How Luke Michmerhuizen will play bigger role for Holland Christian basketball

GRAND RAPIDS - Luke Michmerhuizen is glad to get the first game out of the way.

The Holland Christian senior, 6-foot-7 forward, had 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, but it was too little too late as the Maroons fell to Covenant Christian 59-46 on Tuesday night in the season opener for the basketball team.

“We knew they were a tough team coming in,” Michmerhuizen said. “We just shot ourselves in the foot to start. We had a lot of turnovers and missed free throws. A lot of fixable stuff.”

Holland Christian was outscored 18-6 in the first quarter - after three 3-pointers by Covenant’s Mike DeVries - and it played catch-up the rest of the game.

“Obviously, you have nerves with it being the first game of the season,” Maroons coach Brad Jansen said. “We just had some stuff that we’re not used to doing, like throwing the ball out of bounds or not catching it. Or catching it and throwing it to nobody. Those are things early in the season that you have to clean up.”

Holland Christian trailed 26-16 at halftime. After the break, the Maroons offense got going. Michael Haig scored eight of his 11 points in the second half and Grant VanderZee scored all of his seven points in the half.

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Covenant was led by 6-foot-5 junior Ben Elzinga, who had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

“He’s tough,” Jansen said. “Obviously he’s a big body in there. And he doesn’t foul. He keeps his feet. He finishes well with his left and that opened up the three.”

Michmerhuizen will carry a bigger load

Michmerhuizen is a physical presence, especially when he’s driving into the paint. Jansen said he will have to carry a bigger load this season.

“In the second half, Mich was like ‘I can take it to the rim’ and he needs to be that guy all the time,” Jansen said. “Then we can get the kicks to the outside for threes. We know he’s going to draw a lot of attention.”

The senior had six rebounds and even drained a 3-pointer.

“He’s one of our better players, and he knows that,” Jansen said. “We need to get more from him from the start.”

Michmerhuizen said the Maroons will share the scoring duties.

“It’s a whole team thing,” he said. “It could be me scoring or it could be anyone. It doesn’t really matter for us. It could be anyone on any night. It’s about looking for the best shots.”

First game with the new free-throw rule

Jansen had to do a double take when he looked up at the scoreboard in the first quarter and saw the team foul totals were at zero.

“I had to remember, at one point, I was like ‘that’s six fouls!’ But it was zero (after the reset). It will take some time getting used to.”

There is a new free-throw rule in Michigan, starting this season.

After a team reaches five fouls, the players shoot two free throws. Then after each quarter, the fouls reset to zero. So the 1-and-1 fouls are no more.

“Obviously, there will be some end-of-game stuff when you have to foul,” Jansen said. “I think it makes the flow a little better. I’m a fan of it.”

Big day for a JV player

Titus Spencer was a whirling dervish on the court on Tuesday night for the Maroons junior varsity team.

The 5-foot-9 sophomore guard had a game-high 31 points and scored seemingly at will. Many of his buckets came off of steals.

In the third quarter, he blocked the shot of a Covenant player who was shooting a short jump shot. So he’s got some hops, too.  The Maroons J.V. won 90-38.

COVENANT CHRISTIAN 59, HOLLAND CHRISTIAN 46

HOLLAND CHRISTIAN (0-1)

Luke Michmerhuizen 5 7-10 18, Caleb Karsten 1 1-3 5, Michael Haig 4 0-2 11, Henry Langejans 3 0-0 7, Grant VanderZee 2 2-3 7, Jake Holcomb 0 0-2 0. Totals 15 10-20 46.

COVENANT CHRISTIAN (1-0)

Brett Cammenga 1 4-4 6, Carter Scholten 2 1-1 5, Brayden Stange 1 0-0 3, Spencer Holstege 3 0-2 6, Mike DeVries 4 0-0 12, Nathan Kerkstra 1 0-0 3, Ethan Deemter 3 0-0 6, Ben Elzinga 7 4-5 18. Totals 22 9-12 59.

Holland Christian 8-8-12-18 = 46

Covenant Christian 18-8-14-19 = 59

3-pointers - Holland Christian 6 (Haig 3, VanderZee, Michmerhuizen, Langejans). Covenant Christian 6 (Devries 4, Stange, Kerkstra). Assists - Holland Christian 5 (Haig 3), Covenant Christian 11 (Scholten 3). Rebounds - Holland Christian 15 (Michmerhuizen 6). Covenant Christian 28 (Elzinga 7). Total fouls - Holland Christian 17, Covenant Christian 15.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: How Luke Michmerhuizen will play bigger role for Holland Christian basketball