Tri-unity Christian beat Kalamazoo Phoenix 73-37 Thursday to win a Division 4 regional title. Jordan VanKlompenberg led with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. The Defenders advance to the state quarterfinals vs. St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 12 at Portage Northern.
Joey Mellon (24) had a career night with 19 points, including a tip-in to give the Defenders a late lead. (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
By Ty Marzean
WKTV Contributor
Tri-unity and Schoolcraft rekindled their rivalry from a year ago in a game that saw 13 lead changes and ended with a buzzer-beater tip-in by Schoolcraft, securing a 62-61 victory on Tuesday night’s WKTV Truck game.
“We knew it was going to be down to the wire,” said veteran Coach Mark Keeler, whose team moves to 10-3 on the season. “It was last year when we beat them at their place. Nobody got a huge lead. It was quite the game.”
The first quarter ended at 10-apiece as Tri-unity junior guard Keaton Blanker scored seven. Blanker finished the game with 16 points, including four three-pointers, and 10 assists.
“Keaton was amazing; I’d say that was a pretty good game from a point guard,” Keeler said.
Keaton Blanker scored seven of his 16 points in the first quarter. (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Defenders up 30-25 at halftime
The first half saw seven lead changes; Tri-unity led 30-25 at the end of 16 minutes.
Schoolcraft controlled the third quarter, outscoring the Defenders 20-10. Eagles senior guard Shane Rykse scored 11 of their third quarter points and ended with a game-high 28 points.
“I was happy we held him to that,” Keeler exclaimed. “He’s unbelievable. He was last year as well.”
Junior forward Tucker Walther added 15 points and two blocks for Schoolcraft.
“We knew those two guys would carry the load, and they did,” Keeler said.
Joey Mellon led Defenders with 19 points
Tri-unity junior big man Joey Mellon had a career night as he tallied 19 points, including a tip-in to give the Defenders a late lead.
“They had us outsized,” Keeler explained. “We were one big man short, Akais (Giplaye) was out with an ankle injury. We knew Joey had to step up, and he did. He’s only a junior, so I’m excited for him.”
Tri-Unity senior leader Jordan VanKlompenberg was held to just nine points as Schoolcraft focused their defense on him.
“They were really keying on Jordan; we thought it would be a lower-scoring game.”
Tri-unity led by one with 10.8 seconds left
The Defenders took a one-point lead with 10.8 seconds left on the clock. Tri-unity had two fouls to give and, in the process, ate up a valuable six seconds.
With 4.4 seconds remaining, the Eagles in-bounded the ball to a double-covered Rykse, who put it up toward the basket, where it was caught and tipped in by senior Jaden VanderWiere as time expired.
“You have to give it to Schoolcraft; they didn’t back down, we didn’t back down, and it was a war to the end,” Keeler said.
The Defenders (10-3 overall) play Lee (7-4) Friday night. The Legends won last year’s game 62-59.
“We need to contain (Marc) Whitfield, he will get his points, but we don’t want him to score layups. We want to make him work for it,” Keeler said.
Last year’s team with their regional championship trophy. (Courtesy, Tri-Unity Christian)
By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
The Tri-unity Christian boys basketball team has a goal of making it back to the Division 4 state championship in March, and a tried-and-true formula is what the Defenders are using to accomplish the task.
Playing strong defense, sharing the ball on offense and playing for each other has proven to be a winning formula for the Defenders. Tri-unity has used that recipe to make it to the Division 4 state title game the past three years including a state championship in 2022.
Tri-unity is off to a strong start this season winning its first three games including a 71-41 win against Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart on Tuesday. The Defenders were up by 12 at the half against Sacred Heart before using a big third quarter to break the game open.
“We have a great group of boys, said veteran Tri-unity Coach Mark Keeler. “They play well together and are unselfish. They are all solid players and amazing young men.”
A team of veterans
Making things even better this season is that Tri-unity also is a veteran team. Nearly the entire team returns from last season and the roster is loaded with senior veterans. Two of the seniors, Owen Rosendall and Jordan VanKlompenberg, are four-year starters who are looking to accomplish a unique milestone this season. Rosendall and VanKlompenberg have been to the last three Division 4 state championship games and are looking to end their career with four trips to the state finals.
Jordan VanKlompenberg. (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Rosendall and VanKlompenberg also are team captains this season. Rosendall, a 5-foot-10 guard, is a lock-down defender, while VanKlompenberg is a 6-foot-1 guard who possesses an excellent outside shot and also is a solid defender.
Owen Rosendall knocking down a layup. (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Up front, Tri-unity returns 6-4 forward Akais Giplaye who provides strong rebounding and defense. Senior Wesley Kamen (6-1) also is an outstanding outside shooter and defender, while junior point guard Keaton Blanker (5-10) orchestrates the offense.
Akais Giplaye reaches for the ball. (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
The Defenders also have plenty of depth. Trey Rillema is a 6-foot-5 forward who brings strong rebounding skills and defense to the court. Junior Joey Mellon brings even more size off the bench and at 6-foot-7 is the tallest player on the team. Senior Chris Boileau (5-8) is the backup at point guard while senior Lincoln Eerdmans (5-11) provides more backcourt depth. Rounding out the roster for the Defenders are senior Trusten Bowman (6-2) and juniors Marcus Lokiden (6-1) and Hudson Ghent (5-8) who provide the team with outstanding depth.
Trey Rillema (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Wesley Kaman (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Jordan VanKlompenberg (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Keaton Blanker (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Chris Boileau (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Owen Rosendall (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Jordan VanKlompenberg. (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Lincoln Eerdmans (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Joey Mellon (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Wesley Kaman (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Keaton Blanker (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Akais Giplaye (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Owen Rosendall (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Akais Giplaye (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
With plenty of depth and a willingness to pass the basketball, the Defenders are a matchup-problem for opponents. In the win against Sacred Heart, the Tri-unity offense generated 17 assists.
“I was really excited about that,” Keeler said. “These guys do a great job of sharing the basketball. We don’t have one big scorer. We have a lot of kids who can score and we’ve had a different player lead us in scoring each game this season.”
Rosendall and VanKlompenberg led the Defenders with five assists apiece in the win against Sacred Heart. Kaman led the offense with 17 points, while Blanker added 10 points and Giplaye and VanKlompenberg added eight points apiece. Rillema led the team in rebounding with six, while Giplaye added five rebounds.
Wesley Kaman led with 17 points against Sacred Heart. (Courtesy, Becky Rillema)
Tri-unity improved to 3-0 for the season with the win. The Defenders opened the season with a 62-22 win against Muskegon Orchard View and then turned back Calvin Christian 64-44.
Another element of the success at Tri-unity is the non-league scheduling. The Defenders annually schedule non-league games against larger schools and the best competition they can find. Last season, Tri-unity ended with a 22-7 record, but that also led the Defenders to the state title game for a third straight year.
“Our regular season is a very tough schedule,” Keeler said. “We tried to play the toughest competition we can to prepare for the state tournament.”
The Defenders are slated to host Godwin Heights Friday and travel to Kelloggsville next Friday before playing Division 1 team Forest Hills Central in the first game of the Cornerstone Tournament on December 21.
Tri-unity also plays in the rugged Alliance League where Lee, Potter’s House and Grand Rapids Aviation are all loading up for title runs.
Ahead by five points heading into the fourth quarter, Tri-unity Christian outscored Lansing Christian 18-5 to secure a 62-44 regional championship Wednesday at Fowler High School.
Roy Fogg led with 17 points in the win. (Courtesy, Tri-unity)
“Last night was a great game to watch,” said the Defender’s Coach Mark Keeler, whose team improved to 20-6 overall. “My Assistant Coach Brent Voorhees suggested we try pressing down to get them out of the rhythm and it worked. They had made 12 threes for the game. Lansing Christian is a very well coached team.”
“Roy Fogg led us with 17. He was very versatile,” Keeler said. “He has really improved his outside shot so he’s affective going to the bucket or shooting outside. What I really enjoy about this team is the versatility of the players. We never know who’s going to step up and act out some key shots.
“Jordan VanKlompenberg had a great game with his 10 points, five assists and four steals. Akais Giplaye had eight points and six rebounds. He played huge for us. Owen Rosendall knocked down two key threes right before half to give us a lead of five. Wesley Kaman came off the bench and scored 15 points for us. He was awesome.”
Jordan VanKlompenberg had 10 points, 5 assists and 4 steals in the win. (Courtesy, Tri-unity)
Division 4 State Quarterfinal
The Defenders now face Kalamazoo Phoenix (17-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 at Gull Lake High School.
“As far as Kalamazoo Phoenix, we know that they are a very good team,” Keeler said.
One little run proved to be the difference when long-time rivals Covenant Christian and Tri-unity Christian hooked up in a non-league contest on the Defenders home court Friday.
That mini-run came at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, and was the difference as Covenant Christian edged Tri-unity 46-35.
“Whenever Covenant Christian and Tri-unity play we always seem to have good games,” Tri-unity Coach Mark Keeler said. “It was a close game all the way, but they built a 10-point lead at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter and that was all it took. It was back and forth the rest of the way.”
Points were in short supply in the early going as both teams came out and played lock-down defense. Covenant Christian led by a bucket, 8-6, at the end of the first quarter. Even less points were put on the scoreboard in the second quarter. Tri-unity outscored Covenant 5-3 during that quarter and the game was tied at 11 at halftime.
“It was a war out there,” Keeler said. “It’s not like we didn’t shoot the ball. When you play against such great defense the shots just don’t fall. There was a lot of great intensity out there especially on defense.”
The shots began to fall a little more frequently in the second half. Covenant outscored Tri-unity 17-13 in the third quarter and led 28-24 at the end of three. Covenant Christian built the lead to 10 early in the final quarter and finished the final stanza outscoring the Defenders 18-11.
A learning experience
“It was a great game and a game we can learn from,” Keeler said. “It especially teaches us to be more consistent on defense. If we played defense like we did in the first half all the way through the game we would’ve been right there. Sometimes it’s hard to maintain that intensity and that is something we need to work on.”
Akais Giplaye led Tri-unity in scoring with 11 points, followed by Jordan VanKlompenberg, seven and Owen Rosendall, six. Roy Fogg led Tri-unity with six rebounds, while Giplaye added five.
Roy Fogg led the Defenders with six boards. (Courtesy, Tri-unity)
Covenant Christian, which improved to 7-5 overall, was paced in scoring by Isaac Kuperus with 10 points, Johnny Kuiper, nine and Logan Holstege, Brett Camminga and Ethan Deemter, eight apiece.
With the loss, Tri-unity fell to 8-2 overall. Both losses came against teams substantially larger as the Defenders fell to Division 1 Muskegon Mona Shores at the Cornerstone Tournament over Christmas break, while Covenant Christian is a large Division 3 school.
Tri-unity continues a rugged stretch of games against larger schools next week. The Defenders travel to Schoolcraft Tuesday to play the defending Division 3 state champions and then host Alliance League rival Potter’s House on Friday and Godwin Heights on Jan. 31.
“We have a tough schedule,” Keeler said. “We are just starting a real tough stretch right now. We are 8-2 with 11 more games and six of them are against some really, really tough teams.”
Strong defense
Tri-unity will face that tough slate of games with a defense that has been strong all season. Through 10 games this season the Defenders are allowing 39.2 points per game with only three opponents managing to reach 50 points or more and no team able to score more than 56 points on the Defenders.
“We’ve had some good wins against some good teams this year,” Keeler said. “The guys have been coming along. Our defense in the second half was not as good as it should’ve been. We’ve improved a lot on defense since the beginning of the season and that is what has helped us go a long way in the past.
“Tonight was a great game and a good experience for our young men. Losing can be a very good avenue to teach players how to improve.”
After a tight 33-32 halftime lead, the Tri-unity boys turned it up a notch in the second half to knock off host Western Michigan Christian 78-50 on Tuesday.
“We really let it fly in the second half,” said Defenders Coach Mark Keeler, whose team improved to 6-1 overall. “We stepped it up in the second half and they kind of cooled down a little on their shooting.
“It was a war in the first half. Western Michigan Christian played a good game against us. They shot the ball, really, really well.”
Jordan VanKlompenberg had 12 points and five assists for the Defenders. (Courtesy, Tri-unity)
Senior Roy Fogg led the Defenders with 15 points, followed by Jordan VanKlompenberg, 12 points and five assists; Akais Giplaye, 12 points and 10 rebounds and Keaton Blanker with 11 points and 6 assists.
Fogg (6-foot-3) is a first-year varsity player who played homeschool basketball last year, according to Keeler.
“His mom Becky graduated from Tri-unity in 1996, our first state championship in basketball,” continued Keeler, who’s coached for 36 years. “He’s a very good player and a nice young man. We’re so happy that he’s here.
“We had a very good returning crew this year. Giplaye (junior) was on varsity last year and played in the state finals. We have such good balance that the scoring leaders vary. Owen Rosendall scored 21 points (7 three-pointers) last week against Fruitport Calvary.”
Last year, the Defenders won the D-4 state championship.
“I think we can make another run at the state championship,” Keeler said. “We obviously want to win the conference (Alliance League) again, but it’s not going to be easy this year with three solid teams; Lee, Potter’s House and West Michigan Aviation.”
