By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
It was round two of the annual rivalry between the South Christian and Grand Rapids Catholic Central boys basketball teams and the second quarter proved to be the difference as the host Cougars downed South 58-46 Friday to take the upper hand in the OK Gold.
Up 14-13 heading into the second quarter, Catholic Central played a near flawless quarter and built a 33-16 halftime advantage as it gained a two-game lead over the Sailors in the conference standings.
The host Cougars outscored South 19-3 during the second quarter, limiting the Sailors to a single three-point bucket by Sam Weiss. Catholic Central was dialed in from three-point range during the second quarter, scoring 12 of their 19 points from beyond the three-point arc. Senior all-stater Durral Brooks, who committed to the University of Michigan, led the way during the second quarter with eight of his game-high 30 points. Brieland Watkins also scored all six of his points during the quarter as he drained a pair of three-point shots.
“It was a super-intense atmosphere at the start,” said Catholic Central Coach TJ Meerman. “South Christian is an incredible team and we knew we would get their best shot. They jumped on us early, but our guys answered and battled back. I’m just really proud of our guys.”
Sailors quickly up 8-1
South Christian started the game in a big way, jumping out to a quick 8-1 lead. The Sailors controlled the boards early and kept the crowd out of the game. Catholic, however, weathered the storm and by the end of the first quarter took a 14-13 lead.
“We got out to a good start and we looked locked in,” said South Christian Coach Taylor Johnson, “then we started to miss some shots. They played faster, harder and with more confidence. We kept battling in the second half and got back in the game, but at the end of the game the better team won.”
Cougars up 33-16 at the half
Leading 33-16 going into the second half, Catholic Central began to milk the clock at times and shorten the game. The Cougars led 41-25 at the end of the third quarter.
South Christian continued to chip away at the deficit and early in the fourth quarter cut the margin to a dozen when Carson Vis connected on a three-point shot. The Sailors cut the mark to as close as 10 points when Vis scored a bucket with 2:07 remaining in the game, but that was as close as they would get.
Cougars’ Brooks led with 30 points, nine boards
Brooks, who led all scorers with 30 points, scored 16 of those points in the final quarter. Brooks also hauled down nine rebounds.
Catholic Central sophomore Jordan McCoy added 16 points, while Jack Bowen pulled down nine rebounds.
Catholic Central enjoyed a solid shooting night as they connected on six-of-19 three-point shots, were 50% on two-point shots and 78% from the free-throw line.
Carson Vis led Sailors with 14 points
South Christian was paced in scoring by Vis with 14 points and Jake Vermaas, 13. Davis Kemper added seven points, Sam Weiss, six.
“We are disappointed, but we will learn from this,” Johnson said. “We will grow from this. They tried to take Carson away, but he did hit some shots and crashed the boards and we did some good things out there.”
With the win, Catholic Central improved to 10-3 overall and 8-0 in the conference.
“I think in a game where two opponents know each other so well it comes down to togetherness, hustle and heart,” Johnson said. “We got after it in the second half, but it was just not enough. It was too little, too late.”
South Christian fell to 11-5 overall and 6-2 in the conference. The Sailors return to action Tuesday when they travel to Forest Hills Eastern and then return home on Friday when they host Cedar Springs.
