HART — Friday’s battle for control of the West Michigan Conference Rivers went to North Muskegon over the Hart Pirates, 68-54, but there are two big reasons for optimism Hart can take from the game.
First, the Pirates are hopeful they’ll have leading scorer Jagger Lenon, who missed the game with an ankle injury, back for the rematch at North Muskegon in February. Second, the score doesn’t tell the story of how close the battle of league unbeatens was.
The Pirates (9-2, 5-1 WMC Rivers), who trailed by double digits for much of the second quarter, battled back to as close as one point in the fourth and were down only four in the final minute before the Norsemen pulled away for the win.
“Our guys are not satisfied,” Hart coach Nick Bronsema said. “North Muskegon is who they are. They’ve won the league the last two years and they beat us again. Credit to them. At a pretty important part of the game, they took it over, and we just didn’t make the plays that we needed.”
Lenon watched from the bench, his left ankle in a boot. Bronsema said Lenon injured the ankle practicing the pole vault a couple of Sundays ago on a team off day - a cruel bit of irony for a player who adores basketball as much as anyone.
“He’s devastated because he wants to be out there,” Bronsema said. “No one plays basketball as much as him. He’s in the gym all the time, and he’s devastated. He wanted to be a part of it, but he knows that his job is to get healthy, so he can get back. We’re hoping to get him back soon.”
Even without their leading scorer, though, the Pirates showed their impressive depth. The first quarter saw Hart grab an early lead by converting a couple of steals to baskets, and the Pirates were up 16-11 until the Norsemen returned the favor with two layups off turnovers of their own to make it a one-point game, sparking a 15-0 run.
North Muskegon flipped to a man-to-man defense, then back to zone, during the second quarter, keeping Hart on its toes - though that was no surprise to Bronsema, who’s coached against Norsemen boss Chuck Rypstra enough times to know what his teams are capable of doing.
“That’s Chuck’s thing,” Bronsema said. “He knows every certain scenario and situation. That’s what they do, and they do it well. It worked for them, obviously. That’s coaching.”
North Muskegon led by 10 at the half, 35-25, but a quick start by Hart kept things very competitive throughout the third quarter and well into the fourth. Kolton Rockwell scored a three-point play early in the final quarter to get Hart as close as it got in the second half, making it 48-47. The teams battled back and forth from there, but a pair of baskets by Norsemen forward David Markiewicz, followed by a great play from Bryce Colbert to tip an offensive rebound to Bronson Hurst for another basket, helped push the lead out too far for Hart.
It was Rockwell that took up the bulk of the scoring load Lenon’s absence left open, scoring 18 points and playing with great confidence.
“He’s got that in him all the time,” Bronsema said of Rockwell. “I think that’s what we’re looking to have, is consistency from there. He’s a good kid who shares the ball. He does a little bit of everything. Now he’s starting to really look to score more, which is a good thing for us. I think it’ll be good in the long run.”
Forward Caleb Ackley was a force as well, going for a team-best 19 points and seven rebounds, as well as four assists. He was an efficient 9-of-12 from the field. It was his early basket in the third quarter, followed by an assist to Rockwell on a trey, that sliced North Muskegon’s 10-point lead in half coming out of the break.
“We’ve been on him, riding him pretty hard,” Bronsema said. “He showed much better patience in the game, and it was good to see that.”
Sharpshooter Adam Dugener had a game-high 24 points for the Norsemen, with Hurst and Markiewicz each adding 10. Miguel Escamilla grabbed seven rebounds for the Pirates.
The Pirates will get another crack at North Muskegon, of course, with a chance to give themselves a shot at a tie atop the WMC Rivers. (The Norsemen lost Saturday to Freeland, a Division 2 regional champ last year, to end their unbeaten start to the season.) Hart, though, will have to win some other games in the meantime to ensure that chance exists when the rematch arrives.
“We’re very grateful to have the opportunity to play in an important game like this,” Bronsema said. “How many people can say they’re playing a game, 10 games in, where we had one blemish, and they were undefeated at that point, and the fact that we competed with them, that’s a good step. It’s not a win, and we’re not happy. The kids are not happy, but we’re right there.”
