By Cris Greer WKTV Managing Editor/Sports Director greer@wktv.org
Check out these new and exciting local Girls Basketball MHSAA Playoff clips from our latest Friday Night Highlights show.
Just like football season, every week we’ll bring you much of the local high school basketball home stadium action from your local varsity teams, highlight some top performers and their stats, give final scores, and show a snapshot of the latest conference standings in an exciting Friday Night Highlights show.
Bill Rohn — who served as a trial lawyer for 40 years at the Varnum law firm in Grand Rapids — calls himself a “newspaper junkie.“ Bill edited his high school and college newspapers. He also has covered sports for Midwestern newspapers such as The Grand Rapids Press, The South Bend Tribune, and The Niles Daily Star. He is a co-host of WKTV Friday Night Highlights. Bill holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from GVSU and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Whoever thought that one player can’t single-handedly beat five opponents probably missed the artistry of Northview’s Cam Ryans in Thursday’s regional basketball final against East Kentwood.
Ryans, a 6-4 senior and Mr. Basketball candidate was spectacular, nailing a three-point buzzer-beater to cap a 30-point performance as the Wildcats defeated the Falcons 52-50 before a sellout crowd Thursday at Caledonia.
Spectacular? Absolutely.
Just ask hundreds of Northview fans who stormed the court after Cam’s game winner. The victory sends the winners to a March 10 Division 1 quarterfinal matchup against Rockford.
Scoring only two points in the first half — after which Northview trailed 24-15 — Ryans owned the ball and personally outscored the Falcons 28-26 following intermission.
Ryans completed his masterpiece, grabbing an inbound pass with four seconds remaining, then dribbling twice before sinking a three-pointer from 10 feet beyond the free throw line as time expired.
Spectacular? 30 total points. 28 in the second half. 19 in the fourth quarter. And three steals in a game that Northview never led until a Ryans’ bucket put the winners ahead 49-48 with 28 seconds left. EK responded with a bucket by Andrew Kenyi to recapture the lead with 16 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Ryans’ game ending heroics.
It was a sold out crowd Thursday night at Caledonia as Northview beat East Kentwood 52-50 to win a Division 1 regional title. (WKTV/Bill Rohn)
So what did Northview’s sharpshooter, who has committed to play at Western Michigan University following graduation, think of his performance?
“I couldn’t let my teammates down,” Ryans said. “This is what I practice for and I put in long hours getting ready for that. Every day — day after day — I get ready for that. I dream of it.“
Noting Ryans’ low scoring during the first half, Wildcat Coach Brandoen Guyton evidently knew just what to say during the break.
“I just told him at halftime to go out there in the second half and ‘just be Cam,’ said Guyton in the middle of a celebrating mob following the final buzzer. “I told him to just be who he is. And that’s just what he did.”
Guyton also praised his team’s defense.
“We knew we needed defense to win it, and the kids came through in the second half,” Guyton explained. “Northview clogged the middle of the lane throughout the third and fourth quarters. The Wildcats also produced numerous turnovers, blunting a balanced EK scoring attack that led to Falcon leads of 19-10 after the first quarter, 24-15 at halftime, and 37-31 entering the final eight minutes.
EK’s early success was led by CJ Reynolds, Jeremiah Cook and Jaxon Tabor, whose combined 16 points led the Falcons’ first half effort.
East Kentwood’s Jaxon Tabor stretches for a rebound. (WKTV/Bill Rohn)
Ryans simply took over in the second half. Occasionally dishing off to teammates, he led the winners on a 13-2 scoring run in the middle of the third, cutting EK’s margin to 32-29 with 1:52 to play in the quarter.
East Kentwood hung onto its shrinking lead with solid guard play from CJ Reynolds and two buckets by 6-8 Andrew Kenyi, but Ryans was dominant in the fourth quarter, scoring again and again while also grabbing two steals to cut the Falcon lead to 46-43 with 90 seconds to play.
Northview got help on the scoreboard from Izzy Haitbu, with 10 points, plus five more from Brayden Williams.
East Kentwood, which finished a great season at 22-3, got 13 points from Reynolds, nine from Jeremiah Cook, and eight from Kenyi. The team had only one senior on its roster, so Coach Mike Thomas’ squad may be poised for another outstanding season next year.
The Falcons react to Northview buzzer-beater. (WKTV/Bill Rohn)
By Cris Greer WKTV Managing Editor/Sports Director greer@wktv.org
Check out these new and exciting local Boys Basketball MHSAA Playoff clips from our latest Friday Night Highlights show.
Just like football season, every week we’ll bring you much of the local high school basketball home stadium action from your local varsity teams, highlight some top performers and their stats, give final scores, and show a snapshot of the latest conference standings in an exciting Friday Night Highlights show.
Look for our fast-paced local highlights show every Monday night! Thanks for tuning in.
Grand Rapids Civic Theatre will announce its Centennial Season at a public event on Sunday, March 1.
Established in 1926, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre and School of Theatre Arts is one of the oldest and largest community theatres in the nation. With more than 1,800 students and 600 volunteers annually, Civic is a cornerstone of the arts having served nearly 20,000 patrons alone during this season’s holiday production of Disney’s Frozen.
The Centennial announcement will take place as a “Season 100 Watch Party;” festivities kick off at 5 p.m. with a cash bar, followed by an on-stage program at 6 p.m. After the program, the lobby will be open for a social hour and special discount ticket purchases.
Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s production of Beauty and the Beast. (Photo Courtesy, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre)
Over the past several years, the organization has announced the upcoming season with a video on social media, YouTube, and at grct.org. This year, staff members decided to bring the community together to experience the excitement of sharing the news in a common, beloved space: 30 Division Avenue North where Grand Rapids Civic Theatre has called home since 1978.
Civic alumni, students and staff will play a role in the announcement. In addition to hearing the exciting season lineup, audience members will be the first to hear about exciting Centennial programming and events, along with other special announcements related to the 100-year celebration that will kick off in September.
This once in a lifetime special event is free to attend, and tickets should be reserved online in advance at grct.org/100announcement. For those unable to attend or secure tickets, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre will launch the news online later that evening.
For Centennial sponsorship opportunities, contact Kimberly Vincent, Director of Development, at k.vincent@grct.org. To make a tax deductible contribution to Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, visit grct.org/donate.
