Second-half surge lifts Calvary Christian over Muskegon Catholic in Division 4 district semifinal

 

FRUITPORT — Muskegon Catholic owned the first half and Fruitport Calvary Christian owned the second half.

 

On Wednesday night, the Crusaders and Eagles battled for a spot in Friday’s district championship game. In the end, the Eagles overcame a 12-point halftime deficit and defeated the Crusaders, 61-48.

 

That means Calvary Christian will take on Muskegon Heights, a winner of Libertas Christan in the other semifinal game. Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m. at Calvary Christian.

 

In the first half, Muskegon Catholic built a 16-point lead at one point and settled for a 31-19 halftime lead.

 

But in the second half, Calvary Christian’s offense came to life and produced a 21-8 scoring margin to take a slim 40-39 lead into the final quarter. The final eight minutes wasn’t much different at the Eagles had a 21-9 advantage to earn the double-digit victory. Muskegon Catholic was plagued by poor shooting in the second half. The Crusaders made just five of their 30 shots after halftime.

 

“We’ve seen this all year,” Eagle coach Brad Richards said. “Our boys have a ton of heart and they are winners. We struggled in the first half, but credit Catholic, they fought so hard and they are a very well coached team.”

 

Bradley Richards led the way for Calvary (14-9) with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Quinn Swanson added 15 points and six rebounds. Sam Zelenka also hit double figures with 12 points. Gabe VanBaale added six points and nine rebounds. Ben Pollock dished out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds.

 

Braden Gustin led MCC (7-16) with 18 points. Bryan Convertini added 15.

 

“God has blessed us to be moving on to the district championship, and we greatly look forward to playing the Heights,” Richards said. “We respect how good they are and I know our boys are looking forward to playing them again.” 

All photos below are courtesy of LSJ Photographer Jason Goorman