Unity Christian Takes Down Top-Ranked West Lyon

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If there's one thing good that came out of the pandemic it was school's sticking with live streaming games around the state. That certainly was the case Monday night when Unity Christian carried it's home contest against Class 2A top-ranked West Lyon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmUyoZlqltU&amp;t=84s">the replay</a> on You Tube. Fast forward to the 1:11 mark for the tip of the varsity game unless, of course, you'd like to view the JV contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The home team sprung the upset, 61-58, in handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season. Unity Christian improved to 14-3 in competing without two of its starters on this night. It avenged a 73-46 loss at West Lyon on Jan. 5. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game was tied at 58-58 after Wildcat [player_tooltip player_id='2731896' first='Jared' last='Ciesielski'] picked off a pass and turned it into a fast-break layup with 52 seconds remaining in regulation. Unity's [player_tooltip player_id='2413600' first='Austin' last='Wieringa'] knocked down two free throws with :24.4 left. A three-pointer from West Lyon's [player_tooltip player_id='1759936' first='Carson' last='Hoogeveen'] hit the front of the rim, and the home team hung on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Knights enjoyed a 16-11 lead after one quarter. West Lyon rallied with 25 second-period points in taking a 36-35 advantage into the locker room at halftime. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unity responded coming out of the intermission. It led 49-44 heading into the fourth quarter and hung on for the impressive win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wieringa, a sophomore, paced the winners with 18 points, while classmate [player_tooltip player_id='2413578' first='Dylan' last='Bosma'] added 14 and junior Traevin Van Beek chipped in with 12. Senior Cole Rens pulled down a game-high nine rebounds with Bosma corralling eight. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hoogeveen, a junior, led all scorers with 23 points. [player_tooltip player_id='2731896' first='Jared' last='Ciesielski'], a sophomore, scored seven and grabbed a team-best six rebounds for the visitors. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As good as Unity was offensively, it won this game on the other end. The Wildcats were held to a season-low 58 points, shooting just 35.5 percent from the floor, including 5 of 26 (19.2) from behind the three-point arc. Meanwhile, the Knights connected on 6 of 17 (35.3) trey tries. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unity played solid man-to-man defense in the half court, staying connected after doing a nice job getting back in transition. The Knights did well in breaking West Lyon's full-court press, too, leading to opportunities on offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wieringa plays with excellent pace while also staying under control. He's a versatile guard who's effective on the perimeter and in getting to the rim. He hits the glass hard, too. He can lock down on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hoogeveen moves really well without the ball. He shows a quick release and excellent form on his shot. His range also is impressive He reads defenses well, putting it on the deck and going when defenders push out on him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bosma complements Wieringa, providing Unity with two strong ball handlers with keen court vision. He dribbles with his head up, seeing opportunities to hit open teammates or take it to the hole himself. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Bosma and Wieringa breaking down the defense with dribble penetration, Van Beek spots up behind the arc and drains long-range jumpers. He hit 4 of 7 shots from the deep in this one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rens and [player_tooltip player_id='1874781' first='Jackson' last='Vogel'], a junior, provide strength in the paint. They go for rebounds with gusto and set solid screens. Both guys are mobile. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Unity, the Wildcats feature versatile performers. Hoogeveen teams up with [player_tooltip player_id='2731896' first='Jared' last='Ciesielski'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2325556' first='Trevor' last='Ciesielski'] in creating good spacing and ball movement. Sophomore Tanner Lynott is a promising sophomore guard and [player_tooltip player_id='2419800' first='Tyce' last='Van Donge'] is a nice looking freshman for West Lyon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->