**ARTICLE BY JOSH LONGSTRETH**

**Photo Credit: Miles Postema**

DOUBLE DRIBBLE: BOYS BASKETBALL RECAP

12/27/2022

  • East Kentwood would defeat Parchment, 70-37, at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament on Tuesday. Christian Humphrey-Rembert (transferred back to East Kentwood) and Jah Hatchett both led the way for the Falcons with 22-points apiece. Jalen Kampen led the Panthers with 16 points.
  • Mona Shores would grab a big win over defending State Champion Tri Unity Christian at the Cornerstone Invitational, 56-44. Jordan Bledsoe had a big night for the Sailors to lead the way with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Jonathan Pittman put together an impressive night with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Mason Hallett added 10 points. Roy Fogg kept the Defenders in with 22 points and 6 rebounds.
  • Ottawa Hills grabbed a win over Ypsilanti Lincoln, 65-43. Isaiah Bradford (14 points), Quadir Hatchett (13 points) and Arien McDaniel (12 points) led the way for the Bengals.

12/28/2022

  • Forest Hills Central put together a nice win over Covenant Christian at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament, 63-48. Jonas VanderWoude led the way for the Rangers with 23 points on the night. Tyler Hudkins and Levi McKenzie both pitched in 11 apiece. Travis Holstege (17 points), Drew Baas (14 points) and Jonny Kuiper (11 points) paced the Chargers.
  • Forest Hills Eastern would defeat Three Oaks River Valley at the River Valley Tournament, 89-60. Jacob Pallo put together a career-high to lead the Hawks with 28 points. Mac DenBraber had another solid effort with 17 and Jace Culp finished with 10. Forest Eastern improves to 5-0 on the season.
  • Hudsonville picked up a win over Northpointe Christian at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament, 73-56. The Eagles would jump out to a big halftime lead and never look back to improve to 3-2 on the season. Breylan McPhaul led Hudsonville with 23 points while freshman Jovaan Daniels added 14. Mitchell White paced the Mustangs with 13 points.
  • Loy Norrix would grab a win over Ypsilanti Lincoln, 72-47. Brandon Parker (15 points) led the way for the Knights. Sophomore Aquan Foster pitched in 10 points. Cedric Huntley put together a nice performance with 12 points (30 points the previous night). Loy Norrix will move to 4-3 and get some tough off before they host Battle Creek Central on January 12th.
  • Muskegon would pull out a barnburner in overtime over Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 81-79. Jordan Briggs, who would hit the game winner with about 10 seconds left, finished with a big 35 points for the Big Reds who improve to 3-0 with the win. Kaden Brown had 36 points for the Cougars while Durral Brooks helped with 23 points for Catholic Central who will move to 0-3 on the young season. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo was on hand to take in a fantastic game.
  • North Muskegon grabbed a big win over Orchard View, 59-29. The Norse would get off to a big 34-16 lead to head into the half and were able to cruise the rest of the way. Head coach Chuck Rypstra knows getting off to the good start was vital, “We were able to jump ahead and kept them at bay in the first half. We were able to weather a push from them in the 3rd quarter and really took care of the ball late to get the win”. Troy McManus had a big game for North Muskegon with 20 points and 5 rebounds. Sam Gallo put together himself a night with 15 points and 10 rebounds. BJ Sewell led the way for the Cardinals with 11 points. The Norse will move to 5-1 on the season and will take on Hart on January 6.
  • Ottawa Hills would battle but come up just short losing to Benton Harbor, 66-71. Craig Hureskin was big for the Bengals with 20 points on the night. Isaiah Bradford pitched in with 14 points. Grant Gondrezick was big for the Tigers with 32 points.
  • Rockford picked up a win over Wyoming, 82-47. The Rams were led by Caden Pokorzynski (18 points) and Joey Pitsch (16 points). Andrew Landis chipped in 13 points. Alyjah Chandler paced Wyoming with 16 points. Rockford will move to 4-1 on the season while Wyoming moves to 1-4.
  • Zeeland East picked up a win over Whitehall, 72-55. BJ Walker would put together a sensational game scoring 36 points for his career-high as just a sophomore. Camden Thompson put together an absolute monster of a game for the Vikings with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Ca’mar Ready put together a nice game with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

12/29/2022

  • East Kentwood would defeat Mona Shores, 71-49. The Falcons would hold a commanding 34-19 lead at the half. Sophomore Jah Hatchett led the way for East Kentwood with 16 points. Enrique Morris pitched in 14 points and Christian Rembert helped with 12 points. Jaden Bowman pitched in with 10 points on a perfect night from the floor. Jonathan Pittman led the way for the Sailors with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Jordan Bledsoe pitched in 13 points. Jeremiah Foster-Thomas finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds. Jah Hatchett would win the tournament MVP as the Falcons (3-0) win the Red Division of the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament.
  • Fruitport Calvary Christian would defeat Central Lake at the Manistee Catholic Central Christmas Tournament, 72-49. Sophomore Bradley Richards put on a show for the Eagles pouring in 40 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in the game.
  • Grand Haven defeated Petoskey in a battle between two very good basketball teams, 65-56.
  • Muskegon Heights dropped one to a very good Ludington Orioles team at the Lake Michigan Cup in Grand Haven, 49-91.
  • Sparta would drop a close battle with Pewamo-Westphalia at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament, 54-63. Jamison Eklund and Grady Eklund both led the way for the Pirates with 20 points apiece. Jax Wilson led the Spartans with 19 points. All three players would be named to the All-Tournament team.
  • Spring Lake topped Traverse City West in overtime at the Lake Michigan Cup, 64-62. The win would improve the Lakers to 3-1 on the season.
  • West Ottawa would drop a nail biter to Traverse City St. Francis in OT at the Lake Michigan Cup, 50-53.
  • Zeeland East would win a thriller at the Zeeland Holiday Tournament over Coopersville, defeating the Broncos 52-45. BJ Walker (19 points) and Layne Risdon (18 points) and Merritt Alderink (15 points) had big nights for the Chix. Mark DeVries and Eli Spencer led Coopersville with 16 points apiece.
  • Zeeland West grabbed a win over Whitehall at the Zeeland Holiday Tournament, 67-47. Whitehall really put themselves in a hole early in this one, trailing at the half 13-45.Merritt Alderink led the way for the Dux with 24 points and 8 rebounds.Luke Bakker finished with 17 points. Deklen Klamt pitched in 10 points. Zeeland West improves to 5-1 on the season, including 4-0 during the tournament. The Vikings would put together a solid 2nd half to build some momentum heading into a home game with Ludington this week. Camden Thompson led the way for the Vikings with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Kal Koehler found his shooting groove with 16 points and added 6 rebounds. With the loss Whitehall will move to 4-3 on the season.

12/30/2022

  • Grand Haven defeated Traverse City St. Francis at the Lakeshore Cup on Friday, 60-48. Despite the loss for St. Francis, senior Wyatt Nausadis continues to be stellar putting up 22 points and putting himself at 999 career points along with making the all tournament team. Harrison Sorrelle helped Grand Haven by taking home the tournament MVP and would finish this one with 30 points and 10 rebounds Eli Wachter pitched in 10 points. Nate Stump would make the all tournament team as well for the Bucs. Grand Haven moves to 5-0 with the win while St. Francis drops their first of the year to move to 3-1.
  • Grand Rapids Catholic Central would get a monumental win on Friday night, picking up a win over De La Salle in the final game of the Motor City Roundball Classic, 65-55. The Cougars came into this one losing their first three games of the season by just a total of 14 points. Catholic Central had not lost back-to-back games over a span of five seasons. The Cougars were able to grab a big one that could build some big momentum for a talented group. Kaden Brown led all scorers in the game with 19 points. Durral Brooks finished with 14 points and Carter Meerman added 11.
  • Hudsonville would pick up a win over Forest Hills Central, 54-50. The win would move the Eagles to 4-2 on the season. Mason Dykstra would be named to the all-tournament team and win the MVP. Brayden Szamrej would put together a nice tournament to be named to the team as well. Hudsonville will open conference play on January 6th when they travel to Caledonia.
  • West Ottawa would drop a tough one to Traverse City West at the Lake Michigan Cup, 57-63. Lincoln Lockett put together a nice performance for the Titans earning a spot on the all tournament team. Traverse City West was led by a balanced attack spearheaded by Ben Carlson (13 points), Lincoln Lockett (13 points) and Quinten Gillespie (10 points). Nash Bosma finished with 18 for West Ottawa.
  • Holton would drop a tough game to Reed City, 23-56. The Red Devils would get off to a bit of a slow start trailing at the half, 14-38. The Coyotes would cruise the rest of the way, Brodrick Fialek (9 points, 7 rebounds), Carter Brant (7 points) and Gavin Wheeler (6 points) paced the way for Holton. Ty Kailing had a big night for Reed City leading the Coyotes with 23 points. Holton head coach Keith Swanson is proud of the way his team battled but knows they will have to fix some things, “Reed City did a nice job tonight. Turnovers and poor shooting really hurt us. Our guys played hard but we will need to do a better job of taking care of the ball”.
  • Spring Lake dropped a tight battle with Ludington at the Lakeshore Cup in Grand Haven on Friday, falling to the Orioles 61-64. Zane Stahl (16 points), Zach Schlepp (14 points), Wren Dephouse (11 points) and Eli Morrison (10 points) led a balanced attack for the Lakers. Gage Jones (15 points) and Spencer Holmes (12 points) were big for Ludington who improves to 7-0 on the season. David Schillinger would finish on the all tournament team along with Spencer Holmes for the Orioles. Zane Stahl was voted on for Spring Lake.