The East Grand Rapids Pioneers trailed Catholic Central most of the first half in an intense game filled with offense.  Catholic Central was the team to beat during districts at FHN.  EGR played with physical defense that kept the typically sharp shooting CC team off balance just enough in the 4th quarter to open-up a lead that would stick.  The post season in high school sports is simply awesome.  Everything is on the line which makes for high energy and and awesome photo opportunities!

Conor Hogan on the line.. turning a key 3 pt play down the stretch.

East GR went on to take the game 57-50 and now move on to the GR Christian Regional.

Catholic Central proved too much with a strong 4th quarter effort that stretched the lead into double digits.  A high energy game that we love about the post season in High School Basketball.  Well managed offenses and tenacious half court offenses made for an exciting game in the opening round of district tournament.  Catholic Central launched into the lead in the 4th quarter for a nice win 51-35.  The game best described in the photo blog below. Professional sports photos available HERE.

note to self... box-out when told and don't mess with Coach(s).

Northern came-out and played touch. Nate Loree showing it early.

CC #33 Jon Marosi with authority.

CC #14 Brendan Penny with a 3pt from the corner.

both team had plenty to cheer about in the first 3 quarters.

note to self... seriously... don't mess with Coach! getting it done.

#33 Jon Marosi with a nice move to get the shot off.

Catholic Central brought their A game against Forrest Hills Northern.

#34 Andy Bianculli and the FHN team will be back playing tough again next season.

Free throws didn't make the difference but 4th quarter grit did.

This district at Forest Hills Northern is one of the easier Districts to sort through for us at WMA. Comstock Park and Catholic Central are clearly the two best teams here and the bracket allows for them to meet in the finals, with one slight potential hiccup.

Park and Catholic are not only the two best teams in this District but they are honestly two of my favorite teams that I have seen all year long. It’s a shame these two couldn’t face off in Regionals but if this shakes out like it should then West Michigan is in for a whale of a game.

Forest Hills Eastern- the Hawks received the lone bye in this bracket and won’t play until Wednesday, that’s the good news for FHE. The bad news is that they will face the FHN v CC winner and they are 0-3 against those teams, suffering a 30-18 loss to FHN and two double digit losses to CC.

Forest Hills Northern- the Huskies had an up and down year yet find themselves above .500 at the end of the year including a 7-5 record in the OK Blue. Drawing Catholic in the first round will not make Northern fans happy but maybe an influx of FH fans will make the trip and at least make it rowdy for the Cougars. FHN has been led by Dan Michaud all year and he will have to have a big night along with the team defense on Conor Hogan if the Huskies hope to have a chance at moving on.

East Grand Rapids- the Pioneers are one of the highest scoring teams in the area with four different players scoring over 200 points this year! Dion Jobe leads all Pioneers with nearly 300 points on the year and Cory Ditmar has made 61 threes this year (Ditmar only has 70 made baskets on the season). Keeping one eye on Ditmar will be key for Comstock Park in their opening game. EGR has played many high level teams close this year including Rockford, GR Christian and Holland it has been finding that W at the end that has proven to be the ender for EGR.

Catholic Central- the Cougars aren’t big, they aren’t long, heck they aren’t as athletic as many top teams in the area. What the Cougars are however is most importantly well coached. Dan Farrell has these kids playing GREAT basketball right now. CC is also very fast, smart, disciplined and can absolutely shoot the lights out! Conor Hogan amazes me every time I see him play, he will hit the big shot just when CC needs it and has an uncanny ability to get to the line (where he doesn’t miss from). The supporting cast is equally great at what they do; Zeke Mojica-Skinner, Brendan Penny, John Haley and sophomore Jon Marosi are the glue to this well built squad.

Comstock Park- the Panthers have had 7 of their games decided by four points or less, the Cardiac Cats have grown accustomed to playing in close games and finding a way to win them. The lone blemish on Parks season is a prime example however, Howard City Tri-County (a 4^th place team in their own conference) came into CP and handed the Panthers their only loss of the year in a 75-73 ball game that could have went either way. It’s good to have a knack for winning close game but I’m sure coach Scott Berry and Panther fans enjoy the convincing wins just a little more. Ty Mason, who is headed to Cornerstone in the fall, has nearly hit the 450 point mark for this season and is a flat out scorer.

Prediction: Catholic should move past both Forest Hills squads and be in the final on Friday. Comstock Park needs to be ready to roll on Wednesday as East can flat out score. I’m taking Park because I think the last thing any team wants to do is get in a scoring battle with Mason. So we are set with a Catholic v Park final. Mason and Hogan tend to spend all game at the line and both rarely miss with a hand in their face let alone from the stripe. This game will go down to the final :30 and whoever has the ball last will take this one. I feel that someone is going to hit a wildly clutch shot, the question is who..

Don’t overlook the CP v EGR game on Wednesday; the Panthers need to get by that hurdle before they think about Catholic. Feel free to discuss below in the comments section and tell us all the reasons why we’re right, as well as why we’re wrong.

1. Grand Haven (20-0)

There’s no doubt about it: the Buccaneers are easily the best team in west Michigan. They finished their regular season undefeated and beat their opponents by an average margin of 23.5 points per game. They have one of the best shots in the area to take home the 2011 state title.

2. Catholic Central (19-1)

Catholic Central put up an almost perfect season with their one loss coming from a strong Inkster squad. The Cougars don’t have to worry about that Class A foe in the playoffs, though, as they look to defend their Class B title.

3. East Grand Rapids (17-2)

The Pioneers chose a great time to start putting up strong performances. They do have home court advantage in their district, but they’ll have to make it past Catholic Central to see any regional action.

4. Forest Hills Central (19-2)

The Rangers had a great season, particularly on the defensive end. They finish the regular season with the lowest points allowed average of any of our top ten teams: 27.2 points per game. They received a first round bye for districts.

5. Byron Center (18-1)

The Bulldogs have a long road ahead of them in the playoffs. Head coach Glenn Davis is unable to coach the team during playoffs after failing to complete a mandatory MHSAA rules meeting, so assistant coach Jen Slot has taken the reins. It will be interesting to see how Byron Center adjusts at the most important time in their season.

6. Grand Rapids Christian (17-2)

The Eagles also received a bye for the first round of playoffs. They’ll have to face the winner of the Wyoming Park vs. South Christian game, though: two teams that have come on strong at the end of the season.

7. Oakridge (17-2)

Oakridge played strong and consistent throughout the season. A 13-point victory over Orchard View last night moves them on into district semifinals against Fruitport.

8. Wayland (16-4)

Wayland dropped a surprising game to South Christian and just squeaked past Hastings last week. They have a tough game against Holland Christian on schedule for their first playoff matchup.

9. Kent City (18-2)

The Eagles have struggled against strong Class C opponents lately, falling to Western Michigan Christian two weeks ago and Calvin Christian last week. They’re in a strong district and could potentially have a rematch with Calvin Christian on Friday.

10. Holland Christian (15-5)

The Maroons regained some momentum last week, taking down both Zeeland East and West. They took care of OK-Green foe Hamilton last night, but have a tough game against Wayland on deck.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

East Kentwood

Hamilton

West Catholic

Western Michigan Christian

Wyoming Park

Wednesday night’s game at Wayland High School is going to be a great game. South Christian comes to town and a win tonight will go a long way for both teams in deciding the league crown. We have a three team race headed towards the end of conference play and they all play each other with South Christian having the toughest road ahead playing both Wayland Union and Catholic Central.

The OK Gold currently sits this way..

Catholic Central is 15-2 overall 11-2 in the Gold. Losses came to Caledonia and Ottawa Hills on the road. A win over South Christian and a pair over Wayland has the Cougars in the drivers seat. One remaining game with South Christian will end league play for the Cougars on Friday.

Wayland Union is 14-3 overall 9-2 in the Gold. Both league losses came at the hands of Catholic Central. The Wildcats have three league games remaining, Tonight they host South Christian, Friday they travel to Hastings and then play host to Caledonia on March 1st.

South Christian is 13-4 overall 9-3 in the Gold. League losses came at the hands of Wayland, Ottawa Hills and Catholic Central. The Sailors have two league games remaining, at Wayland tonight and playing host to Catholic Central on Friday.

News and Notes.

South Christian had a similar schedule to end January where they played Wayland and Catholic in back-to-back games. Senior point guard Drew Stegehuis had Mono and sat out those two contests (a one point loss to Wayland and a 14 point loss to Catholic).

Catholic Central is here by virtue of home and away wins over Wayland that will hand them the Gold crown if they take care of business Friday night.

Wayland looked all but crushed after a home loss to Catholic on the 11th. Ottawa Hills gave Wayland life however taking down the Cougars the very next game.

Throughout all this madness WMA will be all over it as Drew Sullivan will be out at Wayland tonight and Matt Philpott will have coverage from South Christian on Friday. Gotta love end of the year basketball!

1. Grand Haven (18-0)

The Buccaneers maintained their undefeated status with little trouble last week, defeating Jension 55-37 and West Ottawa 57-31. A game against Hudsonville and a game against Grandville are the only things standing in the way of Grand Haven finishing the regular season perfectly.

2. Catholic Central (16-1)

Catholic Central took down Ottawa Hills easily but had a little more difficulty putting Caledonia away last week. They’ll close out their season with a game against South Christian.

3. East Grand Rapids (14-2)

There’s nothing quite like a double overtime win to boost your confidence. The Pioneers got an emotional boost on Tuesday with their victory over Forest Hills Central and blew Creston on Friday. This is not a bad time in the season to gain steam.

4. Forest Hills Central (16-2)

The Rangers suffered a tough loss at the hands of East Grand Rapids on Tuesday. Friday’s victory over Holland locked up the OK-Black title for Forest Hills Central.

5. Grand Rapids Christian (16-2)

The Eagles did well this week with wins over Union and Greenville. They’ll close out their regular season against Mona Shores and Creston this week.

6. Byron Center (17-1)

It was quite the week for the Bulldogs. After their 11-point loss to Holland Christian, Byron Center just barely beat Unity Christian on Friday, 37-35 but guaranteed themselves at the very least a portion of the OK-Green title.

7. Wayland (15-3)

Three games, three victories. Not too shabby of a week for the Wildcats, who took down Caledonia, Forest Hills Northern and Ottawa Hills in turn last week. South Christian and Hastings are on deck.

8. Kent City (16-1)

Kent City also suffered their first loss of the week at the hands of Western Michigan Christian. They had a close call against Grant as well but managed to come out on top. Tonight’s game against Calvin Christian will be great preparation for next week’s district action.

9. Oakridge (16-2)

Oakridge squeaked past Montague last week, 48-47. They’ve got a tough game against Ravenna tonight and will finish their regular season against Ravenna.

10. Holland Christian (13-5)

These past two weeks have been a rollercoaster for the Maroons. They had two heartbreaker losses against Unity and Wyoming Park, rebounded in a huge fashion and took down one of the top teams in Class A, and then lost again to Hamilton. Holland Christian will need to find some consistency this week before they head into district play.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

East Kentwood

Unity Christian

West Catholic

Western Michigan Christian

Wyoming Park

1. Grand Haven (16-0)

You know a team is talented when a 14-point win starts to look like a close call. Grand Haven defeated both Muskegon and Rockford last week, though the Rams did come within 14. Since Grand Haven is beating its opponents by an average of 24.2 points per game, that was smaller spread than normal but by no means was a poor performance.

2. Byron Center (16-0)

Byron Center has all but locked up the OK-Green title. However, the two teams with the ability to take down the Bulldogs, Holland Christian and Unity Christian, are on deck this week. As long as Byron Center wins at least once, the conference crown should be theirs.

3. Catholic Central (14-1)

The Cougars had a good week last week, defeating both Hastings and Wayland. They face Caledonia and will rematch Wayland this week in games that promise to be exciting, given the amount of talent on all three teams.

4. Forest Hills Central (15-1)

The Rangers easily handed Creston on Tuesday and had little trouble against Mona Shores on Friday. Their defense continues to be impressive, currently allowing 27.9 points per game.

5. Kent City (14-0)

West Michigan’s own Class C powerhouse rolled over Godwin Heights and Allendale last week. The Eagles still have a couple tough games on their schedule, though, including tonight’s game against Western Michigan Christian.

6. Grand Rapids Christian (14-2)

The Eagles had a close victory over Kenowa Hills last week but had no trouble at all with Northview. Tonight’s matchup against Union could be interesting.

7. Wayland (12-3)

Though the Wildcats lost to Catholic Central last week, they did an impressive job of limiting the Cougars offense. While Catholic Central averages 53.4 points per game, Wayland only allowed them to score 39. Friday’s rematch is one not to miss.

8. East Grand Rapids (11-2)

East Grand Rapids added two more solid wins to their record last week, defeating Northview 48-34 and Union 56-42. The Pioneers have a huge game tonight against Forest Hills Central.

9. Oakridge (15-2)

Oakridge had a strong win over North Muskegon, but just squeaked past Hart on Friday. Montague and Grant are up next.

10. West Catholic (14-3)

West Catholic returns to the top ten after a one-week absence. With two nice wins over Forest Hills Northern and Comstock Park, it looks like the Falcons are back on track.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

Caledonia

Calvin Christian

East Kentwood

Holland Christian

Ottawa Hills

1. Grand Haven (14-0)

The Buccaneers won once again, this time taking down East Kentwood 51-32. Rockford has the potential to give Grand Haven some trouble later this week.

2. Byron Center (14-0)

Byron Center avoided a highly-anticipated OK-Green showdown with Holland Christian on Tuesday thanks to the blizzard, but easily took care of Hamilton on Friday, 61-28.

3. Catholic Central (12-1)

The Cougars had no trouble with Thornapple-Kellogg, winning 59-34. A big game is coming up this week against Wayland on Friday.

4. Forest Hills Central (13-1)

Forest Hills Central triumphed over Reeths-Puffer and has a solid grip on the OK-Black. They, like Byron Center, missed out on an important conference game on Tuesday against Union.

5. Wayland (11-2)

Wayland did fine against Forest Hills Eastern, 53-25, last week. They will have a rematch against Catholic Central on Friday—one of only two teams that has managed to take down the Wildcats all season.

6. Kent City (12-0)

Not much to report here: the Eagles had their only game against Kelloggsville canceled last week. They get back to action tonight against Godwin Heights and will also take on Allendale on Friday.

7. Grand Rapids Christian (12-2)

The Eagles were the only team in our top ten to get two games in last week. They handled Lowell quite easily on Friday, 59-17, and did even better against Creston on Saturday 68-16.

8. Holland Christian (12-2)

With the Byron Center game rescheduled to Feb. 15, the Maroons have a bit of time to prepare for what could be one of their most important games this season. They’re well on their way after beating Rogers 54-18 on Friday.

9. East Grand Rapids (9-2)

The Pioneers also had a quiet week, having both of their games canceled. They’ll restart their season tonight against Union.

10. Oakridge (13-2)
Oakridge defeated Whitehall 45-16 and hung on to their second place spot in the conference. Montague will look to challenge that on Friday.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

Caledonia

Calvin Christian

East Kentwood

Rockford

West Catholic

1. Grand Haven (13-0)

Grand Haven continues to impress, handling Hudsonville and Grandville without any problems last week. The Lady Bucs both upped their average points per game (57.3) and lowered their opponent’s average score (32.1) over the past seven days as well. Will anyone be able to stop them this season?

2. Byron Center (13-0)

Byron Center snuck past Wyoming Park by six points, but had no trouble with Rogers later in the week. An important OK-Green game against Holland Christian is scheduled for the Bulldogs tonight.

3. Catholic Central (11-1)

The Cougars returned to their winning ways this week with a solid 52-33 victory over South Christian. Ottawa Hills and Thornapple Kellogg are up next for Catholic Central.

4. Forest Hills Central (12-0)

Forest Hills Central took care of Kenowa Hills 46-29 last week to maintain their unblemished record. The Rangers’ defense has been particularly impressive lately, holding their opponents to 29.2 points on average: the second lowest in our top ten.

5. Kent City (12-0)

Kent City faced one of their toughest tests of the season thus far last week against Calvin Christian, but managed to come out on top. That victory bodes well for the rest of the Eagles’ season.

6. Wayland Union (10-2)

The Wildcats just keep on winning. After defeating both South Christian and Hastings last week, Wayland will look to continue improving against Caledonia and Forest Hills Eastern before a likely difficult game against Catholic Central on the 11th.

7. East Grand Rapids (9-2)

The Pioneers accomplished an important feat last week, defeating Grand Rapids Christian with a nail-biting 55-53 win. The two teams are now tied for first in the conference.

8. Holland Christian (11-2)

Holland Christian’s two losses this season have come against our #1 and #2 teams. Tonight’s scheduled rematch against Byron Center is huge for the Maroons, especially if they hope to have any part in the OK-Green title.

9. Grand Rapids Christian (9-2)

The Eagles have suffered two tough losses to strong teams in the past two weeks of play. A couple of confidence-boosters would not hurt them, especially at this point in the seasons.

10. Oakridge (12-2)

Oakridge had two nice wins over Montague and Mason County Central next week. They will look to extend their winning streak against Whitehall on Friday.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

Caledonia

Calvin Christian

East Kentwood

Hamilton

West Catholic