LocalSportsJournal.com
MANISTEE — Western Michigan Christian’s boys basketball team made a road trip to Manistee on Monday night for its final game in the history of the Lakes 8 Activities Conference, and came away with a 58-44 victory.
It secured a second place finish in the league for the Warriors.
The Warriors struggled out of the gate in the first period, and were outscored by the Chippewas, 10-9. But they warmed up in the second, pushing ahead for a 17-11 advantage and opened a 26-21 lead at the half.
Each team scored 13 points in the third period, and the Warriors maintained a five-point lead, 39-34 going into the fourth quarter. The Warriors outscored the Chippewas, 19-10 in the final eight minutes.
Owen Varnado fired in 32 points to lead the Warriors, and went over the 1,000-point mark for his career, while Joey Prince contributed eight points.
Varnado is a four-year starter for the Warriors.
“He has put in the work outside of practice to achieve such a milestone,” said Warriors coach Kurt Gruppen. “Owen has continued to improve his game since his freshman year, and has really evolved as a basketball player.
“He endured two seasons affected by COVID-19, and had a couple of injury plagued seasons. Owen represents very well what a student-athlete at WMC should be.”
WMC improved to 7-11 overall and 7-3 in the Lakes 8. The Warriors return to the court Tuesday night for a non-conference game at Fennville.
