By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
SAUGATUCK—Following a one-point overtime loss to Bridgman in its season-opening game, the Saugatuck boys basketball team was hoping to get into the win column in its SAC contest with Gobles on Friday, Dec. 9.
The Trailblazers did just that, and in decisive fashion.
Saugatuck jumped out to a 16-7 lead after the opening quarter and never looked back in securing the 61-25 victory.
Despite the final score, Saugatuck trailed 5-2 at the game’s onset.
“It was a bit of a slow start for us, but after a couple of buckets from junior Russell VandePoel, we found themselves back on top.”
The score stood at 13-7 before Bradley Moorer knocked down a 3-pointer near the end of the first stanza to push Saugatuck’s lead to nine points.
VandePoel led all scorers with 16 points. Will Ayers added 11 points and Jack McCoy checked in with 10 to give the Trailblazers three double-digit scorers. Each player on the Saugatuck roster scored at least one point.
Saugatuck held Gobles to seven points after the half.
“We really put the clamps down defensively,” Ward said. “It was total-team effort.”
In the loss to Bridgman on Tuesday, Dec. 6, the Trailblazers overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to knot the score at 51-51 at the end of regulation.
Saugatuck then built a four-point lead in overtime, only to see Bridgman score the winning points on a buzzer-beating bucket.
Ayers scored 19 points, while Carter Miller had 17. VandePoel added seven.
“We struggled a bit in the first half, but were able to regain composure at halftime and come out big in the quarter to get the deficit down to one point,” Ward said. “From there it was a tight, back-and-forth game all the way to the end.”