By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
The South Christian basketball team played without a familiar face in the lineup in a Division 2 state quarterfinal game against Hudsonville Unity Christian Tuesday at Calvin University, but its trademark lockdown team defense still made the trip and proved to be the difference in the 61-38 win over Unity Christian.
While a pair of broken wrists suffered in the regional finals ended the season for South Christian standout sophomore Carson Vis, the Sailors didn’t skip a beat in the quarters as their team defense stifled Unity from the opening tip to the final whistle. Their defense propelled them to the win and to Michigan State University where they’ll face Romulus Summit Academy North in the Division 2 state semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Breslin Center.
“I felt we did a really good job of playing team defense,” said South Christian Coach Taylor Johnson. “To hold a team like Unity Christian to just 38 points is impressive. We wanted to take away the three-point shot from them and we did that by holding them to five threes for the game. We are a defensive team. For us it’s all about getting stops. We chart how many stops we get during the game and we got a lot of them tonight.”
Sailors led 15-5 after first quarter
The Sailors recorded several stops in the opening quarter of the game as they limited Unity to a pair of field goals and a free throw as they jumped out to a 15-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Jake DeHaan gets game-high 27 points
On the offensive end of the floor, South senior guard Jake DeHaan stepped up and proved to be a reliable source of points. DeHaan scored 10 of South’s 15 points in the first quarter and didn’t stop pouring in buckets. DeHaan finished with a game-high 27 points for the Sailors.
“My teammates did a great job of finding me,” DeHaan said. “Without Carson it was a next man up situation for us. We just trust the next man and that made the difference. Carson is such a great player and such a great teammate so it was different for sure without him out there.”
Both teams played tenacious defense during the second quarter. Unity was able to connect on a pair of three-point shots early in the second quarter as they whittled the Sailor lead to 18-14 midway through the quarter. South, however, answered late in the half with a three-point shot from Jake Vermaas and a bucket by DeHaan to take a 23-16 lead into halftime.
South stormed out of the locker room after halftime and took control of the game during the third quarter. DeHaan scored the first four points of the second half as South stretched the advantage to 29-13. The Sailors then began to flex their muscles inside led by senior big man Sam Medendorp.
Medendorp came up with one of his four blocked shots in the game midway through the third quarter that led to a bucket on the other end of the floor. Two possessions later Medendorp came up with a steal and then went in for a rim-rattling dunk that pumped the Sailor crowd into a frenzy and staked the Sailors to a 34-18 lead.
“We play for each other out there,” Medendorp said. “We’ve had some tough injuries this year. Jaxson Rynbrandt tore his ACL earlier this season and then Carson got injured in the last game. It’s huge for us to play together as a team. To play for our brothers.”
Medendorp turned in a huge all-around game for the Sailors. Along with scoring 16 points, Medendorp pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and a steal.
“I think Sam is one of the best big men in the state,” Johnson said. “He had 16 points and 11 rebounds tonight. His putbacks on the offensive end were huge. Some college coach is going to be really lucky to get Sam on his team next season.”
South Christian pushes lead to 20 points in fourth
South led 42-30 at the end of the third quarter and upped the lead to over 20 points midway through the final quarter.
“This win means a lot,” DeHaan said. “First, we win the state football title last fall and now this. It feels great.”
With the win, South Christian improved to 24-3 for the season, while Unity Christian closed out the season with an 18-10 record.
Junior guard Jake Vermaas joined DeHaan and Medendorp in double figures for South, totaling 14 points along with five assists and two steals.
“It’s special defeating Unity Christian,” Johnson said. “It’s a special rivalry. We have a love-hate relationship with them. We have a ton of respect for Scott (Unity Christian coach Scott Soodsma) and a ton or respect for their team.”
Junior guard Colin Nieuwenhuis led Unity Christian with 18 points, while Dylan Shaban added seven.
