MOUNT PLEASANT – Cartier Vance could only smile when he looked out at the big throng of Muskegon Heights fans that made the two-hour trek to watch his team play in Tuesday’s Division 4 Regional opener at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.

“Basketball is a big deal in Muskegon Heights – always has been,” said Vance, one of the senior leaders on an experienced Tigers’ roster.

“Where I come from, it’s hard sometimes, so this is great.”

Vance made it worth the trip for all of the orange-and-black clad Tigers’ fans, scoring 13 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as Heights held off a strong Pentwater team, 74-63.

Heights (12-10), which entered the postseason sub-.500 at 9-10, advanced to face No. 3 Fowler (22-3) in Thursday’s Regional Final.

The Tigers were a totally different team at the start of the season, stumbling to a 2-5 start, when Vance came to longtime Heights coach Dalrecus Stewart with an idea.

“He told me that he thought it would be better for the team if he came off the bench,” said Stewart, a 1989 Heights graduate and former standout player. “How many high school kids are mature enough to say something like that?”

Stewart made the lineup adjustment and the Tigers caught fire, winning their final four games of the regular season and now three in a row in the tournament.

Vance, a varsity starter since his sophomore year, had been getting into foul trouble on a regular basis, which either forced him to the bench or forced him to change his trademark aggressive style of play. Coming off the bench has allowed him to play more freely and have extra energy in the fourth quarter, Stewart said.

That was certainly the case Tuesday night. When Pentwater went to a zone in the fourth quarter to try and contain the Heights “bruise brothers” – seniors D’Marion Buchanan and Marcus Bradford – Vance made them pay with three 3-pointers, followed by a pair of driving layups to essentially put the game away.

“When I come in, I just try to bring extra energy and help out wherever we need it,” said Vance, who averages 14 points per game. “This game, I had some open shots and just tried to finish the job.”

Experience has been a big part of Heights’ postseason run, with five senior starters. Buchanan and Bradford are the 1-2 inside punch, Willie Hector is the point guard and facilitator, while Jamarion Taylor (the leading scorer at 16 points per game) and Robert Wallace are slashers and scorers.

Vance is the first one off the bench, followed by talented freshman Cardiyah Harris, who had a huge offensive rebound and putback in the fourth quarter to thwart Pentwater’s comeback attempt.

“Once we get all of our guys involved, we can be a very good team,” said Vance, also a standout student who hopes to play college basketball. “Us seniors have been through a lot together. We all have different talents, so we try to build each other up.”

The veteran team has certainly caught the hearts of the city’s residents, who have seen the school’s enrollment decline as it transitioned to Muskegon Heights Academy. Many of those residents took the school’s fan bus to the game, while others listened to Frank St. James’ broadcast of the game on the hometown station, WUVS-FM 103.7, The Beat.

Stewart, who also serves as Heights’ dean of students and athletic director, has worked hard to maintain the program’s high standards despite lower student numbers. He said this season has unfolded the way he thought it might.

“We started with some big schools, so I knew we could get beat up in December,” said Stewart. “Then I thought we could level out in January and then get rolling in February, which is kind of how it worked out.”

Now the Tigers are trying to advance at least one step farther than a year ago, when they lost to Sacred Heart in the Regional title game. They face a huge challenge in a strong Fowler team, which rallied in the fourth quarter Tuesday to knock off host Sacred Heart.

“I know one thing for certain – these kids are going to play extremely hard,” said Stewart. “Everyone who knows me knows that I bleed orange and black, and that I love my community.

“These kids, the way they play and how hard they work, are a source of pride for our community.”

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 kendra.tom@gmail.com with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Heights Academy’s Cartier Vance (0) gets to the rim during his team’s 59-46 District Final win Friday at Fruitport Calvary Christian. (Middle) Vance makes a move just outside the 3-point arc. (Photos by Michael Banka/Local Sports Journal.)