SCOTTVILLE — Time after time this year, when opponents have faced North Muskegon, the dam eventually breaks. For Shelby in Wednesday’s district semifinal game, that came in the third quarter.
The Norsemen exploded for 34 points over those eight minutes, turning an already-healthy halftime lead into a runaway and eliminating Shelby 78-38.
Having already seen the No. 8-ranked top seed in the district twice before, Shelby wasn’t surprised by anything North Muskegon did, but the Norsemen’s talent is such that they were able to be effective anyway.
“It’s really difficult against a team that has the athleticism and skill level that they did and the size advantage they had,” Shelby coach Rick Zoulek said. “We can slow (the game) down, but we were hoping (it would be) like in the first quarter, when we limited the number of possessions. We needed to do that to have a chance, and then shoot really well. That was what we were trying to do.”
The Tigers (9-15) ran that strategy quite well most of the first quarter. After North Muskegon grabbed an 8-0 lead, Shelby soon responded with three-pointers from Leighton Belasco and Eli Kelley. Those shots and strong defense had Shelby hanging in there early on. Even when the Norsemen finished the quarter on an 8-0 run, effectively deploying their zone defense, the Tigers had hopes of finding an opening.
In the second quarter, Zoulek said, Shelby was sucked into playing North Muskegon’s game a little more, and the results showed it. Norsemen star Adam Dugener hit a couple of three-pointers early in the quarter and it was 25-6 a few minutes into the frame. Kelley did knock down a couple of treys late in the first half - he had a team-best 16 points in the game - but Shelby still trailed 36-16 at the break.
An inability to get scoring on the inside, as it has all year, kept a ceiling on the Tiger offense. The effort was always there, but the Norsemen possessed a healthy advantage in size and skill in the paint that was hard to overcome.
Shelby's Eli Kelley eyes the basket while looking for a shot during Wednesday's district semifinal game in Scottville. The Tigers lost, 78-38.
“It doesn’t matter what you play, whether it’s a man defense or a zone, you’ve got to establish an inside game somehow, and we just struggled to do that all year,” Zoulek said. “When we do get it inside, we had a little trouble scoring and finishing, and that’s frustrating for the post players too. They’re working inside to get open, but when they do get open, it’s hard to finish because they’re undersized.”
Braylen Burrel, another of North Muskegon’s top players, ripped off 15 points in the third quarter alone, nearly half of his team’s output, as the lead ballooned. The Norsemen hadn’t played a game since defeating Hart nearly two weeks prior, but showed very little rust.
Zoulek said he will miss the six seniors who will depart due to their positive attitudes. There is optimism moving forward, as Belasco and fellow starting guard Andrew Arquette (who scored eight points Wednesday) will return, with Chase Oakes likely to provide some needed size. A strong finish to the season - the team won five of its last seven regular-season games - might lessen the sting of its bitter end.
“They don’t take it too seriously,” Zoulek said of his group. “They like to play. They don’t always execute, but they like to play, and they like being around each other. Most of these kids will go into baseball and track, so they’re going to be together again for another season.
“To me, it was a fun season. I’ll miss the seniors, because they’re really a nice group of kids, but for me, it’s always optimism for next year. I think next year we’ve got some good kids that are going to work hard, and that makes it fun for me...The positivity, the energy at practice this last week and a half to two weeks was really good.”
