Holland Christian basketball comeback falls short against Unity Christian
HOLLAND - Brad Jansen loved how his team played for the final three quarters on Tuesday night.
But the Holland Christian coach wishes he could re-do the first quarter.
Holland Christian lost to Unity Christian 66-52 in boys basketball on Tuesday. The Maroons trailed 21-6 after the first quarter. But they outscored the Crusaders 45-44 the rest of the way.
“Fast starts (by the opposition) are hard to overcome when you play against a really good team like that,” Jansen said. “It’s the challenge of doing the little things right. That first quarter, when you give a team open shots like that, they’re going to take advantage of it.”
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Holland Christian (8-5, 12-9) was led by Michael Haig with 11 points, Caleb Karsten with 10 and Luke Michmerhuizen with 9.
Karsten, who returned to play after missing a game with a sore back, said the first quarter was tough to overcome.
“It definitely was,” he said. “We didn’t have our best defense. We need to work on that. But we jumped back and outscored them in the second quarter.”
Holland Christian trailed 31-24 at halftime.
“He’s not at full strength,” Jansen said of Karsten. “We’re missing Grant (VanderZee), too, who is a really good rebounder. But Caleb had some big shots and some big rebounds in that second quarter.”
Colin Nieuwenhuis led Unity with 19 points, TJ Fisher 11, Hugo VanderWaal 9 for the Crusaders (13-0, 17-4), who have won 13 games in a row.
Holland Christian got a bye for the first round of districts at Hastings. They will play the winner of Hastings and Hopkins on Feb. 28.
Spencer makes an impact
When Holland Christian needed a boost, it turned to sophomore Titus Spencer. The speedy sophomore came off the bench in the second quarter and scored seven points, including a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 29-24. But it was the only quarter he was allowed to play since he played the entire J.V. game earlier in the day. It is just his second varsity game.
“He’s got a different level; a different speed,” Jansen said. “Playing with Mike (Haig) allows him to play off the ball. Obviously, the JV game went down to the wire. I told Coach (Luke) Spencer ‘if we can get two (quarters out of Titus), it would be nice. Unless your game is close.’ He’s a guy that can help us.”
In that J.V. game, Titus Spencer scored 34 points, including the game-winner with seven seconds left in the game for a 59-58 win.
Maroons legend honored
Holland Christian honored Rich Naglekirk at halftime.
The Maroons graduate has been a long-time scorekeeper, scoreboard operator and whatever else the sports program needs help with.
Twenty-five years ago, he had his biggest sports moment, however. As a team manager of the basketball team, he drained a 3-pointer against Detroit Country Day.
Unity Christian 66, Holland Christian 52
UNITY CHRISTIAN (13-0, 17-4)
Colin Nieuwenhuis 8 1-2 19, Brogan Sherd 1 0-0 3, Kyler Berghuis 2 2-2 8, Arie Landstra 0 0-0 0, TJ Fisher 4 2-2 11, Jack Kamminga 1 1-2 3, Micah Arrowsmith 2 0-0 5, Hugo VanderWaal 4 1-2 9, Isaac Eppinga 0 1-2 1, Owen VanderWaal 0 0-0 0, Cody Walters 0 0-0 0, Max VanKoevering 0 0-2 0, Jake Chapman 3 1-2 7. Totals 25 9-16 66.
HOLLAND CHRISTIAN (8-5, 12-9)
Luke Bushouse 0 0-2 0, Luke Michmerhuizen 4 0-0 9, Caleb Karsten 2 6-7 10, Michael Haig 3 4-4 11, Caden VanHuis 0 0-0 0, Alden Baker 0 0-0 0, Desmond Meyaard 0 0-0 0, Henry Langejans 1 2-3 5, Josh Bruxvoort 0 0-0 0, Ryder Gravenhof 1 0-0 2, Jake Holcomb 2 3-4 8, Titus Spencer 3 0-0 7. Totals 16 15-20 52.
Unity Christian 21 - 10 - 16 - 19 = 66
Holland Christian 6 - 18 - 12 - 16 = 52
3-point goals - Unity Christian 7 (Nieuwenhuis 2, Berghus 2, Sherd, Fisher, Arrowsmith). Holland Christian 5 (Michmerhuizen, Haig, Langejans, Holcomb, Spencer). Rebounds - Unity Christian 25 (VanKoevering 6, Fisher 5), Holland Christian 25 (Michmerhuizen 9). Assists - Unity Christian 16 (Fisher 5), Holland Christian 9 (Haig 3). Total Fouls - Unity Christian 17, Holland Christian 15. Fouled out - none.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland Christian basketball comeback falls short against Unity
