February 6, 2010
There is something special about a game of basketball played at the old Holland Civic Center. Maybe it is the dull, yellowish court lights. Maybe it is the creaky bleachers and the worn-down scoreboard. When Byron Center rolled into town to challenge the host Holland Christian Maroons in a critical O-K green battle, the atmosphere combined with solid basketball lead to a great experience reminiscent of true old school hoops.
Both teams ran the ball up and down the court for the first half. The visiting Bulldogs, despite being overshadowed by the larger Maroons, consistently drove the ball deep into the trees. They were able to rack up quite a few baskets from within five feet. Not that they didn’t get some swatted, as the length of Holland Christian led to some highlight reel, finger-wagging blocks.
The action was intense and physical as both teams played hounding defense and made attempts to place full court or ¾ court pressure on their opponents at different increments. Play was physical and chippy, and every loose ball became a temporal war. The teams entered the final quarter tied at 47, with neither team having been in control.
Despite foul trouble with some of their starting five, the host Maroons were able to pull away late in the fourth quarter with timely free throws and tough defense, and went on to win 78-68.
“We went to a zone against them and it seemed to slow them down quite a bit,” Holland Christian head coach Mike Phelps said. “We were able to slow (Byron Center guard Ryan) Sabin just a little bit, which was important because he is such a tough match-up defensively.”
Solid guard play has been a cornerstone of the Maroons success all season, and their veterans continued their steady and aggressive play. Brett Konyndyk led all scorers with 27 and Simon VanLangevelde chipped in a strong 17, including a pair of ice-cold three-pointers in the third quarter to really break the emotional spirit of the visiting Bulldogs.
For Byron Center, Sabin was impressive both behind the arc and taking the ball to the hole, finishing with 24-points. Byron Center, despite not matching up with the overall height of Holland Christian consistently drove the ball into the thick of the defense.
The Maroons were active on the glass on both ends of the floor, and simply seemed to be a step quicker to the loose balls and deep rebounds. Forwards Jon Mass and Tyler Dykstra each piled up boards and also provided a variety of home crowd-pleasing rejections.
“Jon Mass was an absolute terror on he boards toward the end (of regulation),” Phelps said. “He grabbed a lot of loose rebounds that gave us second shots. And that is just what he does.”
The victory moves the Maroons to 9-4 (8-1 conference), keeping them in first place in the O-K green. Byron Center falls to 8-5 (5-4 conference),
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