FRUITPORT – The Fruitport boys basketball team has been in several very tight games already this season, and most have gone the Trojans’ way.
There was the opening-night one-point overtime victory over Muskegon Heights. There was the three-point win over Oakridge, and the thrilling three-point victory over rival Spring Lake last week.
But when you live on the edge, sometimes you’re going to fall, and that finally happened to Fruitport on Thursday night.
The Trojans battled Western Michigan Christian through four very tight quarters, the game went to overtime and Fruitport had a one-point lead with 20 seconds left. But WMC scored the final three points as the clock ran down and handed the Trojans a 62-60 home court loss.
[1]The defeat ended Fruitport’s three-game winning streak. The Trojans are now 4-2 on the season.
“It was a good back-and-forth game,” said Fruitport Coach Steve Erny. “WMC is a much-improved team, and they played really well. They hit some big shots.
“Offensively we were a little stagnant, and we just couldn’t string together a few shots in a row when we needed to.
“We have some standards we want to play to, and afterward, everybody in the locker room felt that, on the defensive side of the ball, we didn’t do things to the best of our ability.”
[2]The game was neck-and-neck from beginning to end.
WMC led 11-10 after one quarter, and the Trojans led 26-23 at halftime and 41-36 after three quarters.
The Warriors outscored Fruitport 16-11 in the fourth quarter to leave the game tied 52-52 at the end of regulation.
WMC scored the first five points in OT, then the Trojans battled back and actually led 60-59 with 20 seconds left on the clock.
[3]The Warriors hit a shot with about 10 seconds left to pull ahead by one, then Fruitport missed a shot and committed a foul, sending WMC to the line.
The Warriors nailed one of two free throws, the clock ran out and WMC escaped with the win.
“It was a combination of WMC playing well, and us not quite being able to get that stop in those big moments,” Coach Erny said.
“We’ve been in a few of these (close games), and to lose one is a good reminder that we have to be consistent and solid through four quarters. Things are not always going to go your way when you play with fire.”
Fruitport had a good night from three-point range, nailing 12 shots from beyond the arc. Trevor Rusnak led the way with four triples while Grade Anspach added three.
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Rusnak topped a balanced Trojan scoring attack with 14 points. Anspach added 13, Dexter Lillmars pitched in 12, DayDay Williams scored 10 and Hudson Hazekamp totaled nine points.
Western Michigan Christian was aided by a six-point advantage from the free throw line. The Warriors only made six free throws, but the Trojans remarkably went the entire game without going to the line.
Derek Ashley led WMC with 15 points, all from three-point range.
The Trojans will hit the court again a week from Friday when they play Fowler at Cornerstone University.
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