GRCC Earns Repeat Title Bid with Repeat Semifinal Win over Ferndale
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2022
EAST LANSING – The showdown between two Mr. Basketball finalists, Jack Karasinski of Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Treyvon Lewis of Ferndale, certainly didn’t disappoint – and ended in a virtual draw.
It was the supporting cast which lifted reigning Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central back into Saturday’s title game.
The Cougars (25-1) used their relentless fast break to offset a 3-point barrage by Ferndale in an 82-71 victory in the first Division 2 Semifinal on Friday at the Breslin Center.
“Everything stems from our defense,” said ninth-year GRCC coach TJ Meerman. “When we get stops, we’ve got a lot of guys with guard skills on the floor, who have an opportunity to get out and run.”
One of those with guard skills is Karasinski, a 6-foot-6 senior who has committed to William & Mary. The versatile Karasinski finished with a game-high 34 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, five rebounds and three blocked shots.
That performance was nearly matched by Lewis, a 6-5 senior who is headed to Loyola of Chicago. With Loyola head coach Drew Valentine sitting courtside, Lewis scored 32 points, with four 3-pointers and seven rebounds.
The difference in the game was Ferndale’s inability to slow down the Cougars’ fast break. GRCC pushed the ball for the full 32 minutes, repeatedly beating Ferndale down the floor and leading to an 18-2 advantage in fast-break points, a 38-14 edge in points in the paint and a 48 percent shooting percentage.
Sophomore Durral Brooks had six rebounds and five steals, and after each of those, would use his speed to beat Ferndale down the court, leading to 22 points (on 8-of-12 shooting) and also a game-high eight assists.
When asked about his dynamic performance at the postgame press conference, Brooks pointed to something not even listed on the stat sheet.
“I drew three charges today,” Brooks said with a smile.
That answer was music to the ears of Meerman, who has four starters back from last year’s championship team. The Cougars have lost only one game over the past two seasons – a 75-69 defeat to Division 3 semifinalist Flint Beecher earlier this season – and captured the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title.
It was the second-straight Semifinal win for GRCC over Ferndale, as the Cougars won the same matchup 81-55 last year at Breslin.
But it’s clear they won’t be satisfied unless they win it all again Saturday.
“It would mean the world to me,” said Karasinski when asked about the possibility of a second consecutive championship. “Not a lot of teams have gone back-to-back, especially from West Michigan.”
GRCC led by five points after the first quarter, extended the lead to seven by halftime, then bumped it to 13 points, 55-42, entering the fourth quarter. Ferndale was never able to get the deficit down to single digits.
Kaden Brown scored seven points and had nine assists for the Cougars, while Luka Ressler and Jorden Brooks each scored seven points.
Ferndale (21-4) stayed in the game throughout thanks to its 3-point shooting.
The Eagles made almost as many 3-pointers (11) as they did 2-point field goals (12). Lewis led the way with four 3-pointers, while junior Cameron Reed made three to account for all of his nine points.
Ferndale was hurt by foul trouble for 6-2 senior guard Jason Drake Jr., a returning first-team all-stater. Drake scored 12 points with five rebounds and four assists, but played only 16 minutes due to fouls – then fouled out with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter.
“Give credit to Grand Rapids and TJ does a great job with them,” said Ferndale coach Juan Rickman, who is in his fourth year and led the Eagles to the Oakland Activities Association Red title. “But I feel bad for Jason Drake. … It was hard for us to hang with them without him on the court.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Kaden Brown (4) walls off Ferndale’s Cameron Reed (0) during Friday’s first Division 2 Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Ferndale’s Noah Blocker (4) and Treyvon Lewis (5) and GRCC’s Nathan VanTimmeren (11) try to gather a loose ball at the backboard. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Steady Seniors Pace Zeeland East's Special Season
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 26, 2021
Trip Riemersma couldn’t have scripted a better way to score the 1,000th point of his four-year varsity career.
The Zeeland East senior stole a pass during the fourth quarter of Thursday’s Division 1 District runaway against visiting archrival Zeeland West, then put the exclamation point on it with a breakaway dunk for points 999 and 1,000.
Right on cue, the small but enthusiastic student section at “The Coop” started chanting: “1,000! 1,000!”
“It’s very special, one of many things this season,” said Riemersma, who finished with 20 points in the undefeated Chix’ 61-27 victory to start postseason play. “I couldn’t have reached this milestone without my teammates. They get me the ball when I’m open, and I just convert.”
It was actually just the latest chapter in a storybook season for Zeeland East (17-0), which completed the school’s first undefeated regular season since 2009 – the year that Korey Van Dussen and Nate Snuggerad led the Chix all the way to the Class B championship game, where they lost to Flint Powers Catholic.
This year’s group has similar aspirations after winning the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title and being ranked No. 9 in Division 1 in the final Associated Press state poll, led by five senior starters who will all be playing college sports.
Riemersma, the 6-foot-3 son of former University of Michigan football standout Jay Riemersma, gets much of the attention with his ability to shoot, drive and play inside. He averages 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and will play basketball next year at Saginaw Valley State.
The inside work on both ends of the court is done by the Claerbaut twins – Nate (6-11), a game-changer defensively who averages 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks; and Brandon (6-5), who scores better than 10 points per game, along with averaging four rebounds and 3.4 assists. Many of those assists are to his brother as the pair possess a unique chemistry on the court, which they will take to Ferris State next year.
The point guard is 5-10 senior Adam Cassel, a Hope College football recruit, who brings the girth to a starting five known for its height and length.
Rounding out the Chix starting lineup is 6-2 senior Ethan Houghtaling – a throwback, three-sport athlete, who is the quarterback of the football team and the star pitcher on the baseball team (and committed to Western Michigan for the latter), but has no problem humbling himself and filling a critical supporting role on the hardcourt.
“Before almost every game, Ethan asks me: ‘Coach, what do you need me to do?’” said Zeeland East coach Jeff Carlson, a former standout himself at Holland and later Hope College. “I’m really blessed with this group. They are all phenomenal athletes, they are all competitors and they are all unselfish. That sure makes coaching a lot easier.”
Next up for the Chix is a Saturday District Final matchup with neighboring rival Holland West Ottawa, which went to overtime to down Hudsonville in Thursday’s opening game. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
Houghtaling is normally well into baseball season by now, but he has no problem at this point with leaving the bat and glove in the garage for a couple more games and, who knows, maybe a couple more weeks.
“This is the season we have been working toward since seventh grade,” explained Houghtaling, who had his typical workmanlike performance Thursday with six points and eight rebounds. “Even though we are unbeaten, our mentality is to go out every game and prove we are for real and to keep adding to it.”
He is savoring every moment, as his last three seasons have all been cut short or eliminated by COVID-19.
The Chix finished 16-6 last basketball season, which was truncated during District week by the pandemic. Houghtaling’s junior baseball season never got started, and his senior football season ended abruptly with a 4-2 record when East was forced to forfeit its Division 3 District opener due to coronavirus cases in the program.
“I am so happy for these kids, that they have been able to have the type of season they’ve had,” said Carlson, who is in his second year as the Chix head coach and is assisted by Tyler Bartolacci. “They deserve it.”
Now the question becomes: How far can they go?
The Chix certainly put on a clinic Thursday, against a talented Zeeland West team which gave East its closest game of the season, a 44-39 victory back on Feb. 23. This time, the Chix put on the clamps defensively and got out and ran to a 19-3 lead after one quarter, extended it to 31-9 by halftime and cruised from there.
The only thing missing was the usual standing-room-only crowd of close to 3,000 fans when the two Zeeland schools meet. Carlson would love to have those crowds, but knows this team doesn’t need that to get pumped up.
The Chix are so focused and serious that Carlson often starts practices with a game of tag to try and lighten the mood.
The problem is, as Riemersma explains, even tag soon becomes ultra-competitive with this year’s team.
“It’s team-bonding stuff and supposed to be a little bit of fun before we get focused in on basketball,” said Riemersma. “But we all want to win everything we do, so it usually gets pretty intense, but I guess that’s a good thing.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Zeeland East 6-10 senior center Nate Claerbaut, right, goes up for a clean blocked shot, while his twin brother, 6-5 senior forward Brandon Claerbaut, applies pressure from the other side during a game last season. (Middle) Zeeland East senior Trip Riemersma poses with the commemorative basketball he was presented after scoring his 1,000th varsity point in Thursday's 61-27 Division 1 District Semifinal win over rival Zeeland West. (Below) Zeeland East senior guard Ethan Houghtaling sizes up a 3-point shot. Houghtaling, who played quarterback in football for the Chix, is a three-sport athlete who will play baseball next year at Western Michigan University. (Top and below photos contributed; middle photo by Tom Kendra.)