OK Conference Observations 4.0

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was at South Christian High School last night to check in on two of the top teams in the state in Division 2. South Christian came away with a convincing 82-54 win over Catholic Central, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season in league play and putting the Sailors one win away from a share of the OK Gold title. I'll get into my thoughts from that game and the top performances from around the area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>South Christian 82, Catholic Central 54</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1300920' first='Carson' last='Vis']</strong> was dominant at times for South Christian, both physically and skillfully as he led the Sailors with 24 points. Carson was successful at getting downhill with his dribble drive, displaying good footwork and quickness against one of the tougher defensive backcourts in the state. He finished a high percentage number of drives in the paint and did a good job of finishing off two feet. Carson also knocked down several perimeter jumpers and used his length effectively on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223499' first='Jake' last='Vermaas']</strong> had a great night, scoring 22 points and dishing out six assists. Jake knocked down multiple catch-and-shoot threes, and was the catalyst in South Christian's transition offense. I was equally impressed with Jake's ability to keep his eyes down court, leading to pin-point passes to his teammates for easy buckets on the run. Defensively, Jake and senior guard <strong>Nate Brinks</strong> gave Catholic Central problems with their ball pressure and made the Cougar guards work for every shot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='987270' first='Kaden' last='Brown']</strong> led all scorers with 27 points, displaying a unique ability to knock down tough shots time and again. The Cougar's offense seemed to get stuck in the mud at certain points of the game, which was aided by Kaden's ability to knock down off-balanced shots and jumpers with a hand in his face. Although Catholic Central got outplayed by quite a bit on the scoreboard, Kaden's work ethic and willingness to get Catholic Central back in the game was evident.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='987281' first='Sam' last='Mendendorp']</strong> might be the biggest reason why South Christian could end up at the Breslin at the end of March. Sam's 6'6 frame disrupted the Cougar's shots all night and Sam was one of the main reasons why the Sailors largely dominated the battle on the glass. Offensively, Sam capitalized on almost all of his looks in the paint, scoring 10 points to go with his 14 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Top Performers</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1431580' first='Jax' last='Wilson'], Sparta 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jax scored 39 points, including a halfcourt buzzer-beater to give Sparta a 90-89 overtime win over Godwin Heights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1433257' first='Quadir' last='Hatchett'], Ottawa Hills 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quadir scored 22 points in Ottawa Hills' 75-55 win over Wayland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eli VanderVeen, Hudsonville 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eli posted a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in Hudsonville's 61-48 win over Grand Haven. Hudsonville will play at East Kentwood on Friday for the OK Red Championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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 27 points in the Bucs' loss to Hudsonville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='987635' first='Anthony' last='Sydnor III'], Muskegon 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anthony scored 18 points in Muskegon's 70-52 win over Holland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1130671' first='Brant' last='Goodpaster'], Hamilton 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brant led Hamilton with 17 points as the Hawkeyes beat West Catholic 57-45. Hamilton will play at Coopersville on Friday for the OK Blue Championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mikey DeKuiper, Rockford</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mikey scored 17 points to lead the Rams to a 71-60 win over Caledonia.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->