OK Conference Observations: 1.0

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every Wednesday, I'll go around the Ottawa-Kent Conference to provide updates on the Tuesday night game I attended, what athletes stood out, what teams picked up a big win, and much more. Last night, I was at NorthPointe High School to watch the 5-3 Mustangs host 4-1 Godwin Heights in a game that had implications in the OK Silver title race. Check out my thoughts on that game and the top point scorers around the area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Godwin Heights 82, NorthPointe Christian 74</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Godwin Heights picked up a huge win over NorthPointe Christian, defeating the Mustangs by eight in a tough road environment. The Wolverines were hot from beyond the arch in this one, and largely controlled the pace of play, staying within their comfort zone by running in transition and creating quick shot opportunities for their talented backcourt. Godwin extended its lead by nearly 20 points before a late surge by the Mustangs kept this game in single digits. Godwin is now 4-1 on the year, 2-0 in the Silver, and has a date with Calvin Christian this Friday in one of the pivotal games in the league title race.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902884' first='Jakhary' last='Towns'], Godwin Heights 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jakhary played up to his standard against NorthPointe, leading the team with 23 points despite being face guarded for the majority of the game. The Mustangs extended their ball pressure on Jakhary, forcing him to take shots a couple of steps beyond the three-point line, which he promptly knocked down. Jakhary showed off a nice stop-n-pop pull-up in the midrange. His ability to read the defender and take the shot when his defender is on his heels was equally impressive. Jakhary also had a nice moment during Tuesday's win as he surpassed 1,000 career points. He still has more than a half a season to tack on to that point total.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902914' first='Damarie' last='Thompson'], Godwin Heights 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was great to see Damarie back in action, and with him operating the Godwin offense, Jakhary has the ability to hunt for his shots off the ball, making Godwin much harder to guard from a personnel standpoint. Damarie does a great job of controlling the flow of the offense and finding guys in opportune-scoring situations. A big part of Damarie's evolution is his perimeter shooting. He made a handful of threes last night, and his shot was consistent and looked sound mechanically. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1378250' first='Mitchell' last='White'], NorthPointe Christian 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mitchell had a big game for the Mustangs, leading NorthPointe in scoring with 26 points. Mitchell's motor was the first thing that stood out to me as he was constantly on the floor for loose balls and pushing the tempo in transition. Mitchell made a variety of shots to lead the way in scoring, and he did so in the paint, in the mid-range, and made a few shots from the perimeter as well. Additionally, I thought Mitchell's athleticism stood out in this game. He was able to grab a few boards and create second-chance opportunities for NorthPointe due to his constant effort on the glass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>OK Conference Top Performers</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1006801' first='Harrison' last='Sorrelle'], Grand Haven 24"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harrison scored a career-high 37 points in Grand Haven's 69-62 win over Jenison.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kyle Cannon, Holland Christian 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kyle scored a career-high 34 points in Holland Christian's 66-54 win over Hamilton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='987270' first='Kaden' last='Brown'], Catholic Central 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaden scored 24 points in Catholic Central's 69-39 win over Cedar Springs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1112299' first='Jaxson' last='Whitaker'], Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 24"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaxson scored 27 points in the Rocket's 58-54 loss to Grand Rapids Union.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jack Agema, Calvin Christian 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jack scored 24 points in Calvin Christian's 68-47 win over Hopkins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brett Bultsma, Wayland 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brett scored 24 points in Wayland's 72-60 win over Middleville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1622930' first='Jaiden' last='Googins'], Caledonia</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaiden scored 21 points in Caledonia's 55-46 win over Grandville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1077678' first='Mason' last='Dykstra'], Hudsonville 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mason scored 21 points in Hudsonville's 65-46 win over West Ottawa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Johnathan Pittman, Mona Shores 25"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnathan recorded a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in Mona Shores 66-62 loss to Wyoming.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223517' first='Layne' last='Risdon'], Zeeland East 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Layne scored 20 points in Zeeland East's 62-45 loss to Muskegon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->