Posted: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:20 PM - 9,233 Readers
By: Matt DeYoung
His team's last two games, Spring Lake's Austin Johnson had put up some jaw-dropping numbers.
On Saturday, against state-ranked Western Michigan Christian, Johnson's numbers were much more pedestrian. He finished with "only" 12 points and 12 rebounds, but his defense and his job on the boards helped swing the game in the Lakers' favor as Spring Lake knocked off WMC, 50-41, in front of a packed house at Spring Lake High School.
Johnson was matched up one-on-one with WMC senior Omari Lewis for most of the game, and he held Lewis to half his season average in both points and rebounds.
"This feels good. They have a lot of good post players, and we played good against them," said Johnson, who had totaled 52 points and 36 rebounds combined in the Lakers' previous two games. "I had never seen Omari play before. I basically just guarded him the whole time. I dind't worry about anybody else. I tried to bump him and not let him get any offensive rebounds or open shots."
The Lakers also went man-to-man on the Warriors' other top player, with Trevor Tidswell shadowing London Burris all over the court. Burris, who averages almost 20 points per game, managed just seven points.
"We went to a triangle-and-two defense with Johnson on Omari and Tidswell on London, and our defense tonight was really good," said Lakers' coach Bill Core, whose team improves to 7-3. "We challenged Austin to keep Omari off the glass, which was huge. Trevor, a couple times, we asked hin about switching him with (Adam) Clauss to give him a breather, and every time, he said no, he wanted to stay on London. He did a fantastic job."
The win made Spring Lake a perfect 6-0 on the day, with the Lakers' freshmen, junior varsity and varsity boys and girls teams all earning wins over the Warriors.
The varsity boys game was close throughout, with Spring Lake clinging to a 23-19 lead at the half. Burris and Lewis had each scored just two points at halftime, with Burris on the bench for much of the opening half after committing three personal fouls.
Freshman center Bernard Smith picked up the slack for the Warriors, scoring nine of his team-high 13 points before halftime.
Spring Lake maintained a slim margin throughout the third quarter as Burris and Lewis were again quiet offensively. Lakers' senior Dillon Horne swished a 3-pointer late in the third, helping his team lead 36-29 going into the final frame.
WMC finally looked to break out of its offensive funk in the fourth quarter as Burris and Jason Prince swished 3-pointers and Lewis scored a pair of baskets. Burris' 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining made it 43-39 Spring Lake. The Lakers then missed a layup on a long outlet pass, and Lewis scored on the other end, trimming Spring Lake's lead to just two points.
The Warriors came up empty on a pair of possessions with a chance to tie the game, and with 1:16 remaining, Johnson was sent to the line, where he swished two free throws for a 45-41 lead.
Burris air-balled a long 3-pointer moments later, and Spring Lake ran the clock down under 20 seconds before Clauss was fouled. He split a pair at the line, and after another 3-point miss by the Warriors, Michael Hankinson converted on a pair of free throws with 11 secons remaining to put the game out of reach.
"If you can't score 51 points in a game, you don't deserve to win," Warriors' coach Jim Goorman said. "Our guys played extremely hard against a very good team. The game plan Bill had was great. I told our players after the game, 'I'm the one to blame.' I mean, who's expecting to see a triangle-and-two? We had to improvise on the bench, and we didn't do a very good job of it."
The Warriors, three-time defending Class D champions, have now lost back-to-back games. They fell to their rivals from Tri-Unity Christian on Thursday, 63-62.
"When you lose a couple games, you start re-evaluating things," Goorman said. "I was really happy with Jason Prince playing a lot of minutes off the bench for us. He played hard defensively and sparked us. Bernard was a tower of strength inside for us. We had won 23 in a row up until Thursday night. I think we'll be fine. I have faith in us."Smith had a team-high 11 rebounds for WMC, and Gordon, who scored seven points, also dished out seven assists.
For Spring Lake, a victory over the state-ranked Warriors was a signature win for his program, according to Core.
"We always talk on Monday or Tuesday when the rankings come out, it's nice to have beaten someone who's state ranked," Core said. "We have the utmost respect for Coach Goorman and their program. You don't get over a signature win over a one-year wonder. It's a team that's been there, done that year after year."
Hankinson scored a game-high 16 points for Spring Lake. He knocked down an early 3-pointer and had five points in the first half, then was 4-for-4 from the line in the fourth quarter.
Clauss knocked down a key 3-pointer in the fourth quarter for Spring Lake and finished with six points, while Tidswell, who missed Friday's win over Grant with the flu, scored eight points.
Saturday's victory completed a perfect 3-0 week for the Lakers, who return to Lakes Eight action at Newago on Tuesday, then at Orchard View on Friday.
Junior Varsity: Spring Lake scored a 50-30 win over WMC behind 13 points from Michael Warren. Jeff Marad scored nine points while A.J. Lisman played solid defense and scored six points. Austin Gabris also had six points off the bench for the Lakers (10-0).. Henry DeKam had 12 points for WMC.
Freshmen: Spring Lake won 62-52 behind 11 points each from Nick Ellingboe and Chase Slagboom. Ellingboe also had 11 rebounds for the Lakers (5-5). Chase Schuiteman and Alex Rop each scored 18 for the Warriors.
