Greenville swarms Christian, takes OK White lead.

Friday night’s OK White showdown between Greenville (8-0) and Grand Rapids Christian (5-2) was set to give the winner a vital early season league advantage. The Yellow Jackets have been a bit of a surprise in the early season and Christian has looked great at some points and lost at others. Tonight it was Chris Mickey and the Yellow Jackets who played with enough intensity to grab a 74-65 OK White road victory at the Quest Center in Grand Rapids. Mickey led all scorers with 30 points (15 in each half) while Christian’s Drake Harris was unable to match him tonight as he led the Eagles with 23.

Greenville took a 35-30 lead to the half and then ended the 3rd quarter on an 11-3 run that blew the game wide open giving the Jackets a 16 point lead at one point. A flurry of Christian 3′s got the Eagles back and within 6 at one point but in the end it just wasn’t enough. Greenville was not intimidated by the crowd or the Eagles themselves as they matched the physicality and energy all night with swarming defense and tough play around the basket.

Quick Hitters

GR Christian

• Drake Harris struggled for much of the game as he was matched up by either Torrey Davis or Chris Mickey who kept Drake out of the lane for most of the evening and made Harris beat them from deep. (Harris did hit 4 triples)
• Coach Mike Spicer called a :30 timeout after the first Eagle possession resulted in a turnover and Mickey break away lay in. The talk didn’t seem to resonate at 1:30 into the game Spicer pulled his entire starting lineup and put in the reserves, the message worked as the Eagles fought back in this one but from the tip they just seemed to have their minds elsewhere.
• Many reserves played very well for Christian which is a good sign for this team. Kurt Hoekstra had 12 points on the night including 10 in the first half to keep the Eagles in this one. Michael Spicer came up big late with 9 second half points including a sharp shot form outside on the key three pointers to bring this one back to a ballgame. Hoekstra came up with some big plays on defense and seems to be earning some more court time with his quality play.

Greenville

• Chris Mickey played an incredible game for Greenville. His 30 led all scorers and his energy and decision making was key to the Jackets building the lead that they found. Mickey was deadly inside all night making quick moves all night to get to the rim and also knocked down a big three late in the half that really got him and his team pumped up!

• Austin Somerfield had a great game himself with 22 points and countless key rebounds. The one downside to Austin’s game tonight was his 4-11 second half free-throw shooting, as the game wound down Coach Mark Haist even reminded Austin what basket Greenville was shooting at before a trip to the line for Somerfield. This lighthearted exchange seemed to calm Somerfield down as he hit both attempts and Greenville iced this game away. Greenville as a team was 17-32 (53%) from the line in the second half.
• Greenville moves to 9-0 and 3-0 in the OK White. This huge road win in conference will go very far in their quest for a conference title. This OK White race will be a good one!