January 31, 2012
VS. 
After coming up on the short end of the stick for the first time in this 2011-12 season last Friday night, the Zeeland East Chix were determined to get back on the right track Tuesday night as the Hamilton Hawkeyes traveled to Zeeland to try to invade the Chicken Coop.
The Chix, came into the night with an 11-1 record after losing to Unity in what turned out to be an old-school, defensive muscle match, looked to prey on the Hawkeyes who were seeking to reach the .500 mark overall and move to 5-4 in conference play.
The Hawkeyes, on the other hand had won 2 straight going into tonight’s match up and desperately wanted to return the favor that the Chix had delivered to them earlier this year when Zeeland East was able to go into Hamilton and easily win by 21 points.
However, much to the chagrin of Hamilton Head Coach Steve Sikma, the Chix came out on fire and never looked back. The Hawkeyes tried to slow down the Chix with a 3-2 zone which caused an ugly start to the games first four minutes but the flood gates opened soon after. A lay up by Hawkeyes senior Brandon George with 5:30 left in the first quarter turned out to be a diamond in the rough for the Hawkeyes as from then on the Chix reeled off 26 unanswered points before a free throw was made by George to make it 28-3. Over 9 minutes of game time had passed since the last basket by the Hawkeyes and it wasn’t until Junior guard Nick Kronemeyer hit a 3 with 2:45 left in the 2nd that the Hawkeyes had hit another field goal.
The defensive intensity exhibited by the Chix coupled with the inexperience of the Hawkeyes (who only dress 3 seniors) led to a 35-16 Chix lead at the break. It easily could have been an even larger lead as Zeeland East missed multiple shots at point blank range to keep this one away from a running clock.
Zeeland East continued it’s dominance in the second half as Hamilton had no answer for the bigger, stronger, more athletic Chix. A 49-23 lead after three quarters of play led to a 4th quarter that exhibited much of the same as the Chix cruised to a 68-33 victory over Hamilton. All 11 Zeeland East players were able to score a basket in the game with senior guard Nate Poll leading with 4 from long range and 16 points total. Zac VanBeek also tossed in 12 for the Chix who converted on 9 from beyond the arc.
Hamilton was led by Kronemeyer who tallied 11 points on the night as the Hawkeyes fell to 5-7 on the year and 4-5 in conference play.
Zeeland East successfully rebounded from Friday’s loss to Unity Christian with a flurry of hot shooting and defensive intensity to improve to 12-1 on the year and 7-1 in the OK-Green. Head Coach Mickey Cochran has himself a talented team that can really shoot the lights out from deep and also kick it inside to 6’6 big man Josh Groenhof. The Chix will once again be at home Friday night as they welcome their fellow Zeelanders to the Chicken Coop.
Zeeland West vs. Zeeland East… Friday Night… Small town bragging rights at its best.
Here’s Chix Head Coach Mickey Cochran after the game.
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