December 7, 2011
The Maroons of Holland Christian and the Grand Haven Buccaneers squared off Tuesday night inside the rowdy and enthusiastic Holland Civic Center. These two non-conference opponents met a season ago with the Buccaneers coming out on top 55-46. Tonight was a different story as Holland Christian held on late to defeat the Buccaneers 53-51.
Holland Christian came out aggressively and were led by Junior guard Jon Hop. Hop hit two early three pointers on the way to scoring nine which all came in the first half. The Buccaneers failed to hit their first field goal until the 3:39 mark in the first quarter when a jumper fell for Danny Cotter. The scoring would pick up as the opening quarter came to an end with a 12-11 lead for the Maroons.
The game stayed close throughout tonight but it was just over the five minute mark in the second quarter when the Maroons took the lead and never gave it back. Sophomore Kyle Steigenga of the Maroons did a nice job causing problems for the Buccaneers in the paint during the first half where he scored six of his eventual eleven points on the night. After his third field goal of the half the chant of “he’s a sophomore” by the Maroons student section filled the Civic Center. At the end of the half the Maroons led 27-25.
The second half began much like the first with Holland Christian attacking from the perimeter. The third quarter was where the Maroons Jon Maas found his range hitting a trio of three pointers. Maas added one more from beyond the arc later in the night as he finished with 14. As the third quarter came to a close at 39-34 in favor of Holland Christian you knew this one was coming down to the end.
Alex Eidson, the unquestionable best player for the Buccaneers took over in the fourth quarter in an attempt to lead the Bucs to victory. With a 1:36 left in the fourth Eidson was fouled and would head to the line down 51-47. Eidson knocked down both free throws making it a one shot game. After an Eidson steal and a missed opportunity to tie the game, Eidson fouled Jon Maas with twenty six seconds remaining. Maas hit both clutch free throws making the score 53-49. A defensive stop later for the Buccaneers and Eidson had the ball in his hands again. Eidson decided to take it himself and missed a contested jumper. Both members from Grand Haven and Holland Christian wrapped their arms around the loose ball resulting in a jump ball with the possession arrow in favor of the Maroons. With only twelve seconds left on the clock, down by four points, and without the ball the Buccaneers looked like they might be done. That was until Grand Havens Sean Steffel stole the inbounds pass and laid in the easy bucket to make it a one shot game. The steal was Steffels third of the night to go along with his seven points. Grand Haven now needed to foul to extend this basketball game and keep their hopes alive. They did something even better, they applied defensive pressure and forced a turnover from Graham Gugino giving the Buccaneers an opportunity to tie the game or go for the win. As expected the ball was in the hands of Alex Eidson and he worked quickly to create his own shot. With about four seconds left on the clock Eidson went for the win launching up a three pointer that bounced off the rim and onto the floor. The Maroons of Holland Christian had outlasted the Grand Haven Buccaneers and are now off to a 1-0 start. Alex Eidson finished with 20 points, a team-high 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Ty VanWieren scored 11 with 4 rebounds as well for the Buccaneers.
Coach of the Holland Christian Maroons Kevin Koeman liked the effort put forth by his team tonight “the guys just played hard from the start to the finish, they never let up tonight.” For the Maroons it was a group effort as eight of the twelve players on their roster found their way onto the scorers sheet.
Next for Holland Christian will be the West Ottawa Panthers this coming Friday night at the West Ottawa Harbor Lights middle school in a throwback contest where both teams will be sporting retro uniforms. The Grand Haven Buccaneers are in action on Friday, December 9th as well when they go on the road to face off with the Mona Shores Sailors.
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