District Semifinal Observations and Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>District semifinal play took place across the state last night as teams looked to punch their tickets to Friday night's district finals. Of the 48 schools in the OK Conference, only 18 remain. Let's get into my thoughts from the Comstock Park district, plus top performances from across the league.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Sparta 63, West Catholic 49</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sparta and West Catholic faced each other for the first time this season in what turned out to be a back-and-forth game for roughly three and a half quarters. Like so many teams who have the fortune of Monday's bye, Sparta came out of the gates a little lethargic and took several minutes to get their legs under them. Sparta eventually found its rhythm offensively, while its frontcourt wore down the Falcons on the glass, eliminating really any second-chance points and preventing any chance of a West Catholic comeback. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1431580' first='Jax' last='Wilson'] showed why he's one of the best scorers in the area, scoring 12 of his game-high 33 points in the final eight minutes. Jax made a living breaking down his man and finding his spots in the midrange. His floater was on point all evening, and he set up his teammates with great looks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1622918' first='Jaiden' last='Krynicki'] knocked down four threes in the first half, which gave Sparta a much-needed scoring boost and kept West Catholic's help side defenders from zeroing completely in on Jax. Sparta sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2353070' first='Landen' last='Reister'] looked smooth offensively and did a great job of getting into the lane and finding his teammates for easy buckets. I was also equally impressed with Sparta's frontcourt and how they controlled the paint for the entirety of the game. Gunnar Busen, TaeShon Wilson, and Gatlin Mosby brought energy and effort and played within themselves.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Catholic's [player_tooltip player_id='1223520' first='Jeremiah' last='Jones'] did everything he could to get the Falcons into Friday's district final, scoring a team-high 23 points. Jeremiah was hot from the perimeter and also made a couple of nice plays with his dribble drive in the second half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Top Performers</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902884' first='Jakhary' last='Towns'], Godwin Heights 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jakhary scored a career-high 47 points in Godwin's 83-80 win over Wyoming Lee. Godwin will host Unity Christian in a division 2 district final on Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1377931' first='Kayden' last='Bird'], NorthPointe Christian 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kayden scored a season-high 39 points in NorthPointe's 83-36 win over Maple Valley. NorthPointe will play Pewamo-Westphalia in a division 3 district final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1431580' first='Jax' last='Wilson'], Sparta 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jax scored 33 points in Sparta's 63-49 win over West Catholic. Sparta will play Fremont in a division 2 district final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1143391' first='Merritt' last='Alderink'], Zeeland West 24"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Merritt scored 33 points in Zeeland West's 75-69 overtime win over Grandville. Zeeland West will play Hudsonville in a division 1 district final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tyson Mann, Grandville 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tyson scored 30 points in Grandville's loss to Zeeland West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Camden Thompson, Whitehall 25"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Camden scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Whitehall's 77-69 overtime loss to Fruitport.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1356946' first='Travis' last='Ambrose'], Reeths-Puffer 24"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Travis scored 25 points in Reeths-Puffer's 59-55 overtime win over Coopersville. Reeths-Puffer will play Muskegon in a division 1 district final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1112299' first='Jaxson' last='Whitaker'], Reeths-Puffer 24"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaxson scored 23 points in the Rocket's win over Coopersville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359511' first='Brayden' last='Szamrej'], Hudsonville 24"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brayden scored 21 points in Hudsonville's 59-48 win over Jenison. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->