Final Tuesday of The Season Sets the Scene for Championship Friday: MSR Hoops Tuesday Preview
By: Nate Dreyer
The high school basketball season has again flown by, and we are on the doorstep of another incredible three week championship run through the state tournament to the Breslin Center. The boys playoffs start one week from yesterday, with the girls beginning a week later with district play of their own.
This week, with brackets already set for the boys, attention turns to the girls making their last bids towards improving district seeding on their final draw Sunday, while both the boys and girls in the O-K Conference will crown their conference champions this week.
Tough Hudsonville Back-To-Back Concludes with Cross-Town Rivalry
The Hudsonville Eagles wrap up a tough start to the week Tuesday, as after they had to take on East Kentwood in girls and boys basketball on Monday in an extra make-up game from January (Games were live on MSR – Check out the replay in the ‘On Demand’ section of our Listen Live page!). The Eagles are back at it with their final home game of the 2024 season against a cross-town rival.
Jenison comes to the Fieldhouse to take on the Eagles girls and boys, on the girls side it’s another rematch of last year’s shocking district championship game upset by Jenison, as they snapped a near decade-long District title streak for Coach Casey Glass and the Eagles. In the first matchup in 2024, the Eagles got their first taste of revenge for the season – winning 56-46.
Each of those teams will be taking part in a loaded district that will feature Byron Center and East Kentwood as the likely top two seeds and even more depth beyond that – So any momentum out of Tuesday would be a big aid into that district week.
The boys game will continue a very tough stretch for Coach Eric Elliott’s Eagles, as after East Kentwood on Monday they have rival Grandville on the road on Friday, before starting play in one of the toughest districts in the state Monday, where they will open the playoffs with legendary coach Thom Vanderklay and the Wyomng Wolves, who’s unique up-tempo style is always a tricky out in March.
Tuesday may represent a rare reprieve in that stretch vs. a struggling and rebuilding Jenison team that currently sits at the bottom of the O-K Red. We’ll see if senior Brayden Szamrej and the Eagles can stay on the right track and help finish the year strong with a senior night win over a cross-town rival.
Girls coverage begins at 5:50pm, with the boys to follow.
Grandville/Grand Haven Double Header on the Lakeshore
The Bulldogs and Buccaneers split in their first meeting, with the Grand Haven girls coming out on top after a dominant second half and the Grandville boys controlling a win in the first January meeting. The second meeting shifts to the shores of Lake Michigan and Grand Haven for meeting number two, and MSR will be there live with our GAME NIGHT crew.
The girls tip-off the evening at 5:30pm, after a close first half within single digits in the first meeting, the Grand Haven side took over both ends of the floor in the second half last meeting, as they rolled to a 52-26 win.
Head Coach Katie Kowalcyzk-Fulmer always has tough defensive teams at Grand Haven, but this year’s team has been one of her best yet in that regard. The Lady Bucs give up less than 34 points per game, and have made matchups like their previous Grandville meeting where they gave up less than 30 the norm throughout the season on their run to a 16-4 record. They will likely be headed towards an incredible district championship battle with West Ottawa in two weeks time.
Grandville, under first-year coach Mike VanHekken have been showing some strides made in the tough O-K Red in 2024. They currently are on a 5-game losing streak, however and have fallen into a 3-way tie with Jenison and Caledonia at the bottom of the O-K Red. This could be a huge statement win for a team that has been able to keep it close against several of the top opponents in the Red.
Following that 5:30 tip-off the boys will rematch their 56-46 Grandville win from the first meeting at Vanderslice Gymnasium. The Bulldogs have been swooning a bit vs. the meat of an incredibly tough schedule over the last two-weeks and are trying to find the mid-season form that has carried them to third in the O-K red and a dark horse contender in the loaded Byron Center D1 district next week.
The Bucs are also looking for some momentum as they will be placed in a district that may likely be viewed as more ‘winnable’ than last year’s district that placed them with the likes of Coopersville and Muskegon. The Bucs will likely see a championship game meeting with Zeeland West in the cards.
Both teams were able to win on Friday and carry some momentum into this game Tuesday night. Coverage from GH starts at 5:00pm with the girls tip-off at the bottom of that hour and the boys starting up at approximately 7:00pm.
FHN & EGR Boys Look to Get Back on Track
It’s been a retool year for two of the strongest contenders in the O-K White over the last couple of seasons in EGR and Forest Hills Northern, and that is only made tougher with each coming off Friday night matchups vs. state-ranked Northview and GR Christian on Friday, respectively.
This year’s district alignment in D1 will put the two in separate districts with tough opponents on the way.
The district draw for FHN is particularly difficult in the district being played at their home gym, as a likely path from Monday to Friday would feature beating GR Union on Monday, Northview on Wednesday and then the presumptive winner of Rockford/Coopersville on Friday.
EGR has a draw that could send Coach Owens and the 4-win Pioneers on a bit of a ‘Cinderella’ run through the district, as they will see Lowell on Monday, before seeing .500 district-host Caledonia on Wednesday and likely a very good FHC Ranger squad on Friday.
All of that said, momentum will be big as each team will be able to wipe the slate clean and have winnable match-ups on Monday night as the playoff tip-off.
Live coverage begins at 7:00pm from EGR in this momentum-tipping final week game.
Catholic Central ‘Gold’ Winning Performance?
G.R.C.C comes into Monday with a two game lead in the O-K Gold over South Christian with two games to play, that means something simple. A win on Tuesday and the Cougars will win another conference championship for head coach T.J. Meerman.
The ‘Cougs will be taking on Ottawa Hills, who currently sit one-game above .500 and have alternated wins and losses over the past two weeks. Tuesday’s game features two of the area’s best scorers in senior Craig Hureskin for Ottawa Hills and Durral Brooks for Catholic Central.
Catholic Central will look to wrap up a perfect O-K Gold Season in this game and Friday’s home finale vs. Wayland, before also taking on Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in a final non-con game before district play starts next week. The Cougars get a fortunate draw, as they avoid the crowded South Christian, Unity Christian, GR Christian gauntlet district in D2, as they instead will be playing at West Catholic and would see Wyoming Lee or host W.C. in the final.
Ottawa Hills sets up to play in the same district at Caledonia as EGR, they open Monday with 8-12 Thornapple-Kellogg, with the winner of that game advancing to take on top-seeded Forest Hills Central.
Live video coverage from Catholic Central of Tuesday’s game begins at 6:45pm.
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That’s all of the live action scheduled for MSR on Tuesday night, the playoffs are right around the corner though, and things are only going to pick up as we’ll have all of the biggest districts across west Michigan in boys basketball covered, including some massive district championship battles that in some cases might ultimately decide who goes on a ‘Breslin-bound’ March run.
Keep up with all of the final push in the standings in the conference championship races, along with upcoming games and more – right here – on MichiganSportsRadio.com!
We’ll see you Friday to preview all of the massive action coming up on the final night of the O-K Conference season live on MSR, before we head into one of the most highly-anticipated playoff runs this area has seen in boys hoops in a long time!
