Mason County Central boys take down visiting Shelby in WMC matchup; VanderHaag hits for 20

 

SCOTTVILLE – Mason County Central rebounded from a close loss in its last game with a dominating 56-36 win over visiting Shelby in the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division on Thursday night.

 

Cole VanderHaag fired in 20 points to lead the Spartans, while sophomore Trent Hawke contributed 13 to the cause. Peyton Merz added six.

 

Shelby kept it close in the first half, trailing the Spartans by just seven, 27-20.

 

But the Spartans pulled away in the second half, opening up a 38-24 lead after three periods.

 

“Shelby is a scrappy team,” Spartans coach Chris VanderHaag said. “We knew they were not going to go away. Overall, it was a nice team effort.”

 

The Tigers did not have anyone score in double figures. Leighton Belasco led the way with nine points, Nathan Miller added eight and Trevor Weiss scored six. Miller had seven rebounds.

 

Mason County Central improved to 6-5 overall and 4-1 in the WMC Rivers. The Spartans next host Brethren in non-conference action next Tuesday.

 

Shelby fell to 2-9 overall and 2-4 in the WMC Rivers with its third straight loss. The Tigers travel to Grand Rapids West Catholic in non-conference action Saturday at 2 p.m.