West Michigan Roundup, Friday 12/10/21

West Michigan Roundup, Friday 12/10/21

The first Friday of the season provided some close games and crazy results.

• In the game of the night, Catholic Central erased a 21-point deficit to beat GR Christian on the road 48-45
• Zeeland West was able to pull off the upset of West Ottawa thanks to a buzzer-beating three from Merritt Alderink
• Northview escaped a scare from Wyoming 74-64 with help from Kyler Vanderjagt’s 31 point effort
• Grand Haven snuck past Reeths-Puffer 61-56 in the Bucs opener
• South Christian was able to bounce back from Tuesday’s loss with a 65-52 win over a talented Holland Christian team
• It took Hudsonville two overtimes and 30 points from Mason Dykstra to get past East Grand Rapids 69-61
• Unity Christian won a close one against Calvin Christian 78-76 as the Crusaders move to 2-0 once again
• Tri-Unity Christian looks to make another Breslin run in Brady Titus’ senior season. They started their 2021-22 campaign with a 62-55 win over NorthPointe Christian
• Forest Hills Central has a very strong team this season and knocked off Forest Hills Eastern 72-64 to open the year with senior guard Jacob Bonnett leading the way with 29 points
• Desmond Young is off to a quick start in his head coaching career leading Grandville to their second victory with a 53-47 win over Forest Hills Northern
• In a SAC-Valley battle Parchment was able to defeat D3 semi-final participant Schoolcraft 55-49 to stay unbeaten
• In a low-scoring affair, Lakeshore defeated Portage Central 32-29 to sweep their first week of play 2-0 while the Mustangs drop to 0-2
• Mattawan is a young team to watch out for in the SMAC as they improved to 2-0 with a 76-41 win over Portage Northern and Steve Hawkins
• Berrien Springs is another sleeper returning several key players as they improved to 2-0 on Friday night. The Shamrocks were able to defeat Buchanan 50-47
• The goliath of the Wolverine conference Otsego fell to Dowagiac 53-47 in the home opener. Otsego hadn’t lost to Dowagiac since 2017.

Best Win: Parchment over Schoolcraft 55-49

In the past two seasons, Schoolcraft had only lost one regular season contest. This year they fall in the conference opener on the road to Parchment. Parchment is a talented D2 team led by guard Tony Williams and will likely challenge Schoolcraft for a division title this season. Schoolcraft fans don’t need to worry yet as the Eagles could very likely run the table with the exception of the Hudsonville game at Cornerstone. Parchment, on the other hand, is off to a great start to the season and the re-match between these two teams on Friday, Feb 18 is certainly a date to circle on the calendar.

Next Best: Zeeland West over West Ottawa 50-47

Zeeland West entered the season looking to improve on their 9-8 record last season. With their star sophomore all-conference player Merritt Alderink returning, the Dux looked to be in good shape. They pulled off the upset on the road at West Ottawa thanks to a buzzer-beater three from Alderink to win the game.

Biggest Upset: Dowagiac over Otsego 53-47

After a thrilling road win at Portage Central to open the season on Tuesday, Otsego looked to keep their winning ways going. Despite 19 points from Ashton Atwater, the Bulldogs dropped the conference opener to Dowagiac at home. Dowagiac only managed to go 3-12 in last year's shortened season.

Biggest Comeback: GR Catholic Central’s 21 point comeback win

GR Catholic Central entered the season as the #1 team in almost everyone's area rankings. To open the season they were tasked with a hungry GR Christian team coming off a big win over South Christian. Catholic Central trailed 32-11 midway through the second quarter. The Cougars held GR Christian to 10 total points in the second half completing a 21 point comeback to win 48-45. William & Mary signee Jack Karasinski led the team with 17 points.

Turning the Tide: Galesburg Wins First Two

After 1-20 and 0-13 records in the past two seasons, Galesburg-Augusta is looking to have a little success this season. The Rams have opened the season with back-to-back wins over Martin and Delton-Kellogg to double their total amount of wins from the past two seasons.

Top Performers:

-Kyler Vanderjagt (Northview 2022 G): 31 points, 7 reb

-Mason Dykstra (Hudsonville 2023 G): 30 points

-Gabe Newhof (Unity Christian 2022 F): 30 points

-Jacob Bonnett (FH Central 2022 G): 29 points

-Carson DeHaan (Calvin Chr. 2023 G/F): 29 points

-Ramere Draper (Wyoming 2022 F): 24 points

-Bradley Richards (Calvary Christian 2025 G/F): 24 points, 20 reb

-Harrison Sorrelle (Grand Haven 2023 G): 23 points

-Jaxson Whitaker (Reeths-Puffer 2024 G): 21 points, 4 reb

-Ashton Atwater (Otsego 2022 G): 19 points

-Trevor Zamarron (Greenville 2024 G): 19 points

-James York (Berrien Springs 2022 G): 18 points

-Jack Karasinski (GR Cath. 2022 SF): 17 points

-Jalen Overway (Holland Chr. 2022 C): 17 points, 12 reb

-Jalen Charity (Northview 2022 G): 17 points, 8 reb

-Trey Johnson (Grandville 2022 G): 17 points

-Ethan Crabtree (Coldwaer 2022 G): 16 points, 10 reb, 4 ast

-Ryan Kiesling (Mattawan 2023 F): 15 points, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk

Saturday’s Schedule

1:30 PM GR Sacred Heart at Wyoming Lee

1:30 PM Lansing Everett at Rockford

3:30 PM Dearborn Fordson at GR Northview

5 PM Fennville at Benton Harbor

5:30 PM Lansing Eastern at GR Union

7 PM Centreville at Buchanan