By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Conributor
South Christian had Grand Rapids Catholic Central on the ropes during Tuesday’s OK Gold showdown of state-ranked powers, but the Sailors were unable to land the knockout shot and the host Cougars rallied to pull out a 71-67 win.
First place in the conference was on the line as South Christian sailed into the Catholic Central gym and the two teams gave the packed house what they came to see. South Christian, ranked 13th in the state in Division 2, led for the bulk of the game, but the host Cougars, ranked 18th in the state in Division 2, remained persistent throughout and overcame South down the stretch.
“It’s hard to keep them (Catholic Central) down,” South Christian Coach Taylor Johnson said. “They keep coming and coming. I felt we played with good intensity and our defensive focus was there, but they (Catholic Central) got some big rebounds down the stretch and the ball just didn’t bounce our way at the end.”
A quick start for the Sailors
South Christian jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the game and was up 18-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Sophomore standout Carson Vis was a big part of the Sailor offense in the early going and throughout the game. Scoring from the perimeter and on drives to the basket, Vis led the Sailors with 31 points in the game.
“He’s a special kid,” Johnson said. “He loves the game so much. He is such a special player and he is going to be special here for quite some time.”
Cougars score 11 in a row
Catholic Central reeled off 11 consecutive points to open the second quarter and take a 23-18 lead, but the Sailors righted the ship and regained a 37-32 lead at halftime.
While the Sailor offense was led by Vis, the Catholic Central offense has a pair of standout players that can fill the hoop in a hurry in junior Durral Brooks and senior Kaden Brown. Brown, who will be playing his college ball at Wright State next season, led all scorers with 32 points while Brooks, who has been offered by Michigan State, added 21 points.
Sailors get 10 straight
South Christian went on a 10-0 run early in the third quarter to go up 47-35, but Catholic Central would not go away. The Cougars chipped away at the lead and cut the deficit to 57-50 at the end of the third quarter.
“It was back and forth,” Catholic Central Coach TJ Meerman said. “It was definitely a game of runs by both teams. They are an excellent team and a tough team.”
South was up 61-55 midway through the final quarter when the Cougars mounted a final big push. Catholic Central went on a 13-2 run to go up 68-63 with a minute remaining in the game.
“Our guys pride themselves on toughness,” Meerman said. “They played with a lot of pride down the stretch. There was a timeout when we were down by 10 or 11 and all the guys in the huddle were saying to stay the course. Just stay the course.
“It was a credit to our junior and senior leadership. The guys stayed the course and knew they would pull it out.”
Down to the wire
South continued to battle in the final minute of the game and a three-point shot by Jake Vermaas trimmed the Cougar lead to 68-66 with 47 seconds remaining in the game. Brown split a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining to put the Cougars up by two points.
With four seconds remaining in the game, Vis was fouled on a three-point shot. Vis connected on one of the free throws before Catholic Central pulled down a rebound. Brown was subsequently fouled and drained a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds left to give the Cougars the final three-point margin.
“They went on that third-quarter run and that hurt us,” Johnson said. “I think it was a 15-6 run and we missed some easy shots. We showed that we can compete with anyone. We’ve played a tough schedule and we proved we can compete with anyone.”
Along with 31 points from Vis, South Christian received 19 points from Vermaas, nine points from Jacob DeHaan and four points from Sam Medendorp.
With the loss, South Christian falls to 9-3 overall and 5-1 in the OK Gold. South Christian returns to action Friday at Cedar Springs.
Catholic Central improved to 8-3 overall and 6-0 in the conference. The Cougars return to action Friday at Kenowa Hills.
