Spring Lake falls to bigger, faster Grand Rapids Christian in Division 2 regional

By Nate Thompson
LocalSportsJournal.com

HUDSONVILLE – If Grand Rapids Christian had just tremendous speed as a team strength, Spring Lake may have been able to play Cinderella in Monday’s Division 2 regional semifinal at Hudsonville Unity Christian High School.

Maybe if the Eagles solely had a lot of size, the Lakers could have competed and pulled an upset.

But the Eagles’ roster features a cast of players with both superior athleticism and size and trying to slow that down for a full 32 minutes was a daunting task for the Lakers.

Spring Lake fought tough, as it trailed just 39-32 with under 2 minutes to play in the third quarter, but the Lakers ran out of gas the rest of the way, allowing the Eagles to pull away for a comfortable 64-39 victory.

Grand Rapids Christian, which improves to 20-5 overall, advances to Wednesday’s regional championship against the host Unity Christian Crusaders, who cruised past Fremont in Monday’s earlier semifinal matchup.

Spring Lake’s Carter Ball (10) looks to penetrate to the basket. (Photo/Brett Farmer)

Going against the Eagles’ 6-foot-7 Division 1 recruit Jaylan Owinga, and at times, 6-foot-8 Central Michigan football commit Tyler Porte off the bench, Spring Lake’s 6-5 sophomore Zane Stahl shined early, scoring seven first-quarter points on some nice pick-and-pop jump shots. Stahl’s hot hand had the Lakers only trailing by two, 15-13, after one, and they were still within striking distance at the half, down 27-18.

But Stahl’s open looks from 10-15 feet began to disappear as the game wore on, as Grand Rapids Christian’s ability to fend off Spring Lake’s dribble drives to the rim hurt the Lakers’ production offensively.

“We’ve played teams that were quick and teams that had decent size, but we haven’t played teams that had both,” said Stahl, who finished with a team-high 13 points, along with three rebounds and three assists. “We’re a heavy dribble-drive team and we’re just a decent shooting team, but we don’t rely a lot on that. They were able to take us outside of our game.”

“Eli Morrison and Zach Schlepp have been able to get to the rim throughout the year,” added Spring Lake coach Bill Core. “Tonight, they were going against guards that were quicker than them and they were bigger. Usually, they could use their bodies and get to the rim. But their ability to slash was cut down.”

As a result, Spring Lake didn’t hit a field goal for nearly the final 4 minutes of the second quarter and it wasn’t until Schlepp canned a 3-pointer with 4:15 left in the third that the Lakers ended their field-goal drought.

Still, the Lakers showed a glimmer of hope at the end of the third, starting with a nice back door pass from Stahl to Reid Grimmer with 1:45 left. Grimmer couldn’t convert the three-point play, but the Lakers cut the Eagles’ lead to 39-31. They got a point closer after Schlepp split a pair at the free throw line 10 seconds later.

But 39-32 would be the closest the Lakers would get. Grand Rapids delivered a knockout punch early in the fourth, as junior guard Quintin Willis drifted free for an open triple, sparking a 12-3 run that put the game away.

“The score doesn’t really say how hard we played,” Stahl said. “I thought we played well. I think at halftime, we were getting a little tired. We picked it up, but at the end of the third, our energy fell.”

Morrison had 12 points for the Lakers, including two of the team’s four 3-pointers.

Ouwinga led the Eagles with 14 points, one of four to reach double figures in scoring.

Core said his 14-9 squad may have surprised a few teams this year, as they had only two seniors on the roster, and the majority who saw heavy minutes were underclassmen.

“Now can you do it when teams are ready for you?” he asked about next year’s higher expectations. “We’re not going to surprise anyone next year. Can you do it when you’re supposed to win? That will be the challenge for this team.”