West Michigan Roundup, Saturday 2/20/21

West Michigan Roundup, Saturday 2/20/21

Saturday was a packed day of great matchups across the west side. Grand Haven stayed hot defeating Caledonia 47-37 to improve to 4-0. Otsego barely got past Three Rivers 65-63 to keep to the Wolverine Conference win streak going. Hudsonville pulled away from FH Central in the second half cruising to a 69-56 win. In the game of the day Catholic Central defeated GR Christian 59-44 while GRC’s star Kobe Bufkin left the game with an injury less than 5 minutes into the game.

Best Win: Benton Harbor over Williamston 51-40

Benton Harbor came into the game looking to add another strong win to their resume after defeating Muskegon last week. The Tigers went up against one of the best D2 teams in the state loaded with talent. Kentrell Pullian scored 16 points in the win while Kyle Booth had a double-double with 12 points & 10 rebounds.

Next Best: Catholic Central over GR Christian 59-44

On paper this looked the game of the year on the west side, but unfortunately that’s not how things work. Kobe Bufkin went down with an injury mid-first quarter that kept him out of the rest of the game. Can’t discredit Catholic Central at all though, Karasinski played fantastic while sophomore Pg Kaden Brown played strong as well. The Brooks brothers of Durral and Jorden were making plays all over the court too. Karasinski and Brown both led the Cougars with 18 points.

Best Performance: Grandville’s Tommy Gregwer (2021 G): 34 points 8 rebounds

The Aquinas commit with a huge game in an overtime victory over Middleville-TK.

Next Best: Marcellus’ Gavin Etter (2021 G): 33 points

Etter, one of the best scorers in Southwest Michigan reached the 1000 points milestone last night in a 79-70 victory over River Valley.

Honorable Mentions:

Zeeland East’s Trip Riemersma (2021 G): 20 points

Otsego’s Jakson Dentler (2021 G): 22 points

Grand Haven’s Nic Stump (2022 F): 23 points

Catholic Central’s Jack Karasinski (2022 F): 18 points

FH Central’s Jacob Bonnett (2022 G): 20 points

Benton Harbor’s Kyle Booth (2021 F): 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists

Games I Attended:

(1) Hudsonville over FH Central 69-56

This was a game featuring two teams that had to replace a lot of talent from last season. Hudsonville came into the game 4-1 while FHC entered 2-2. At halftime Hudsonville led 35-32 while FHC’s Jacob Bonnett was playing great with 10 points keeping his team in the game. FHC’s forward Conner Milton picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the game which caused him to sit a fair amount of the half. The third quarter was dominated by Hudsonville’s Davis Magsig who hit 3 three’s scoring 11 points in the quarter extending the lead to 51-40. FHC attempted to come back in the fourth quarter but could not get enough stops as Hudsonville took the game 69-56. The leading scorer in the game was Jacob Bonnett of FHC with 20 points and he was the only FHC player in double figures. Hudsonville had balanced scoring with Davis Magsig leading with 17 points, Zac Baker with 13 points, and Andrew Szlachic along with Carson Fischer both had 12 points.

(2) Catholic Central over GR Christian 59-44

There was a significant buzz in the gym prior to this game. Despite limited crowds the atmosphere was crazy with benches bringing the intensity. Catholic Central got off to a quick start with a couple Jack Karasinski’s threes. Then mid-way through the first quarter Kobe Bufkin went up to block a Durral Brooks layup and came down hard on his left wrist. He never re-entered the game leaving a little before halftime. Without Bufkin, the GR Christian offense was lost only scoring 19 points in the first half. They did cut the deficit to 12 at halftime, but in the third quarter Jorden Brooks and Jack Karasinski hit a few three pointers that virtually ended the game. Catholic Central put the exclamation point on the night with a couple more buckets from Jack Karasinski and Kaden Brown. When the dust settled it ended up being a Catholic Central victory 59-44. Jack Karasinski and Kaden Brown led the game with 18 points a piece while Jorden Brooks had 10. GR Christian was led by Donovan Brown-Boyd with 10 points. It will be interesting to see how GR Christian bounces back on Tuesday against FH Northern. These teams may not have seen the last of each other as they could match up again in regionals.