Hamilton basketball claims first district title since 1987: 'We will never forget this'

HAMILTON - As the seconds ticked away, the magnitude of the historical accomplishment began to sink in for the Hamilton basketball team.

The packed gym was thunderous, nearly 1,500 fans packed the house to energize the Hawkeyes to a 80-51 win over Allegan in the Division 2 district final on Friday at Hamilton.

The excitement and energy grew throughout the game mirroring how it has grown all season as Hamilton has risen to uncharted territory from the past three decades, culminating with the program's first district title since 1987.

"This is incredible. We inspired thousands of people today," Hamilton's Brady Tebo said. "We have done this for each other. We played with confidence and we were proud of this game. If this was the first time people saw us play, they were inspired in how we played the game of basketball."

Hamilton (21-4) advanced to the regional semifinals Monday at Vicksburg.

"It means everything to our team. The community comes out and supports us every game, no matter what," Hamilton's Brant Goodpaster said. "To win it for them was the only thing we could do back for them. We wanted to give them this joy."

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And the atmosphere was joyous after the game. The gym was packed long after the game was finished. No one wanted to leave the celebration.

"It means a lot. Winning conference and this, seeing that support. Coach told us we will never forget this and people will forever recognize us," Hamilton's Thano Klett said. "It is a huge deal."

It reached a fever pitch late in the third quarter when Brady Tebo stole the ball, fed it off the backboard to JD DeGroot, who soared to the basket and slammed it home.

It put the Hawkeyes up 29 and the final countdown that started in 1987 began. Players on that 1987 team were in attendance, so were past players, community members, even opposing players.

Everyone knew the significance of what happened for the first time since 1987.

That is 36 years ago. Before the players were born, even before coach Nick Kronemeyer was born.

"It is hard to put into words," Kronemeyer said. "For the community, we knew they wanted this. It was magic to happen. This is what we set out to do. The Hamilton community will come out and support you if you do it the right way - and we did it the right way."

Earlier this season, the Hawkeyes claimed their first conference championship since 1988 and achieved a 20-win season for just the fourth time in school history.

This was the team's ninth district title in program history, joining the 1967, 1968, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985 and 1987 teams. The 1984 team went on to win the state championship.

This is the first team since that era to carry a full season of that kind of excitement.

Friday's game started well for the Hawkeyes. A three-point play from Justin McIllwain put Hamilton up 12-4.

Tebo and Klett each hit a 3 to make it 18-7. Hamilton led 20-11 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, the Hawkeyes had a possession where they got three offensive rebounds that eventually led to a Brant Goodpaster 3. Then, after a steal, McIllwain went all the way to the basket and pushed the lead to 27-11 - a 9-0 lead to start the second quarter.

JD DeGroot soared and tipped in a shot off of an offensive rebound, McIllwain hit a 3 and the Hawkeyes led 36-21 at halftime.

In the third, Tebo hit another three, then made a nice pass through traffic to Goodpaster, who was darting to the basket. His layup pushed the Hamilton lead to 49-24.

Tebo later stole the ball and fed it off the backboard to DeGroot, who slammed it home and made it 57-28, putting the exclamation point on the game.

"JD and I are best friends. After a timeout, he looks at me and told me it was our last time playing together here and we needed to get a lob. I came down the court earlier and didn't throw one and he was mad," Tebo said. "After I got that steal, he was yelling, 'Backboard, backboard,' at me and I threw it and it sealed it for us. It was really cool."

Hamilton was able to sub in to give each senior a hand one at a time in the fourth quarter.

Goodpaster was in tears when he exited, tears of joy in what the Hawkeyes were able to accomplish.

"It was the realization that it was my last time on this floor. I was just taking everything in. I said I wasn't gonna, but then it happened and I couldn't hold it back," Goodpaster said.

McIllwain led the Hawkeyes with 22 points. DeGroot scored 17, Tebo had 10, while Klett and Goodpaster each had nine.

"When you do it together, you saw the emotion on Brant's face. He has done it the right way since he was a kid. Contagious energy is real and he was (our leader)," Kronemeyer said.

Kronemeyer was a player at Hamilton and was part of some teams who were close to reaching the same goal, but came up short in districts.

"When I took this job, the only thing I wanted was to win a district title. We have come up short, I came up short when I was a player, and this just means a lot to a lot of people," Kronemeyer said. "This team moves the ball and plays for each other. We wanted to show that the guys love each other and play for each other and we showed the community that tonight."

Now it is off to regionals, another first since 1987.

"We are going to soak it all in and then refocus," Goodpaster said.

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hamilton basketball claims first district title since 1987: 'We will never forget this'