By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
The Godwin Heights boys basketball team may be on the young side this season, but future foes need to be aware that this year’s squad of Wolverines is becoming a nasty team to deal with.
Combining a tenacious defense with an explosive offense, the Wolverines have been on the prowl lately. That was evident Tuesday as Godwin Heights turned back Comstock Park 76-48 to stay in the thick of the chase for the OK Blue Conference title.
The Wolverine defense proved tough to crack right from the opening tip while the offense gained momentum as the game progressed en route to its highest point total of the season. With the win, the Wolverines improved to 7-1 in the conference, a half game behind league-leading Sparta who travels to Godwin next Tuesday for a big conference showdown.
“We took a tough loss to Calvin Christian a couple of weeks ago and the one thing I’m super proud of is the way the guys learned from that loss,” said Godwin Heights Coach Bernard Varnesdeel. “Our team learned what our identity is from that loss. First, we realized that we have to hang our hat on our defensive pressure. We apply pressure both full court and in the half court. We put the pressure on with our defense and push the tempo on offense especially after creating turnovers on defense.”
That was the formula the Wolverines used against Comstock Park. The Wolverines used their strong defensive pressure to take a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Godwin dialed up that pressure in the second quarter as it outscored Comstock Park 26-13 to take a commanding 38-22 halftime lead.
“I feel like we did a lot better job of getting rebounds and I feel we did a good job of passing the ball on offense,” said Godwin Heights junior Jamaan Hastings. “I feel like we are working together better to play as a team and are starting to gel as a team for the March playoffs.”
Teamwork is a major strong point for the Wolverines. Not only do the Wolverines play strong team defense, but they share the ball on offense and have multiple players who can contribute on the offensive end of the floor. Nine different players scored for Godwin during the second-quarter offensive outburst and all 11 Wolverines scored during the game.
“We have 11 really, really good basketball players,” Varnesdeel said. “I tell all the guys that they will get the opportunity to get their run.”
Godwin players continued to get plenty of “run” during the second half as the defense continued to force turnovers while the offense capitalized on the offensive end. Godwin extended the lead to 58-35 at the end of the third quarter as it outscored the Panthers 20-13.
“I think we have a really good team,” said Wolverine senior Ben Dolo. “I think we are a super-underrated team. We can play with the top teams in the area and we can’t wait till March to show what we’ve been working on this season.”
Godwin closed out the game strong outscoring the Panthers 18-13 to end with a 28-point win.
“We’ve made a ton of improvement,” Varnesdeel said. “This is a great group. I’m a new coach here and we had a lot of younger, inexperienced players coming into the season. We only had one guy with a lot of experience and we have four sophomores. Those guys have made a lot of progress this season.
“We are learning each and every day and improving. We still have a lot to work on, but we’ve made a ton of progress.”
Godwin’s depth was evident in the scorebook. Jacari Jones and sophomore Isaiah Guyton were the lone Wolverines in double figures with 12 points apiece. Senior Jace Reid-Anderson added nine points, followed by Marcos Rodriguez and Hastings, eight points apiece; Armani Dedrick, six; sophomores Justin Chan, Ka’Res Harris and Dom Sanders, five each; sophomore Lonnie Sanders, four and Dolo, two.
“Jace is our most experienced player and he is doing a great job of leading our young players,” Varnesdeel said. “Isaiah is a sophomore who is doing a nice job for us. Jacari had a really good game tonight and Ka’Res is our sophomore point guard who is doing a really good job. All 11 of our guys did a nice job and it was a great team win.”
With the win, the Wolverines improved to 10-5 overall. Godwin returns to action Friday at Calvin Christian before returning home for the OK Blue showdown with Sparta next Tuesday.
