Second-half surge carries Montague to boys basketball victory over Western Michigan Christian

LocalSportsJournal.com

NORTON SHORES – The Montague Wildcats overcame a slow first half and earned a 50-43 non-conference boys’ basketball victory over the Western Michigan Christian Warriors on Tuesday night.

Montague fell behind 23-15 at the half, but a 35-20 scoring advantage in the second half secured the season-opening victory.

Montague was led by Isaiah Atchison, who scored a game-high 13 points. He made 9-of-11 free throws on the night. He also had 13 rebounds, six steals and four blocked shots. Owen Raeth added 11 points, six assists and four steals while Kellen Francis and Jack Degen each chipped in eight points.

“We did not play our brand of basketball in the first half,” said Montague coach Nick Thaler. “Maybe it was first-game jitters, which is understandable. These kids are so amped up, they just needed to let the game come to them and execute down the stretch.”

“Great way to start off the season,” said Thaler.

WM Christian was led by Derrick Ashley with nine points. Fisher Campbell added eight points and Caleb Tejchma had seven.