By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Despite facing a 19-10 deficit at the end of the first quarter against SAC-leading Watervliet on Friday, Jan. 28, Saugatuck boys basketball coach Brian Ward had reason to be pleased.
His team shot 50 percent from the field during that opening frame and appeared to be locked in on the offensive end.
Then came the second quarter, which saw the Panthers hold a 20-4 scoring edge to take a 39-14 lead to halftime.
And while the second half was much closer, that deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Trailblazers fell 59-31.
Turnovers played a big role in Saugatuck’s second-quarter struggles, as the Trailblazers (2-7) committed 11 turnovers in the frame. That led to several easy looks for Watervliet on the other end of the court.
The Trailblazers finished with 25 turnovers for the game.
Sophomore Russell VandePoel provided a bright spot for Saugatuck. Not only did he score all 10 of his team’s first-quarter points, but he also finished with a team-topping 16 points.
Ward likes the growth he is seeing from VandePoel.
“Russell played a great game tonight and was very aggressive about getting to the hoop,” Ward said. “He was making shots both inside and outside.
“He’s becoming more comfortable as a sophomore playing varsity basketball and I’m hoping he can take that style of play and aggression into our games moving forward.”
Freshman Carter Miller was next in scoring for Saugatuck with six points, followed by John Roberts with four. John Hartgerink and Nicola Leoni added two points each, while Landon Miller rounded out the scoring with one point.
Andrew Chisele paced Watervliet, which improved to 9-1, with 21 points. Brennan Borras joined him in double figures with 10 points, while Tyson Williams had nine.
On Monday, Jan. 31, the Trailblazers hosted West Michigan Aviation Academy in a makeup game and fell by a score of 66-32.
“We had a tough time getting any offense going against an aggressive and tall Aviator front,” Ward said.
Saugatuck trailed 34-10 at halftime. And while the Trailblazers came alive in the third quarter with 16 points, they were unable to make up any ground as WMAA also netted 16 points in the frame.
VandePoel led Saugatuck with nine points, followed by Roberts and Leoni with six and five, respectively.
