Quarterfinal Roundup: Notes and Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The semifinals at The Breslin Center for this weekend are officially set as 16 teams punched their tickets after earning a win in the state quarterfinals last night. I was at Calvin University and saw South Christian handle Unity Christian without much resistance. I'll get into my thoughts on that game and get into who stood out across the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>South Christian 61, Unity Christian 38</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite losing their most talented prospect to a freak injury during the regional finals that left sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1300920' first='Carson' last='Vis'] with two broken wrists, South Christian marches past Unity Christian to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2005. It was the Sailor's three-headed monster of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1431579' first='Jacob' last='DeHaan']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223499' first='Jake' last='Vermaas']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='987281' first='Sam' last='Mendendorp']</strong> who had a performance that will live on in South Christian Basketball lore as the trio combined for 57 of the Sailor's 61 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1431579' first='Jacob' last='DeHaan']</strong> was seemingly unstoppable all night, scoring a game-high 27 points on 9-of-13 field goal attempts. Jake also dished out two assists, grabbed three boards, and made 6-of-7 free throws. I thought Jake was assertive from the jump and knew he had to have a big night in order for South to advance. His dribble drive wasn't contained by Unity all night, and his perimeter jumper was dialed in as he knocked down 3-of-5 from deep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1223499' first='Jake' last='Vermaas']</strong> made his presence felt in just about every facet of the game for South Christian. The junior guard scored 14 points, grabbed six boards, dished out 5 assists, and had 2 steals. I thought in this situation with Vis out, Jake did a phenomenal job of letting the game come to him and he chose his spots and executed seamlessly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='987281' first='Sam' last='Mendendorp']</strong> had arguably the best performance of his career, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 boards. Sam knocked down 7-of-9 shots with the majority of those shots coming in the paint. It was clear that Mendendorp wasn't going to be the aggressor from about 8 feet in, and no one on Unity provided enough resistance to slow him down. I was most impressed with Mendendorp's defense on Unity big [player_tooltip player_id='1373853' first='Jake' last='Chapman']. Chapman was held to 2 points on 1-of-7 shooting and only grabbed 3 rebounds. It was Mendendorp's length that forced Unity into tough shots near the rim all night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colin Nieuwenhuis</strong> did everything he could to keep Unity in the game. He scored 18 points and knocked down 2-of-4 from three. Colin has a smooth jumper and a great handle to pair. He'll be one of the senior guards to keep an eye on next year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Quarterfinal Top Performances</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1437537' first='Darius' last='Acuff'], Cass Tech '25</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Darius scored 30 points in Cass Tech's 55-49 win over Ann Arbor Huron. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1588174' first='Grady' last='Eklund'], Pewamo Westphalia '26</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grady scored 30 points in Pewamo's loss to Niles Brandywine.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1437536' first='Trey' last='McKenney'], Orchard Lake St. Mary's '25</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trey scored 28 points in OLSM's 55-44 win over De La Salle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214778' first='James' last='Wright'], Romulus Summitt Academy '23</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>James scored 25 points in Summitt Academy's 68-62 win over Chelsea. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='986890' first='Cameron' last='Reed'], Ferndale '23</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cameron scored 20 points in Ferndale's 71-66 win over Goodrich.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2427556' first='Nylen' last='Goins'], Niles Brandywine</strong> <strong>'26</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nylen scored 19 points in Nyles Brandywine's 71-62 win over Pewamo Westphalia. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='987622' first='Robert' last='Lee'] Jr., Flint Beecher 23"</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='987622' first='Robert' last='Lee'] scored 19 points in Beecher's 55-49 win over Detroit Loyola.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1212739' first='Tae' last='Boyd'], Grand Blanc '23</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tae scored 18 points in Grand Blanc's 64-44 win over Rochester Adams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Roy Fogg, Tri-Unity Christian '23</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Roy scored 16 points in Tri-Unity's 54-41 win over Kalamazoo Phoenix. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='987274' first='Jordan' last='Briggs'], Muskegon '23</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jordan scored 13 points in Muskegon's 59-43 win over East Lansing. </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 13 points in Muskegon's win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Final Four Matchups</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DIVISION 1 - March 24<br>Detroit Cass Tech vs Grand Blanc - Noon<br>Orchard Lake St Mary's vs Muskegon - 2 pm</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DIVISION 2 - March 24<br>Saginaw vs Ferndale - 5:30 pm<br>GR South Christian vs Romulus Summit Academy North - 7:30 pm</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DIVISION 3 - March 23<br>Flint Beecher vs Ecorse - Noon<br>Traverse City St Francis vs Niles Brandywine - 2 pm</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DIVISION 4 - March 23<br>Munising vs Marine City Cardinal Mooney - 5:30 pm<br>Frankfort vs Wyoming Tri-unity Christian - 7:30 pm</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->