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Today is a special Tuesday edition of the Game of the Week, in which we will see two of the top teams in the area battle for the O-K Gold.

WAYLAND WILDCATS (9-0) at OTTAWA HILLS BENGALS (6-2)

In the preseason, you could have asked most anyone on the high school basketball scene about the chances of either Wayland or Ottawa Hills and you would have most likely left unimpressed.  Now over a month into the season, you’re looking at the two top teams in the O-K Gold conference, not to mention the entirety of West Michigan.  Wayland is currently undefeated at 9-0, 5-0 in the O-K Gold, while Ottawa Hills sits at 6-2, 5-1 in the O-K Gold.  What originally looked like a run-of-the-mill conference matchup has now become a battle between overachievers for conference supremacy.

Tonight’s game, and indeed both of these teams taken separately, is an examination of the massive extent to which a standout point guard can influence the play of an entire team.  More so than any other position, the point guard has the potential to impact a game because he is predominantly in control of the ball.  More than that, in cases like Wayland’s Wes Hudson (recently committed to Cornerstone) and Ottawa Hills’ Devon Ivy, the point guard has the potential to lift his entire team up to a level of play that, without their influence, would be otherwise unattainable.

The gist on Wayland

It’s not like the Wildcats were supposed to be bad this year, because people in the know knew about Hudson.  But particularly after losing 20-point scorer Alex Lyle from last year, they weren’t supposed to be this good.  Credit the power of synergy (buzzword this year when it comes to Wayland).  From their starting five down through their entire rotation, the Wildcats have developed a chemistry that has lead to a unified whole measurably greater than the sum of their parts.

Offensively, Wayland gets production from a number of areas on a consistent basis.  Chase Burgess, Zak Kasper and Ben Lenard are all regulars on the top of the box-score.  But where the Wildcats really excel is on the defensive end of the ball.  Like the Pistons of old, Wayland has shown repeatedly that, on a long enough timeline, outstanding team defense wins over outstanding offense.

The gist on Ottawa Hills

Since Ivy started his ascension into the ranks of West Michigan’s elite guards (at, oh, about this time last year), Ottawa Hills has had the capability of beating any opponent.  Their manic run-and-gun style leads to extra possessions for both teams, of which their athleticism and pressure defense has allowed them to take advantage.  They are somewhat weak in outside shooting, but incredibly strong in athleticism and hustle which often makes up for any deficiency in accuracy.  The Bengals are fast, strong, agile and bouncy, which makes for exciting, and successful, basketball.

After busting out of the gate to a 6-0 record, Ottawa Hills has dropped their last two contests (against Caledonia and Muskegon).  Along with Ivy, they are going to rely heavily on Antoine Wilson and Thomas Sloan on the offensive end, and C.J. Bowen will be a key factor defensively and on the glass.

Overall prognosis

Call it a clash between top teams in the G-Rap area. Call it a battle for the O-K Gold. Call it a matchup between stellar point guards.  Call it any one of those things and you’d be right.  But if there’s one thing it should be called, it’s: “exciting.”

Prediction: It’s a game of runs, and Ottawa Hills has the last run and wins a close one at home, 58-51.

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Devon Ivy goes for a layup | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

Talk to any student of the game, anyone who has spent their life around the game of basketball, and they’ll tell you about the importance of free throws.  Give them the opportunity, and they’ll explain how an entire game’s worth of running and jumping, shooting and defending, all of it can easily go out the window if a team doesn’t make their freebies.

On Friday night Ottawa Hills ran and jumped.  They shot and defended.  And lucky for them, they hit their free throws.  The Bengals made 13/17 from the charity stripe in the second half, 8/12 in the fourth quarter, and held on to beat Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 45-39.

Thomas Sloan drives for a layup | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

“Old guy told me long ago that free throws and blocking out at the line are what win games,” agreed Ottawa Hills coach Van Mayfield.  “You see teams lose games by missing free throws and by not getting the rebound after free throws, so we work on those things in practice every day.  We didn’t shoot the best today, but we made enough down the stretch to gut out a win.”

Nobody said it had to be pretty.  Early on the custodians forgot to take the lids off the rims, so despite a near constant flurry of activity — all that running and jumping — the Bengals took a slim 16-12 lead into halftime.  Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior guard Sultan Muhammad was responsible for 11 of his teams 12-first half points, and scored a game-high 23-points.

Coming off a 40-point game against Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg earlier in the week, expectations were high for Bengals point guard Devon Ivy.  Early foul trouble held him in check early, but Ivy still lead Ottawa Hills with 15-points, 13 of which came in the second half (8 of them free throws).  With Ivy struggling, the responsibility fell to his Ottawa Hills teammates, who proved more than up to the task.

“It was a tough shooting night for (both teams), so we just picked it up on defense and started attacking the basket,” said sophomore shooting guard Antoine Wilson, who scored 10-points for Ottawa Hills.  “Especially when the shots weren’t falling, we knew we had to do all the other stuff to get the W.”

And ultimately, whether it’s the running, the jumping, the shooting or even the free throws that cause it, it’s the W that really matters.

Controlled havoc

Sultan Muhammad shoots over a defender | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

Ottawa Hills thrives in the open court.  The Bengals don’t have the pure shooters or the bangers inside, but what they do have is a lineup full of athletes — from Ivy, to Wilson, to seniors Thomas Sloan and C.J. Bowen — and they play to this strength by pushing the tempo of the game at every opportunity, trying to increase the number of possessions each team gets.  Since they’ve become accustomed to the frenetic pace (and their star point guard thrives off it), they have learned how to take care of the ball and limit turnovers in an environment characterized by flying bodies and intense pressure.

And their biggest advantage, more so even than their depth, is that most of their opponents haven’t.  The reckless speed that Ottawa Hills inspires in their opponents lead to 20-turnovers for Grand Rapids Catholic Central.  Ottawa Hills plays reckless too.  Only they know how to control it.

“Batman” Muhammad

Last year, Sultan Muhammad was the clear Robin to Duke Mondy’s Batman.  Mondy is now suiting up for the Providence Friars, and Muhammad is left to don the black mask and guide the Cougars through the perils of Gotham.  He showcased every tool on his unique belt on Friday night, attacking the hoop, rebounding an assortment of errant shots and even draining multiple three-pointers, but in the end it simply wasn’t enough.

Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter.  Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.