North Muskegon’s quick start propels the Norsemen to district championship over Holton

LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON–North Muskegon torched Holton’s 1-3-1 defense from long range and inside the paint in a 48-33 Division 3 district championship victory on Friday evening.

The Norsemen started strong and played solid defensively throughout the ballgame. NM led 13-5 at the end of the first quarter. North Muskegon’s strong defense continued as they doubled up Holton at halftime 28-14. The Norsemen maintained a steady second half lead and led 37-21 at the end of the third quarter.

North Muskegon’s offense was clicking against the 1-3-1 defense of the Red Devils. The Norsemen knocked down nine triples and nine interior buckets against the zone. Troy McManus had five 3-pointers and Brandon Rypstra added three. Jason Bogue led the Norsemen with six interior buckets and was 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Ben Meyers and freshman guard James Young had strong games breaking down the zone.

The Norsemen were led by McManus with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists. Bogue added 14 points and six rebounds. Rypstra finished with nine points, three rebounds and two assists. Meyers had five assists and Young had three.

“We will graduate a class of seniors who have impacted this basketball program and community in such a positive way,” Holton coach Keith Swanson said. “I’m really proud to be a part of their journey

“Wasn’t our night tonight. Hats off to a really good North Muskegon team who played a really good game,” he said.

Wyatt Monette finished with 14 points to lead Holton. Kevin Erickson scored 12 points, most from the inside.

North Muskegon improves to 15-8 and moves on to face Ravenna in the regional semifinals at Carson City-Crystal High School at 5:30pm on Monday.

Holton finished 15-7.