FRUITPORT — Friday night was a long time coming for the Fruitport boys basketball program.
The Trojans were able to do something they haven’t done in 10 years — beat their biggest rival.
Fruitport and Spring Lake battled for four quarters and, for the first time since February 2015, the Trojans held on to beat the Lakers, 46-43.
The win meant a lot for not just this Trojan team, but for the program as whole. In addition to being Fruitport’s biggest rival, Spring Lake has beaten the Trojans year after year in O-K Blue conference games, as well as in the district tournament championship game for the past two seasons.
[1]“I would be lying if I said it doesn’t feel extra special,” said Fruitport Coach Steve Erny, who claimed his very first win against Spring Lake. “To beat (Spring Lake Coach Bill Core), who is in my opinion a Hall of Fame level coach here in Michigan, and to beat a good team, it means a lot to the guys, especially to these seniors who haven’t had a chance to beat them.
“I’m really just happy for the group. There were a lot of really nice things said from the players (in the locker room), not only about what this win means, but what it can mean for us going forward.”
For senior Grade Anspach, whose dad Adam was the head coach the last time Fruitport beat Spring Lake, Friday was a big moment.
“It felt like destiny for us to win,” he said. “It’s my senior year, it’s the last time, maybe, that we’re playing them.
“We’ve lost obviously the past 10 years, but the last two years in the district final they’ve been holding us back. I’m so happy, I finally got to beat them!”
[2]Fruitport held a nine-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Lakers ripped off a 10-2 run to cut that lead to one, 41-40, with 4:30 to go.
A big-time three-pointer from Fruitport freshman Dexter Lillmars extended the lead back to four points.
“He has a relentless work ethic and we have full confidence in him every game,” Coach Erny said of Lillmars. “There’s not a guy in that locker room who’s surprised when Dexter does something like that. He’s hit some big shots for us already. When he shoots it, we just feel like it’s going in.”
Spring Lake hit a bucket with 1:30 to play, bringing the score to 44-42. Fruitport then missed a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left, leaving the door open for the Lakers.
[3]Spring Lake drew a foul with 7.7 seconds left and went the free-throw line with a chance to tie.
The second shot missed and Fruitport’s DayDay Williams grabbed the rebound. He was fouled and calmly sank both free throw to extend Fruitport’s lead to 46-43 with 5.4 seconds left. Spring Lake was unable to get a shot off on the final possession and Fruitport claimed the win.
Three Trojans scored in double figures, led by sophomore Hudson Hazekamp’s 14 points. Lillmars and Anspach were in double figures, as well.
“We put so much effort into preparing for this game and I feel like it all just showed,” Hazekamp said. “We hadn’t really put together a full game this year, and I feel like we played as a team for four full quarters and we played well.”
Fruitport improved to 4-1 on the season, with its lone loss coming to a currently unbeaten Sparta team.
“As long as we play together and hard, I think we can beat anybody we play,” Anspach said.
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“The sky’s the limit for this team,” Hazekamp added. “We have so much potential and we’re just touching the surface.”
Fruitport was up 12-10 after the first quarter, led by six points from Anspach.
Spring Lake led for most of the second quarter, but a late 7-0 run propelled Fruitport to a 26-23 lead at halftime. Hazekamp scored seven points in the second quarter for the Trojans.
Fruitport stretched the lead to 10 points during the third quarter before settling for a nine-point edge, 39-30, heading into the fourth. Hazekamp scored six in the third while Anspach had five.
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That led to the fourth quarter excitement that ended with the Trojans getting their biggest win in years.
Hazekamp led Fruitport with 14 points, followed by Lillmars with 12 and Anspach with 11. Williams added five points, while Evan Butler and Brady Hanson had two each.
Reid Grimmer led Spring Lake with 19 points. Jaden Core was also in double figures with 10 points.
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