by Ben Murphy
Sports Writer
Mattawan boys continue to roll with wins over Portage Central, West Catholic
The Mattawan boys basketball team didn’t let a slow start prove to be costly on Friday. The Wildcats fell behind by seven in the opening minutes, but regrouped from there to claim a 65-45 conference victory.
“A slow shooting start saw us fall behind early 13-6,” head coach Josh Brown said. “Portage Central came out shooting well from three, hitting three early threes. A Noah Vanlaningham dunk followed by a corner three gave us our first lead 20-19 midway through the second.”
Mattawan continued to roll from there
“We then come out of halftime and held Portage Central scoreless for the last 5:30 minutes of the third and go on a 20-0 run to finish the quarter.”
Ryan Kiesling led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Ryan VanLiere was able to net 13 points. Vanlaningham finished with 13 points and five rebounds, Will Kuiper had seven points and four steals and Connor Walsh chipped in with five points and four assists.
On Tuesday, Jan. 31 the Wildcats won a road game at Grand Rapids West Catholic, with a score of 63-51.
“Quick starts in the first and third quarters help us keep this game from getting close,” Brown said. “While we didn’t shoot as well from three as we expected, we picked it up by getting to the rim.”
They were led by Vanlaningham and Walsh who each had 18 points, with Walsh adding four rebounds. Kiesling chipped in with 14 points and 16 rebounds, Van Liere was good for nine points and Kuiper added four points, five rebounds and five assists.
Mattawan (13-1 overall) hosted Battle Creek Lakeview on Tuesday, heads to St. Joseph today (Thursday) and plays Harper Woods in Benton Harbor on Saturday in the Wilson Chandler Shootout. The Wildcats also play at Stevensville Lakeshore on Feb. 17.
Paw Paw boys snap losing skid, top Vicksburg 61-56
The Paw Paw boys basketball team entered Friday’s conference game against visiting Vicksburg on a six game losing streak. The Red Wolves were able to say goodbye to that skid as they played their way to a 61-56 win.
“We played a complete game and pulled out the win,” head coach Paskell Miller said. “Good balanced scoring.”
The Red Wolves had 17 points from Ashton Toliver, Troy Vandenberg put in 14, with 10 apiece was Truman Brennan and Aydn Roth and Nate LaMere was able to chip in with eight points.
On Tuesday, Jan. 31 Paw Paw lost a road game at Charlotte, 68-44.
Toliver and Vandenberg led the way with 11 points apiece in the setback while Roth was able to put in 10.
Paw Paw (4-10 overall) was at home against Buchanan on Wednesday, heads to Plainwell on Friday and makes the trip to Niles on Tuesday.
Lawton boys tamed by Schoolcraft
On Friday the Lawton boys basketball team played at Schoolcraft. The Blue Devils lost the conference battle however, 72-51.
Parker VanPeteghem was able to score 15 points in the setback and Luke Leighton netted 10 points.
On Tuesday, Jan. 31 Lawton dropped a road non-league game in Allegan, 73-60. VanPeteghem was able to pour in 20 points to lead the way.
Lawton (7-7 overall) played at Vicksburg on Tuesday, hosts Constantine on Friday and heads to Galesburg-Augusta on Tuesday.
Lady Blue Devils play to lopsided road win over Delton Kellogg
The Lawton girls basketball team were able to pick up a convincing win on the road on Monday. The Lady Blue Devils were at Delton Kellogg, where they claimed a 54-20 victory. They led the game 28-0 at the half and never looked back.
They were led by Kenzee Terpstra who had 14 points, McKenna Macon was able to get 12 points and four steals, Kylee Somers chipped in with 10 points and six boards, Addi Price netted eight points and swiped away five steals and Ella Ricther added two points and chased down eight rebounds.
On Friday Lawton lost a road game in Schoolcraft, 44-28.
Macon was able to pour in 13 points and swipe four steals and Price added eight points and seven steals.
Lawton (8-8 overall) played at home against Vicksburg on Tuesday, stays at home to play Constantine on Friday and hosts Black River on Tuesday.
Lawrence boys tamed by Black River
The Lawrence boys basketball team dropped a close one to visiting Black River on Monday. The Tigers had a nice rally in the fourth quarter, but ultimately lost, 55-52.
Black River led 15-13 after the first quarter and 27-24 at the half and 43-31 entering the fourth.
The Tigers had Ben McCaw lead things with 16 points, Tim Coombs and John Schuman had 12 points apiece, Christian Smith and Zander Payment had five points each and Noel Saldana chipped in with two points.
On Thursday, Feb. 2 Lawrence was able to pull off a close win over Comstock, 58-57.
The Tigers were led by Schuman and Payment with 15 points apiece, Coombs poured in 10, McCaw was able to score eight, Saldana chipped in with four, with Smith and Gabe Gonzalez adding three apiece.
Lawrence (7-8 overall) heads to Bloomingdale on Friday and is at St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran on Monday.
Lawrence girl hang on for win over Our Lady of the Lakes
The Lawrence girls basketball team saw their strong season keep going on Monday. The Lady Tigers were playing at St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lakes and were able to hang on in a close one, 38-36.
Freshman Carolina Mancera knocked down a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to give Lawrence a four point lead and Hailey Camp had two key late blocks in the game as well to preserve the lead.
Kaylee Stroud finished with 19 points to lead the Tigers, Mancera was able to score 10 and Shelbi Rindfield added four points.
On Friday Lawrence won a conference game at Comstock, 38-24.
Stroud was able to net 14 points in this one, Mancera put in eight points and Rindfield chipped in with five.
Lawrence (11-6 overall) heads to Bloomingdale on Friday and returns home to take on Berrien Springs on Tuesday.
Harbaugh double double leads Gobles to win over Martin
The Gobles boys basketball team continued their improved play on Friday. The Tigers were hosting Martin, and got a 16 point, 10 rebound and three steal performance from Tristan Harbaugh, in what was a 45-21 victory.
“This was the best team effort we’ve come up with to date,” head coach Scott Sherrod said. “We played unselfish basketball and everyone was worried about making the right play or rotation. We’ve won three of our last four and we will look to keep the momentum going.”
Aiden Newberry also had 10 points, Tony Lisowski had six points and six steals and Xavier Wilkes was good for six points and six rebounds.
On Wednesday, Feb. 1 Gobles lost to visiting Saugatuck, 47-28.
“The defensive intensity and effort was on another level,” Sherrod said. “We held them to just 16 points in the first half.”
Harbaugh was able to put in 10 points in this game and Wilkes hit the nets for nine points.
Gobles (3-13 overall) played at Allegan on Tuesday, plays at Delton Kellogg on Friday and hosts Lawrence on Monday.
Martin takes down Gobles girls
The Gobles girls basketball team saw their six game winning streak snapped on Friday. The Lady Tigers were hosting Martin, a league contest they came up short in, 56-42.
“We took on a very hot shooting Martin team and fell behind early and was not able to dig ourselves out of it,” head coach Greg Barber said. “The girls kept fighting until the very end.”
Charlotte Zantello had 15 points and six rebounds and Kennadi Killeen was able to score 15 points.
On Wednesday, Feb. 1 Gobles was able to get a 58-48 win over visiting Saugatuck.
“The ladies beat a very good Saugatuck team,” Barber said. “We came out of the gate shooting the ball really good and that continued all game long. It was a tight game until late in the fourth quarter when the girls were able to get a little separation.”
Leading the way in the win was Erica Barber with 19 points, three assists, two steals and one rebound, Kennadi Killeen had 15 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists, Kylee Killeen was good for nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal, Zantello had seven points and seven boards and Kaya Huizenga added four points and eight rebounds.
Gobles (10-5 overall) hosted Coloma on Tuesday, heads to Delton Kellogg on Friday and heads to Schoolcraft on Tuesday.