Zeeland East edged by Jenison in districts

ZEELAND - When junior forward Trevor Raade knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Zeeland East its first lead of the game at 30-28 with 3:37 left in the third quarter, it looked as if the Chix might have finally gotten over the hump to secure a win in the first round of district play.

But Zeeland East would only lead one more time and never led in the fourth quarter as Jenison kept making timely baskets and Wildcat sophomore guard Charlie Norton went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final 22 seconds of the game to give Jenison a hard-fought 51-46 win over the Chix in the first round of the Division 1 districts.

Jenison (7-16) will now move on to play Hudsonville on Wednesday in the district semifinals. Zeeland East finishes its season at 10-13.

"We got up in the second half after they made some runs at us and that just shows the kind of fight that our kids have," said Zeeland East coach Jeff Carlson. "They don't have any 'give up' in them and they've had that all year. It's been fun to coach them with that type of effort and attitude.

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay on top once we got on top and give credit to Jenison. They play in a nasty conference where they're used to these kinds of 'battle it out' ball games. They're very well-coached with the Allen brothers (Dominic and Anthony) there. We knew what we were in for and they threw a few more punches than we did."

Subscribe:Get the most local sports coverage with this special offer

It was a sluggish first quarter as both teams seemed a bit tentative from the outset and had trouble making shots. Zeeland East senior guard Jace Fenlon bodied his defender all the way to the block for a basket with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter that made it a 7-7 tie after one.

Jenison went on a 12-4 run over the first three minutes of the second quarter before Zeeland East got things moving. Senior forward Will Baker made a 3 from the right wing and senior guard Mason Villarreal hit two free throws to keep the Chix within striking distance. Zeeland East received a huge boost going into the locker room after Villarreal raced up the court with just 5.5 seconds to go and rattled in a full-speed, running 3-pointer from the top of the key just before the buzzer to cut Jenison's lead to 22-19 at halftime.

"I've hit four game-winners in AAU, so I like having the ball in my hands when I can at the end of the quarters or end of the game," said Villarreal, who scored all seven of his points in the second quarter and also had five steals. "It just came down to the wire and we couldn't finish through. But we gave everything we have on the court."

Layne Risdon scored six of his team-high 12 points in the third quarter on a couple layups and a spin move in the lane as the Chix kept things close. Fenlon grabbed a rebound of a missed half-court shot and nonchalantly threw it up (as everyone thought time had already run out) from three feet away as the buzzer sounded to move Zeeland East back to within 37-36 entering the final quarter.

Jenison employed a full-court press midway through the fourth quarter to create three consecutive turnovers, going on a 6-0 run to extend their lead out to 45-38. But the Chix came back with three straight steals to go on a 6-0 spurt of their own, resulting in Baker splitting a pair of free throws, Raade draining a 3, and Risdon driving in for a lefty layup to help Zeeland East cut the Wildcat lead to just 45-44 with 2:21 remaining.

Jenison held the ball for nearly a minute before Trevor Martens scored down low to make it 47-44 with 1:30 to go, but BJ Walker got a steal and found Fenlon for a layup with 47 seconds left to get the Chix back within one.

Norton knocked down four straight free throws on a pair of one-and-one's in the final 22 seconds to seal the win as Zeeland East was unable to score again.

"That speaks to the resiliency of our guys (the run in the fourth quarter) when they could have folded when it looked like the game was over," Carlson said. "It's just a fun group of guys to coach. Hopefully we can build on this season for the guys coming back. But we're gonna miss our five seniors to fill their leadership roles. Obviously this was a tough one to swallow, but it was a great season."

Villarreal was gracious and echoed his coach's sentiments when he reflected on his career at Zeeland East.

"Enjoy all the memories while you can and don't let one game go by that you regret where you wish you would've done that or could've done that," Villarreal said. "Don't take any single moment for granted. For all the young people that are gonna play sports, just give everything you have every day because you never know when it's gonna come to an end."

Risdon had nine rebounds and five blocks to go with his 12 points for Zeeland East. Walker added nine points and five assists, while Baker, Raade, and Fenlon all chipped in six points for the Chix.

Rowen Stewart scored 11 of his 12 points in the first half and Hunter Dyksterhouse had all 12 of his points in the second half to pace Jenison. Norton added 10 for the Wildcats.

Villarreal, Max Voss, Will Baker, Kobe Fitzgerald and Fenlon were the five seniors who played in their final game for Zeeland East.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland East edged by Jenison in districts