NORTON SHORES – The Fruitport boys basketball team expects to score points in bunches this season.
But even teams with the best sharpshooters sometimes have to lean on the defense when the shots aren’t falling.
That was the case for the Trojans in their season-opening game at Western Michigan Christian on Tuesday night. Fruitport fell behind after the opening quarter, then locked in defensively to flip the script and eventually come away with a 48-35 victory.
During a stretch covering 14 minutes of game time — from late in the first quarter to midway through the third — Fruitport allowed just two points, went on a 17-2 run, and turned a six-point deficit into a nine-point lead.
[1]
[2]
The Trojans never trailed after that.
“I loved our intensity on defense,” said Fruitport head coach Steve Erny. “We want to push them to defend with intensity and purpose. It was a really good start to some of the things we’ve been preaching, which is defense, intensity, effort on the boards. The offensive stuff, it’s going to come.”
Erny said the team’s offense was “choppy” against WMC’s zone defense, but picked up in the second half with 31 points, compared to 17 in the first two quarters.
“If we can balance that out between two halves, we’ll be OK,” the coach said.
[3]
[4]
The Trojans made four three-pointers, but shot just 21 percent from beyond the arc. They also struggled a bit from the free throw line, making 18 of 28 shots.
Only four Trojans registered points in Tuesday’s contest, with three in double-figures.
Dexter Lillmars and Hudson Hazekamp led the way with 15 points apiece. Lillmars also secured a team-high 14 rebounds and Hazekamp grabbed six.
DayDay Williams scored 13 for the Trojans to go with six rebounds and three steals. Freshman Garrett Olson added five points, including the team’s first of the season, and grabbed five rebounds in his first varsity game.
[5]Hudson Hazekamp (23) is surrounded by WMC defenders. Photo/Jeremy Clark
[6]
Erny said he was proud of Lillmars – a three-point specialist – for playing hard and focused despite not having his best offensive night.
“If he gets open looks like he did tonight all season long, he’s going to have a lot more than 15,” Erny said. “I love that even though he was frustrated with that, he didn’t let it affect the things he could control.”
WMC led 11-6 after the first quarter, with Fruitport making just two shots from the field. The Trojans had an 11-2 edge in the second quarter, when WMC went scoreless for the first 4:30.
Fruitport led 17-13 at halftime.
An 8-3 run to start the third quarter, with all eight Fruitport points coming from Lillmars, stretched the lead to 25-16. A triple from Hazekamp just before the buzzer made it 28-20 heading into the fourth.
[7]
[8]
WMC drew as close as six points in the fourth quarter, but Fruitport outscored the Warriors 20-14 to close out the win. The Trojans helped themselves 12 free throws in the final quarter.
Fruitport has now started with a 1-0 record for four straight seasons. The Trojans will play their first home game on Friday night against Cedar Springs.
Erny said getting more reps offensively, watching film and limiting turnovers will be focus points in practice heading into Friday’s game.
“Now we have some film of us in a game situation, so we can watch that a little bit and see where we need to improve,” he said. “I think what we’re going to find offensively is that we probably were a little too sped up in the half court – we were a little too frantic with the ball sometimes.”
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]