By John Jarvi
Local Sports Journal
GRAND HAVEN – Hudsonville Unity Christian’s hot shooting paid off in a 62-50 nonleague boys basketball victory over the Grand Haven Buccaneers on Tuesday night.
Unity kept up a steady scoring pace in the second half and ran off a 10-point string early in the third quarter to take control of the game. The Crusaders never trailed in the second half and opened up a 16-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
“We went from four points down to 10 down and that was the game,” said Bob Eidson, the Grand Haven coach. “We couldn’t get the ball in the basket while they knocked everything down in the third period and couldn’t miss.”
Unity hit 20-of-44 field goal tries and tossed in five of eight 3-point attempts for the game. The Crusaders flashed their scoring balance, led by Austin Bykerk, a 6-foot-8 center.
Bykerk scored 20 points with five baskets, two 3-point baskets and netted all four of his free throws. Trent Vegter had 11 points and Matt Veldheer eight for Unity, which also scored on 17 of its 20 free throws.
Grand Haven had some balance with Zac Holman getting 12 points, Schaeffer Thelen 11 and Adam Abraham 10, but the Buccaneers had problems on defense.
Unity had a 24-18 advantage in rebounds and outscored Grand Haven 20-9 in the third quarter to build build up its lead.
“It’s the little things we’ve got to clean up,” Eidson said. “We create a lot of our own problems.”
The Buccaneers scored on 18 of 44 field-goal tries and only five of its 20 tries from beyond the arc. Abraham had a team-high five rebounds and three assists for Grand Haven.
The loss dropped Grand Haven to 3-5 for the season and that includes a three-game losing streak.
