LocalSportsJournal.com

PENTWATER — Shaking off a loss to Bear Lake on Saturday night, the Pentwater Falcons rallied from an early deficit to pull off a 58-47 upset over the Marion Eagles at home Monday night in the Western Michigan D League.

It was the third time in their last four games that the Falcons have scored better than 50 points, and with the district tournament not far off, it comes at a good time.  

“Marion (5-9 overall, 5-8 WMD) is tough,” Pentwater head coach Ashley Lubera said. “They have size, strength, they can hit three’s and get to the rack as well.  

“We just really stepped up. After the first quarter, we really stepped up our full-court and half-court defense in the second quarter and got a few picks.  

“Tyler (Plummer-Eisenlohr), Drew (Kolenda), Jonny (Arnouts) and Will (Werkema-Grondsma) stepped up and hit some big buckets.”  

Pentwater stumbled out of the gate, though, and was taken aback by the Eagles’ strength and shooting to fall into a 13-9 deficit at the end of the first quarter.  

But the turnaround for the Falcons might just have come at tail end of the period when Mikey Carlson drained a 3-point shot that provided the spark Pentwater needed.  

The Falcons took over in the second quarter, as their stifling defense grounded the Eagles’ offense as they outscored Marion, 15-8 and took a 24-21 lead at the half.  

Marion went on a 6-0 run to start the third quarter, prompting Lubera to call a time out to cut the Eagles’ momentum. The Falcons shut the Eagles down the rest of the quarter, finishing the quarter with a 14-0 run, including a pair of 3-point buckets by Werkema-Grondsma, to mount an 11-point lead, 38-27 going into the fourth quarter.  

“In the fourth quarter, we just managed the clock well,” Lubera said. “For me, the game changer was James Davis came off the bench and played big minutes, was able to rebound.  

“Just real proud of my guys. They had great team play. Marion has beaten some good teams this year, and we knew that walking in. We wanted to learn from that loss to Bear Lake. It was back and forth. My guys played tough tonight.”  

Nine of the 13 players scored for the Falcons, led by Plummer-Eisenlohr and Werkema-Grondsma, who finished with 15 points apiece.  

Davis contributed seven points and six rebounds. Arnouts also scored seven points, and added four rebounds and four assists. Brandon Macher chipped in with four points, four rebounds and five assists.  

Pentwater improved its record to 5-9 overall and 5-7 in the WMD. The Falcons are back in action Wednesday night with a road game at Manistee Catholic in the league.