By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
The final week of the regular season got off to a good start for the Saugatuck boys basketball team.
Hosting Sacred Heart Academy, the Trailblazers overcame a 15-point deficit in the first half to claim the 47-42 victory.
The win was the second of the season for Saugatuck, which snapped an eight-game losing skid for the second time.
Sammy Gamboa led the charge for the Trailblazers, scoring a career-high 18 points. That included a 10-of-12 showing at the free throw line.
“Sammy really stepped up for us,” Saugatuck coach Ty Rock said. “He was being aggressive, which was great to see. The fact that he got to the line 12 times shows that he was being assertive with the ball.”
Gamboa’s performance at the line highlighted a 21-of-26 effort for the team. The Trailblazers entered the game shooting 47 percent from the charity stripe.
“The guys did a nice job at the line overall,” Rock said. “We were shooting less than 50 percent as a team coming in, and that makes it tough. The reason we won tonight is because we shot well at the line.”
Clark Hamlin added 10 points in the win. The Bos brothers combined for 13 points, with Walt going for seven and Sam chipping in six.
Saugatuck fell behind 25-10 to open the game, but scored the final 11 points of the first half to make it a 25-21 game. The third quarter ended tied at 37-37.
Saugatuck scored the first five points of the final frame to take command.
The rest of the week didn’t go quite as well. After dropping a 60-36 decision to Galesburg-Augusta at home on Thursday, Feb. 19, Saugatuck fell 52-34 at Gobles on Friday, Feb. 20.
The Trailblazers then traveled to Fennville to face Black River in a Division 3 district opener on Monday, Feb. 23, and lost 53-39 to bring the season to a close.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
