By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
NORTH MUSKEGON — North Muskegon opened up a 15-point lead after one quarter and cruised to a 58-40 victory over Mason County Central on Friday night.
The rest of the game was evenly played, and it was the fast start that allowed the Norsemen to hold off the Spartans for a comfortable victory on their home court.
It kept the Norsemen undefeated at 16-0 overall, and 8-0 in the conference.
“They did a great job on the offensive boards,” said Norsemen coach Charles Rypstra. “I thought we defended first shots really well, but we lost them in scramble situations and that is something we need to clean up.”
While the defense kept the Spartans offense handcuffed throughout the first period, the Norsemen offense clicked early for a 20-5 lead.
Scoring was closer the rest of the way, but the worst period for the Norsemen was the second when the Spartans tied them, 14-14.
But it didn’t put any dent in the Norsemen’s lead, as they had a tight grip on the game with a 34-19 halftime bulge that proved too much for Central to overcome.
North Muskegon put the game away with a 17-11 third quarter which gave the Norsemen a 47-30 lead.
Landen Grimm made four 3-point baskets and scored 13 points to lead North Muskegon. James Young contributed 12 points, a team-high eight rebounds and four assists while Jaxon Lisinski added 11 points with three triples.
Dakota Sterley was the Spartans’ leading scorer with nine points while Peyton Merz and Chris Vander Haag threw in five each.
North Muskegon takes a few days off now before resuming conference action Thursday at Hesperia.
Mason County Central fell to 7-9 overall and 4-3 in the conference. The Spartans resume conference action hosting Holton on Thursday night.
