By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
SAUGATUCK—Junior Russell VandePoel was one of several members of the Saugatuck boys basketball team who had been battling sickness as the Trailblazers prepared for its SAC Central game with Martin on Friday, Feb. 10.
But that didn’t stop VandePoel from coming up big when his team needed him the most.
VandePoel scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter—including a 4-for-4 showing at the line—to help propel the Trailblazers to the 50-39 win.
Saugatuck’s lead stood at 33-28 at the end of the third quarter.
“We’ve been sick this whole week,” Saugatuck coach Brian Ward said. “And I don’t want to use that as an excuse, because good teams have to find ways to play at a high level even on bad nights. But I was so proud of the way that these guys battled, even though they weren’t 100 percent.
“Russ, in particular, was sick and out of practice yesterday. But when the game was on the line, he scored 10 of his 12 in the fourth quarter to make sure we won that game. That’s grit. That’s competitiveness.”
Carter Miller added nine points in the win, followed by Matt Hartgerink with seven. Cass Stanberry and Landon Miller checked in with six points each for Saugatuck.
This game was much closer than the first meeting between these teams when Saugatuck posted a 48-point win over the Clippers.
“An ugly win is better than a pretty loss and we were proof of that tonight,” Ward said.
Turnovers and the points scored off of them played a big role in difference between the two games.
Saugatuck (11-5 overall) scored 27 points off of Martin turnovers in the first game, with the Clippers only scoring six points off Trailblazer turnovers. This time, the margin was narrowed to 19-14 in Saugatuck’s favor.
“The first time around, Martin had 34 turnovers, a lot of them forced by us,” Ward said. “And we took a lot of those the other way for easy scores. This time, they did a much better job of not turning the ball over and a much better job causing us to turn the ball over.”
The game started well enough for Saugatuck, which jumped out to a 12-4 lead after one quarter thanks largely to five points from Carter Miller and four from Will Ayers.
But the Clippers wouldn’t go away, holding scoring advantages of 10-9 in the second quarter and 14-12 in the third stanza to keep the game close.
Braedan Shanley and Teagan Harris each scored 13 points for Martin (2-13) to lead all scorers. Gavin Meyers joined them in double figures with 10 points.
Ward said his team will use this game as a learning experience as it enters the stretch run of the season.
“Honestly, each day is still a process for us,” he said. “We’ve gotten away from some of the things that made us successful in those early stretches of the season, particularly when it comes to our offensive rebounding and second chance points.
“At this point in the season, you’re really hoping everything is coming together and you’re playing your best basketball. I don’t think we’re there yet. I’ve seen pieces of it throughout the season, but we’re still working on showing it for a full 32 minutes. That’s my goal as we close this out: I want to see all the pieces, all at once, for a full 32 minutes.”