Tough D and the 3 lead W.O. over H.C.

The tension inside the Civic Center was as thick as the fog outside as West Ottawa took on the Maroons of Holland Christian on Friday night. With Holland Christian losing a tough opener on the road to Holland it was vital to get back to the home crowd and use it as a 6^th man to get the season on the winning track, The Panthers had other plans however.

Central Michigan recruit Jordan Myrick came out sluggish and took a beating for it. Myrick took a lot of hard shots when he went inside against the length of the Maroons, including an arrant hand to the eye that appeared to affect his shot for most of the night. Tyler Dykstra and Jon Maas were vital for Holland Christian in the 1^st and 4^th quarters pulling down 21 rebounds between them.

The second and third quarters were where the Panthers took the game over outscoring HC 31-18. Foul trouble and the stifling defense of Josh Wisbang were the catalyst to the run by the Panthers. West Ottawa Head Coach Jeff VanFossan agreed “Wiz was great, he’s our vocal leader out there, and he made a couple of huge plays that really turned this game for us.” Tyler Dykstra showed his frustration with 4:57 left in the third he was called for his third foul and in disgust he spiked the ball and got called for a technical foul (his fourth) and was forced to sit for the remainder of the quarter.

That is exactly where WO took over, Taylor Otteman poured in 3 threes and had another fast break lay-up, off of a Wisbang steal, where he was fouled and converted the three point play finishing with 14 points overall. The Panthers were able to hit free throws down the stretch and Holland Christian couldn’t afford to foul as West Ottawa escaped with a 51-45 victory. Myrick finished with 18, many of those coming from the charity stripe in the second half. Caleb Bosch played very solid defense against Maas and the other guards of the Maroons while also chipping in 8 points.

West Ottawa has jumped out to an early 2-0 start and look to contend in the OK Red if they can continue to play defense and knock down the outside shot like they did tonight. Holland Christian and first year Head Coach Kevin Koeman look to right the ship heading into conference play as they have lost two tough rivalry games to start the season.