March 16, 2011
Tonight’s Regional Final at Rockford High School featured two teams very familiar with the arena as we had an OK Red showdown to decide this region of the MHSAA playoffs. The two schools split the season series with each winning on the other’s home floor so we were sure to be in for a battle of enormous proportions. The winner would move on the face the Lansing Eastern vs Kalamazoo Central survivor for a chance to play at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
From the Opening tip we had back and forth action with both teams finding easy buckets on both ends. Hudsonville was able to find a 6-0 in the stanza that resulted in a Muskegon timeout but other than that it was fairly even with Muskegon taking a 19-17 lead into the 2nd quarter behind Kenneth McDaniel and Courtney Hill who had 6 and 5 points respectively. Both were out matched by Shane Trevino however who had 8 first quarter points for the Eagles.
The Big Reds used a 9-0 run to start the 2nd quarter to begin to put their stamp on the game. A breakaway dunk by McDaniel at the 5:40 mark gave Muskegon a 24-17 lead during the early run and it appeared that the rout may be on. Hudsonville looked lost on the offensive end and the Big Reds were just beginning to pressure with the full court and trap defense. The Eagles found their first points of the period with 2:37 remaining and could only muster 4 points total in the second.
Kenneth McDaniel with the first half throw-down!
The key point about the second quarter was Hudsonville’s ability to stop the bleeding and hold Muskegon to 10 total points for the frame after the 9-0 run to start. We went to half with the Big Reds up 29-21. Junior forward Blake Hibbitts of Hudsonville was held scoreless in the half; Hibbitts led the Eagles in scoring all year and can be lethal from outside with 40 triples this season. Hudsonville was staying alive with easy buckets at the rim despite the stellar defense of the Big Reds.
Muskegon grabbed the first 4 points of the half before Hudsonville made their run. Hibbitts sank his first points of the game at the 5:14 mark of the third and it sparked a 10-0 run for the Eagles. The run could have been even greater given that a technical foul by Najee Brown-Duren on Hibbitts gave Hudsonville 4 free-throws and the ball. Hibbitts and fellow junior BJ Van Loo each split a pair and at this point it looked like even when Muskegon made a mistake Hudsonville refused to capitalize on it. We had a 37-31 ball game after 3 quarters of play.
A quick burst by Hudsonville, including a flip in and foul by senior point guard Luke Besteman cut the lead to 39-36 which is as close as we had been since the end of the 1st quarter. Sloppy play by Muskegon somehow was rewarded with an 8-2 run to follow the and-one play by Besteman. Muskegon led 47-38 and their press was over bearing in all honesty with about two minutes to play. Hudsonville quickly moved into their “extend-the-game” mode and things looked bleak.
Hibbitts drilled his first 3 of the night making him 1-6 from deep, and after a Muskegon turnover he was fouled on another three attempt and missed but went to the line. Hibbitts calmly drilled all three, 47-44. An intentional foul was called on Besteman at the 1:08 mark and Hill went to the line and split the pair. Muskegon then turned the ball over on an over-and-back call. A Hudsonville bucket cuts the lead to two followed by senior Todd Mitchell being fouled for the Big Reds. Mitchell missed both.
With 40 seconds left in the game, and Muskegon up by two McDaniel came up with a steal and a free break to the rim. Besteman hustled back and committed the foul in a rather clean fashion. Besteman was called for an intentional foul, two shots and the ball. McDaniel made both and the Big Reds led 50-46.
A Hudsonville board allowed for a quick drive by Hibbitts from the left wing, he was grabbed by Hill for the foul. The refs decided that Hill only grabbed jersey and that was deemed an intentional foul. This gave Hudsonville the crack they needed to bust the door down with 22 seconds remaining. Hibbitts sank both free-throws and then got to inbound under their own basket down 50-48.
Hunter Prince was the Hero for Hudsonville.
Coach Eric Elliot drew up a play during a timeout and it was junior Hunter Prince who ended up with the inbounds pass. Prince flipped up a wild shot while being fouled, as the ball seemed to rest on the rim for ages before finally falling in the huge Hudsonville crowd erupted! 50-50 with a trip to the line for the Regional Title, the junior calmly knocked down the freebee and the Eagles had a one point lead with 13.8 left.
Muskegon had seen their lead evaporate down the stretch behind missed free-throws but still had a chance. A knock away by Trevino with 6.2 left set us up for one possession to decide it all. Hill took the inbound and attacked from the right wing. His lay-up attempt was contested and came up short; the rebound was batted into the left corner. Brown-Durren came up with the board and flipped up a desperate three point attempt that was going to count if it fell. The ball caught front, and then back iron and rimmed out…
A crushed Muskegon team fell to the floor as the Hudsonville student section stormed the court. A truly amazing game that we were more than proud to cover for you tonight, a shame someone had to lose. Hibbitts finished with 13 all in the second half, Trevino had 12 while Van Loo scored 10. Mitchell led Muskegon with 12 while McDaniel had a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. Hill finished with 9. Hudsonville moves on to Lansing Eastern on Tuesday where they will face off with defending Class A State Champion Kalamazoo Central at 7pm.
All Photos provided by ADC Graphics. To see 166 more shots from this game check out their page.
Loading ...
