By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
VICKSBURG—The story of the boys basketball game between visiting Otsego and Vicksburg on Friday, Jan. 27, was the free throw line.
Otsego went 24-of-31 at the charity stripe, while Vicksburg was just 4-of-8.
The result was a 57-50 overtime win for Otsego, which improved to 10-1 and stayed atop the Wolverine Conference standings.
“Free throws were the deciding factor,” Otsego coach Matt Dennis said. “Without us hitting free throws, we come up short and take our first loss in conference play.
“Thankfully, free throws were a focus of us this week and it paid off.”
Otsego’s solid showing at the line was particularly evident in overtime, when Dennis’s crew went 9-of-12 en route to outscoring Vicksburg 12-5. Blake Marks led the charge in overtime, going 6-of-8.
Marks finished with 18 points to pace Otsego, with Sam Bronkema (13 points) and Cooper Smalldon (10 points) joining him in double figures. Smalldon was 6-of-7 at the line.
The strong showing at the line helped Otsego overcome 22 turnovers.
“Our turnover count was way too high, so I know what we will be focusing on next week in practice,” Dennis said. “Overall, I wasn’t upset about our performance. Good teams find ways to win close games and we did.”
And while Carsen Miller and Callum Wesseldyk didn’t score a lot of points—they combined for five, all from Miller—Dennis praised their effort and intensity.
“Callum and Carsen came off the bench and gave us a spark when we needed it,” Dennis said. “The things that Carsen and Callum did don’t show up on the stat sheet in a huge way, but their contribution was big in us having a chance to win.”
Otsego led 25-17 at halftime and 35-28 after three quarters. But Vicksburg used a 17-10 edge in the fourth quarter to force the extra session.