How Holland Christian boys basketball edged rival Hamilton in final seconds
HAMILTON - The Holland Christian boys basketball team was trailing before the game started.
The Maroons were playing without two starters and they didn’t have a field goal in the first quarter.
Yet they still managed to win. Barely.
Caden VanHuis hit two-free throws with 30 seconds to go as the Maroons rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Hamilton 41-40 on Friday night.
“It’s obviously a rivalry game and it means a lot to both sides,” VanHuis said. “It shows the trust we’ve got in our teammates and the way we can step up and work together to pull off a huge victory.”
Holland Christian was trailing 40-36 with a minute to go. Luke Michmerhuizen then got a pass underneath the basket from Titus Spencer, dunked the ball and was fouled. He made his free throw to make it a 40-39 deficit.
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“I took him out and I challenged him and told him ‘It’s time to step up’,” Holland Christian coach Brad Jansen said of Michmerhuizen. “Mitch has that ability to be that player all the time and he responded. When he had his moment, he took over the game.”
On Hamilton’s next possession, Michael Haig got a steal that eventually set up the winning points. After two missed free throws, Josh Bruxvoort got a rebound, passed it to VanHuis who drove to the lane and was fouled. He made both free throws.
“I don’t think too much about it,” said VanHuis, who is shooting 86 percent from the line. “I just shoot to make it and never shoot not to miss. I just stepped up with confidence and didn’t think twice about it.”
Hamilton had two more chances to score in the final 30 seconds, but couldn’t get anything to fall.
Michmerhuizen had a team-high 11 points and sophomore Titus Spencer had eight points. VanHuis was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line for three points. Riley VanDerHulst led Hamilton (4-8, 8-12) with 12 points and James Hoffman had eight.
Hamilton star Justin McIllwain, who is averaging around 20 points per game, got in early foul trouble and would foul out of the game without a field goal. He was 3-of-6 from the free-throw line.
“You’ve got a guy like Alden Baker, who played a great game on defense,” Jansen said of the senior. “I texted him this morning and told him he was going to start. He said, ‘Coach, I’ll stay within myself and do what I do best’. To hold McIllwain without a basket is pretty impressive. He’s a great scorer and a great basketball player.”
Holland Christian (8-12, 12-8) was without starters Caleb Karsten and Grant VanderZee. Karsten had a sore back and VanderZee had to sit due to concussion protocol.
“For us to rotate so many guys and get great minutes … you can go down the list of one or two things that everyone did,” Jansen said. “Josh Bruxvoort had two huge offensive boards and a couple of putbacks. Titus came in and gave us some big minutes and finishes a few then Mitch (Michmerhuizen) gets that huge and-1 dunk, Ryder (Gravenhof) got some huge rebounds and some 50-50 balls.”
VanHuis has ice in his veins from being a kicker
Basketball isn’t VanHuis’ main sport. He’s a good baseball player but he’s a really good kicker on the football team.
He’s so good that he’s had visit to several colleges, including Michigan State University.
“The best thing about Caden is … he’s just steady,” Jansen said. “He’s a kicker (in football). He doesn’t get upset in big moments. In practice, he’s never too high and he’s never too low. He’s our sixth man and plays crucial minutes and plays his role really well. Tonight he needed to be that guy and he made those huge free throws. But he did that at Spring Lake as well when he was 6-for-6 in the fourth quarter and won us that game.”
Big day for J.V. call-up
Titus Spencer has been lighting it up on the junior varsity team. But he had yet to play a game on varsity until Friday. The quick guard had eight points and five rebounds in his first game.
“It was nice to have him on the team,” VanHuis said. “We’ve got a brotherhood with him. We trust him, even though he’s a younger guy. I think it gave him some confidence.”
Jansen said he didn’t plan on Spencer playing until Friday night.
“Titus has had an incredible year on J.V.,” he said. “We knew that. He can score and he’s creative. All the sudden we’re hit with the injury bug. This was kind of a today decision. Then all the sudden he’s here and plays some big minutes down the stretch.”
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: How Holland Christian boys basketball edged rival Hamilton
