Allendale 47

West Ottawa 52, Jenison 35

Zeeland West 58, Reeths-Puffer 47

Southwest MI D1-D2

Allegan 67, Paw Paw 62

Coldwater 66, Jackson Northwest 42

Edwardsburg 66, Vicksburg 46

Harper Creek 59, Pennfield 41

Otsego 52, Plainwell 31

Parchment 70, South Haven 44

Schoolcraft 76, Constantine 39

Three Rivers 47, Sturgis 45

Southwest MI D3-D4

BH Countryside 61, Howardsville Christian 37

Bridgman 70, St. Joe Lake MI Cath. 35

Cassopolis 73, Bangor 15

Centreville 67, Mendon 17

Eau Claire 104, Covert 55

Hackett Cath. 65, Delton-Kellogg 39

K-Christian 54, Galesburg-Augusta 26

Lawton 45, Fennville 43 (OT)

New Buffalo 102, St. Joe MI Lutheran 50

Niles Brandywine 48, Buchanan 47

White Pigeon 65, Hartford 63