West Catholic Boys Basketball

Lee senior guard Junior Metcalf (1) led the Legends in scoring against Holland with 17 points. (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org

Grace Christian University was home to some outstanding high school basketball Saturday and the host Lee Legends capped off the inaugural tournament with a strong defensive effort in defeating Holland 59-42.

The win capped off a big day of basketball for local teams. In games preceding the Lee finale, Kelloggsville dropped a 55-46 decision to Grand Rapids West Catholic in overtime, Cedar Springs edged Godwin Heights 52-49 and Grant defeated Kentwood Grand River Prep 62-33.

In the finale, Lee utilized some strong defensive play and timely offense to improve its record to 6-1 on the season.

The host Legends, whose lone loss this season was to West Catholic, established their strong defensive presence right from the opening tip. The Legends held Holland to 10 points in the first quarter en route to building a 20-10 lead.

Defense was all the rage in the second quarter as both teams found scoring points a challenge. The two squads combined for just six points in the second quarter with Lee taking a 22-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Lee freshman forward Cash Anscomb (24) pulls down a rebound during the game with Holland at the Be Legendary Showcase at Grace Christian University. (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

Both squads picked up the pace in the third quarter. Lee senior guard Junior Metcalf led the Legends with six points in the third quarter as Lee outscored Holland 17-13 to take a 39-27 lead into the final stanza.

Lee began to pull away from Holland in the early moments of the fourth quarter as a 10-5 run upped the lead to 49-32. The Legends finished the game on an 8-4 run to exit with a 16-point win.

“We played pretty well,” said Lee Coach Gerard Oray. “We had a scoring drought in the second quarter when we had two points. We went away from our defensive pressure. I feel our defensive pressure was the main reason why we got out to an early lead.”

Metcalf led Lee with 17 points, while senior Dere’on Brown also reached double figures with 13. Lzekiel Scott added nine points, followed by Kapone Applewhite with six. Keegan Hulst led Holland in scoring with 23 points.

The play of Lee’s guards not only led the way on the offensive side of the floor, but also played a key role in the success of the defense.

Lee senior guard Martez Jackson (0) looks for an opening during the game with Holland at the Be Legendary Showcase at Grace Christian University. (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

“Our guards are really fast offensively and defensively,” Oray said. “They change the game for us. The ball pressure that they put on other teams kind of disrupts their offense. We go as they go.”

Legends enjoy strong start to season

With six wins in the first seven games, the season has started well for the Legends. Not only are the Legends playing winning basketball, but they are playing exciting basketball and also are getting the job done off the basketball court.

“We have scored 75 points in four of the seven games,” Oray said. “It’s been exciting basketball. The guys have bought in not only on the court, but in the classroom and in the community. This season has gone pretty well.”

Oray also likes the way the team has jelled and points to team chemistry as being a strong point of this year’s squad.

“We have a strong brotherhood,” Oray said. “The guys spend a lot of time together on and off the court. We did some things in the summer and in the fall. Things like study table, community service, volunteer events, weight room, all of that is starting to come together to build team chemistry.”

Oray also was pleased with the first-year tournament that the Legends and Grace Christian University hosted. The tournament was even more special for Oray, who played his college basketball for Grace Christian.

“The tournament was pretty good,” Oray said. “I played college basketball here so it was great to see the community come out. A lot of different teams were here from a lot of different areas which was the purpose of the tournament so I feel it was a success for year one.”

Long list of coaches played and coached at Grace Christian

Oray was not the only coach at the tournament who had ties to Grace Christian which was another reason the teams were brought together for the tournament. Grant Coach Daniel George is a former varsity assistant coach at Grace Christian, and Cedar Springs Coach Lee Ash also is a former assistant coach.

Former players included Grand River Prep Coach Jashawn Bailey, while Kelloggsville Coach Austin Jackson earned national player of the year honors and led Grace Christian to a national championship in 2019 during his time as a college basketball player at the school. West Catholic assistant coach Melvin Frazier played his college basketball at Grace Christian as well.

Brayden Williams (4) led Wyoming with 16 points in the win. (WKTV Greg Chrapek)

By Greg Chrapek

WKTV Contributor

greer@wktv.org

With the high school basketball season heading into the home stretch, the Wyoming Wolves basketball team is shifting into high gear. The Wolves found another gear Friday evening when they traveled to West Catholic and came away with a 78-52 win.

The win was the eighth in the last 11 games for the Wolves, who began the season 0-3. While it took Wyoming a few games to get their footing, the Wolves have been steadily improving and have been putting up some impressive numbers both on offense and defense.

“I thought we did a lot of things really well,” said Wyoming Coach Thom Vander Klay. “The kids are coming around as far as picking up what we are trying to do. They are trusting their teammates. Early in the season we were beginning to gel and now we feel like we are starting to hit our stride and we feel like we are getting closer and closer to our potential.”

Wyoming came out firing on all cylinders during Friday’s game. The Wolves jumped out to a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. They started the second quarter with a bang as Taeshon Wilson scored the first Wyoming points of the quarter with a crowd-pleasing breakaway dunk. Up 27-20 late in the quarter, the Wolves closed out the first half with an 11-0 scoring run to take a 38-20 lead into halftime.

Offense is one area where they’re showing steady progress this season. The 78 points the Wolves scored Friday was the second-highest team total of the season and they have scored 60-plus points in nine games so far. Wyoming likes to play at a fast pace and the Wolves did a solid job of running the floor against West Catholic scoring a high volume of points off the fast break.

“I think part of the getting up and down is the trust of our teammates,” Vander Klay said. “The fact that they will catch it, the fact that they will run the floor and the fact that they will finish, and if not then we will crash the glass. Our kids are starting to develop that team chemistry on offense.”

Warren Williams (10) scored nine points for Wyoming. (WKTV Greg Chrapek)

After halftime, the Wolves opened up a 45-20 lead as the Wyoming defense held West Catholic without a point until the 4:59 mark of the third quarter.

Along with progress on offense, the Wolves have been making strides defensively and that was evident against West Catholic.

“I thought we played harder,” Vander Klay said. “We stopped what they were trying to do offensively. Especially with as many possessions as there are in our games, we have to work pretty hard on defense. We are working on that too.”

Wyoming led 59-39 at the end of the third and kept up the pace in the final quarter to end with a 26-point edge.

Brayden Williams led Wyoming with 16 points, while Josh Guevara and Taeshon Wilson added 11. Avonte Wiggins, Warren Williams and Jack Hogan added nine each.

Wyoming’s Avonte’ Wiggins (2) brings the ball past half court during the game at West Catholic. Wiggins scored nine points. (WKTV Greg Chrapek)

“All of our kids can play,” Vander Klay said. “The truth is, sometimes when a coach makes a sub, it might be just a tiniest little bit that one kid is a little better, but I can close my eyes and just point to somebody on the bench. We are very deep. We have a lot of good players, so when we sub, when the benches clear, that is usually to our advantage.”

With the win, Wyoming improved to 8-6 overall and 3-2 in the OK Gold. Wyoming returns to action Monday when it travels to play conference rival Grand Rapids Union. The Wolves then host Holland Christian on Tuesday for our WKTV Truck Game of the Week.