March 9, 2011
While up 11-2 in the first, fans of Unity Christian probably never would have thought that they’d find themselves trailing in the second half, but that’s exactly what happened tonight as they hosted Grand Rapids West Catholic. In the end, however, the Crusaders came away with the victory, edging out the Falcons 40-32.
Although West Catholic was in the aforementioned 11-2 hole early, they managed to gain some ground as the first quarter drew to a close, narrowing the deficit to five points, 14-9. The pace of the game came to a screeching halt in the second quarter, with both teams combining for five points. Unity didn’t score their first points until a late three shortly before the end of the half. Going into the half, the ‘Saders had a comfortable 17-11 lead over the Falcons.
West Catholic came out with a passion in the third quarter, slowly chipping away at Unity’s lead, eventually taking a 25-24 lead with 2:13 remaining in the quarter. The third ended with the Falcons up by three, 27-24, and fans were starting to speculate the potential of a second upset of the night. Any hopes of upset were quickly crushed by the ‘Saders as they took control of the game in the final quarter. Unity knotted up the score at 27 with 7:17 remaining on the clock, and then proceeded to outscore West Catholic by 11 (16-5) throughout the rest of the quarter, giving them the 40-32 victory.
Unity’s victory can be chalked up to two main things—rebounds and free throws. The Crusaders dominated the Falcons on boards, out rebounding West Catholic 33-14. They also tripled the number of free throw attempts that West Catholic had, shooting 24 freebies as compared to the Falcons’ eight.
Mitch Sytsma, a senior, again led the way for Unity Christian, scoring 16 points, including draining three shots from outside the arc. Junior Eric Brower had nine points in the victory, and senior Payton Ponstein scored eight.
Justin Rheault (senior), Tommy Staskiewicz (junior) and Andy Slomski (junior) each had eight points for West Catholic. Staskiewicz and Slomski each had two threes, as well.
Unity Christian will now be playing for the District 52-B crown on Friday night. Tipoff against Allendale will be 6:00 p.m. West Michigan All Star will be on hand to cover all the action, so be sure to stop by to see results!
Matt Philpott Photography was happy to bring you coverage of tonight’s game. Please visit his website to learn more about how you can order prints from this, and many other, games!
Mitch Sytsma (#30) puts up a shot.
Andy Slomski (#24) with the layup attempt.
Alec Capel lunges to save the loose ball.
Tommy Staskiewicz with a three.
Eric Brower (#40) leaps after an offensive rebound.
If you can identify this sharp-shooter, please comment!
Travis Vegter (#21) struggles to get off a shot.
Matt Nelson lays it in.
Payton Ponstein (white) sails in for the shot.
Andy Zimmerman (#44) fights for the shot.
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