Tyler Dykstra drives | Powers Media

In sports, certain matchups have evolved to the point where they are no longer simply “rivalries.”  Lakers/Celtics, Yankees/Red Socks, Michigan/Michigan State.  And Holland Christian/Zeeland West.  These are the games played on a larger-than-life stage, between teams who plain don’t like each other.  These are the games in which players make names for themselves.  Friday night, Holland Christian senior Simon VanLangevelde did just that in the Maroons’ 58-52 victory over Zeeland West.

Josh Gillett skies for the ball | Powers Media

Playing in front of a standing-room-only crowd at home, the district championship on the line, the Dux had just rattled off a 12-4 run to put themselves up three points with five minutes to play in the game.  Holland Christian was reeling.  The Maroons were in desperate need of a spark.  In the biggest moment of the season, VanLangevelde didn’t hesitate.   He pulled up from three feet behind the three-point line, a defender in his face, and drained the tying bucket.  Cold-blooded.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘it’s about time,’” said VanLangevelde of the basket.  ”I hadn’t been shooting well up to that point, but in the playoffs you can’t afford to second guess yourself.”

VanLangevelde scored eight of his game-high 19-points to key a 14-3 Maroon run over the final five minutes of the game, sealing the district championship in Maroons’ third victory over the Dux this season.  Included in those points were 14-free throws out of 14-attempts (which really isn’t much, considering he sunk 79-consecutive free throws earlier in the week).

“I really didn’t expect to beat these guys two out of three times,” said Holland Christian coach Mike Phelps.  ”For these guys to beat (Zeeland West) three times, and twice on their own court, we know we have a pretty good team.  There was one point in the fourth quarter where it didn’t look so good, but we just hung in there and kept our poise.  It wasn’t easy, but we found a way to do it.  And that’s what we’ve been doing all year.”

Also playing a big role in Holland Christian’s victory were senior guard Brent Konyndyk, who scored 13-points including some nifty drives to the basket, and junior forward Tyler Dykstra, who logged 12-points and four blocks on the night.  Together with VanLangevelde, the group creates a long, athletic, three-headed monster that can compete with anyone.

That King Ghidorah was too much for the Dux on Friday.  Austin Semple lead Zeeland West with 13-points, considerably below his season average.  Shane Tiemeyer joined Semple in double digit scoring with 11-points.

Looking ahead

As a junior, Holland Christian’s Dykstra is a lanky, bouncy 6-foot-6 big man with a jumpshot and a nose for the ball.  He takes a back seat offensively to the stellar guard duo on the Maroons, but that’s only because it’s working.  As the tournament progresses, he is the type of player who can change the outcome of the game if/when the shots aren’t falling from the outside.

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.

Shane Tiemeyer is a large reason for the Dux success | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

If you are one of three teams in WMA’s Top-10 rankings this week, you did not enjoy your Tuesday night game.

After going a combined 31-1 between them entering this week, Schoolcraft (#4), Zeeland West (#5) and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (#8) all suffered losses on Tuesday night.  And apart from Western Michigan Christian, all of them were rightly considered “upsets.”

So, besides the consequential reshuffling of next week’s rankings, what effect, if any, will these losses have on the teams who suffered them?  Will there be any long-term consequences and repercussions, or was Tuesday just the obligatory speed-bump on the way to a mature post-season campaign?

Let’s examine.

Muskegon Heights-67, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian-51

Touted as the most compelling matchup since Golddigger+Beethoven (and yet tragically supplied with only 1,200 seats), Tuesday’s battle between the #1 ranked teams in Class-B and Class-D (both unbeaten) certainly lived up to its billing. Unfortunately, no matter how talented either team was, and how well they played, Tuesday was going to leave a bad taste in somebody’s mouth.

Despite the loss, Western Michigan Christian hung with arguably the #1 team in the state for most of three quarters — not bad no matter who you are, but especially for a Class-D school.  The Warriors’ Evan Bruinsma and London Burris are talented enough to start for almost anyone, but what is often overlooked are the substantial talent and contributions of their supporting cast — Tyler Ray and Jeff Burris leading that group.

Loss to the Heights or not, WMC has massive talent relative to the rest of their competition.  As good as the Heights is, the fact that the Warriors stayed with them at all is impressive.

Holland Christian-70, Zeeland West-58

After handing the Dux the second of their two total defeats, it’s safe to say that Holland Christian knows something about Zeeland West that most don’t.  In basketball as a sport, but especially at the high school level, oftentimes the difference is made by which team matches up best, and the Maroons match up extremely well with Zeeland West.

The Dux’ have used their perimeter height, as well as that of their frontline, to large advantage this season.  Because of that they tend to play at a relatively slower tempo.  But Holland Christian has their number because they have the size to equal that of Zeeland West, combined with an uptempo style of play that has frustrated the Dux, lead by Simon VanLangevelde and Brent Konyndyk.

While Zeeland West will surely recover from this loss, it should also serve to illuminate a weakness in the Dux armor-plated-feathers.  Particularly on the defensive end, they are vulnerable to a tall team that plays at a fast pace.  They’ll need to address that over the next round of games, before they meet multiple tall/fast teams in the post-season.

Also of note, after finally figuring out what kind of team they are, Holland Christian is beginning to hit their stride this season.  They’ve certainly got the firepower to do some damage in March.

Parchment-64, Schoolcraft-60

After winning 28- of their past 29-contests, including 20-consecutive in the KVA, Schoolcraft’s unlikely loss to Parchment resonates the loudest of the three.  Up until Tuesday the Eagles had been absolutely demolishing their competition all season (apart from one contest against Kalamazoo Christian), and had previously smacked Parchment with a 74-53 loss in the season opener, so this is a huge win for Parchment even though they are accustomed to victory by now at 10-2.

That fact is also a commentary on just how far removed Schoolcraft was from the rest of West Michigan’s Class-C teams.  That being the case, this loss should serve to bring the Eagles back down to Earth, which actually may end out helping them in the long run as it can be difficult to carry the mounting pressure of an undefeated season through the tournament.

However, more so than any previous opponent, Parchment’s Adrian Patton was able to contain Schoolcraft’s Kody Chandler by face-guarding him in the second half.  Chandler still got 19, but only four on 1-9 shooting in the final 16-minutes.  Is this a tactic that future Eagle opponents can successfully replicate?

Let me hear your thoughts.  What do you think will be the long-term effects, if any, of these three losses?  How will the teams rebound?  Comment away below!

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.